So it feels like I'm living in a bubble. I'm hearing lots in the news about coronavirus but my school is open, no kids are off in my children's classes. My wife has been instructed to work from home but everyone in the office was fine. I'm struggling to convince my aged mother in law and agreed / at risk father to stay in as they don't see anything happening around them.

How is it around you?

quote:

---

Originally posted by MikeR
So it feels like I'm living in a bubble. I'm hearing lots in the news about coronavirus but my school is open, no kids are off in my children's classes. My wife has been instructed to work from home but everyone in the office was fine. I'm struggling to convince my aged mother in law and agreed / at risk father to stay in as they don't see anything happening around them.

How is it around you?

---

A family member put this link on facebook - very informative, written by someone who knows (a virologist).

LINKY

I had a dry cough start yesterday morning, along with tight chest. So self isolating.
Last night I developed a high temp, and had a vile headache all night, seems to have esed a little.
So is the CV? I will never know. It could easily be the flu (or worse, manflu)

Yungest daughter started coughing Monday. She lives in a shared house in London, and is a teacher. Told to self isolate, as have all her housemates.
However, School contacted her and INSTRUCTED her to go back into school on Friday. I think she needs to be clear when she returns people need to stay away, and that she is there under duress. Idiot school leadership.....

Meanwhile my sister is going ballistic as she is having to do all the visits to my elderly parents until I recover. And keeps phoning me (6 times today so far) and ranting at me. I haven't got a clue what she wants me to do, I just feel miserable.

Being of 'three score and ten' with a compromised immune system due to chronic fatigue syndrome (M.E.), have gone into isolation - or, at least, tried to.

However, this morning we tried to order on-line for home delivery only to find that delivery slots at all supermarkets are not available until April 6th at the earliest with some sites simply not stating a date. Click-&-collect is no better. Whilst we were still going to the shops we didn't 'panic buy', just bought as normal. Consequently, although we haven't completely depleted our stocks of food etc., we certainly haven't sufficient to last until the even the earliest available date.

Doubtless, the additional drivers and extended delivery times promised by the supermarkets and other on-line delivery suppliers will make a difference eventually but in the meantime, other than imposing on friends and neighbours who, in the main, are in similar circumstances, we have no option to going out and, with extreme caution, getting provisions as normal - if there is anything 'normal' about the current scenario; I'm rather put in mind of Nevil Shute's book "What Happened To The Corbetts" which forecast everyday living conditions in the event of WWII.

At least it shouldn't interfere with fettling and blatting around with the Tiger (always done in isolation anyway) although I will have to get to grips with Pay-at-Pump. However, the Pinto's thirst guarantees plenty of practice!

Stay safe and keep smiling,

Michael.

I was in the "it wont happen to me brigade" until yesterday!

But as im nearly 60, an asthmatic, on various pumps, and steroids, also, have flu jabs every year, had Pneumonia jab in 2017
had Pneumonia and pleurisy in 2012, I have been advised to "self distance" myself As the Doctors called me yesterday

So Mrs M, and I are doing so, luckily I am a zero hours worker, and so if I don't go to work, I don't get paid, and work were fine
with me not going in, and I believe two more have called in doing the same today

I do honestly believe that the current virus is very serious and I am very at risk, also my wife, being diabetic is also

Self distancing is not the same as self isolating, its on the gov website, and just means we are being extremely cautious

steve

My daughter has a cough but seems otherwise fine. As a result though all the kids are off school - youngest was off anyways as her school closed for year 8 & 9.

My two eldest are doing GCSEs and A levels this year so far from ideal.

There's no way we can isolate with 3 kids int he house though. In fact if we are going to get it then it would be better if we all got it now. No idea if anyone in the house actually has CV19 though.

Supermarkets round here are pretty depleted and I'm having to work from home I do most of the time anyway so no big difference there, but I should have been in the US next week then multiple places in Europe between now and the summer. None of that will happen now.

In fairness to the supermarkets, there's no way they could have established a reasonable business model that allowed for situations like this. A combination of panic buying, the need for their staff to keep clear of people who may or may not have the bug, restrictions on people's mobility, possible/probable staff shortages due to sickness, and so on.

It's idiots who panic-buy that are at the root of the current situation - if everyone just bought their supplies as usual then life would be a lot easier for everyone. I saw one example when we went to Waitrose yesterday - a man struggling to control his trolley because it was overloaded with bottled water. WHY?! The stuff in the tap is perfectly good where we live. The shelves in the supermarket where the water is displayed were almost empty...

Mind you, one old codger had the right idea - he pulled up to the checkout with a trolley full of bottles of wine (at least 30) plus a few of spirits. He was struggling to move with it, but he was determined.

As for self-distancing, we are fortunate in that we live near the coast so we can go and walk on a near-deserted beach any time the weather is decent. We'll take a few sandwiches and keep ourselves to ourselves. I'm also retired, so no need to go near other people, apart from grocery shopping - our biggest risk - but we're quite well stocked, even though we've not been buying extra stuff.

Wife has been coughing and had temperature/headache since Saturday. She is a teaching assistant and in the preceding week a kid who had been coughing for several days coughed right in her face. So we are 5 days into our 14 days now. However, rumour network says total U.K. lockdown from Friday anyway......

I work for a large hotel chain, we have an "emergency meeting" tomorrow at 1pm, I think we'll be closing down, the attached restaurant/pub is closing on Friday until further notice.

It's definitely getting more real than I'd hoped

Came back from 2 weeks in Italy then France on Sunday. Got a sore throat Sun evening and a cough by Monday... and gone downhill from there. I've been in lockdown since getting home. It's either the worst cold I can remember or zombie apocalypse flu. Either way you don't want it.

For the 7 years I've had kids I've been full of colds / coughs and any number of plagues the little germ ridden blighters bring home to share. The idea that I'd have to self isolate every time that happens is ludicrous.

Now my kids school is closing indefinitely, great now the wife will have to quit her job to look after them.

[Edited on 18/3/20 by Mr Whippy]

We were also hoping the schools wouldn't close. Fortunately my wife doesn't work so no impact there but it's hard for people who have to stop work.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mr Whippy
For the 7 years I've had kids I've been full of colds / coughs and any number of plagues the little germ ridden blighters bring home to share. The idea that I'd have to self isolate every time that happens is ludicrous.

Now my kids school is closing indefinitely, great now the wife will have to quit her job to look after them.

[Edited on 18/3/20 by Mr Whippy]

---

Its bad
Got some bog roll and beer today though so I'm Ok for another week
Its the rest of them

I'm away in Nigeria, due home on 31st March, but this morning made decision to try to get home earlier before all the flights shut down.

I don't want to be stuck here if it all kicks off in West Africa, I'd rather be home with family.

Nigeria have 8 cases so far, some locals think their malaria exposure stops them getting the CV, but I'm not so sure.

I liked the comment an old French guy said - "What's going on? there was less panic when war was declared!"

Some good news, the Eurovision song contest has also been cancelled, now that's a great result, !

Hope my friends on here keep well, and the Sick get better soon (also my friends!!)

And as I am an asthmatic I /we are taking this very seriously

steve

quote:

---

Originally posted by steve m
Some good news, the Eurovision song contest has also been cancelled, now that's a great result, !

Hope my friends on here keep well, and the Sick get better soon (also my friends!!)

And as I am an asthmatic I /we are taking this very seriously

steve

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mr Whippy

Hopefully a vaccine will be rushed through.

---

We're not going to have a vaccine for at least 18 months, probs 2 years, the "it will die out in the warm weather" seems to be bollox as they have it in Thailand & currently around 30 degrees over there I believe.

TBH, I'm far more seriously worried about the ongoing economic effects than that of the virus, I completely understand people being really worried if they have elderly relatives or damaged immune systems etc. not too worried myself as although I'm 63 & have very mild asthma, I'm generally fit & healthy & run regularly

However the economic effects are going to be felt for years to come, pubs/hotels/restaurants that close now may never reopen, what happens to all their staff? Airports, coach firms, taxi drivers, bus drivers & their operators, the list is endless & each one bumps into the next creating a domino effect - who's going to rush out & buy a new car at the moment? None of us are going to be booking holidays or travel anywhere, last 2 months of the ski season has disappeared, how many hoteliers & restaurateurs/cafe owners will that affect?

I think we're going to see millions of people with depression & thousands of suicides

I also don't quite follow what's supposed to happen after we lift travel bans & start reusing public places, the virus doesn't go away unless every case runs it's full course without infecting a single further person, what's to stop it all kicking off again & isn't there a strong possibility that if you eliminate it in the Northern hemisphere, then it may be thriving in the Southern & vice versa?

I think this is going to be a long haul .............

So from what I can gather we're looking at a prolonged lockdown with periods of relaxation - perhaps 2 months on, 1 month off. However the issue will be that if the lockdown is working the cases will drop so people will think its over. China is interesting as they relax the lock down, i anticipate it will get ramped up again in a few weeks - this will prove my 2 months / 1 month theory.

If you want to know what to expect look at Italy - we're two weeks behind them. At the weekend we're likely to have a stricter lock down.

Imperial College has published some scary details. We need to hope once you've got it you are immune till it mutates radically giving you a few years cover. Hospitals are already struggling.

Vaccine wise we're looking at 18 months with a bit of luck, we need to ensure its safe and doesn't cause something worse than the virus. I'm hopeful as its similar to other flu's its not a major leap into the unknown so more likely to work / less likely to have dangerous side effects.

What i don't understand is how society will cope - people are out of work, where is money going to come from? what stops deperate people going on the rob or worse? People talk about how we coped "in the war", except they forget society has moved on a lot in 80 years & prior to "the war" we'd had a major conflict every 5 / 10 / 15 years to condition us.

Now i could be wrong - but if we base our thinking on the above we're ready for the shitshow and can laugh when its over in a few weeks at how stupid i am. IF you think its over in a couple of weeks...... you're potentially going to struggle and be in the desperate camp.

My aim is to try and be ahead of the curve so i'm not panic buying / panic x'ing. Except i don't know what is next. Current plan when i'm not child minding & job hunting is to fuel inject / finish the seven - i've only been at it 20 years, so i may be optomistic with this bit

Hello locost builders,

its been a while since last post !

anyway, ive been off work since 1st Feb following a repair to my running gear.....(foot)

should be good in next 3 weeks to go back - ive been told to rest at home until then

meanwhile on the Locost front, my dad is 74 and Type 1 DB & amaloid & smokes odd cafe cremes ;-)

they are moving house next friday and the Locost needs to move down the street about 100m (they live in washington)

he cant start it (usually starts fine - must have a virus lol) - but i cant really go and help - he cant leave it there .

im going to suggest 2nd gear and use starter if i cant get him sorted via facetime.


anyway

having seen some first hand posts from italy, it looks like they haven't been socially distancing in the early days of the outbreak...maybe a lesson there

thanks

I don't think Italy is very representative of how things will necessarily progress here for 2 important reasons. Firstly the reason that both Italy & Iran got infected so quickly & so badly is that they have huge infrastructure ties with China on major projects & guess where one of them is - Lombardy where the major outbreak occurred, considerable no.'s of officials of China & Italy had been sitting down around tables having discussions for several weeks before the outbreak, so unsurprising they got infected.

Secondly Italy has the oldest population in Europe (tho' possibly not for much longer!), so again, death rates were going to be out of kilter with younger, healthier populations

The one month/2 month thing makes sense as to have any realistic sort of herd immunity we nearly all need to get the virus at some point, if we can protect the elderly & infirm/vulnerable during that period then there is a realistic chance of it largely dying out due to lack of transmission thro' the younger healthy population that have already had it

In the meantime anticipate thieving, panic buying & quite probably major civil unrest, perhaps rioting & some considerable disruption for the foreseeable future, nothing like a bit of human selfishness & greed to help out at times like this - expect to see some of both the best & worst of human nature

It is difficult to know if it is blown out of all proportion or not. !,000s die from flu every year yet that seems to be accepted as normal.

The last figures I saw ware 8000 deaths from 200,000 cases, that is 4% which is extremely worrying. Ofcourse those figures may be well out - the reported cases may be a lot less than actual but nevertheless, to put it in perspective, count your family, friends and work colleagues, once you have reached 25, then according to those stats, one of them will die ASSUMING THEY ALL CATCH THE VIRUS.

Obviously it is not as simple as that as the virus seems to target older people and those with health issues, Darwinism in action.

and all because some c*** in China decide he want to eat bat for dinner. WTF??? Isn't KFC not good enough?

All I can say I am glad I didn't put my savings to a trust fund (shares etc) as advised by my work's pension advisor.

quote:

---

Originally posted by russbost

I think we're going to see millions of people with depression & thousands of suicides

---

"All I can say I am glad I didn't put my savings to a trust fund (shares etc) as advised by my work's pension advisor. "

so what about your pension fund, that will of lost around 20% of the last couple of weeks

Mine lost 100k in 3 days, so it is a very worrying state we live in today !!

steve

quote:

---

Originally posted by steve m
"All I can say I am glad I didn't put my savings to a trust fund (shares etc) as advised by my work's pension advisor. "

so what about your pension fund, that will of lost around 20% of the last couple of weeks

Mine lost 100k in 3 days, so it is a very worrying state we live in today !!

steve

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by steve m
"All I can say I am glad I didn't put my savings to a trust fund (shares etc) as advised by my work's pension advisor. "

so what about your pension fund, that will of lost around 20% of the last couple of weeks

Mine lost 100k in 3 days, so it is a very worrying state we live in today !!

steve

---

I genuinely think the real risk is now in elements outside of the virus, increases in unemployment, depression long, term impact of financial hardship etc.

The real risk from data available on the virus is with the elderly and people with lowered ability to fight viruses. In Italy the average death of a Covid19 victim is 79.5 and 99% had pre existing illnesses.

Actual data suggestions fatalities would barely register on an annual run rate at the moment. Harsh but that's what data is pointing to.

China avg deaths per year- c9mn people die per annum
Italy avg deaths per year - c600,000

A little more time and we will know more.

[Edited on 19/3/20 by tony9876]

I suspect the death rate is actually waaaay lower than the 4% or so which is bandied about, as there is a very strong possibility that, particularly looking at those people under say 50ish & in good health, many of them will have had the virus & may not even be aware of it, until we start testing large no.'s of the population to see if they've actually already had it, we won't know what the true death rate is.

That said, if it was only 1% & everyone gets infected at some point (which is unlikely, we don't all get flu every year, tho' this is apparently more contagious than flu) you're talking 660,000 people dying, over what, maybe a couple of years (ignoring all the "knock on" domino effect deaths due to poor economic conditions), that is a truly scary figure

Perhaps we should all be buying shares in undertakers ...........

Worth noting that the figures we have currently for flu are where the total numbers are relatively low (NHS can cope) and 40% of the population are vaccinated, but otherwise operating as normal with freedom of movement.

For this virus there is no vaccine. The NHS won't cope. And the numbers we have at the moment are with a massive chunk of the population in lockdown. Comparing it to Flu is nonsensical. If you let it run rife as Flu does - you'd be looking at millions dead (and still may be).



On the plus side, we may all get an extra year due to the improved air quality, if we survive.https://fullfact.org/health/coronavirus-compare-influenza/

[Edited on 19/3/20 by coyoteboy]

There's all the peripheral 'normal-life' things that are being disrupted as well: my next-door neighbour's wife died last week (aneurysm) and he's having to have a private cremation next week - she was a popular lady and in normal circumstances she would have been buried next to her parents in the local churchyard, with many local attendees. As her husband said to me this morning "I don't want to be responsible for wiping out half the village". Sad.

Also, my niece's wedding in April has now been cancelled - also sad.

quote:

---

Originally posted by David Jenkins
As her husband said to me this morning "I don't want to be responsible for wiping out half the village". Sad.

---

Re. the peripheral consequences, despite our advanced years my partner and I were due to get married today. One of our witnesses went down with a bug (probably fairly innocuous) and we couldn't find a healthy replacement in time so we had to cancel. Partly as a consequence, therefore, we took the decision to commence self-isolation at that point.

The reason for getting married was to formalise our relationship to simplify property ownership etc. as we planned to move to Mallorca this year - before the end of the Brexit transition period. Now there appears little chance of achieving that. We have taken our house off the market and are 'girding our loins' for the long haul.

Addendum re. shopping. Son-in-law (or would have been as per above!) has just kindly dropped off provisions he had to scavenge by visiting three different stores. I've had some nice messages from the CEOs of Sainsburys & Tesco saying I, and presumably several hundred other deemed elderly/vulnerable/at risk people, can have priority shopping for an hour on certain mornings but that really makes a mockery of self-isolation.

Michael.

hi all , may the force be with you or your god be at your shoulder
I work with and have contact with the type of
people crunching the numbers , id like to say there some of the brightest people in this country and some from other country's , by now they will have trimmed their mathematical models to fit the available data , I have every confidence that the numbers they are giving are correct unfortunately.
the only thing we can do as a nation is flatten the bell curve to meet our available capacity. that is what they are trying to do but uniformed public pressure ( read press ) are forcing them to do things they don't want to do at certain times. any how as is said . may your god be with you and the ones you love.
to add to your doom the figures I have been tracking and accurately predicting would suggest about 2.5% mortality rate in the uk due to the demographics , if this thing really gets a hold .

[Edited on 19/3/20 by bart]

quote:

---

elderly/vulnerable/at risk people, can have priority shopping for an hour on certain mornings

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by overdriver
Re. the peripheral consequences, despite our advanced years my partner and I were due to get married today. One of our witnesses went down with a bug (probably fairly innocuous) and we couldn't find a healthy replacement in time so we had to cancel. Partly as a consequence, therefore, we took the decision to commence self-isolation at that point.

---

I'm now going to RANT about ventilator beds
and not about the lack but what they are trying to do.

in my work life I design products and project manage , and I am astounded at the lack of thought going into the "build more Ventilator's "

what is needed is a
what's the simplest quickest to build ventilator beds we can get away with approach
if we sat down the people who really know down , I'd lay what's left of my pension pot ! that we don't need the sophistication
and bells and whistle's and flashing lights that we see on modern ventilator beds that they are trying to make.
I don't know all the details but if the 1950-70's ventilator's work good enough to keep the vast majority alive
and they where just electro mechanical then that's what we make
find one - strip it down draw up the plans -with enough engineers 48 hrs tops
distribute the plans to subcontract engineering company's
4-5 days later parts start to arrive
assemble them where ever ! test to a specification
bingo in 2 weeks we have the first 100 beds then ramp up within 3 to 4 weeks 2000 a week easy

I tried to help and register but was told because I had never been involved with a CE approved ventilator I would not be needed

you don't need CE approval to stop people dying. this is a simple managed design and manufacture task , i'm lost for words

re " not enough staff "
again staff don't need 2 years training , for example in a ward of say 50 beds a couple of fully trained per shift - then inverted pyramid down structure to Intelligent bed watchers at each bed or two . if necessary pulled from say teachers ect

I know i'm going to get some real flack for this comment , but for %--% sake someone just needs to get a managed grip of the whole thing.
be that government or "industry"
Rant over !

Like the Italian medical staff who designed and printed air valves using 3D printers because they couldn't get spares from the manufacturer - theirs cost $1, official ones cost $1000. Now some patent troll is trying to sue them...

I'll find the link and post it, if I can. I know who my heart is with!

I posted about the Italian printed last to a friend timeline. I strongly suspect their is a lot more to this story than a trip trying to sure.

I worked on verified / validated it systems for a while. I didn't do products but the principles are the same. I suspect it the company had given the details they would have inherited liability for the past of it failed and under EU law could be sued. If I'm right what need is a practical attitude, let's follow the ventilator approach but have someone double check it's suitable for all patients, then authorised. Maybe we a week or tells testing but then we rock and roll.

quote:

---

Originally posted by David Jenkins

quote:

---

Originally posted by overdriver
Re. the peripheral consequences, despite our advanced years my partner and I were due to get married today. One of our witnesses went down with a bug (probably fairly innocuous) and we couldn't find a healthy replacement in time so we had to cancel. Partly as a consequence, therefore, we took the decision to commence self-isolation at that point.

---

How very sad - I hope that you can get something organised as soon as this crisis is over. Best wishes in the meantime.

---

re patents - good call
but if the older ventilators will do the job all the patents will have expired.

quote:

---

Originally posted by bart
re patents - good call
but if the older ventilators will do the job all the patents will have expired.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by 02GF74
It is difficult to know if it is blown out of all proportion or not. !,000s die from flu every year yet that seems to be accepted as normal.

The last figures I saw ware 8000 deaths from 200,000 cases, that is 4% which is extremely worrying. Ofcourse those figures may be well out - the reported cases may be a lot less than actual but nevertheless, to put it in perspective, count your family, friends and work colleagues, once you have reached 25, then according to those stats, one of them will die ASSUMING THEY ALL CATCH THE VIRUS.

Obviously it is not as simple as that as the virus seems to target older people and those with health issues, Darwinism in action.

and all because some c*** in China decide he want to eat bat for dinner. WTF??? Isn't KFC not good enough?

All I can say I am glad I didn't put my savings to a trust fund (shares etc) as advised by my work's pension advisor.

---

I work in the NHS and we're just getting on with it, If we don't do it then who will?

We are having hand gel nicked at our Hospital by the general public, You learn more about human nature everyday


I really don't think the press/papers are helping and some folks are acting as though its the end of the world, It isn't...

Worth remembering that between 8000 & 10,000 people die just about every year due to the Flu


Just wash your hands regularly and take the required precautions

quote:

---

Originally posted by Angel Acevedo

quote:

---

Originally posted by 02GF74
It is difficult to know if it is blown out of all proportion or not. !,000s die from flu every year yet that seems to be accepted as normal.

The last figures I saw ware 8000 deaths from 200,000 cases, that is 4% which is extremely worrying. Ofcourse those figures may be well out - the reported cases may be a lot less than actual but nevertheless, to put it in perspective, count your family, friends and work colleagues, once you have reached 25, then according to those stats, one of them will die ASSUMING THEY ALL CATCH THE VIRUS.

Obviously it is not as simple as that as the virus seems to target older people and those with health issues, Darwinism in action.

and all because some c*** in China decide he want to eat bat for dinner. WTF??? Isn't KFC not good enough?

All I can say I am glad I didn't put my savings to a trust fund (shares etc) as advised by my work's pension advisor.

---

I don´t think eating bat was the culprit.
It is well known that bats transmit rabies and you don´t see a rabies epidemic.
I am no virologist or infectologist... (?) so my comment may as well be completely out of place...
AA

---

And on top of all this - my main PC has died! Bit of a 'first-world problem' but I came downstairs yesterday morning and switched it on - and got a startup error. It's a PITA when I'm at home looking for things to do... I think the motherboard has died: the disks are good (I've checked them), but it won't read USB sticks or the CD drive. Now waiting for a new board to arrive.

Currently using a fairly old laptop, which is just-about acceptable.

Sigh... now back to the real world problems.

quote:

---

Originally posted by perksy

I really don't think the press/papers are helping and some folks are acting as though its the end of the world, It isn't...

Worth remembering that between 8000 & 10,000 people die just about every year due to the Flu

---

What gets me is the people who say "it's just like flu for most people". I can say with some certainty that I've only had 'real flu' once or twice in my 68 years (as opposed to 'man-flu' ) and I never - ever - want to have it again. I was incredibly ill when I had flu, and I was a lot younger then. And the general medical opinion is that this is far worse than flu...

Im with You David on all of this, I don't think ive ever had flu, nor has an awful lot of people, just a bad cold, but I do regularly
have chest infection, etc as I am asthmatic, and as I posted in my first post
"But as im nearly 60, an asthmatic, on various pumps, and steroids, also, have flu jabs every year, had Pneumonia jab in 2017
had Pneumonia and pleurisy in 2012, I have been advised to "self distance" myself As the Doctors called me yesterday "

Ive told my wife, that if I was to get anything near what I had in 2012 "Pneumonia and pleurisy" she is to close the door and go and live at my daughters, and I will die, as that is what I wanted to do in 2012,

It was seriously that bad, !!!

Just to add, I do not want to die, hence us self distancing our selves, and living in a semi isolated world

Its a bit like a mission to Mars, it will take a long time, we have a supply ship come once a week (Tescos )
and I do hope they don't run out of oxygen FOR when we do land, ON MARS !

STEVE

Getting a test to check if people have had it, and understanding if they can still be infectious afterwards (hopefully not) will really help. Hope this comes soon.

quote:

---

Originally posted by coyoteboy

quote:

---

Originally posted by perksy

I really don't think the press/papers are helping and some folks are acting as though its the end of the world, It isn't...

Worth remembering that between 8000 & 10,000 people die just about every year due to the Flu

---

Easy for people to say without significant underlying conditions, not in the prime risk category, to say. Attitudes like this are why my next door neighbour is still walking about happily, spitting on the floor, going to the shops and handling all the stuff I have to touch and saying "yeah I had the symptoms but it's nothing more than the flu - people will get over it". Other people's blase attitude add to why I have lock myself away and take extra precautions - it's at times like this that you see people only think of themselves.

Remember:

1) Flu has a vaccine and still kills 20K people a year in the UK. This has no vaccine and a ~10x higher death rate in those it does infect.
2) In the general population the death rate is ~2-3% ish. In the at risk categories it's 20%. Would you like to be staring 20% in the face? Remember it's not all older folks in that category, it's plenty of people for who day to day avoidance of illness was *already* a real effort.

The number of specialists who have come out and said "if you think this is just the flu, you're sadly mistaken". I don't think any NHS staff member should be taking the line you have, given the NHS and WHO opinions, though I note you're not medically qualified.

[Edited on 19/3/20 by coyoteboy]

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by bart
I'm now going to RANT about ventilator beds
and not about the lack but what they are trying to do.

in my work life I design products and project manage , and I am astounded at the lack of thought going into the "build more Ventilator's "

what is needed is a
what's the simplest quickest to build ventilator beds we can get away with approach
if we sat down the people who really know down , I'd lay what's left of my pension pot ! that we don't need the sophistication
and bells and whistle's and flashing lights that we see on modern ventilator beds that they are trying to make.
I don't know all the details but if the 1950-70's ventilator's work good enough to keep the vast majority alive
and they where just electro mechanical then that's what we make
find one - strip it down draw up the plans -with enough engineers 48 hrs tops
distribute the plans to subcontract engineering company's
4-5 days later parts start to arrive
assemble them where ever ! test to a specification
bingo in 2 weeks we have the first 100 beds then ramp up within 3 to 4 weeks 2000 a week easy

I tried to help and register but was told because I had never been involved with a CE approved ventilator I would not be needed

you don't need CE approval to stop people dying. this is a simple managed design and manufacture task , i'm lost for words

re " not enough staff "
again staff don't need 2 years training , for example in a ward of say 50 beds a couple of fully trained per shift - then inverted pyramid down structure to Intelligent bed watchers at each bed or two . if necessary pulled from say teachers ect

I know i'm going to get some real flack for this comment , but for %--% sake someone just needs to get a managed grip of the whole thing.
be that government or "industry"
Rant over !

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by bart
I'm now going to RANT about ventilator beds
and not about the lack but what they are trying to do.

in my work life I design products and project manage , and I am astounded at the lack of thought going into the "build more Ventilator's "

what is needed is a
what's the simplest quickest to build ventilator beds we can get away with approach
if we sat down the people who really know down , I'd lay what's left of my pension pot ! that we don't need the sophistication
and bells and whistle's and flashing lights that we see on modern ventilator beds that they are trying to make.
I don't know all the details but if the 1950-70's ventilator's work good enough to keep the vast majority alive
and they where just electro mechanical then that's what we make
find one - strip it down draw up the plans -with enough engineers 48 hrs tops
distribute the plans to subcontract engineering company's
4-5 days later parts start to arrive
assemble them where ever ! test to a specification
bingo in 2 weeks we have the first 100 beds then ramp up within 3 to 4 weeks 2000 a week easy

I tried to help and register but was told because I had never been involved with a CE approved ventilator I would not be needed

you don't need CE approval to stop people dying. this is a simple managed design and manufacture task , i'm lost for words

re " not enough staff "
again staff don't need 2 years training , for example in a ward of say 50 beds a couple of fully trained per shift - then inverted pyramid down structure to Intelligent bed watchers at each bed or two . if necessary pulled from say teachers ect

I know i'm going to get some real flack for this comment , but for %--% sake someone just needs to get a managed grip of the whole thing.
be that government or "industry"
Rant over !

---

russbost

you will be living in Italy in 2-3 weeks maximum !!!

Re HSE comment - been there done that T shirt
HSE no longer set the rules - you write your own rules , risk arsments ( no not spelt wrong !)

then when things go wrong through individual stupidity , they prosecute you for either not doing a risk arsment
for the simplest of tasks . that's how the HSE work now , every thing in retrospect , so they can never be wrong .

If someone is in need of ventilator or a Defib, they are already in a very bad way, and critically ill,
So if we say that no one is put on these machines and people die, will the families sue because the Medical teams did not
do enough to save there loved ones ?

This is a very nasty world we live in, do nothing and get sued, do everything possible, and patient dies, sue

steve

this was a blast of ice cold reality

sky_news

apologies if you have already seen it,.

quote:

---

Originally posted by HowardB
this was a blast of ice cold reality

sky_news

apologies if you have already seen it,.

---

Let's face it, but...


doomed

Went to Sainsburys early this morning - hardly any customers there, and only a few shelves were empty. I guess that the panic buyers no longer have enough cupboard space to buy more stuff...

...and, before anyone says it, we only bought a basket's-worth of stuff we actually need in the coming few days.

[Edited on 21/3/20 by David Jenkins]

That's very noble but in this world it is everyone for himself.

Nobody needs a tank like SUV but people buy them so when they are in an accident, they are not crumpled but the other people. .

Doing one big shop reduces the number of trips to the shops and thus exposure.

You cannot blame people for wanting to look after themselves or their families.

I'm not saying it is right or wrong but we live in difficult times.

quote:

---

That's very noble but in this world it is everyone for himself.

Nobody needs a tank like SUV but people buy them so when they are in an accident, they are not crumpled but the other people. .

Doing one big shop reduces the number of trips to the shops and thus exposure.

You cannot blame people for wanting to look after themselves or their families.

I'm not saying it is right or wrong but we live in difficult times.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by 02GF74
That's very noble but in this world it is everyone for himself.

Nobody needs a tank like SUV but people buy them so when they are in an accident, they are not crumpled but the other people. .

Doing one big shop reduces the number of trips to the shops and thus exposure.

You cannot blame people for wanting to look after themselves or their families.

I'm not saying it is right or wrong but we live in difficult times.

---

Reference a post above we're tracking 2 weeks behind Italy - almost exactly. The numbers are so close it's scary.

Hold onto your loved one (at a safe distance) it's going to get bumpy

quote:

---

There's a huge difference between a normal "big shop" & the sort of panic buying & hoarding we've seen recently. Taking more than you reasonably need when there are people out there with immune system deficiencies etc who genuinely NEED to use hand gel etc regularly is tantamount to gbh, potentially manslaughter.
So far as I'm concerned anyone panic buying & hoarding are utter scum. I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

---

The likes of my out laws.

Up since 4am this morning and have done around ten or twelve shops across the county in the last couple of days.
They have two freezers bulging at the seems.

Why, they will not stay home for any one or any thing.

The supply chain has food etc. It's people buying silly amounts. The shops are doing Christmas trade every day.

I think round here the panic buying has stopped

quote:

---

The supply chain has food etc. It's people buying silly amounts. The shops are doing Christmas trade every day.

I think round here the panic buying has stopped

---

I've seen some folk at the checkouts trying to buy 2 packs of 9no bog rolls and been denied at checkout, followed by protest/sigh/rolled eyes. Every time I've seen it the person trying to buy looks like their family tree is a stump.

One bog roll will last me well over a week! 1 up, 1 down and 1 to polish off

quote:

---

Originally posted by MikeR
The supply chain has food etc. It's people buying silly amounts. The shops are doing Christmas trade every day.

I think round here the panic buying has stopped

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by ReMan

I think round here the panic buying has stopped

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by bart
I'm now going to RANT about ventilator beds
and not about the lack but what they are trying to do.

in my work life I design products and project manage , and I am astounded at the lack of thought going into the "build more Ventilator's "

what is needed is a
what's the simplest quickest to build ventilator beds we can get away with approach
if we sat down the people who really know down , I'd lay what's left of my pension pot ! that we don't need the sophistication
and bells and whistle's and flashing lights that we see on modern ventilator beds that they are trying to make.
I don't know all the details but if the 1950-70's ventilator's work good enough to keep the vast majority alive
and they where just electro mechanical then that's what we make
find one - strip it down draw up the plans -with enough engineers 48 hrs tops
distribute the plans to subcontract engineering company's
4-5 days later parts start to arrive
assemble them where ever ! test to a specification
bingo in 2 weeks we have the first 100 beds then ramp up within 3 to 4 weeks 2000 a week easy

I tried to help and register but was told because I had never been involved with a CE approved ventilator I would not be needed

you don't need CE approval to stop people dying. this is a simple managed design and manufacture task , i'm lost for words

re " not enough staff "
again staff don't need 2 years training , for example in a ward of say 50 beds a couple of fully trained per shift - then inverted pyramid down structure to Intelligent bed watchers at each bed or two . if necessary pulled from say teachers ect

I know i'm going to get some real flack for this comment , but for %--% sake someone just needs to get a managed grip of the whole thing.
be that government or "industry"
Rant over !

---

I also read that Smiths had made one of its designs freely available so that anyone worldwide can produce it.
Hopefully if people take the social distancing seriously, unlike the muppets on the south coast and in Skegness yesterday, or the folk queuing to get in shops, we might but enough time for these ventilators to hit the hospitals.

quote:

---

Originally posted by SJ

quote:

---

There's a huge difference between a normal "big shop" & the sort of panic buying & hoarding we've seen recently. Taking more than you reasonably need when there are people out there with immune system deficiencies etc who genuinely NEED to use hand gel etc regularly is tantamount to gbh, potentially manslaughter.
So far as I'm concerned anyone panic buying & hoarding are utter scum. I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

---

Who's doing that though? I've only seen people like me, trying to buy what they normally buy and failing. I was at Asda at 545 on Friday morning because going at normal times means you come home empty handed.

Didn't see anyone buying in bulk. In fact that would be impossible now anyway but despite that shelves are empty.

I think maybe we need ration cards ASAP as food is very obviously in short supply. I hope that is just the supply chain catching up but fear it isn't.

Stu

---

pooh

Actually Russ, no I haven't seen any pics or more importantly anyone in real life doing that.

Not saying it isn't happening but also not sure I believe there isn't a supply issue. If things were ok supermarkets would be fully stocked at the start of the day and they aren't.

I have seen lots of ordinary people queuing in an orderly fashion and unable to buy food. Happy to be proved wrong though.

Stu

I've not done any shopping in excess of my normal shop. The panic buying will dwindle as there is finite space on people's freezers and homes.... unless people are buying additional feeeaers.

I honestly don't believe people will starve in this country although this is a totally unprecedented situation.

One thing for sure, noone going on about brexit.

So let's look after ourselves and others, and be grateful the mortality rate is 4% and not the other way round 96%, who knows what the next virus will bring.

Last Monday I nipped to Sainsburys 5 mins before it opened. We had just returned from holiday, so nothing in the fridge etc.
I also have a pair of 89 year old parents that I wanted to start "upping" their supplies should I or my sister get isolated.

Managed to get bogroll for us and them (stocks at home were critical, down to 1 spare roll. Parents had a few, but I would have got them it anyway) , but reckon I was lucky. 1kg of basmati rice for us (not our usual, and the half pack we had was at my parents place for them) I also nabbed about 25 cans of various soups for my parents. I did get some "looks" but nobody challenged me. A few other odds and ends, luckily bacon, bangers and a pack of chicken for us (less than our usual weekly shop)
Since then I have been isolated, sister has been "tending" the parents terrified in case she gets ill. The soup is going down by a can a day, and by some miracle sister is managing to find stuff in waitrose who seem to have more stuff than the others. Probably as prices are higher?

But I do worry. My parents have been inside for a few weeks as mum is not too well (always tired, quite stroppy too) but looks like it is just the start of extended isolation. And somebody has to visit twice daily, so me or sister though hoping to get some carers involved, though that is tricky as the agencies are saying no availability as many carers are self-isolating. And that is another big issue. How many oldies will suffer/die because of no carers available? I am guessing a lot

We have confirmed case(s) within 300 meters of our house and still have muppets gathering on the village rec near the children’s play area . I can’t help thinking that maybe some supermarkets would be better off if they were open 24 hours which would probably reduce the number of customers at any one time? Better still give out numbered tickets as people arrive in the car park and limit the number of people allowed in and more importantly ration hard to get items. Stay safe!

I think you'll find people have already panic buyed freezers, out of stock at most big places now.

I got aghead of the game of fuel today and filled the car up instead of just the normal £10

"I got aghead of the game of fuel today and filled the car up instead of just the normal £10 "

I do hope you wore gloves and washed after your hands, as the pump handles are touched by a lot of people

steve

It's accepted that the actual prevalence is under-reported due to a lack of testing. The deaths less dificult to get wrong.
Current estimate is that the actual death rate is 0.5%-1% which compares badly to flu's death rate of 0.1%.
You also have to consider that

a) it's more contagious
b) the duration of illness and hospital support is much longer

If you look at the global cases and check out how many have got through it and how many have died. What about the rest- massive burden on the health service.

And the 0.5-1% mortality rate is assuming optimal treatment and not, for example, everyone being ill at once and the health-service collapsing resulting in no treatment.

We shouldn't under-estimate how badly the NHS is struggling now and yet somehow this feels like the calm before the storm. In a few weeks this is going to bite and a lack of clinicians is going to be a real problem.

Anyway better go do some work to make up for the fact that half my team are currently off sick / having to self-isolate. Our team are amazing though- three of our GPs currently off on maternity leave (post-natal) individually offered to come back and do free sessions for us.

I did find a stash of PPE3 masks online (really nice Scott ones)- they'll hopefully help. Going to give them to my colleagues in ENT who are being trained to intubate patients due to a lack of anaesthetists. Putting an ET tube down a coughing and spluttering patients (and it's a procedure were you have to get pretty close to see the vocal cords) without the right PPE isn't the best idea for longevity of staff.

I suspected the actual death rate would be skewed by the no. of cases where people have had it, but remained relatively symptom free, confirmed by Ben B above.

Completely understand why we need to flatten the curve so that medical facilities can cope, but what happens at the end of this initial social distancing phase? As there is not going to be a vaccine for at least 12 months my guess would be that a substantial amount of the population will need to contract the virus during that period to provide some form of general herd immunity, at least among the young, fit & healthy?

So are travel restrictions going to be lifted at some point in the relatively near future? as if not that's written off the whole world's airline industry along with the jobs of all the retail, catering & support staff & the whole world's travel & leisure industry, add in all the pubs, cafes & restaurants, any trade requiring one to one contact, hairdressers for example, motor industry as I don't see too many people queuing to buy new cars, then toss in many self employed who simply don't have the resources to weather this - I wonder how many deaths that would result in?

People keep talking about "when this is over" like it;s going to be a few weeks or months at most, but surely that's not going to be the case? The virus isn't simply going to go away because we've all socially distanced, unless we stay socially distanced - the only way it can go away is for there to be a vaccine, herd immunity or every single case in the world is isolated & doesn't infect anyone else & I don't see that happening

No one seems to be talking about what happens next - China now have very few new cases & I believe are bringing some cities out of lockdown, it will be interesting to see how that pans out

quote:

---

I suspected the actual death rate would be skewed by the no. of cases where people have had it, but remained relatively symptom free, confirmed by Ben B above.

Completely understand why we need to flatten the curve so that medical facilities can cope, but what happens at the end of this initial social distancing phase? As there is not going to be a vaccine for at least 12 months my guess would be that a substantial amount of the population will need to contract the virus during that period to provide some form of general herd immunity, at least among the young, fit & healthy?

So are travel restrictions going to be lifted at some point in the relatively near future? as if not that's written off the whole world's airline industry along with the jobs of all the retail, catering & support staff & the whole world's travel & leisure industry, add in all the pubs, cafes & restaurants, any trade requiring one to one contact, hairdressers for example, motor industry as I don't see too many people queuing to buy new cars, then toss in many self employed who simply don't have the resources to weather this - I wonder how many deaths that would result in?

People keep talking about "when this is over" like it;s going to be a few weeks or months at most, but surely that's not going to be the case? The virus isn't simply going to go away because we've all socially distanced, unless we stay socially distanced - the only way it can go away is for there to be a vaccine, herd immunity or every single case in the world is isolated & doesn't infect anyone else & I don't see that happening

No one seems to be talking about what happens next - China now have very few new cases & I believe are bringing some cities out of lockdown, it will be interesting to see how that pans out

---

I've heard the dead are coming back to life...

quote:

---

I've heard the dead are coming back to life...

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by russbost
People keep talking about "when this is over" like it;s going to be a few weeks or months at most, but surely that's not going to be the case?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by SJThe other thing that strikes me is people will only put up with lock down for so long, and then start to ignore the government.

---

quote:

---

quote:
Originally posted by SJThe other thing that strikes me is people will only put up with lock down for so long, and then start to ignore the government.

I think this will be true, until the time they start to see deaths of people directly linked to them, at which point people may become less able to 'laugh it off as a joke' (the view amongst some of the 20-somethings around here). Up until yesterday I was of the opinion that this would largely happen to 'other people' who I had never met, or come near to meeting. Today I hear that the head-teacher at my sister-in-laws school has died, with coronavirus symptoms. It appears to be coming closer to home, at which point I suspect people will put up with rather a lot of lockdown!

[Edited on 23/3/20 by jps]

---

I think the model the govt are using suggests most of this year for varied amounts of social isolation. The idea being to TRY to keep the number of cases low enough the NHS can cope. If it is allowed to just go wild, the whole thing will be over much quicker, but with a vast amount of deaths.
And the reality without a vaccine, or "herd immunity" there will be no end to the spread. I am waiting to see what happens in Wuhan as very few have had CV, but I struggle to believe it has gone and won't return.

The govt are probably doing everything they can to protect the businesses and jobs out there. So far the response has been sensible? I guess the hope is that when things start to return to normal, businesses will be ready to go rather than gone.

Just curious, With the latest clampdown just announced tonight by Boris, is taking a car for a service or an MOT still allowed ?

If your an essential worker then I guess it has to be, but what about everybody else ?

Its not exercise, a shopping trip or a Medical need, nor going to work ?

Will they have to provide exemption certificates and how will this go down with the Insurers ?


Come to think of it will garages (non petrol) stay open at all or are they exempt ?

Also just wandering if the police will have the manpower to enforce all this as there has to be grey areas ?

Hopefully everyone will take heed of the new rules, but there's always a few who won't as we've seen with the supermarket raiders...

quote:

---

Originally posted by perksy
Just curious, With the latest clampdown just announced tonight by Boris, is taking a car for a service or an MOT still allowed ?

If your an essential worker then I guess it has to be, but what about everybody else ?

Its not exercise, a shopping trip or a Medical need, nor going to work ?

Will they have to provide exemption certificates and how will this go down with the Insurers ?


Come to think of it will garages (non petrol) stay open at all or are they exempt ?

Also just wandering if the police will have the manpower to enforce all this as there has to be grey areas ?

Hopefully everyone will take heed of the new rules, but there's always a few who won't as we've seen with the supermarket raiders...

---

quote:

---

MOTs for cars, motorcycles and light vans
The Department for Transport continues to keep MOT testing for cars, motorcycles and light vans under review. It will provide an update in due course.

---

perksy, I'd love to know those answers... then I'd know what to do tomorrow. Open the workshop or close it up? Think we'll have to come up with some creative halfway house.
Fingers crossed they don't screw us on the paying 80% of wages guff.

quote:

---

Originally posted by adithorp
perksy, I'd love to know those answers... then I'd know what to do tomorrow. Open the workshop or close it up? Think we'll have to come up with some creative halfway house.
Fingers crossed they don't screw us on the paying 80% of wages guff.

---

Pretty sure we weren't on that list earlier (or bike shops).

quote:

---

Originally posted by adithorp
Pretty sure we weren't on that list earlier (or bike shops).

---

quote:

---

Supermarkets and other food shops
Pharmacies
Petrol stations
Newsagents
Bicycle shops
Home and hardware stores
Laundrettes and dry cleaners
Garages
Pet shops
Post Offices
Banks
However, retailers will still be able to take online orders and deliver items to your home.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by gremlin1234

quote:

---

Originally posted by adithorp
Pretty sure we weren't on that list earlier (or bike shops).

---

yea information changing all the time...
yesterday the list of most vulnerable included 'copd', now it has changed to 'severe copd'

[Edited on 24/3/20 by gremlin1234]

---

I'm open at the moment. I deal with an awful lot of farmers and as we know they have no concept of time or anything else lol. But no one enters the shop. Leave it outside, get back in your vehicle and ring me. Then I'll deal with it. Seems to be working so far, he says fingers crossed.

quote:

---

Originally posted by adithorp

quote:

---

Originally posted by gremlin1234

quote:

---

Originally posted by adithorp
Pretty sure we weren't on that list earlier (or bike shops).

---

yea information changing all the time...
yesterday the list of most vulnerable included 'copd', now it has changed to 'severe copd'

[Edited on 24/3/20 by gremlin1234]

---

All pretty academic in the end as nearly every job cancelled this morning leaving an empty diary.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jeremy Corbyn
They've now suddenly realised that they have to spend money to invest in the state, as we have always said as a party, and they have come around to a lot of that position.

---

Interesting that the government recently downgraded Covid 19 as not being an HCID.

"As of 19 March 2020, COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a high consequence infectious diseases (HCID) in the UK."

"Definition of HCID
In the UK, a high consequence infectious disease (HCID) is defined according to the following criteria:

acute infectious disease
typically has a high case-fatality rate
may not have effective prophylaxis or treatment
often difficult to recognise and detect rapidly
ability to spread in the community and within healthcare settings
requires an enhanced individual, population and system response to ensure it is managed effectively, efficiently and safely"

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/high-consequence-infectious-diseases-hcid

Seems bizarre to do this just before the lock down & strikes me the last line of the definition is exactly what we are doing.

I'm just glad the PPE is now arriving

We had a load arrive yesterday, It was like Christmas

I'm finding it difficult to understand the Govt. telling us to order food online for delivery and the Supermarkets telling us to ignore this and come into the shops. My wife has tried to put together an order, Sainsbury's won't deliver to us (Aviemore) were we have had orders from them before, Asda won't deliver, Tesco had to book three weeks in advance and order a shopping list which although everything was available when we ordered now most things have been deleted by them, and yet we are being told there are no shortages and plenty of slots for delivery.

Our Tescos delivery was due yesterday 1000-1100

I had a phone call just after 8 am to say, that they could not deliver, as not enough delivery drivers working,
My choices were, collect from the depot myself, or cancel the order, they were the only options !!

It was a difficult decision to make as we are self distancing, due both of our health problems, but I agreed to collect

I will be honest, that the whole process was very well thought out, and I will do it again, the staff were brilliant

We needed our shopping, and if I collect it, then the vulnerable and elderly can have a home delivery

Also, two weeks ago, I arranged to have some bricks and stuff delivered today, as I was taking next week off, and planned on some well needed garden work, any way a Guy from Travis perkins called on Tuesday, to advise that they were closing, and they could not deliver, and would refund me my order, I was fine with this, and expected so, but he was so shocked I didn't kick off, as every call had made had done so before me, he had to listen to a tirade of abuse ??

I really do feel sorry for any one who has to listen or face abuse, at this incredible time we live in, surely we should all be pulling together, well 2 meteres apart !!!

steve

I would suggest that anyone who is not in the "vulnerable" list should take appropriate precautions but try to get food and other essentials in person and leave the delivery slots available for those who should be shielded from the virus. But be sensible and only buy what you can use in the short term - don't become part of the overbuying problem!

I was at our local Lidl this evening (around 6pm) and it was quiet, orderly, well stocked and we left with everything on our list except for toilet roll and bread flour (no surprise...). I even got some medicine (aka Wine, beer and Ritter Sport chocolate! )

Upon return home I went through the usual routine of washing hands before unpacking and then washing them again after unpacking while avoiding touching anything, especially my face.

As for building supplies being cancelled, I also have an annoying situation where I've built two large (12 foot square) raised beds to plant potatoes and vegetables. We bought 2 bulk bags of soil and 2 of compost but I was working on the basis of cubic meters but a bulk bag is not a cubic meter so we needed extra. I ordered the extra material a day or two before the lockdown but now the supplier has said they are closed and will deliver once restrictions lifted. I don't really understand why they can't deliver aggregates because it should be easy enough for a loader to load the bags and a driver to deliver them without anyone coming any closer than 2m from each other. If Tesco can deliver potatoes, why can't I get soil to grow potatoes? I didn't kick up a fuss or anything because we're all doing our best but this makes no sense to me. That all said, we're much more fortunate than most and can at least plant half our potatoes and veggies while we wait for our soil and compost to be delivered for the second bed.

Back on Covid-19 topic, have any of you seen this webpage on the New York Times? It lets you play with various parameters related to the virus and see the potential outcomes. The model probably isn't perfect but it gives you and idea of the effect on infections, hospitalisations and mortality rates when you change certain parameters. Quite interesting!

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/25/opinion/coronavirus-trump-reopen-america.html?referringSource=articleShare

Stay safe everyone!

[Edited on 28/3/2020 by craig1410]

Went to Waitrose last Wednesday - hardly anyone in there, and only a few empty shelves. Security man at the door limiting numbers (not needed while we were there), everyone keeping well apart from others, taped lines on the floor at the checkouts to indicate where to stand. They'd even set it up so that people exiting had to take a separate route from those entering.

[Edited on 28/3/20 by David Jenkins]

Had Ocado delivery last night and only two substitutions

To be fair I think they've all upped their game now

They remembered the Stella which was the main thing

quote:

---

Originally posted by perksy
They remembered the Stella which was the main thing

---

Oof, blinking flip!!!

A further 260 UK deaths in 24 hours.

The epidemic is expected to peak in the UK in the next two to three weeks.

Until then, it is likely the number of people confirmed to have the coronavirus and the number of people dying after testing positive for the virus will continue to grow at a similar pace - doubling every two or three days.

[Edited on 28/3/20 by 02GF74]

quote:

---

Originally posted by 02GF74
Oof, blinking flip!!!

A further 260 UK deaths in 24 hours.

The epidemic is expected to peak in the UK in the next two to three weeks.

Until then, it is likely the number of people confirmed to have the coronavirus and the number of people dying after testing positive for the virus will continue to grow at a similar pace - doubling every two or three days.

[Edited on 28/3/20 by 02GF74]

---