To be worried about the Coronavirus Part 6

[Jenasaurus]

Old thread here

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3833553-to-be-worried-about-coronavirus-part-5

Thanks for that @nigel009
It's good advice.

Last night on Newsnight Nadim Zahawi. MP (business & industry minister) said

Every department is at Cobra meeting every week. Secretary of state for Health does a cabinet update every week. PM updated every day

Must be happening or opposition would have said ‘it’s not’

Because we have to make a provision for the worst case scenario*

Phenomenal PHE TEAM working on it

Shadow secretary made some good counter arguments.

Some interesting points amongst the party arguments.

Quite interesting show if you can try to switch off from the Tory v lab bitching

In order for the schools to be closed either:

1. Workplaces need to be closed; or
2. Parents club together to cobble shared childcare amongst themselves.

1. Would result in essential services grinding to a halt. People freeze, starve, die of accidents illnesses in unstsffed hospitals etc. Not tenable.
2. Would result in kids continuing to be in close contact. Pointless.

The only tenable option is simply that single parents are cast adrift. Workplaces remain open. Those with helpful family or a spouse/partner can share childcare. Single parents take unpaid leave and/or are fired.

Unless the government freezes mortgages and rents (implications for small landlords?), utilities etc, those single working parents without childcare and their children will be destitute and very quickly and potentially homeless. How would those working people at the brink afford food with no incoming cashflow?

There are serious run on implications here, not even directly related to the virus itself.

I've been reading these threads for a while and I'm getting increasingly annoyed by the lack of information from the government and local authorities. My local health centre suddenly announced this morning they are closing temporarily, but is refusing to tell anyone why. It just fuels panic when they don't bother to communicate properly!

Infection rates could be slowed by asking those that can stay home to help out.
(e.g. Some office workers and children whose parents/grandparent have that option/ability)
Fewer people commuting and smaller classes (perhaps staggered play times) would provide fewer transmission opportunities
Maths and English online learning which is used by many schools would come into play, or set reading books.
We are close to spring when the NHS usually is under less pressure - slowing it down would help alot.
Even for those not at home, fewer transmission points would be an advantage - why not?

Two schools in Bath are closed today

www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2020-02-28/two-bath-schools-closed-today-amid-coronavirus-fears/

I'm currently on a train from West London into the centre. I'm sitting next to 4 teenage girls, about 13 or 14, and listening to them chatting it seems that they aren't at school because of Coronavirus. They're heading to Primark in Oxford St to go shopping and to McDonalds for food.

It's not exactly isolation at home is it.

@BlackInk.

In terms of this virus that’s ages away (possibly about the same amount of time that’s passed since we first heard about Corona Virus) much will have changed.

I personally think things will be much worse by then. The risk level there & here might be much the same.

One big factor for me would be if there was any chance of DC ending up somewhere that a travel ban might be put in place - I wouldn’t be letting kids go out of area for that reason alone.

I wouldn’t buy anything only required for the trip. I can’t see myself allowing a child to go ‘out if the area’ without a parent until at least the end of this school year with how things are currently looking!

But it’s a ‘week by week or day by day decision making process at the moment I feel.

Radio 2 discussing Corona again now!

louabella I agree. We need the government to make an announcement now. It is annoying not knowing where we all stand.

@BlackInk I live in Normandy and no cases yet as far as I know. I have just been watching the French lunchtime news and we had 20 minutes on what is happening, what medical current advice is, what measures might be taken. It might be worth following the Préfet du Calvados on Twitter (I presume they are doing the landing beaches?) as that account gives good information. It sounds as if our public services are well on top of it. Feel free to PM me if it helps.

Thank you @AmelieTaylor I hadn't even considered the possibility of DS getting stuck somewhere and me not being able to go and get/be with him. Hmmmm. I suppose it's just a case of waiting to see how things pan out between now and then...

And thank you @missclimpson I'll take a look at Préfet du Calvados as they are going to the landing beaches, and tourist destinations like Bayeaux Tapestry etc. I may well message you closer to the time!

But it’s a ‘week by week or day by day decision making process at the moment I feel.

^This

It's going to be a fast moving situation.

What we think is acceptable or normal today may not be in a month's time.

What seems draconian may seem very sensible.

We do not know how people are going to respond to things psychologically. What will we accept and what won't we accept?

That's the scary bit.

#NORWAY- confirms 5th case of #coronavirus

One of my Italian colleague's flights to a conference next week has been cancelled by the airline

I can genuinely see schools being shut - Neil Ferguson mentioned it and I think it is happening in Italy, China and Japan so why not here?

What would be intresting is the employment situation in those countries. If we are on a 2 week lockdown here for example and we are told to self isolate, then I think that falls within the isolation for medical reasons and people should get paid sick pay. If you are self-employed that's pretty crap.
The government won't be seeing things in terms of those who are self employed I expect. They've never liked the status from a tax perspective (not that that's relevant here.) The UK government simply cannot afford to bail out every person in this country if they have to isolate.

It is an economic catastrophe waiting to happen. But maybe better some lean times than loosing a statistically significantly larger percentage of your population and workforce?

I honestly, highly, recommend you take 10 minutes to listen to this British GP, he's been the most informative person I've found, infact the Director General from the WHO watches his videos.

He reports on the situation every day, his latest video has some great tips on protecting yourself, simple handwashing, how to use the toliet (yes this cab be spread by pooh in the air when the toliet is flushed!)

2 hotels in Abu Dhabi have been put on lockdown after 2 Italians tested positive for coronavirus. Guests are being screened.

We have just cancelled our trip to Japan in April - now trying to decide if can book anywhere else as replacement - think will need to wait till last minute just in case....

If people want to learn a bit more about what the government are doing there is nothing to stop you watching live streamed parliamentary sessions. If you follow BBC Politics on Facebook you get alerts when the interesting ones come on.

Lots of talk about Boris being MIA 'for weeks'- I've been watching him in Parliament this week so he's not in a bunker in Cayman Agree communication needs to be better but presumably the govt have got their hands pretty full at the moment. I'd rather they were in meetings reviewing evidence with experts in order to make timely decisions rather than chatting on a sofa with Phil and Holly or whatever it is people think they should be doing. The current stance is clear- containment, contact tracing, 111.

I can't imagine the amount of work involved in orchestrating (and deciding upon) a govt response to this situation. It's unprecedented in our lifetimes.

BBC reported that Boris was visiting a hospital in the early hours of this morning.

I'm not a massive fan of the govt but they'll be damned whatever they do with this. Close everything and tank the economy in the process of trying to slow the virus = their fault. Don't close everything to support the economy and supply chains but the virus spreads = their fault.

digitalflower John Campbell is an A&E nurse, not a GP

: British passenger of the Diamond Princess cruise ship dies of coronavirus - Kyodo t.co/eUoE2b20hL

Sadly it seems that a male British passenger ex Diamond Princess has died (BBC, Guardian).

What's going on with the site? Been locked out for about half an hour!