Coronavirus in the UK - news, lockdown and discussion

[kabbes]

And you know for a fact they don't live in the same house? And that the village shop was not their village shop?

Well they were all queuing 2m apart and split up afterwards. And yes, I know everyone in this village. There’s about 100 of us. Why is it so hard for you to believe I intimately know the immediate environment I’ve lived in for 10 years? I know passing cyclists when I see them.

This spot is a Mecca for road cyclists. We get hundreds of thousands through each year. It’s on every top ten list and every website. That’s fine (kind of) but now is not the time to go off for 50 mile cycles around the countryside. 90% seem to understand that, because the cycle traffic has almost disappeared. But there is a hard core of don’t-give-a-shit cunts who are carrying on their hobby as if nothing is happening. And the point is that they aren’t harming nobody by keeping distant in passing, they are stopping off to buy lattes as they go through villages.

 

[wayward bob]

The rules have got to be simple and general. And still people find them confusing.

the rules are simple and general. yet those who are following the rules still get shamed and shouted at. the people doing the shaming and the shouting presumably find being a self-righteous prick is a boost to their mental health

 

[danny la rouge]

Yeah I mean I think most people are following the rules or at least trying to, there's a few who arent and it's a bit frustrating. I'd never dream of grassing them up or yelling at them but its incredibly annoying. Especially when you literally live next door to some of them.

Yeah. I’m sorry for having a rant really. But I’m having a bit of a spin out this morning. Nothing serious, just frustration that the advice conflicts with the reality. I’d love to rely on delivery services. But I can’t. Which means braving a shop where other people simply just will enter your two meter exclusion zone. Because it’s incredibly difficult to change a lifetime of experience of crowded milling.

 

[Athos]

the need for some green space can prevent deaths by suicide. but i guess those people were never important/useful enough in the first place to count.

In a public health emergency, we need all need to follow a course of action that saves most lives. There's plenty of evidence that the virus will kill tens of thousands absent rigorous isolation, but I haven't seen any evidence that such measures will cause more deaths by suicide.

 

[wayward bob]

danny i've had some occasional luck getting shopping spots. if you'd like me to try for you just pm postcode x

 

[cupid_stunt]

You are allowed to ride a bike. You are allowed to go in shops. The queen is apparently still alive, ergo nobody has died and made you king.

Only for shopping for necessities, so stop being a plank.

 

[wayward bob]

I haven't seen any evidence that such measures will cause more deaths by suicide.

will make sure to send <whoever does the statistics> an explanatory note

 

[SpookyFrank]

I agree with this but also with kabbes that they shouldn't be going into the shop and then hanging out on the village green drinking coffee. Go out on your bike, keep 2m away from everyone (including pedestrians walking on the pavement), have a careful ride within your abilities, fine. The coffee stop is not compulsory. Stop doing that bit, it's selfish to take your potential infection into a community you don't live in.

This is what I'm doing. I take food and water with me, and I stop in the middle of nowhere if at all.

Maybe have a word with the shopkeeper about selling non-essential lattes? I dunno. I miss getting a paper cup of disappointing coffee, like I miss so many trivial things. Maybe if I saw the prospect of getting one, and with it a five-minute window of relative normality, I might be tempted to do so.

I'm really not interested in making excuses for anyone I just think that there is genuine evil at work in the midst of all this and drinking coffee on the village green, while a bit thoughtless, is not the same as that at all. It's going to be hard work to stay sane through all this and walking round in a constant miasma of rage is not going to help with that. If you're worried about people misusing the village shop, maybe instead be glad you're in a village and not an inner city where all of this lockdown stuff is much, much worse.

 

[Athos]

You are allowed to ride a bike. You are allowed to go in shops. The queen is apparently still alive, ergo nobody has died and made you king.

You're allowed to shop for essentials, not lattes!

You're supposed to exercise locally, not risk spreading the virus to other communities.

And I bet they were out for more than an hour, too.

Selfish pricks.

 

[Miss-Shelf]

danny la rouge Morrison's are doing a pre packed box (chose vegetarian or meat) of basics. Apparently easier to get these slots than a regular shop

 

[Anju]

One of my wife's friends is staying with her new partner in Twickenham. She's reconsidering as they went shopping, with her assuming it would be the supermarket with properly organised queueing only to end up at a busy farmers market where people seemed oblivious. She retreated to the car but he insisted on shopping there, so she was still put at risk.

 

[SheilaNaGig]

Google the Rockwood clinical frailty scale. AFAIK that's not the only way of allocating them if it's needed, it's just one of the ways that will be used to assess who gets the limited resources. Other issues such as current clinical condition, age, and co-morbidities will also be taken into account from what I've heard.

It's brutal but it makes sense I'm afraid.

bimble

As I write this I’m trying to remember where I heard it, so I can post the link...

I listened to an interview with an American doctor about how such choices are made in a crisis. He went through the algorithms they apply when using drugs that are in limited supply, saying that the same frameworks would be used for vents etc during the pandemic. The first criteria was whether there is proven efficacy for this treatment for patients within certain physiological parameters. He was absolutely clear that things like income (this was America...) status etc are not part of the algorithm. He was very clear that the homless guy who would derive more physiological benefit than the CEO would be given the treatment, regardless of an other factor. He said that we only become more widely aware of these situations when a crisis occurs, like this one.


Also, words like “frailty” may have slightly different nuances in clinical language compared to how we’d use the word in everyday conversation.

None of which makes any of this easier to accept or assimilate. It’s all awful. But as someone said elsewhere, “It’s a fucking pandemic, people are going to die!”


Still can’t recall where I heard the interview. If I do remember I’ll come back and post it.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Only for shopping for necessities, so stop being a plank.

I take it there's no coffee in your house at the time of writing then?

 

[cupid_stunt]

I take it there's no coffee in your house at the time of writing then?

Yeah, that would be exactly the same as buying a take-away coffee.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Yeah. I’m sorry for having a rant really. But I’m having a bit of a spin out this morning. Nothing serious, just frustration that the advice conflicts with the reality. I’d love to rely on delivery services. But I can’t. Which means braving a shop where other people simply just will enter your two meter exclusion zone. Because it’s incredibly difficult to change a lifetime of experience of crowded milling.

Given that the government has identified and communicated with at risk persons, there seems to be no reason why they couldn't if they wanted to allocate those same people some kind of priority code for supermarket deliveries. By all accounts the government has had basically zero communication with supermarkets though.

 

[Athos]

I'm really not interested in making excuses for anyone I just think that there is genuine evil at work in the midst of all this and drinking coffee on the village green, while a bit thoughtless, is not the same as that at all.

It's not thoughlesness; it's selfishness. And it will kill thousands of the most vulnerable people in our society, including those in the NHS who are risking their lives to help others despite being put at greater risk by lycra-clad cunts.

 

[LDC]

I'm one of the worst for being pissed off with people 'breaking the rules' or whatever, but it is worth bearing in mind this is all totally new for us all and we're all adapting at different rates and in different ways. Not to excuse obviously selfish behaviour, but let's try and be a bit reasonable with people if we can.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Yeah, that would be exactly the same as buying a take-away coffee.

It's still non essential.

 

[danny la rouge]

I'm one of the worst for being pissed off with people 'breaking the rules' or whatever, but it is worth bearing in mind this is all totally new for us all and we're all adapting at different rates and in different ways. Not to excuse obviously selfish behaviour, but let's try and be a bit reasonable with people if we can.

Totally agree.

And thanks for the offers of help all.

 

[cupid_stunt]

It's still non essential.

Not if brought at the same time as food, you uneducated potato.

 

[Looby]

Given that the government has identified and communicated with at risk persons, there seems to be no reason why they couldn't if they wanted to allocate those same people some kind of priority code for supermarket deliveries. By all accounts the government has had basically zero communication with supermarkets though.

The government are sending supermarkets the list of the most vulnerable who are then being contacted to offer online slots.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Not if brought at the same time as food, you uneducated potato.

What if these lads bought a tube of pringles to go with their lattes?

 

[SpookyFrank]

The government are sending supermarkets the list of the most vulnerable who are then being contacted to offer online slots.

I'm glad they're finally reading my posts on here and immediately taking action.

 

[danny la rouge]

danny i've had some occasional luck getting shopping spots. if you'd like me to try for you just pm postcode x

Thanks so much. It’s comforting just to know I have a community here of kind people who’ll offer to help in this way. I think my partner and I will just about manage, but if things get desperate its good to know I can ask.

 

[Athos]

What if these lads bought a tube of pringles to go with their lattes?

You're a fucking idiot.

 

[SpookyFrank]

It's not thoughlesness; it's selfishness. And it will kill thousands of the most vulnerable people in our society, including those in the NHS who are risking their lives to help others despite being put at greater risk by lycra-clad cunts.

Right there look, right there was where you showed your true interest in this debate. Fucking shame on anyone using this situation to shit on any group of people they simply don't like for whatever unrelated reason.

 

[planetgeli]

danny i've had some occasional luck getting shopping spots. if you'd like me to try for you just pm postcode x

Does this include Tesco?

I tried twice this week. I found out Tesco slots come on at midnight. We have a cheap subscription, meaning we can get slots on Tue, Wed, Thu. So I logged on at 11.55 to get a message telling me I was in a queue. At 12.12am I got through - to all slots gone for Wed.

So I tried the next night. Logged on at 11.20pm. I was in. But of course the slots weren't up. At 11.50pm the message came up again about being in a queue. At 12.25am I was through - to no slots available again.

Coincidentally the next morning I got an email saying my subscription was on hold, they are giving money back for March, but I can still get slots for free within my subscription time frame (Tue, Wed, Thu).

Yeah. Course I can.

These slots are for 3 weeks from now.

 

[seventh bullet]

A dickhead co-worker is having a barbecue today with another dickhead co-worker and others I don't know who are probably dickheads as well.

Management at work (night shift at Morrisons) aren't taking social distancing seriously, expecting five or six people to cram into a small space to put out stock. Refused to do it. Not interested in him looking good in the morning for getting rid of excess ice cream.

I am already pissed off as I am keeping away from my mum, in her seventies with poor health who normally relies on me for everyday things, but feel it's the right thing to do.

 

[SheilaNaGig]

On the other side a guy did stick his head out the window of his car and yell at people in the bakery queue i was standing in to go home. dont know where he was going that was so important!

Maybe driving home after a hospital shift. Edie said she had an urge to do exactly that when she was driving home after a rough shift,

 

[frogwoman]

Yeah I mean I'm getting unreasonably annoyed and I know i need to calm down. Shit i had to go out the house twice yesterday and feel really guilty about it. This thing is affecting us all in different ways