Off Topic Coronavirus

SW Ranger said:

Apologies Stroller and Steel... and any others who would like to add their thoughts

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Things seem to be running a bit different up here, and the devolved government has talked about exiting lockdown at a time of their choosing when they feel that it safe to do so, although it will probably be at the same time as the rest of the UK. I seem to remember we started our lockdown a few days before you did down there too, or maybe it was just some of the social distancing rules that were bought in early (so much has happened since).

Lockdown hasn't affected me too much personally, as my wife is a nurse and is still going to work, whilst I am also a key worker so am going about my business (with the odd weirdo shouting abuse at me for spreading COVID via 5G - muppets), although my son is deranged at being cooped up - ah, to be 17 again.....

Personally, I think we could (and should) have shut our borders earlier and started lockdown earlier - we had all the evidence from other nations that this was the way to stop the spread. Allowing large scale events to go ahead seems insane in hindsight, but even when in the midst of the outset it seemed a bit odd.

By the way, what was with all the panic buying? We never did any, and haven't had a problem getting most items except handwash/hand gel.

Our lockdown has been half-hearted - allowing building sites to remain open (they are all closed in Scotland, except hospital builds), people to travel en-masse on public transport, allowing in-bound air passengers all seems to defeat the purpose of our isolation. I don't see the lockdown getting lifted any time soon, and Sturgeon said in her briefing last week that it will be a long time before we return to any kind of normality. I've seen a noticeable increase in cars on the road today though,,which is worrying.

rangercol said:

There are lots of reasons why the lockdown has been getting more poorly observed.

What about the fact that the self employed have had very little help financially and that people simply have to go to work?

This isn't aimed at you, but this thread and the politics thread are becoming dominated by insults and people who believe that they are the most intelligent person to have an opinion in the entire population.
Everyone else is just thick apparently.

The Government have made mistakes.
Most have.
But they are getting blamed for all the problems, whereas there are a myriad of reasons behind those problems:
The Government supply money for procurement, but it's the useless managers in the NHS that have failed to do their jobs properly in ordering this stuff; 84% of care homes are private, yet the government gets the blame for a shortage of PPE etc in these places.
Just two examples.

All along the government have clearly had to balance how much they completely trash the economy, possibly leading to many more lives being lost compared to how many the virus takes, and stopping the spread of the virus to save lives and stop the NHS being overrun.

This, I'm sure, has led to some clashes with scientists and some delay in timings etc.

These are impossibly difficult problems and anyone on here saying they know better etc is, frankly comical.

All this talk of delays etc costing lives has to be balanced with how many more lives would be lost in the future if we'd locked down sooner, trashing the economy even more.
Would you like to be making these calls?

Time for a walk.

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isn't that because the NHS has requisitioned the PPE that were going into care homes?

Tramore Ranger said:

https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/news...covid-call-centre/ar-BB13fJuc?ocid=spartandhp

We've had a 2nd under 25 years old die from COVID 19 and a teenager rushed to ICU and intubated...…..

It really is indiscriminate and younger people need to cop on...….

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No it’s not indiscriminate Trams, you are highlighting the exceptions that prove the rule. The most at risk are the old, already vulnerable, poor. Some young people will have a bad time but proportionately very few. From reading the article it is an attempt to scare younger people to follow the distancing rules because of the risks they pose to others and the health services if they ignore them. Youth is no guarantee that you won’t get a bad, or even fatal, dose of virus, but it’s a pretty good indicator that you won’t.

qprbeth said:

Absolutely Col. 100% right I am not denying that. You are so right on that fact.
It is a new virus, we know little about it or the disease it causes...or how it is really transmitted


I am reacting to what I read; I am not on the front line, and information I get trickles through, some of my information is wrong. Much of the info we get is distorted. We are only given some information not others. (telling us how many have died might be a too bitter pill to take at the moment). They also have all the information days before we do

I am not an epidemiologist, or a pandemic a modeller, although I worked with two ( and one of them is on COBRA and listened to some of what they said). One of them said in January, how bad it was going to be...and I pooooed him. I have grovellingly apologised to him too.

The experts have got all the info, and more, they have the best computers and most up to date info. They do know best. I do not know best.
But I was asked for my opinion and right or wrong, I must say that I still feel that we have been slow and indecisive.

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Another eminent scientist, I'm sorry I forget his name, recently predicted that we could have possibly 500,000 deaths.

The experts disagree widely across the world on this.

BobbyD said:

isn't that because the NHS has requisitioned the PPE that were going into care homes?

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No idea.
Source?

BobbyD said:

isn't that because the NHS has requisitioned the PPE that were going into care homes?

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Bit harsh calling Scotland a care home, mate.

Stroller said:

Why shouldn't they? If shops and stores can facilitate distancing, I don't see why shouldn't be open.

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Because Social distancing is not everything, and is only a partial measure

Other things...
touching surfaces
handling money
Accidental encounters
Petrol stations
Walking through infected airspace
In a restricted area with one or two other people (fellow workers), becoming blase in their presence
Going to work on a bus, car a tube.

Once one shop does it, others follow...and I understand the need to put food on their tables, pay their bills

This is what I meant why the lockdown was not strict enough at the start. It is now impossible to do this. We have missed our main chance

qprbeth said:

Because Social distancing is not everything, and is only a partial measure

Other things...
touching surfaces
handling money
Accidental encounters
Petrol stations
Walking through infected airspace
In a restricted area with one or two other people (fellow workers), becoming blase in their presence
Going to work on a bus, car a tube.

Once one shop does it, others follow...and I understand the need to put food on their tables, pay their bills

This is what I meant why the lockdown was not strict enough at the start. It is now impossible to do this. We have missed our main chance

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My point exactly.

We either lift the lockdown and do a half-hearted social distancing experiment and see how it goes or keep the lockdown as its supposed to be with all unessential facilities remaining closed.

Dont see how you can have a mix of the two, with any business that fancies it reopening regardless. The whole lockdown idea becomes pointless (although it was done in a half-arsed fashion to begin with unfortunately)

sb_73 said:

No it’s not indiscriminate Trams, you are highlighting the exceptions that prove the rule. The most at risk are the old, already vulnerable, poor. Some young people will have a bad time but proportionately very few. From reading the article it is an attempt to scare younger people to follow the distancing rules because of the risks they pose to others and the health services if they ignore them. Youth is no guarantee that you won’t get a bad, or even fatal, dose of virus, but it’s a pretty good indicator that you won’t.

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Sadly with many illnesses, there are exceptions. However, the vast majority are people with underlining health problems/older people, and some that have obesity problems diabetes. Children are still in the lowest group but sadly sometimes some just cannot fight a diseases.

Michael Heseltine said in an interview today that the same people calling for the lockdown to be lifted will be the same people complaining if more deaths occur after. Take note Watford.

ELLERS said:

Michael Heseltine said in an interview today that the same people calling for the lockdown to be lifted will be the same people complaining if more deaths occur after. Take note Watford.

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I’m not calling for the lockdown to be lifted. I can understand why people would but I’m in a fortunate situation and very happy with life for now.

qprbeth said:

Because Social distancing is not everything, and is only a partial measure

Other things...
touching surfaces
handling money
Accidental encounters
Petrol stations
Walking through infected airspace
In a restricted area with one or two other people (fellow workers), becoming blase in their presence
Going to work on a bus, car a tube.

Once one shop does it, others follow...and I understand the need to put food on their tables, pay their bills

This is what I meant why the lockdown was not strict enough at the start. It is now impossible to do this. We have missed our main chance

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Versus:
One and a half million new claims for universal credit
Four million jobs furloughed ie taxpayer funded
25% of UK businesses have stopped trading

Source: Chancellor of the Exchequer

And this is before the self employed are taken into account and loans to businesses.

So we have a COVID19 (attributed) death rate amongst the highest in the western world. We also have an unexplained spike in non COVID19 deaths.

Many people are facing actual economic challenges now, and these will only get worse. The governor of the Bank of England has backed forecasts of a 35% reduction in the size of the UK economy and warned that it will take years to recover.

The ****ing pubs are closed.

But the NHS hasn’t collapsed. Matt Hancock tells us that soon it will begin ‘restoring’ services like urgent cancer care and mental health.

One set of people who really are gonna suffer through this lockdown, are the kids of school/Uni age, both older ones who were meant to be doing A levels, GCSE and the younger ones who’s education is suffering.
My 2 youngest are going into ‘big’ school next year and I really think they are gonna find the transition so hard as they haven’t been able to visit their new school and get a feel of what to expect. Adding to that, my lad with ASD is really panicking already at the imminent change. Ive got some fun moments ahead I feel

bobmid said:

Well done to the amateurs on here for questioning the airport situation of inbound passengers. Just goes to show that even the simplest of folk have more common sense than some who make the decisions. They need our help and Not606 is ready and willing.

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When this first started I dug out the Business Continuity Plan that I had written for the company I worked for, written around 2002. One of the first sections I wrote states " If you are abroad at the time of an outbreak of a pandemic you must stay there, our borders will be closed. The company will provide you with a Safe House in the country you are in." It was obviously reviewed and updated regularly and that never changed before I left in 2013.

How wrong was I luckily it was never fully put to the test whilst I still worked there. Although we did stop visitors from abroad coming into the office during the SARS outbreak, some had travelled a long way without checking it we would let them in or not and we didn't.

Oh and just saying I have not left my village for over a month, it seems a smaller and smaller village as every day passes.

Stay safe everyone
Cate

qprbeth said:

Because Social distancing is not everything, and is only a partial measure

Other things...
touching surfaces
handling money
Accidental encounters
Petrol stations
Walking through infected airspace
In a restricted area with one or two other people (fellow workers), becoming blase in their presence
Going to work on a bus, car a tube.

Once one shop does it, others follow...and I understand the need to put food on their tables, pay their bills

This is what I meant why the lockdown was not strict enough at the start. It is now impossible to do this. We have missed our main chance

Click to expand...

A stricter, earlier lockdown could have cost more lives.

qprbeth said:

Because Social distancing is not everything, and is only a partial measure

Other things...
touching surfaces
handling money
Accidental encounters
Petrol stations
Walking through infected airspace
In a restricted area with one or two other people (fellow workers), becoming blase in their presence
Going to work on a bus, car a tube.

Once one shop does it, others follow...and I understand the need to put food on their tables, pay their bills

This is what I meant why the lockdown was not strict enough at the start. It is now impossible to do this. We have missed our main chance

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We need to start opening things up, Beth.

First 4 Antinovs arrived today in Germany as the first batches of the EU sourcing project for assorted PPE.
That’s 1000 Metric Tonnes.
All quality checked before departure.

Staines R's said:

One set of people who really are gonna suffer through this lockdown, are the kids of school/Uni age, both older ones who were meant to be doing A levels, GCSE and the younger ones who’s education is suffering.
My 2 youngest are going into ‘big’ school next year and I really think they are gonna find the transition so hard as they haven’t been able to visit their new school and get a feel of what to expect. Adding to that, my lad with ASD is really panicking already at the imminent change. Ive got some fun moments ahead I feel

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Plus, poor kids, some of whom not having internet access and/or parents who don't give a **** or are genuinely unable to help with schooling are going to be handicapped even more for the rest of some of their lives.

Sooperhoop said:

Whoopee, only two months late, thank EU...

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Not 2 months late at all thank you very much.
Enjoyed being a part of the project so I am biased.