The little things no one is thinking about.

[ThanksForAllTheFish]

Ok it’s almost 4am and I can’t get back to sleep. Stumbled into the Coronavirus topic and safe to say it’s not helping me any. Now I’m thinking about all the little things that might arise out of this that no one it talking about.

We all can see the big picture. We know that we should have in food and general supplies to keep us going for a couple of weeks. Schools may close. Work places may close. Areas may go on lockdown etc. But what about the little things?

For example: what happens if your MOT is due on the car but you are unable to take it to a garage because you are isolated? Would you still be fined? Will your insurance be invalid?
Or
What happens if someone has just had a baby and can’t make it in the allotted timeframe to go and register them? How would they get a birth certificate and would they also be fined?

I know you generally have plenty of time to do these two things but a lot of people do leave it to the last minute. So someone could feasibly have their car booked in for an MOT 5 days before it runs out and then get put in isolation. Or a family might have taken a long time to decide on a name for the baby (for various reasons) and a week before the deadline end up in isolation.

Any more examples of these type of things you can think of?

If they are going to stop collecting bins and close the schools then I think the need to cancel council tax payments for a while. It's an extremely unfair tax on the poor anyway. We should all just pay more income tax instead.

@FrankiesKnuckle - that sucks - we're transiting through Singapore, which is better, at least for now.

No point in worrying about all the ‘what if’s‘. Just take each day as it comes. Appreciate that sometimes unusual things happen in life.

Yes, but a little preparation and planning can usually smooth things out.

I.e. the poster above saying the had their MOT booked the day before it ran out. Just why leave it so late? You can book it in up to a month before and the new one starts from the date of expiry not the date of the test so you lose nothing, but gain a few weeks in case of disruption, repairs needed, etc. Just why wouldn't you?

Too many people leave things to the last minute which is bad enough in normal times, but at a time of international crisis, like now, it's pretty stupid.

While it’s of no consequence at all, what are the soaps going to do? Are they going to try to write in corona virus storylines, which would be hard considering the lag between recording and transmission, or just ignore it and pretend Walford, Emmerdale, Weatherfield et all exist in a parallel universe where the virus never happened.

The only thing I'm really worried about is the vet too. My dog is old and diabetic and needs insulin twice a day as long as the normal checks. I feel sorry for all the supermarket workers and delivery drivers, they are going to be run off their feet

Like family I am worried about children and women in abusive situations, for whom being quarantined at home with their abuser could be very dangerous. And for homeless people, for whom conditions could become a lot more unfriendly.

I would expect bins to still be emptied - as that is an essential service. You will still be able to register births and deaths - there will just be special procedures.

There has been planning for this kind of pandemic for 13+ years. I went to a meeting for child care providers which was partly about this about that long ago.
The big message was that calling for child care settings to shut (and schools) would be done on a case by case basis as it has huge knock on effects parents ability to work, and some parents will be in essential jobs, such as nurses.

that someone has considered the fate of the soaps. What about reality TV? That's going to be difficult too. As long as Netflix keeps going I'll be ok.

I'm not sure other schools are being this pro-active though

Yep, there are boarders at my son's school, from all over the world. They've been told there's no coming back for the foreseeable future if they leave the country during school holidays. The boarding houses normally close over Easter and the boarders sent home or to relatives, but they announced a couple of weeks ago that it will stay fully open this Easter and they hope even those living in the UK stay at school and don't go home.

.e. the poster above saying the had their MOT booked the day before it ran out. Just why leave it so late? You can book it in up to a month before and the new one starts from the date of expiry not the date of the test so you lose nothing, but gain a few weeks in case of disruption, repairs needed, etc. Just why wouldn't you?

Because you didn’t have enough money?
It’s not stupid. People with less money can’t plan ahead in the same way.

But does Netflix have the capacity to keep going if half the country is trying to watch it at the same time when they're at home self isolating?

Edit - ' The only thing I'm worried about' was a bit insensitive. I meant the rest like work, school etc I will manage. Of course I'm worried about my older parents, and my sister who is on chemo for breast cancer etc

.e. the poster above saying the had their MOT booked the day before it ran out. Just why leave it so late? You can book it in up to a month before and the new one starts from the date of expiry not the date of the test so you lose nothing, but gain a few weeks in case of disruption, repairs needed, etc. Just why wouldn't you?

See I assumed it went from the date of the test, which is why I always leave it until very close to the date too. I didn't realise it went from date of expiry, will remember that for next time

Oh those poor boarders. I cant imagine not seeing my DC for a week let alone two terms.

What will happen to the courts? to those waiting for trails to start...

I feel sorry for all the supermarket workers and delivery drivers, they are going to be run off their feet. They are not going to be run off their feet if they are ill or are self isolating. There won’t be any deliveries. In China many pets starved to death.

I don’t care about the soaps, I don’t watch them, it’s more curiosity as to what they’re going to to.

My genuine concerns are for people who rely on carers coming into their home. They’re in an awful catch 22, if they contact the virus from a carer they’re the most likely group to die from it, but without carers they’re also likely to become very unwell and possibly die.

Is it too far fetched to think that soap operas ought to start including scenes where the characters are washing their hands properly, to set a good example to the public. They are ‘soap’ operas after all.

Force Majeure. You claim force majeure. It's like being in a natural disaster

I’m not sure ‘Force Majeure’ can be self id’d, but you would hope that in the event if none declaration by Gvt and Insurance co’s on things like MOT that common sense would prevail.

Hope being the operative word in our burocratic, admin heavy, common sense deficient systems .....

If you are self isolating you are not allowed out to walk your dog.
“If you have no-one to walk your dog, then they can’t go for a walk as you will need to self-quarantine, but they can go out in the garden for toilet breaks.”

If they are going to stop collecting bins and close the schools then I think the need to cancel council tax payments for a while. It's an extremely unfair tax on the poor anyway. We should all just pay more income tax instead
I don’t think we have be allowed to pay any less. I am worried about various financial issues. This is one of them. It’s unprecedented so no one can really know but this government are useless and cruel. They won’t help anyone.

I was wondering about the courts too - we have a big high profile case just started here in Scotland that’s due to go on for four weeks, would they just stop or pause it halfway through if everything got locked down?

And also exams - some of the Nat 5s start next week here I believe. What happens there if the schools are shut (which I think they will be)?

I'm concerned about school's, exams, ds taking gcses in a few months. I'm making sure all prescriptions are up to date, not so worried about the car, if we're isolating we won't really be going anywhere. I filled up the cupboards at the weekend, and the greedy kids have been like a swarm of locusts, grrr, need to get more bits.

I really think GCSEs are irrelevant in the scheme of things. They are not a priority issue.

@ohdeariedear
I can hazard a guess as to which high profile case you are referring. That did cross my mind.
In my locality, there is case that seems to have taken forever to get to court, due to start this month. That is what got me thinking.
And will low level cases (driving offences, public affray) just be quietly forgotten?

interesting times.