I’m more concerned about the economic fall out than the virus - anyone else?

[ACautionaryTale]

It’s not the virus that scares me but what we will do to our economies and what will be left afterwards.

I was brought up to be pragmatic about death and not avoid it. I know my mother, aunts and uncles and father in law are all high risk should they get it.

I don’t want them to die of course not. However they are mostly over 80 and In reality death is nearer than far regardless.

To a man, they have all pretty much said that they would not want the lives of everyone wrecked to give them a few more years.

I don’t think people calling for a mass shut down actually comprehend what that will do if it goes on for more than a couple of weeks (and that will be bad enough)

Oh I know marsha but the overwhelming majority, especially on this forum seem to.

Not much critical thinking going on around these parts

The experts are saying what we are doing at present and people self isolating will slow the spread and mean that there is not a huge sudden need for critical care beds.

Lots of people will get it and have no symptoms.

We don't want the government to make a decision based on politics we want it based on sound scientific advice which the government is getting at the moment.

There has to be a measured approach too to protect the economy because without a good economy you'll not be able to pay for the care that people need.

I wonder if there had been no austerity and the economy had been in a worse position what the outcome of that would be when needing to fund the fallout from something like this. Or maybe if there had been no austerity the economy would have been in a better position now and we would be able to cope better. I suppose it depends on which party's ideals and predictions you believe.

The thing is that a shutdown and massive hit to the economy will also cost lives.

This. I still think we should shut down things that are easy - everyone who can work from home, close big events like the rugby and Cheltenham etc - but it's not as straightforward as some of the people here seem to think.

Totally agree OP. The economic fallout from this will affect far more people than the virus does IMO. And I don’t mean they will lose a couple of quid. People’s jobs and homes are at risk. Anyone who can’t grasp that is either seriously well off, lucky enough to be in a very secure job or works for a hand sanitiser company.

My uncle has just turned 80. He comes from the long lived side of the family where men live healthily and actively until 100-105. He has no pre-existing conditions - no high blood pressure, no diabetes, is a normal BMI and very active (think skiing, golfing, three hour hikes). Now there is every chance he’s healthy enough that he may not even get symptoms - but it really frustrates me that were he admitted to ICU the doctors could just rule him out based on his age. He has a longer and healthier remaining life expectancy than many 60 year olds. Plus he’s one of those recently retired doctors the NHS wants to rehire - it would be awful if caught something doing his duty and then didn’t get treated for it.

The thing is that a shutdown and massive hit to the economy will also cost lives.

Precisely. It’s odd how some people are seemingly incapable of understanding this simple fact. There was a foodbank on the news only yesterday saying they’re hugely down on donations due to the virus.

Yes I’m more concerned about the economic impact right now. Because the economic impact is a human impact - it’s people’s jobs and businesses and homes and lives. It’s services having the funding to be able to provide adequate support now and in the future.

The forecasts on which the Budget was based were already shaky at best, and they didn’t even factor in Coronavirus effects or the possibility of not getting a smooth trade deal with the EU. It’s got the potential to be a lot worse than the 2008 crash and look how many lives that destroyed.

grumpyhoonmain you are making a huge assumption that medics will simply look at your relatives age and write him off. They'll more than likely look at a lot more factors than that.