Jesus Christ is risen today. Alleluia.

— Jacob Rees-Mogg (@Jacob_Rees_Mogg) April 12, 2020

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Priti's first and only press briefing. back in the freezer she goes

 

 

 

That number again: 300,034,974,000pic.twitter.com/tzg1HFrtVI

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) April 11, 2020

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Far more than the official 9,875 people have been killed by the CoronaVirus in the UK incl. at least 19 Frontline NHS staff

Approaching 100,000 have been confirmed with COVID19

The UK remains in lockdown, but the snivelling Tory tabloid press has different priorities@lbc #marr pic.twitter.com/BMIRcTxS8X

— I Am Incorrigible FCA (@ImIncorrigible) April 12, 2020

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Does the media lead public opinion or is the opposite true? At the moment it's clear! Appetite for the lockdown remains strong according to opinion polls. In fact people are rightly fearful of the corona virus and therefore want the restrictions to remain in place. However, publishers are taking an absolute hammering and are increasingly keen to move the agenda on. Hence we are hearing more about people who will die from other causes, issues with domestic violence and how the poor will suffer the most. There is of course some truth in all of those things but perhaps the credibility of publishers would be increased by admitting their views are partly influenced by their own financial considerations. 

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I would too! Seem to have been a lot of applications though.

ROFL

That's really impressive: 40 tests per person for everyone on the entire planet.  😳

Did she attend the same Maths classes as Diane Abbott?

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As you say, it is low even when you take into account the lower population. Copenhagen has a population more like Manchester's but is actually more dense than Greater London. I'm afraid to say it but however much the government congratulates itself and we deservedly clap our admirable NHS workers our care of the elderly and health care is probably worse than theirs and most of the other European Countries.

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A lot of discussion this morning about the NHS app-ocalypse which is being developed and will presumably make use of the Google - Apple api. It needs a take up rate of at least 60% to be of use. Singapore has tried a similar thing but according to the ST only 1 in six people have installed it on their pocket computer. In the UK I wonder whether the psychological implications have been thought through? Imagine constantly checking for notifications to say you have been in proximity of a person with the corona virus symptoms. Ouch!

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Something we haven’t mentioned and it occurred to me yesterday while shopping.  Thinking back to the supermarket frenzies just before lockdown when people were panic buying, the media images of people fighting over loo rolls etc.  How crowded supermarkets were three weeks ago, compared to the current social distancing measures.  

How much infection must have been spread and how many of those shoppers might well be in hospital now.  I wonder how much that has contributed to our death rates.  Us Brits did more panic buying than other countries!

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But latest Observer poll puts the Govt on 61%, so perhaps nothing matters. They can literally kill thousands each week and the morons will still vote for them!

 

Wellcome Trust director Sir Jeremy Farrar thinks it's "likely" that Britain will be "one of the worst if not the worst country affected in Europe" #Marr

— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) April 12, 2020

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Surely you opt for push notifications and then you get messaged?

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You'll be accused of:

a) negativity
b) a lack of patriotism because you should be rallying around the flag

 

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   Heel have to make do with the ones he’s got!  

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Agree about the joggers. I've only been out in the Countryside twice since this started and both times I had to dive off the path and hold my breath as a grunting, puffing and sweaty middle aged unfit jogger passed by .

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Well even worse! You'll be constantly checking for text message.

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It's your duty!!
Save The Sun Newspaper https://t.co/6x0ph6YyEd

— Matthew Wright (@Matthew_Wright) April 12, 2020

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I don’t think I’ve ever felt as patriotic as I do at the moment. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as much love & admiration towards the UK population. I’ve been moved to tears when clapping on my doorstep, thinking about those who work in the NHS and in care homes etc. I also think this crisis has gone some way to bring the 4 nations of the UK closer together - at the moment we feel like very much one country. 

However - it’s important to criticise and hold the Government to account when necessary. I think most agree now that we acted too slowly at the start of this crisis, everything happened a week or so too late and we are now paying the price. 

And yes I know you know all this. :D 

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The real warning to our government IMO was when the disease began to get out of control in Italy. That was the point when any thoughts that the disease might not spread much, if at all, beyond the far east should have been dispelled.

I know that it is easy for anyone to be a so-called armchair critic and I know that hindsight always gives 20/20 vision. However, the warning signs from China, Asia and Italy were evident for many weeks before the UK government first raised the alarm in this country. My guess is that having reached the UK in late January at the latest, it was probably spreading quite widely among communities in England and then elsewhere in the UK throughout February. Yet, we heard very little if anything from HMG at that time about the preparations they were making.

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Not really because they just pop up on the screen; just needs a quick glance to see the source. I get them from the BBC news app and several other news sources - it can get a little tedious when you get 2 within seconds on the same subject, such as Boris Johnson leaving ICU.

But I think if it's a choice between being informed about something that could make you seriously ill or kill you or being momentarily distracted by a message then it's not really a difficult choice, is it?

😉

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I read a new verb to describe joggers “coronaing” everywhere. 

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Agree with your point but I still think the psychological implications are of note. 

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 As I've repeatedly said I didn't want to have any association with the Cheltenham Festival this year. Normally I run a feature on TWO and provide a few quotes about the weather prospects to the media. This year I thought it would be wrong to do that. In years to come people will look back at what happened.

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