Please help me see how this will flatten the curve

[Inkpaperstars]

I genuinely not snarkingly think I am missing something, can anyone help.

The plan is to flatten the curve and the main measure is that people with a cough and or fever self isolate for seven days, or longer if symptoms persist. The household members need not isolate.

So that would mean that the following people are still out and about or risk infecting people if they have the virus-

People who have not heard the message or advice.
People who heard it but did not understand it or take it on board.
People who heard it but are not willing to comply, or intend to but don't due to pressures of daily life.
People who try to comply but don't manage to do it properly, through not fully understanding or achieving the conditions needed to self isolate effectively.
Household members who are not yet symptomatic but very likely infected.
People who have the virus but do not have symptoms at any point or whose symptoms don't fit the description.
People who are about to become symptomatic and are highly infectious but not yet experiencing anything to signal to them to isolate.

I am sure I have missed many categories there, but the point is it seems to leave a tiny subset of the people who are actually infectious in a situation where they are effectively isolating. Looking at the way this virus is tearing through other countries I just can't see this having much impact to even flatten the curve.

I dont understand this either, hopefully someone will explain. A curve will definitely be better for NHS than a peak. So hope it works.
Interesting that we are doing opposite of rest if Europe. It's good that at the end of pandemic WHO will have clearer idea of what works.

Yes we're a complete outlier so it would be a useful experiment for WHO to observe. Although I fear we are going to have such a spike that the govt will have do a u turn.

This is the first step of flattening the curve. There's going to be more to come in the next days, weeks, months. They need to reserve the more strict methods for later in the curve as people won't be able to stick with them for long - it's going to be hard. I don't think anyone is saying the UK won't stop gatherings, close schools etc just not yet

Sleeping, yes I see what you mean. But do you think it will do enough to even make a dent or begin the process of flattening? It just seems so little even as a first step. I really find it hard to see how just that will make us different from Italy in two or three weeks.

I can see some people might not be able to stick to restrictions, but I think part of that is down to the government's failure to inform and motivate them. Still, even if we go with that I wish they had made it clearer that restrictions now do help. Some people seem to have interpreted it as 'no need to isolate' rather than 'it's bad but maybe save your limited isolating tolerance for when it's worse'.

I think the idea is that people gradually reduce social contact of their own free will, which means they're more likely to stick to it because they think it's their own idea. Then when the time is right the government will crack down. I'm sure we will have lockdown in a few weeks.

I think they're taking a cautious approach and agree with feelingverylazytoday - people are starting to change habits, I know I have. I have no idea if the UK has a better approach than other countries, I don't think anyone does. The WHO are able to tell people the ideal situation to stop it but they don't have to make the decisions on how or even consider if it's possible in each country.

Thread aged well! But yes. You were clearly right. Plan was flawed. They knew where we were going then, but likely wanted to ease people into it