Prime minister announcement at 12

[Hugglespuffed]

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

a sniffle is not on the list.
By adding made up things to the reasons for self-isolation people make it easier for themselves to ignore the things that they have actually been asked to isolate for - a continuous new cough or a fever.

Unofficial) Talk from teachers here is that they're gearing up for Easter-Summer holidays off school.

This is NOT something that LA schools have been told.

a sniffle is not on the list.
By adding made up things to the reasons for self-isolation people make it easier for themselves to ignore the things that they have actually been asked to isolate for - a continuous new cough or a fever.

I’m not adding stuff to the list, I’m asking how you know between a minor cold (which is how it’s been described by some) or a normal minor cold.

The whole thing is a cop out, cover for the fact that we CANNOT do the numbers of testing needed. Rather than admit that they’ve dodged the issue by saying just self isolate if you think you have it. How do they know when it will peak if they’re not fucking testing? How are people taken in by this?

If they don’t measure how many cases they massage numbers lower than actual, and in the meantime is runs riot. The whole message is contradictory- we aren’t stopping gatherings of people, we want herd immunity/if you think you have it self isolate.

Money before people. Why are we surprised. Stock market bounced a bit after our govt announced they were not implementing much at all.

How do they know when it will peak if they’re not fucking testing?

They know roughly what % of people become seriously ill with coronavirus. They will know those numbers because those people will have to seek medical help. The numbers amid the general population suffering minor symptoms can be extrapolated from there. It's perfectly sensible to target testing.

But they won’t know how many people have it at home unless they test them. Advice is to self isolate at home with a cough etc, how many people just have a plain old cough and how many actually have Corona? They won’t have a clue.

I’m asking how you know between a minor cold (which is how it’s been described by some) or a normal minor cold

You literally don't need to know. All you need to know is if you have a cough (that is not caused by an underlying condition that you have all the time) or if you have a fever, you must self-isolate for seven days. What part of this is hard to understand?

saw this on another thread and thought it was so good it deserved posting again

www.youtube.com/watch?v=blkDulsgh3Q

Surely it helps to know if you have had it though ? The anxiety and stress caused by worrying about catching it, not visiting elderly family members, needing time off work for minor viruses etc.
Knowing that you have had it, and recovered, would also take a lot of stress off people who work in the emergency services, teachers, pharmacists , delivery drivers, anyone who has a job where they need to interact with a lot of other people.

Well yes, but in terms of right now I guess just not transmitting anything is the main priority - and testing probably costs money which is presumably better used on treatment/staffing once lots of people have it. And they don't actually know how much immunity you get or how long it will last yet.

Surely it helps to know if you have had it though

It would certainly help me as a healthcare worker. If I know I have definitely had it and recovered, I can volunteer to work on the front line without any fear of contracting or passing on the virus. Without testing I will keep having to take 7 days off for every minor cold, will need full PPE (which is in short supply) to have any interaction with a potential coronavirus case.

Really short sighted not to test symptomatic NHS staff

I agree they should be testing NHS staff! And other frontline workers, esp the emergency services.

Italian newspaper 'Corriere Della Serra' describes Boris' quote as 'shocking' then writes:

'But the reaction is perhaps even more chilling: we will do nothing. Because this is the line chosen by the government of Boris Johnson: forward as if nothing had happened. Britain separates itself from the rest of Europe: while governments on the continent take increasingly drastic measures, London literally washes their hands. The fundamental advice against coronavirus is in fact to use soap and water; those who have symptoms are invited to stay home for a week; but otherwise it's business as usual. No closures, no emergencies: life in London continues to flow normally (and no one goes to ground with a mask).

Good video thanks Steppemum...what the BBC don't mention though is that there is evidence that influenza vaccination increases vulnerability to corona viruses
Those who are encouraged to get influenza vaccinations in doing so make themselves more vulnerable to covid19

Talk from teachers here is that they're gearing up for Easter-Summer holidays off school.

Do you mean right the way from Easter to Summer?

Yes. My DH is an emergency service volunteer, they are having to be hugely careful so that an entire team isn’t taken off sick, would help to know if someone has already had it.

It doesn't help to know you've already had it, as we don't know enough about it yet to know if people can get re-infected.

Interesting tactic by Johnson. If he turns out to be right, he gets hailed as the person who kept his head whilst all around were losing theirs, saviour of the economy, etc etc. If he turns out to be wrong, he will go down in history as the Prime Minister who killed large swathes of the population and sent the economy down the pan. I guess we all have to hope desperately that he gets his wish, which is not something I ever thought I'd say in relation to Johnson.

Well if people can get reinfected, it makes a mockery of the whole “ We want to achieve herd immunity “ tactic of not closing down as much as possible.

So the plan is to guess real numbers by making an assumption on serious cases? How do you know when it’s peaking? How do employers cope with a deluge of sickness that may or may not be the virus? How does that capture or even track progress to ramp up capabilities? How does that cover the vulnerable who the NHS says seek early treatment but this policy goes against that?

I have heart problems. This policy requires me to go to work (emergency services) send my kids to school and if I fall ill stay home for 7 days which will go on my sick record as only confirmed C19 is being waived. I guess I need to get it badly then at least I will know and be covered. This is a way for the promises on SSP etc to be an utter sham because employees and employers won’t have the proof required!

So the plan is to guess real numbers by making an assumption on serious cases?

Yes, if you know what % of overall cases are serious and you know how many serious cases you have, then you have a very good proxy for overall numbers.

If you have a serious underlying condition you'll realistically probably need further treatment should you catch it, so it won't effect you anyway.

An increase of over 200 cases in one day, and the majority of potential cases are not even being tested. It's not good enough.

@NellyGrace yes, from what I gather. April to June is what I'm being told by teacher friends. Our summer holidays start art the end of June so if it happens I doubt they'll go back for a week or 2.

They haven't been told that's what's happening but they were told to prepare for that to be the case so I guess it's worst case scenario. Wouldn't surprise me at this point tbh.

there is evidence that influenza vaccination increases vulnerability to corona viruses

@UYScuti is this true? What is the evidence please?

@fedup21 in hoping it's a worst case scenario piece of info rather than definitive but someone must've told them that because it's not just 1 person or even the same school that's told me this.