Coronavirus in the UK - news, lockdown and discussion

[phillm]

Final Churchillian words from our brave Prime Minister:

We shall fight them with the bleaches.

 

[Doctor Carrot]

Has anyone got a link to a transcript or replay of the press conference? I missed it and would like to read/hear the science justification. Thanks.

There is some justification for not completely locking down but I can't see the reasoning behind not recommending social distancing and canceling large gatherings. I watched the press conference and still non the wiser other than 'people will get bored of it,' a mind boggling position in itself.

It's probably available on youtube by the way.

 

[Lord Camomile]

We shall fight them with the bleaches.

"This is not the end, it is not even the beginni * cough * I... no.... wait!"

 

[Grace Johnson]

I don't get why they aren't talking about at least closing universities. A much easier thing to do than schools, and a much higher risk environment.

My brothers had an email from Manchester met saying to go on Easter holidays early. Its yet unclear whether they will be expected to come back but my feeling is probably not.

 

[Doctor Carrot]

Fuck the doctor on channel 4 is just chilling with her words.

'we will be burying our colleagues in this'

 

[Gramsci]

Not sure whether this is the right thread for this.

On personal lockdown.

Supposed to be meeting a friend tomorrow. Asked my partner and she was ok about it. Got home and now she is concerned about me going out due to the virus.

(Im in London)

Im already taking risks as work in central London. This being a multicultural city I have been working with people who have been in France and Italy recently.

So Im already taking a risk.

But do posters think cutting down on seeing friends is the way to go?

So far no official bans.

Im trying to juggle friends and what is now I see in London as increasing social anxiety.

Had friend who was sent home from work today in London as person in her building is now in hospital with the virus. Company sent everyone home immediately and told them to work from home from now on. Until told different. The person was not in her department. So she didnt have contact. Its just that the company decided to send everyone in the building home.

So despite the general the show must go on feeling its starting to get serious.

And this is having personal implications.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

The person was not in her department. So she didnt have contact.

It's not just about close personal contact. They might have sat on the same toilet seat, or at the same table in the staff canteen, or shared the elevator. Plenty of ways that anyone in that building could have been close enough at just the wrong time to pick up the virus.

About seeing friends - every person you meet up with is one more potential infection vector (in both directions). Is it a big increase in risk? No, probably not in the general scheme of things. But is it 100% risk-free? No, definitely not.

 

[Miss-Shelf]

Lonfon Met Uni is going online from 20th March and next week professional services staff are in two shifts to allow more distance (they are in next week to prepare for the shutdown)

LSE and Durham unis announced plans

Waiting for mine to move online

 

[Pickman's model]

Of course it is - this has the potential of scuppering Boris's premiership before it even gets going...forget levelling up, the money will be spent on bail out and hopefully health care.

Denmark is advising that all gatherings of 100+ should be postponed - meanwhile there are 50,000+ at Anfield including Italians masquerading as Spanish it seems...

Boris Johnson has been pm for nearly 8 months. How many months do you think it takes for his administration to get going?

 

[Mogden]

Work have sent the email round today clarifying who is supposed to stay at home and/or WFH. My role means I can't work from home as I'm quality control. The smallest hint of a sniffle and we're to self isolate and they've said they'll not count it as sick leave, meaning you'll not get it on your record so to speak.

We have a strict hand washing policy anyway but we're in danger of running out of the very specific supplies we have to use and if that happens we will have to close and ironically some of our products will be needed more at this time but we won't be able to produce them

 

[Doctor Carrot]

The former director of public health on question time is utterly scathing of the government's approach.

 

[StoneRoad]

The "management" of the multi-occupancy site where I have my workshop supplied some liquid soap and alcohol-based hand gel this week. The former normally lasts a week or so before it "disappears".
Both bottles "disappeared" yesterday, and the site caretaker could only re-supply the soap this afternoon.

Annoying.

I've got my own in my bag, the "official" stuff is way too harsh for my skin - it usually brings me out in a rash after a few days regular use.
Will be wearing latex gloves much more than usual (normally only wear them for painting and varnishing) ...

 

[scifisam]

I mean that's not what she said of course. Something about people not having their usual routine blah blah. I'm more annoyed because having people WFH as much as possible over the next couple of months is just the socially responsible thing to do. If I have to come to work I want to share the tube with as few people as possible.

Yep, for those who do have to go out to work, which is quite a lot of people, it'll be much easier for them to do social distancing if there aren't as many people to distance themselves from.

Plus if your boss is worried about people not having a routine, surely it's better to gradually ease people into it now while there are still people in the office to help organise things, rather than have everyone be "out of their routine" at once.

The one positive outcome of all this lockdown stuff might be more employers starting to allow working from home long-term, where it's possible. I know employers have been gradually moving towards this more and more, but this could force the reluctant ones into trying it and realising that it doesn't really result in lower productivity.

Johnson said, not unreasonably, that to start on a hard lockdown too soon would risk making it too long to be really sustainable and harder to enforce. Honestly it's probably mostly a guessing game of when and how long. What I gather now is that potential lockdown is not intended as 'until this thing goes away and no one gets it', but 'until most usual winter NHS strain has passed and it can cope with masses of cases' (and presumably has got more breathing equipment in?)

I hate to say it, because it's Johnson, but I think it actually makes sense.

Seriously worried about how the fuck kids on FSM are gonna get fed. We feed them at work during the holidays, but if there is a lockdown, I don't know how that will happen

That worries me too. Perhaps the meals on wheels service could step in? They could at least bring refrigerated ready meals round, if actually cooking that number of extra meals (presumably with a reduced staff) is impossible. I mean, it's fairly easy to make deliveries without actually coming into contact with people, especially if you don't ask them to sign for it. It'd be better than just leaving the kids without their school lunches.

 

[Orang Utan]

That worries me too. Perhaps the meals on wheels service could step in? They could at least bring refrigerated ready meals round, if actually cooking that number of extra meals (presumably with a reduced staff) is impossible. I mean, it's fairly easy to make deliveries without actually coming into contact with people, especially if you don't ask them to sign for it. It'd be better than just leaving the kids without their school lunches.

Meals on wheels is usually just for elderly and disabled people. I doubt they'd be able to cope with whole families!

 

[Quote]

My stupid parents are stubbornly insisting on going on a coach tour to fucking Llandudno. Scares me just thinking about it. I was desperately hoping that stupid blonde tit would do something useful for once and call for more extreme lockdown measures (for the selfish reason of hoping it would scare them straight...)

But of course we decided to elect a risk taking, reckless, gambling wanker with a Churchill complex.

 

[Marty1]

The way this virus is going, I can see apocalyptic empty streets with only delivery vans on the road delivering toilet paper, hand gel, face masks and tinned food to the self isolated masses.

 

[scifisam]

Meals on wheels is usually just for elderly and disabled people. I doubt they'd be able to cope with whole families!

Hence me mentioning delivering ready meals instead. It wouldn't be whole families anyway, just the kids. Just an idea for something to do rather than letting kids starve. Hopefully dealing with this is one of the things local councils who actually know about stuff have included in their planning.

 

[Orang Utan]

Hence me mentioning delivering ready meals instead. It wouldn't be whole families anyway, just the kids. Just an idea for something to do rather than letting kids starve. Hopefully dealing with this is one of the things local councils who actually know about stuff have included in their planning.

from my experience, the ideas about how to deal with this come from the bottom up
It sounds like a logistical nightmare to deliver hot meals to families this way. I can only speak from my own experience, but it was difficult enough delivering meals from a single location, esp since it transpired that it wasn't just the kids who need feeding.

 

[scifisam]

from my experience, the ideas about how to deal with this come from the bottom up
It sounds like a logistical nightmare to deliver hot meals to families this way. I can only speak from my own experience, but it was difficult enough delivering meals from a single location, esp since it transpired that it wasn't just the kids who need feeding.

Oh yeah, delivering extra hot meals would be impossible. I meant just bringing round ready meals for the parents or kids to heat up, like macaroni cheese or veggie lasagne, that sort of thing. That assumes they have something to heat it up in, of course, but most people do, and it's still better than just doing nothing.

 

[elbows]

Hunt being puzzled, worried or whatever about the governments approach, even when taking their 4 weeks behind Italy timing estimate at fate value, and wanting to see the behavioural science modelling, probably should be recorded on this thread for future reference.

Former Health Secretary and current Chairman of the Health Select Committee Jeremy Hunt was interviewed on Channel 4 News earlier this evening about the UK’s response to coronavirus. Hunt challenged the logic of delaying social distancing measures, saying “I’m surprised we’re not moving sooner”.

“The places that have succeeded are the ones that moved earliest to social distancing ...I think people will be concerned that we’re not moving sooner to more social distancing, for example banning external visits to care homes.”

“I am concerned because we’ve got four weeks, We’re four weeks behind Italy and what we do every single day of those four weeks is absolutely critical. I don’t want to second guess the advice that scientists are giving but I would like to see what the modelling is from the behavioural scientists that says we can go too early with some of these measures because I think most peoples priority is their elderly loved ones who are most vulnerable.”

In what was a remarkably frank interview, Hunt said there was “all to play for” in the coming weeks and described the announcement today to delay social distancing measures as “puzzling”.

49m ago 23:05

 

[Shechemite]

Aktion-T4 in default if not design

‘It was a medical disaster’: The psychiatric ward that saw 100 patients diagnosed with new coronavirus

Hand sanitisers could not be left out because of risk patients would drink them

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Orang Utan]

Oh yeah, delivering extra hot meals would be impossible. I meant just bringing round ready meals for the parents or kids to heat up, like macaroni cheese or veggie lasagne, that sort of thing. That assumes they have something to heat it up in, of course, but most people do, and it's still better than just doing nothing.

Ready meals made locally or from supermarkets? I seriously doubt the latter would be supplied unfortunately

 

[scifisam]

Ready meals made locally or from supermarkets? I seriously doubt the latter would be supplied unfortunately

From supermarkets. Normal ready meals you find in the fridge section. I'm not expecting Tesco to step up and provide food for free, but I'm also not expecting supermarkets to suddenly not have ready meals for sale. Better than leaving kids without food, surely?

 

[bendeus]

Hunt being puzzled, worried or whatever about the governments approach, even when taking their 4 weeks behind Italy timing estimate at fate value, and wanting to see the behavioural science modelling, probably should be recorded on this thread for future reference.



49m ago 23:05

Is it just me or does he appear to be close to tears at certain points of the interview?

 

[kazza007]

Is it just me or does he appear to be close to tears at certain points of the interview?

I thought he was about to emotionally breakdown at several points.

 

[bendeus]

I thought he was about to emotionally breakdown at several points.

Glad it's not just me. At certain points he almost resembled a (deep breath) human.

 

[Grace Johnson]

Is it just me or does he appear to be close to tears at certain points of the interview?

Is it just me or does he appear to be close to tears at certain points of the interview?

Looks like he's bricking it. He's properly upset there.

 

[two sheds]

Perhaps his contribution to fucking up the NHS was working its way through to his conscience


..... ah as you were.

 

[bendeus]

This appears to be a fairly significant schism within the ruling party, no? He's gone further than any elected member of any party (that I'm aware of) in his explicit criticism of current policy. Have to say that this makes me deeply, deeply worried

ETA: keeps referring to behavioural scientists needing to produce the evidence. Is this a swipe at Cummings and the scientific basis on which policy is being rolled out?

 

[Orang Utan]

Ready meals need microwaves and ovens and adults to operate them