Prime minister announcement at 12

[Hugglespuffed]

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

I'm so confused has anything happened, has anything been said?

Also if it is a toss up between A levels for a whole generation or a few vulnerable people dying then I am afraid A levels should win out

Don't be ridiculous. If we had taken better preventative measures weeks ago, it might have halted the spread of the virus and exams could possibly still go ahead as planned. We've shot ourselves in the foot.

Also if it is a toss up between A levels for a whole generation or a few vulnerable people dying then I am afraid A levels should win out

Ha! Cut me and I bleed Cummings.

A levels can - of course - be retaken. No one would miss out.

Thought they'd wait in Ireland to announce schools closing from tomorrow. Most would have been shut next Monday and Tuesday because of Paddy's day anyway. Wonder what will happen in the UK. Two of my sisters have young children in primary and creche so I don't know how they will manage. They live near my parents but my mum has just been diagnosed with breast cancer and my dad has no pituitary gland so is on long term steroids and also has diabetes so he is immuno suppressed. So they won't be minding the grandkids. I'm glad my kids are a lot older and can mind themselves!

Interesting figures out today about criteria to get tested here and in France. How are we accurately gauging numbers of cases when you cant get tested unless you have symptoms/and or contact/travel. The numbers will be way higher than we are being told. Italy have tested loads more

Actually, I said A levels can be retaken - as a pp said, mocks and predicted grades is a more likely solution.

I'm going to identify as an elderly person so that I get first dibs on a respirator

I'm so confused has anything happened, has anything been said?

As far as I can tell, @Xenia has been reading the Daily Mail who report that Boris isn’t closing schools.

Not sure how they know that for sure.

Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong though, and share your link @Xenia

If the above is true that’s tantamount to a crime against humanity carried out by the British government against its own populace. Terrifying
I don’t understand, you’re going on like they’re purposely infecting people.
They now know they can’t contain it, so they want to see if they can slow the spread, so the most severely affected can get the best treatment.
Am I missing the crime against humanity?

Also if it is a toss up between A levels for a whole generation or a few vulnerable people dying then I am afraid A levels should win out.

What do you mean, "a whole generation"??

Oh, also

The term "herd immunity" is usually used to describe the results of mass vaccination. We had herd immunity to measles, for example, when everyone used to be vaccinated.

But I've just read the Robert Peston piece (thanks, Evenstar) and it looks as if we're doing this the medieval way. Let the disease take its natural course, winnowing out the old and weak, and those remaining will develop immunity.

I'm surprised that even Boris Johnson is on board with this.

@NeckPainChairSearch it's our stiff upper lips, repels the virus don'cha know?

We must be doing something right cause Donald says so.

It won’t “be a few vulnerable people dying”. It’ll be several hundred thousand.
And as somewhere around 15% of CV cases need hospital care, it will put anyone who needs hospital for any reason at risk - we don’t have that kind of spare capacity in the health care system.

Even if your view that “the vulnerable” are disposable wasn’t completely repugnant, it would still be factually incorrect.

A levels are not more important than lives. Are we really so inhuman towards one another now that things take precedence over life itself

This.

Also if it is a toss up between A levels for a whole generation or a few vulnerable people dying then I am afraid A levels should win out

Exams can be delayed, and I say this as a parent of one child about to sit A levels and one about to sit GCSEs.

Preventing deaths must be the priority, "vulnerable" people have just as much of a right to life as anyone else.

im going to identify as Irish 😂😂

UYScuti I feel that humans intrinsically need face to face and physical contact to be mentally healthy and happy, so if we end up all having to communicate more through screens, and become culturally more wary of physical contact with each other or being in groups, that wouldn't be a good thing.

It sure is an us watching them, watching us watching them situation.

Not quite true @PreseaCombatir. They want to see if they can slow the spread whilst minimising damage to the economy which is not quite the same thing

@Thinkingabout1t I thought I was the only one thinking this. Herd immunity doesn't really work without the vaccine does it.

I'm going to identify as an elderly person so that I get first dibs on a respirator
That's not how it usually works.

So... Announcement about 3 p.m.?

A levels more important than hundreds or thousands of people dying ??? A LEVELS ?.?
I can’t believe what I am reading. A relatively meaningless qualification that can be done at another time, more important than the lives of actual people , with families who love them, with children etc.
Seriously, there is something wrong with you if you think this. Total lack of feeling .

Also if it is a toss up between A levels for a whole generation or a few vulnerable people dying then I am afraid A levels should win out

I don't want to worry you but there are 20/30 year olds in ICU in Italy, it's not just older ones, they are just more likely to die. Younger ones are emerging now, a month on from recovering. They are weak and unable to walk in some cases.
But yeah, lets carry on thinking it's just the old and weak that will be affected.

@Thinkingabout1t the herd immunity in this vase is rubbish. Ther is no e evidence that you cant catch it again.

Re: herd immunity: I think if you keep the small percent of people likely to die closeted away from everyone else (!) then once all is healthy “safe” people have had it there’s no one to catch it and spread it to the “likely-to-die” group, so it dies out.
I can spot many many flaws to the plan....!