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Coronavirus in the UK - news, lockdown and discussion

agricola said:
I agree with almost all of this, but not the bit about the comparison to previous emergencies - if anything, this and them all share the same sort of makeup, ie: the obvious result of a load of decisions usually taken by politicians for the wrong reasons, over a number of years, and in the face of very real and usually well-informed objections. There is even the same sort of self-interested media cheerleader activity.
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I dont disagree with that - but when the "this is an emergency" stage was reached the government response was comprehensive, thought through and it was clear they were taken things seriously - even if some of the responses were of dubious value or counterproductive - there was a clear, thorough plan. See also the response to the 2008 banking meltdown.
The Thatcher government's response to the AIDS epidemic is interesting - their ingrained homophobia and bollocks moralising was put to one side and they deferred to the public health experts. Because whilst Thatcher was callous and prejudiced, she was not stupid (like trump) or intellectually lazy (like johnson) - and was persuaded by arguments based on expertise, evidence and facts. Johnson gives every impression that he wants it all to go away and therefore is - consciously or unconsciously or both - downplaying the seriousness of the situation and dodging what action needs to be taken. Cos rather than bluffing and bullshiiting his way through brexit on the back of a massive election win - shit just got very very real and the cunt is not up to it.
 
bimble said:
Outline of the new bill the gov plans to push through that would give them emergency powers for two years .Totally wartime flavour.
Very scary on Mental Health assessments, new powers for immigration officials to detain people, streamlining the 'Death Managemenet Industry' . .
bloody hell.

www.gov.uk

[Withdrawn] [Withdrawn] What the Coronavirus Bill will do

www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
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There's a scary amount in there about rapid processing of the dead :(
 
UnderAnOpenSky said:
Well you've got the time of is the main thing.

My understanding is that it's ok to self isolate if you've got a cough even if you don't then get it. Which would mean you still have the potential down the line to get it and take more time off..
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Orang Utan Yep. Just showing symptoms of COVID is enough to self-isolate, even if it turns out not to be that. You're doing the right thing calling in, and you should get whatever they say in writing to protect you should you get in trouble unfairly.
 
Kaka Tim said:
Cos rather than bluffing and bullshiiting his way through brexit on the back of a massive election win - shit just got very very real and the cunt is not up to it.
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I was pretty much equally cringeing and feeling crippled with fear when I was watching yesterdays daily update thingy... that there had been some very obvious thought into coming up with a new fucking catchphrase, to replicate the 'success' of the Brexit one. It's no surprise but it's so unsettling too - I know, let's just keep saying We will do whatever it takes, really slowly, over and over - oh yes, that'll sort it out, marvellous idea! Wtf, I just despair, the ignorant cunts!
 
teqniq said:
Thoughts anyone?
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Its all the sort of stuff that has long been known to be part of emergency/public health plans. Any journalist who seems surprised by its scope and ramifications hasnt been paying attention to this area previously. Some unease about it is also quite predictable, I considered it somewhat inevitable as soon as some people started going on about 'well we cant do that here, we are a liberal democracy', much earlier in this coronavirus crisis, when countries like China started doing draconian stuff.

Its the sort of inevitable shit that we would also expect see in a very large war. Just because we havent had such a scenario for a very long time, never made me complacent about the chances of experiencing it in my lifetime.
 
Just went on a largely futile kamikazi mission to Holloway Road Morissons to get supplies. Anyway they didn't really have any, but then they never have anything. Local shops and the little Tesco/Sainsburys seem to be a better bet at the moment.

Really worrying how busy everywhere is though. All the pubs were open and almost all businesses, even the fucking charity shops. I worry about the workers getting paid but some places just seem to be open for the sake of it, all the posh fucking letting agents are still open, and I doubt anyone is going to be buying a new kitchen or is that worried about antique furniture at the moment. Hipsters and posh bits aside this is still pretty much a working class area, and people have to work - if they really want lock down then they have to do something to guarantee wages and get places that are non essential closed. And I can even understand people having a sneaky pint or coffee sat outside a quiet caf somewhere just for reasons of sanity, but Starbucks, and a couple of other places were packed with people huddled round tables like nothing was happening.

The biggest problem though is food. Lots of people don't have a car and live within walking distance of a supermarket and are used to picking up food every couple of days as they need it, me included. And there's only so much you can carry home on foot or public transport anyway. Everywhere that sells food is packed with people, and because you can't get anything then people are going from shop to shop looking for things. It's probably too late to do anything about it now, and hopefully it will ease, but people won't stay home if they need to search from shop to shop for food and medicine, and they won't wash their hands properly if you can't even buy soap anywhere. I think London's fucked, and without serious action to guarantee wages and distribute food then I suspect it will get very bad here very quickly.
 
smokedout said:
Just went on a largely futile kamikazi mission to Holloway Road Morissons to get supplies. Anyway they didn't really have any, but then they never have anything. Local shops and the little Tesco/Sainsburys seem to be a better bet at the moment.

Really worrying how busy everywhere is though. All the pubs were open and almost all businesses, even the fucking charity shops. I worry about the workers getting paid but some places just seem to be open for the sake of it, all the posh fucking letting agents are still open, and I doubt anyone is going to be buying a new kitchen or is that worried about antique furniture at the moment. Hipsters and posh bits aside this is still pretty much a working class area, and people have to work - if they really want lock down then they have to do something to guarantee wages and get places that are non essential closed. And I can even understand people having a sneaky pint or coffee sat outside a quiet caf somewhere just for reasons of sanity, but Starbucks, and a couple of other places were packed with people huddled round tables like nothing was happening.

The biggest problem though is food. Lots of people don't have a car and live within walking distance of a supermarket and are used to picking up food every couple of days as they need it, me included. And there's only so much you can carry home on foot or public transport anyway. Everywhere that sells food is packed with people, and because you can't get anything then people are going from shop to shop looking for things. It's probably too late to do anything about it now, and hopefully it will ease, but people won't stay home if they need to search from shop to shop for food and medicine, and they won't wash their hands properly if you can't even buy soap anywhere. I think London's fucked, and without serious action to guarantee wages and distribute food then I suspect it will get very bad here very quickly.
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Agree with all of this - there seem to be a lot of people, many of them old, doing everything as normal, maybe on the basis that everywhere might be shut soon. (Mind you I am having a quiet pint myself, in an almost completely empty pub where I am about ten metres away from any other human so I reckon it's pretty safe.)

I also don't think it's practical for a lot of Londoners to really stock up on food either - storage space and carrying capacity are limited. This is how I live myself; I have a tiny freezer compartment, I buy small amounts of fresh veg most days. If I really need to I could survive for a bit but it wouldn't be good for me.
 
Badgers said:
Interesting to see how the UK broadband networks will cope :hmm:

Also if people are locked down then surely there is a strong case for broadband bills (along with utilities and rent) to be suspended.
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I expected Ireland and definitely Dublin will the large concentration of tech workers to have an issue but its been fine so far. For most office workers outside of stuff like media the usage is actually quite small
 
My school closed today. My daughter's will now just has year 7's and 11's in - but has made an exception for kids of frontline staff in other years who need to stay in school if possible. :)

Both say they would expect to be open again on the 27th, unless further gov advice is passed on.
 
grit said:
That ship sailed several weeks ago, the lockdowns are coming and are needed.
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To clarify, yes, lockdowns are absolutely needed, immediately, since Whitehall's allowed the situation to spiral outa control.

The experience of other countries does indicate an exit strategy, but only when a mass testing and contact tracing regime's been set up. Who knows how long that'll take, but the sooner we start, the less time we'll have to keep this going.

Both lockdown and mass surveillance + isolation of Covid-19 achieve the same ends of severing the chains of transmission. One can be used to buy time to establish the other. Whitehall need to set this out clearly and explain what they're doing to get us there.
 
ska invita said:
Getting messages about military vehicles moving on/in London. Anyone seen with own eyes?
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Military vehicles move in the direction of London every week of the year, they move all around the country.

If there are hundreds of them stacking up on the north circular then maybe it will mean something.

Meanwhile just because Mark on Facebook saw a couple of lorries near Birmingham doesn't mean troops are about to seal off London.
 
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