Same here... Though I assume us country-bumpkins will still get it, just later on. 

People choose to go on cruises - utter madness during a pandemic. Sailors on the other hand...

However - two things:

1. How come the USA was not alert to this potential problem?


2. Why hasn't China had the same issue? Or perhaps it has?

I'm sure they were aware of the risk but awareness and prevention are very different. Let's not forget it needs just one asymptomatic crewman.

As for (2), I'm sure you don't trust data coming from the Chinese government.

Yes, the advantages of living in London  (loads of restaurants, clubs, pubs, decent public transport) have vanished leaving you with higher risk as a major disadvantage.

Mind you, I'm a self confessed anti social b'stard and  even I'm getting hacked off at the restrictions. At least I can take off and walk straight out of the back of the estate into open countryside. That's   keeping me sane at the moment.  God knows what it's like being trapped in a flat in the middle of a city with all the parks and other amenities closed 

Perhaps they did, but China never really had an epidemic outside of Hubei. Also their fleet doesn't sail around the world, for example that US carrier had docked in Vietnam 2 weeks ago.

The parks aren’t closed, certainly not near me. They remain open and my local one has gradually got more and more empty, so taking the daily walk there now is a pleasant and safe experience. Despite the cherry picked photos you see in the tabloids London is properly locked down and has been for some time. My office has been closed for 3 1/2 weeks now.

It’s true though that living in a city loses rather a lot of its allure when all the benefits - public transport, local shops, restaurants and so on - are unavailable. I’m lucky I have a garden which is largeish by London standards, but I’d dearly love to be able to exit the garden gate and stroll across fields.

I note suggestions that power supplies may be under threat soon. I hope those overstocked freezers will be OK.
British households told to prepare for blackouts as coronavirus lockdown goes on
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/british-households-told-prepare-blackouts-103208831.html

"British households have been told to prepare for blackouts by keeping torches and warm clothes handy as the coronavirus lockdown continues.
Energy firms have suspended all non-essential work as they brace for a potential shortage in engineers caused by staff sickness and self-isolation."

That should jolly things along. Good job it's not a real midwinter. 
Roger

Friends in high places 

If you are in the St.Helens UK area pic.twitter.com/Rp7n4yrcgz

— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) March 31, 2020

Oh Fab !

Luckily I've got a generator so should be able to blip the power on during long blackouts to avoid a meltdown.

However, a lot of people have been  buying extra freezers   to fill up , so if it all melts, presumably they will hit the supermarkets again and panic buy to fill them up again  - I don't like  my chances of a  sensible replenishment  of mine if that happens !

I believe the story is scaremongering bull, certainly having spoken to industry sources. Seems like anything people can invent to fxck us over when there is so much going on is fair game

White House live stream here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7CoCiH2F7U

Hi Roger 

My first thought when I saw your post was 'surely not, with so many businesses closed down'.  I am sure that demand has reduced and just been redistributed into residential areas and away from commercial ones.

We had an outage yesterday; we were told 3-4 hours but they managed to re-route the power to by-pass the fault and it was back in about 30 minutes. I have to say I was quite impressed.

Amusingly our fall back plan here was to go to the local pub/restaurant.......  I think it will now be sitting in the car.

LOL. Rather more direct than my attempt!

Yes, thinking about it, I would be surprised if there were problems.  There has been a lot of work around here to improve resilience in recent years (replacing the exposed overheard wires with insulated types  and keeping trees and undergrowth  well away from overheads). Without adverse weather conditions supplies are generally much more reliable now than they were in the 70s - and that's ignoring the miners strike "

Agreed. The clue is in the reference to power companies halting all non essential work. Halting non essential work, by definition,  is unlikely to lead to black outs.

Cabinet split starting to develop.

Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, was urged by one of his ministers not to "crash our economy" by imposing further lockdown measures in the first sign of a Cabinet split on the issue.

Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, said that if people who cannot work from home were stopped from going to work, "millions" would be forced into poverty, which "would do more harm than the virus itself".

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/31/new-contact-tracing-app-could-key-ending-coronavirus-lockdown/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/31/boy-13-die-london-after-testing-positive-for-coronavirus?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

This is sad. 

But the fact he died without his family being at his side makes it so unimaginable. It’s one of the first stories from this crisis that has pretty much brought me to tears. He must have been so frightened. 

That's a tricky one, isn't it: temporarily poor, which government measures can address, or seriously ill or dead, which even Cummings cannot change.

I'm concerned that elements in the Tory Party are starting to worry about money more than life.

Updated trajectory now based on new cases/deaths rather than a running total

Yes, the one thing getting me through this, was the belief I didn’t need to worry too much about my children contracting this virus, as it would be mild.

There seems to be younger and younger cases as the virus spreads to the western countries?

What? Is pressganging still a thing?

If you join the service, you don't have a choice about whether you sail or not.

Sounds like Trump is finally addressing the situation. 100,000 - 200,000 deaths expected in the US.

Has a bit of a dig at the UK

Trump on herd immunity (which he doesn’t name but to which he’s clearly referring): “well you know it’s a concept, it’s a concept- if you don’t mind death.”

— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) March 31, 2020