Re: the lack of testing...

One of the big unanswered questions, asked by many of us for weeks, is why government moved so late to ramp up #COVID19 testing. @Jack_Blanchard_ has leaked email that shows just how far behind curve it has been on increasing testing capacity. See attached pic.twitter.com/QUAQzMuHCV

— Robert Peston (@Peston) March 24, 2020

I have semi-seriously wondered if the average tube user is that exposed to germs that they have a very strong immune system and so may fight off infection. Also, i think most people are quite good at not directly breathing on people etc. Just amazed the numbers haven't been a lot higher in London.

It’s our regular blood donor session today.  Hubby got the last available appointment, so there were none left when I tried to book in.  I’m going to go with him as I have a feeling some might not turn up.  My sister couldn’t get an appointment either and she’s a universal donor, blood type O negative.  She doesn’t drive and the centre is not on a bus route.  

We often take her with us but with the social distancing rules, thought it unwise this time!  Having seen those images of the London tube, I’m thinking we’d be risking it for better reasons. 

I would suggest that construction businesses are told either they lay on coaches for their people or they close their sites.

Given the absolutely clear message last night, and the tone in which it was delivered, it beggars belief that business owners haven’t worked out what they need to do.

I keep wondering at what stage the critics will realise that it’s people making stupid, thoughtless decisions that’s the problem and not government failures.

I suspect she is not the only healthcare professional in that image either. Given the normal working situation in London re. personal transport and costs I doubt she has much choice.

Just been talking to an Israeli colleague and the way they are using technology is both impressive and frightening. A girl he knows had a text message telling her she has to self isolate and stay home for seven days, because she was near someone the other day who has tested positive - how do they know this - because they are tracking where people go and where they are via their mobile phones.

Of course, you could buck the system by switching your phone off.

Yes, you could buck the system. Then you’d be behaving like all the other idiots, putting personal rights and entitlements ahead of the greater need to protect your fellow citizens.

They should run a normal tube service and force social isolation on it. Why does that not occur to them?

The lockdown is working then...

Exactly that. The sonographer has close physical contact with the patient. 

The problem is, once the authorities have the ability to track and monitor citizens in this way, how can we be sure they will stop doing it once it is all over? There have already been reports of how the Chinese authorities are locking in the surveillance methods they developed during the pandemic. 1984 here we come?

Those images show that stronger measures will be needed.

Those pictures are incredible but shows the restrictions just aren't enough , there is only one more move to make I'm afraid. 

The number of infections in Germany is shooting up, but their CFR remains impressively low:

The number of confirmed cases in Germany has risen by 4,764 in a day to reach to 27,436, the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said on Tuesday.

A total of 114 people have died, an increase of 28 from the total published on Monday.

The way to deal with it is to lay on transport for London NHS staff - there are plenty of Uber and Taxi drivers kicking their heels at the moment. Critical staff should not be expected to have to use public transport in places like London.

It’s a simple matter of priorities here: the present imperative is to curtail the epidemic. We can deal with other implications later.

China is a one-party state that has always maintained widespread surveillance and control of its citizens. It was always adopting new technologies to extend this, such as pervasive facial recognition. I wouldn’t use China as a benchmark for anything other than a measure of unacceptable state intrusion.

They are reporting the underlying health condition as the cause of death. It's no surprise their numbers look better than others.

It's the same thing that happens here with Alzheimers disease. The cause of death is generally given as pneumonia, not dementia.

IIRC their CFR data don’t record all deaths as Covid-19 if there was another underlying health condition.

Germany has also started taking hospitalised patients from Italy and France. 

The issue is that my manager was going to deliver the equipment personally, literally picking it up from the closed offices and bringing it to my house to set it up. Obviously neither of us wants that to happen now, indeed it is prohibited. I’m sure we can sort something out but it might take another couple of days. 

Not that I am likely to have very much work to do anyway. My new job is with a charity and all the events I would have been promoting have of course been cancelled!