Prime minister announcement at 12

[Hugglespuffed]

Is it going to be drastic changes? Or just 'work at home if you can'?

There was a very sensible discussion on Politics Live just now, the medical experts were at pains to point out that shutting down too early wont help, could even make it worse. The NHS man (sorry dont know) said if we go now, we'd have to do it for 10 weeks. Does anyone think we can maintain anything close to a full shutdown for 10 weeks?

Italy were the only country in Europe to ban travel from China. People used other routes.

As a student nurse LOL how twatty did that make me sound.
That wasn't the way I meant it to sound

We’ve just had an email from our school saying tbey have no plans to close and have not been put on notice for possible closures

Business as usual

Robert Peston put forward herd immunity theory much earlier this morning, I think it has Cummings’ fingerprints all over it, but will they dare? www.itv.com/news/2020-03-12/british-government-wants-uk-to-acquire-coronavirus-herd-immunity-writes-robert-peston/?fbclid=IwAR3EpaYhCimk971hxxuDKIgwh_QrtwVqwcBpODxUkbZOXnb2xX4gTld09gM

The Tories have always been survival of the fittest-terrifyingly they may just put that into practice.

I am very pleased with today's decision. Closing schools will not help and will just mean small children infect grandparents who then have to care for them and also mean bigger children do not get vital GCSEs and A levels . It is the right decision to keep them open.

The main thing we shoudl currently do is keep vulnerable people, old people, sick people away from anyone who might have it - in fact as apart from others as they can manage to be on the safe side as we won't know who has it. A client of mine ( elderly) said to me just now he thinks he probably had it on holiday in Dubai a few weeks ago - he was taken into hospital on a stretcher but recoverd and came home with no test out there and now is abroad elsewhere. If you just take him and think of the 3 countries including UK he has been in and all he people will will have met on planes or touched surfaces near it is very hard to contain it. I doubt if he asked the NHS for a test now once he is back in the UK they would even bother to test him.

I do think the UK historically has been better at making long term decisions for the greater good, rather than popular decisions in the moment, than some other countries. Italy and USA would be good examples there actually. I'm hoping history will show a more measured response was the right thing to do long term and will have protected our economy better than others. However, as the Americans seem to have driven theirs off a cliff, I suspect that boat has sailed and we're in for an extended period of hardship, regardless of how the virus pans out. Very worrying on all fronts.

We don’t yet know today’s decision do we?

The idea that we can protect our economy whilst the global economy goes off a cliff is madness though. We are in for a prolonged economic downturn, whatever we do domestically.

@Xenia we don't know the decision yet. The meeting got pushed!

I am very pleased with today's decision.

What decision? Nothing has been announced.

@Xenia what decision are you talking about?

Yes that's what I said Cohle although we did suffer less badly than many other European countries in the last recession.

I am very pleased with today's decision

What decision?

It's 13.07 right now and I've not heard anything.

@Xenia I never had you down for a Daily Fail reader!!

Widely reported that we won’t close schools etc. But no formal announcement yet. Hoping the reports are wrong.

@Xenia

Can you link to this decision you’re talking about?

If that article is correct re herd immunity, than that would mean they are trying to separate us. Trying to change our culture so that we are more isolated from each other as the norm.
Peoples strength is other people. If we live in a more separated society we will be weaker as a people and easier for government/powers that be to manipulate. We won't be as strong or mentally healthy.
I'm probably not explaining myself very well but I think this disease is being used to manipulate our society. I haven't quite fully formed the idea yet but there's something going.

People are just taking their kids out of school now, it's beyond a joke.
Every other country makes decisions and acts, we have a cup of tea and a meeting.

I reckon Boris is delaying in order to avoid paying out.

If firms make their own decisions, it’s on them and the government owes them nothing. If the government makes the decision, they are duty bound to compensate the firms.

In other words, if Boris shuts the nurseries, the government will have to pay compo. If the nurseries stay open and parents pull their kids out, that’s the decision of the parents and no compo due.

It’s all so obvious.

No announcement at 12... then it was 1... no announcement... now it’s 1:15 apparently... what will it be when there’s no announcement then?!

I think I just have this inexplicable, twitchy feeling that Boris Cumming's overriding objective here will not be 'let's do everything we can to save as many lives as possible. Because we care deeply about the old, the vulnerable and the poor.'

And honestly, in a global pandemic sitch, a bit of that kind of thinking wouldn't go completely amiss.

Closing schools will not help and will just mean small children infect grandparents who then have to care for them and also mean bigger children do not get vital GCSEs and A levels . It is the right decision to keep them open.

Ireland's decision to close schools as of this evening till the 29th is an attempt to get on top of the situation now, in the hope that school closures and restrictions on indoor public gatherings won't disrupt school and university exams slightly later on.

Not sure how accurate this is school closures to be announced

Says the newspaper that guarantees that the coming winter is going to be the worst on record ... every year

@MarshaBradyo - I didn't think we had a decision yet today either? Nothing is showing on the news only about Ireland's decision (which is very sensible in my humble opinion). Although, I suspect the decision will be continue washing your hands and hope for the best as has been the outcome from the last cobra meetings.

Just a random thought, can the WHO actually force a government to act when it concerns something like a pandemic? Everywhere else seems to be doing all the right things (albeit late in some places, but still they are doing stuff). we on the other hand...I really do despair with our joke of a government.