To be worried about Coronavirus part 5

[idontusuallypanic]

Parents here are very upset about kids from Milan being at school today.

Cobra has convened on it previously.

I think it's now filtered down into other lower departments.

I think what's lacking from a lot of communication is context. Particularly atm.

People are reading about deaths and that's what they are focused on.

That's not actually what's going to affect the vast majority.

So they are allowing 130 people out of the Tenerife hotel at least 50 are coming back to the uk, will they keep these people in isolation once they return?

Tenerife government condition seemed to be along those lines.

I can't see it not happening.

If it helps, I saw the 2009 plan back then. It included details of the plans for the mass disposal of bodies. I remember finding it pretty sobering (not least because my allocated role as someone with experience in PPE but no relevant clinical skills was moving the bodies to the pits).

It's not a new plan, and it doesn't reflect an upswing of concern regarding coronavirus. Just that there are slightly twisted people in back offices somewhere drinking too much coffee and coming up with plans for worst case scenarios.

Disaster planning for a job must be like living in a disaster movie your whole life, trying to decide which dispensable character you kill off first and by what gruesome means. Only its incredibly dull and like death by paperwork in its own special kind of hell.

"So what did you do at work today darling?"

"Oh just worked out how to save 5 people in the midst of the zombie apocalypse by filing 300 risk assessment reports including multiple risk of falls, bites, starvation, water born diseases, injury from other survivors defending themselves and just general cock ups from MPs."

I think schools have no choice but to go ahead with Italy ski trips because the LAs or decision makers try on government advice, which at the moment is restricted travel to quarantined areas, not regions affected.

My DS goes to Lombardy skiing with school at the beginning of April, flying into Milan. We won't get our money back if we pull him from the trip, only if the school is advised to cancel from above. I'm not that worried about him catching it, more the risk of quarantine while there and then when he returns and the knock-on effects and risks to others back in the U.K. Still a few weeks off though so lots could happen in the meantime...

*rely

I'm not that worried about him catching it, more the risk of quarantine

This was my main worry. When they announced lockdown in parts of Italy, my 13 year old son was due to fly back and I just wanted him home as we didn't have all the info at that point.

@orangepepper ah ok sorry. We will probably be given that info in about four weeks!!!!!

German state of North Rhine-Westphalia reports 14 new cases of coronavirus t.co/eUoE2b20hL

We have school trip to Sorrento in June. DD thinks all school trips will be cancelled. Am presuming we won't be refunded and will just lose the £850 but waiting to see. Very difficult situation, looked on companies website and says school trips are going ahead. Not sure why DD thinks all school trips are about to be cancelled to anywhere but not impossible though could also be year 9 rumours.

I have pushed our May half term trip back to October today. Means we don't lose the deposit just yet.

Disaster planning for a job must be like living in a disaster movie your whole life, trying to decide which dispensable character you kill off first and by what gruesome means

Did you ever watch Torchwood Children of Earth. Aliens demanded 10% of the world's children. In the UK, and this was in the era of the Labour government, they were going to choose the lowest performing schools to take the 10% from.

I'm not that worried about him catching it, more the risk of quarantine

My son is off to Rome tomorrow. Hopefully he'll be allowed home again on Monday and not quarantined on arrival back in the UK. Anyway we'll see. Will give him some paracetomol and Sambucol just in case he gets something (problem is you could be quarantined with an ordinary cold until they decide that's all you have).

Where have the German cases come from, are they random or traceable? Do we know?

German state of North Rhine-Westphalia reports 14 new cases of coronavirus

From the carnival of 300 people that the couple reported yesterday went to, do you think?

I work in a school and a staff member came back from Tenerife Tues having been caught in the sandstorms.
Nobody asked her any questions or seemed bothered.

Initial north rhine westphalia cases I think had been to Italy.

But they went to a carnival. And the authorities were trying to track down those individuals.

I had to arrange a business meeting with someone and have a gap tomorrow so phoned to see if they could make it. Spoke to secretary to told me he couldn't do tomorrow but could do Tuesday. I booked a meeting for then. Secretary then added that he's in South Korea but is back on Saturday so Tuesday would be fine (!)

Would you still go? I'm not quite sure if the secretary was joking or not.

I think I'd have a dose of political flu KennDodd

@KenDodd - Nope wouldn't go would ask to do skype meeting -something about company policy change due to CV. I work for a huge organisation and we have done this.

On schools cancelling trips, I have stopped my installments - they can chase me if they like and I will ask them about whether the insurance includes CV based cancellation. Maybe I'm being mean but in one case DS for other reasons is highly likely not to go on it at all.

The effect on the health services of an outbreak would have a massive psychological effect on anyone with a relative needing medical care. And that would be a lot of people.

They need to think about that if dithering over cancelling the footie or closing schools.

If there is a breakout of course. We aren't there yet if course but just responding to Red's point on what would affect the majority.

: 3 new cases of #Coronavirus in #Norway

I don't subscribe to the theory that the UK government isn't taking it seriously. The SuperSteve situation could easily have ended in community transmission yet behind the scenes what must have been an enormous amount of work was done incredibly quickly to trace his contacts, diagnose those affected, trace their contacts and isolate everyone. It's been 3 weeks today since SuperSteve was hospitalised and so far zero further connected cases have been identified.

I was watching Matt Hancock in parliament yesterday and he explained that figures we record on flu symptom levels were being paid close attention, and any unusual rises investigated- that makes sense to me.

Today Tedros was reiterating how vital the tracking of contacts was in keeping the virus contained. I think that seems to be an area we are pretty thorough with.

Also look at our test numbers compared with other countries. We are only a few thousand lower than Italy and plenty of other comparable countries have figures in the 100s rather than the 1000s.

Perhaps I'm being overly optimistic but I got the impression there is a lot more going on behind the scenes than meets the eye. I realise this is an unfashionable opinion and there's room for improvement I'm sure but I felt reassured listening to Hancock answer questions yesterday.

The economic and political cost of fucking this all up would be astronomical, I don't think complacency is even an option.

I've got everything crossed Avocado!

I wish Matt Hancock the very best.