Easter Saturday......

Even with  in excess of 1000 reported deaths in Brazil, Bolsonaro is dismissing the corona virus as "a little flu. This definitely looks like a catastrophe waiting to happen.

From the BBC:

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-52251342

Yes, it will be a case study of what   would have happened if we had gone for "herd immunity".

Bolsonaro is a pillock 

This pandemic doesn’t mix well with the current trend for right-wing “economy is everything” leaders, does it?

The problems with PPE continue. Can we yet call this a scandal?

Coronavirus: Doctors' lives at risk over PPE shortages, says BMA

A doctors' union has said many of its members are still not getting the protective equipment they need to treat patients with coronavirus.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said doctors were putting their lives at risk.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52252470

Yesterday, the weasel Hancock suggested that there was not a problem with supplies but that the medical professions were using too much and when not necessary.

Be careful Justin you don’t want to be accused of incencent whining. 

I am pleased the BBC are today leading with this story. It’s becoming a national scandal. The frontline were promised this equipment weeks and weeks ago.

Quite rightly there was a highly critical response from the healthcare people at that ill-judged comment.  Pretty poor judgement TBH.

Maybe Hancock could be escorted into a COVID-19 ward without full protective gear so he gets a proper grasp of the fear involved.

Realistically was it ever possible to have sufficient stock and place sufficient orders to equip everyone with adequate protective clothing and equipment?  

Possibly when the Govt and its advisors knew back in January that a pandemic was starting.

My mum works in a care home with vulnerable people. Her husband had a transplant about five years ago and is in the high risk category.

She is stuck between a rock and a hard place. He can’t work because he is shielding and she has to work as they currently only have one wage coming in. She doesn’t feel protected and of course worry’s about her husbands health. They are currently living in a flat and haven’t been able to see each other properly for weeks.

This is why I worry about PPE and care homes.

The worry is real as are the reasons for the worry, but the problem is the scale of the challenge is monumental and unprecedented. However there is no choice but to give it an unprecedented response along with everything else that is being done. It may be incredible but because of continual demand it is almost certainly never going to be 100% enough.

I don’t disagree with this. As we know this is unprecedented. I think the government should spell this out. Ironically, I’d much rather hear the hard truth of where we are than sound bites and platitudes which we seem to get at these podiums each day. 

I think this where I let my frustrations get the better of me. Sometimes a rosier picture is painted than the reality. I’ve always though honesty is the best policy - however hard that is to take

Coronavirus vaccine could be ready by September

Leading scientist ‘80 per cent’ sure drug will work

A vaccine against coronavirus could be ready as soon as September, the British scientist leading one of the world’s most advanced efforts has said.

Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at Oxford University, told The Times she was “80 per cent confident” that the vaccine being developed by her team would work, with human trials due to begin in the next fortnight.

The government signalled that it would be willing to fund the manufacture of millions of doses in advance if results looked promising. This would allow it to be available immediately to the public if it were proven to work.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/coronavirus-vaccine-could-be-ready-by-september-flmwl257x

 Yes but there are Pallet freight companies at a standstill due to lack of work so if it is transport logistics  why is not every freight company being contacted to see if they can help. I also think a lot of companies with the ability to tool up to make masks , visors , gloves e.t.c were not asked to help sooner.Once you are behind in a situation like this you are going to really struggle to keep up.

Will it work against all 3 strains and any future mutations?

Reading the whole story, the headline is an extremely optimistic interpretation. It suggests that HMG will simply buy millions of these before full trials have been carried out.

But a dead cert to be re-elected. He brilliantly uses these daily briefings to spend 2 hours trolling the liberal media and talking up the country. He tells lies but that doesn't seem to matter anymore!

"Sleepy Joe"  is nowhere to be seen and allegedly dementing 

Yes, but a very popular one! The plebs love him because he "tells it straight" 

People love being lied to by a populist comedian and given an easy target to blame their problems on. Why Boris is so popular and why Brexit happened!

After reading the posts above I cannot disagree with the comments regarding our present situation. My frustration and anger is that this was seen coming, you only have to look at when this thread was started to see when members realised something was happening.

If the government had just bought some of the kit as a precaution back in December/January and made some limited restrictions on flights we would not be in this situation. 
The above actions would not of destroyed the economy. I know these points have been made several times already but surely you would think that when you reach the pinnacle of high office this would be a case of common sense.

I know we don’t live in a utopian society and I suppose Trump is a clear reminder of that.

Matt Hancock has confirmed the 19 NHS workers have died.

We thank them for their service on the frontline of this terrible illness

Well, maybe not for much longer as the Beeb article concludes:

The president's actions have incurred political costs in recent weeks, with his popularity falling in opinion polls. Nightly protests have also been held in Brazil's biggest cities, with residents banging pots and pans and shouting "Get out, Bolsonaro!"

There's an interesting summary of his exploits here:

https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/10/brazil-bolsonaro-sabotages-anti-covid-19-efforts