What if everyone in the world isolated for the same three weeks....

[Rissole]

.....or whatever time period was deemed appropriate. Wouldn't that rid us of Covid once and for all as it would die out?

All we would have to do is get enough food in for the time period and stay in. A collective whole world self isolation. Job done!

Also who's gonna look after the kids if both parents are "essential" and living on hospital grounds? Enforced boarding school?

Yes. If everyone in the entire world had no contact at all with anyone for however long it would take to be sure - 3 weeks, 4, 5 maybe then of course it would be gone. Probably lots of other infectious illnesses too.

It's just that it simply isn't possible to achieve.

@IncompleteSenten

Yes. If everyone in the entire world had no contact at all with anyone for however long it would take to be sure - 3 weeks, 4, 5 maybe then of course it would be gone. Probably lots of other infectious illnesses too.

It's just that it simply isn't possible to achieve.

Yep, lots of illnesses will be gone.... and also a hell of a lot of lives.

You could never eradicate covid this way and would kill millions trying.

Exactly.

This would be absolute insanity. You'd kill so many people, the death toll would make covid look trivial. And when you'd finished if there was so much as a single infectious case left (which there would be) you'd have achieved fuck all.

It might kill the virus but it would kill way more people than covid ever has done. Heart attack victims left unattended. Women delivering babies on own with no midwife. Sewage and water systems left unchecked. Food unavailable. Fires left un-attended by firemen. Elderly who’ve fallen over left for three weeks.

It’s unthinkable. Way worse than COVID.

I’d love to isolate for 3 weeks but I’m a front line worker so can’t

We did! I didn’t see my children for the entire lockdown because I was looking after everyone else’s relatives. I wanted to keep my children and my patients safe. I went to work and went home, I’m really sorry for going home to my empty fucking house.

In all of my years as a nurse I’ve never struggled as much as I am now and that’s mostly because of people like you!
I’m burnt out, absolutely had enough. Now I can’t look after my children or my patients because I can’t even look after myself. I’m broken!

What do you do for a living? Work in government?

Just in terms of births in the U.K. alone, that would be 10800 women and babies left to fend for themselves.

That’s 2,310,000 women and babies around the world in a 3 week period with no medical care whatsoever. Hopefully a partner who has a clean pair of scissors to cut the umbilical cord. But no 999 services on the phone to talk them through it.

You tell me, @VikingOnTheFridge , you clearly have all the answers, if you can manage it without being passive aggressive.

And half of MN would be rushing out shouting about their human rights.

I'm due a likely breech baby, who is measuring off the scale big, in 4 weeks, if I went into labour early and was isolated at home we'd both likely die. If I moved into hospital then who would after the children of the doctors, nurses, admin staff, lab staff,porters etc that are needed to keep a hospital open?

@Duckrace

You tell me, *@VikingOnTheFridge* , you clearly have all the answers, if you can manage it without being passive aggressive.

I'll gladly tell you: they'd either not comply, in which case the OPs plan would be useless, or they would comply and they'd die of starvation. Which is why it's such a ridiculous idea. The only people who fail to see that clearly haven't given any thought to the actual global situation. Reeks of western privilege.

Also, you've confused passive aggressive with condescending. They're not the same thing.

@Helpstopthepain

We did! I didn’t see my children for the entire lockdown because I was looking after everyone else’s relatives. I wanted to keep my children and my patients safe. I went to work and went home, I’m really sorry for going home to my empty fucking house.

In all of my years as a nurse I’ve never struggled as much as I am now and that’s mostly because of people like you!
I’m burnt out, absolutely had enough. Now I can’t look after my children or my patients because I can’t even look after myself. I’m broken!

What do you do for a living? Work in government?

Thank you for your commitment Who are you addressing your comment to?

Prob would stop the virus.

You just couldn't do it.

People would die in fires.
People would die from accidents
People would starve as they would have no food.
No police means crime.
The list is endless

I think my patients would probably struggle with no care for three weeks tbh.

@ThePoisonousMushroom

Do you realise OP that in a lot of countries, Covid is pretty low down on the list of risks they face every day? They’d be pretty pissed off I imagine if billions of pounds were ploughed into them isolating for 3 weeks to eradicate covid when they haven’t had that same resource given to them to try and fight the famine and disease they face on a daily basis.

@ThePoisonousMushroom Excellent post …. All so often those in the first world have no idea ( or sadly interest ) in the huge challenges that have been long term ongoing in other countries. Even with Covid - so many do not appreciate how good we have it .

The trouble is, OP, that with just one of your suggested solutions you’ve already rendered the whole experiment pointless. So you have a hospital full of people to make it work - medical staff and support staff, all sleeping and eating in a building that’s not designed to have that many people living there.

Covid is going to perpetuate in that system. It’s a large enough system that it won’t be done and dusted in three weeks like it might be in a household.

No. Because it is impossible for everyone to isolate. Hospitals still need to run and so does the food supply chain, utilities, the fire service, ambulances, the police, vets and so on. Plus you cannot control entire populations. Also, are you planning on wiping every surface where the virus might be lurking (good luck with that), not to mention the fact that the damn thing might be airborne.

Cloud cuckoo land. Lockdowns don't work.

@Keepingtheseatwarm sorry, addressing op

@Stompythedinosaur

I think my patients would probably struggle with no care for three weeks tbh.

Oh, they just have to be HEROIC and think of all the people who lived through wars and suck it up. For the greater good and all that.

No because it's impossible - care, medical, food retailers, vets, council services, emergency services.... they can't just stop

[quote Helpstopthepain]@Keepingtheseatwarm sorry, addressing op[/quote]
Thank you for clearing that up. I'm sorry it's been so tough for you and I hope you're ok ❤

And even if you have the money, not everyone has the storage for 3 weeks worth of food. I have a full sized fridge and freezer now but during lockdown 1 we only had a small fridge and no freezer, I could store 3 days food maximum, I did a lot of queuing!

Most people in the world would not have money to buy food for 3 weeks

Lots of jobs (water supply, infrastructure, healthcare) still need doing

You’d still have staff changes on wards, people needing medical care, people needing food…

Most jobs can’t be done from home

It’s a naive idea

I suspect the OP is not prepared to spend weeks in the dark, with no way of connecting with the outside world (no mobile, landline, broadband, television), no running water, no sewerage, no power... never mind not making a single financial transaction. She's also made plans not to die, fall ill or get burgled.

It's very naive to think the world would just stop for 2 weeks and restart again in the snap of two fingers. Large machines don't stop and restart like a car engine, particularly without any power.
At least it's good preparation for nuclear war. I studied Brother in the Land at school and decided I wouldn't want to survive that scenario, I'd be out in the blast.