Non UK users - do you trust your leaders at the moment on their approach to Covid 19?

[chomalungma]

It would be interesting to get a perspective from users outside of the UK at the moment - we live in a time where politics is polarised in countries and trust in politicians and media is low - and is partisan.

What do non UK users think of their leader's responses at the moment?

I'm in Ireland, and yes I do trust the government's response at the moment. More than that, I trust the community in which I live. People and businesses are already mobilising to help older or vulnerable people to stay safe and stay stocked up. In fact, the community response is amazing.

NC for this so that it doesn't get too outing.

I'm in Switzerland. I'm British but fluent in both German and French, so am able to follow the local news.

In comparison to the UK, Switzerland doesn't feel quite as nonchant to me. The policy certainly doesn't appear to be herd immunity but more flatten the curve.

Having said that, everything here feels pretty chaotic right now. Part of this may be down to Switzerland being a federal state and decisions hence being made at various levels. But still.

Point in case: the federal government announced the closure of all school yesterday afternoon. Up to that point, this had already happened in one canton (bordering Italy) and just hours before the policy was announced nation-wide, two others followed suit.

On the other hand, my neighbour is a teacher. He and I were both sitting on our balconies when, 40 minutes into the announcement, he suddenly gets a WhatsApp from his head basically stating "well, we have no clue and had not be pre-warned - we're trying to figure out what's happening and will get back to you ASAP".

This being Switzerland, there's also a strong expectation of people being able to decide policy. That's obviously a fucking stupid idea - it's not as though people in general have the faintest clue of how to combat a pandemic. It has led to a number of grassroots-pressure induced local policy changes, though (most of them luckily small).

Do I trust the leaders around here? Well, they seem a bit out of their depth (but then again: the same is true for the executives at my firm - myself included. We do our best given our limited understanding and decide based on how we believe we can best limit harm).

I sure do prefer them to Boris, mind, they might be in over their heads, but at least none of them seem positively bonkers.

Italy
100%

ETA: I'm not that pleased with how little testing is being performed here.

Current guidance basically states that tests should be performed only when patients present with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and meet at least one additional criteria (from a list of a few).

This bit I actually disagree with vehemently. This place - given it's current policy - has at best an estimate based idea of how many cases we really have. I'm pretty sure that Switzerland is drastically underreporting for this reason.

On the other hand, of course, letting mild cases fly under the radar also artificially inflates the CFR - so people panick even more.

I get that they're doing this due to resource scarcity - still think it's a poor decision.

I’m in Ireland and like Dotdotdot above I trust the response to the crisis so far. And just like she said, the community response has been great as well.
I’m a teacher so I’m concerned about the remote learning for my students but I think we’ll have plenty of time to get to grips with it, unfortunately. Closing the schools was a good decision though - limiting and slowing down the spread is key. Sporting fixtures are all off. Cabin fever won’t be long setting in though....

I'm in Germany and I'm confident that Merkel & the coalition govt are doing as well as anyonr can in this crisis

It seems surprisingly calm and ordered here so far, but most people taking advice on board

• may become more frenetic once hundreds of thousands, then millions get infected

Germany is a federal republic, with the 16 states having their own Parliament and leader,
so a lot being decided at state level, with additional advice from Berlin govt

Seems to work - big enough to have expertise, small enough to do what is appropriate for the region
My region has 6.2 million population and keeps us informed and advised

I'm in Ireland too, and like pp I'm happy with both the official and community responses.

You see pictures of empty shelves in supermarkets yet local shops are asking their elderly or vulnerable customers to ring up with a list and they'll deliver to the house.
Things like that.

I'm in Ireland & also feel they are doing their best. Leo varadker & Simon Coveney look shattered & exhausted, they look like men who understand the enormity of having the nation's lives on their shoulders... So far the response has been very strong. However it could realistically roll on for months...

Yes, Central Europe. We have been updated regularly, everything is closed as from Monday including some areas in full 2 week quarantine. So far theres little panic buying, and everyone seems to be taking it in there stride. Infection rate is still half the Uk, but temp emergnecy hospitals being set up in town halls, exhibition centres just in case so they will be ready as soon as needed, rather than panic building when too late.

I'm in France. Yes I trust the government. They are taking action not only to limit spread of disease (schools closed, public events canceled) but are also providing financial support to businesses and workers. For example I can take 21 days paid leave to look after my kids due to school closures.

The health system is generally good and the president has pledged to provide whatever funds are needed for the health service and businesses in general (including no business taxes to be collected in March).
There is a general feeling of solidarity and the government looking after the population as best they can.
We'll see how it goes if lots of people start getting sick.

I understand that people feel the UK government should shut schools - I think they probably will but it's a bit too early.

For example I can take 21 days paid leave to look after my kids due to school closures

Wow - that's good

I am in Ireland too and I am pleased with the governments response my community is fully supportive. Everyone I know is doing what they can individually. We need more testing (I say this as a frontline HCP with a sick colleague who has been awaiting testing at home for a couple of days) but I understand this will be more widely available from Monday. My children are less happy with no play dates but we will get over that! I am so shocked to see life continuing as normal in the UK.

I'm in Poland (but British). I am not a fan of the current government at all but in this I feel they are doing the best they can. We don't have a huge number of cases yet but the measures the government are taking are pretty drastic. At the same time, they've also taken a lot of steps to protect people and businesses financially such as special terms for bill and loan payments, 80% salary (standard sick pay here) for people off work looking after kids because of school closures. We only had our first confirmed case 10 days ago so I think they've moved fairly quickly. But I don't think anyone feels that it is too early to be this strict. Everyone I know, apart from the "it's just a cold" crew (which is small here), is supportive of the "lockdown" and while I can't speak for the whole country, in my circle most people are relieved to be able to just stay at home. As in other countries, the main criticism is that there should be more widespread testing.

Italy and yes, both the national government and the regional one.

Italy here too, and absolutely.
Like pp both the national government, the regional one and the local one. Our mayor I don't think has been to bed for weeks.

In Iceland and I'm pretty happy with the balance that they are striking, although I feel that the tourism industry is a blind spot.

I understand how important it is for the economy but daft things have happened like isolating Icelanders returning from Italy but letting all the Italian tourists go on their merry way.

When the annual tourist population is many times more than the resident population I don't like how lax they are being with that.

Italy here too and they really seem to be doing everything possible. I trust them.

Spain, yes. I think that Pedro Sanchez faves a horrible decision what with the last financial crisis having been so awful here, and with Easter coming up and tourism being the third sector of the Spanish economy, he knows the financial impact will hit the average Spaniard BUT he has gone ahead and implemented a full lockdown as of Monday in spite of this. This makes me feel like he is putting lives before livelihoods, which is the way it should be.

Singapore- yes, feel fortunate to be here. Worried about friends and family back in Europe (incl UK) though.

I'm not that pleased with how little testing is being performed here.

That's one thing I'm really happy with - we're going to have drive through screening available to everyone who wants it. Brilliant initiative in my opinion since it seems like many infected people are asymptomatic.

Just to add that trust in government or any form of politicians is not something people in Italy ever usually express, it's quite an odd feeling! But, I think people believe they are being led by the science and genuinely doing what they can.

In the states. I don’t trust trump in any way but I do trust the state as they are going well beyond what trump has recommended and have been doing so for over a week. Most people working from home if possible, schools and clubs, libraries shut.

@LeeMiller Absolutely! It's a weird feeling, isn't it? I do think there is a great deal of respect for doctors in Italy so it would be foolish for any government to go against medical advice.

That's one thing I'm really happy with - we're going to have drive through screening available to everyone who wants it. Brilliant initiative in my opinion since it seems like many infected people are asymptomatic.

Indeed!

The thing is: how are we going to really learn about the virus without reliable data?

Taking myself as an example: there is no way I'd get tested unless sick enough to warrant immediate admission to a hospital - even if my doctor determined I probably had COVID-19 based on differential diagnosis. That's basically what current guidance issued by the authorities boils down to.

The thing is: most people are more like me than like people who qualify for testing, i.e. not elderly, nor desperately ill.

I'm pretty convinced that Switzerland is currently underestimating its cases pretty drastically for this reason. This doesn't help! People will both think it's less dangerous than it actually is (because the number of patients is underreported) and more (because an underreported case figure inflates the CFR).

Most importantly, however, it's going to be a tad difficult to tell if the measures taken actually work and how well if testing is kept to a minimum - especially seeing as the tests that are performed are nowhere near representative of the demographic makeup of society.

Now, if this were not Switzerland I might be more understanding. But this is, literally, one of the richest countries in the world, relatively small in terms of total population and lucky to have a truly excellent health care system and very effective public administration. If any country can pull of good testing practices, surely it's Switzerland!

We're basically having it because the guy who runs deCode Genetics has a massive ego and a saviour complex - it's not actually a government initiative. But I'm not complaining! Small population and almost everyone in the same place does make logistics easier.