Omg. The next step in the strategy. And if we all stick together it may work

[Bool]

Next step in UK strategy. Lock down all the over 70s (and other immunocompromised - kids / adults) for 4 months. Lock them down. Then make it illegal to close schools. That means we gain immunity to the virus as a population and keeps the beds open for the unusual cases that are not foreseen.

That at least they 'get it'

Yes they are Bool, because they are taking action to restrict movement and not just letting the thing spread around uncontrolled. Surely this doesn't need to be spelled out

If the UK doesn't change course it will be by far the worst affected country in Europe in a month's time.

@DarkMutterings ahhh but they don’t get it. The populations are blasé. They are moving around the countries as if it doesn’t matter. Hence the need for lockdown. But ok. Let’s see. Time will tell.

Personally I'm all for putting all the kiddy fiddlers and murderers into a shipping container or five and gassing the lot, freeing up public funding and beds to help and house the more productive and positive members of society who need assistance. Pre and post virus.

When Italy locked down North people fled south and created new hotspots

Same in Spain and I bet people travel in Germany

It’s being spread everywhere in the West whatever

Plus I just saw families came together old and young in Italy, also not helpful

I’ve suggested to my parents (early 70s and in reasonably good health) that they need to stay at home from now on and I will do their food shop. At some point if the the acute/intensive care beds in the NHS need to triage patients then unfortunately they won’t be top tier, there is only so much capacity. Younger patients with potentially better outcomes or those with dependent children will be prioritised.

It’s unfair and I felt brutal saying it but if it gets that bad that is what we are facing. And they actually agree that is the right thing to do.

Schools will need to close, especially primaries, as so many grandparents provide childcare. I think that will be a a week before the Easter break and at least a week afterwards. I think the government are giving us a few days to collectively take this seriously and then everyone will be more on board with restrictive measures.

But I do worry for the older people who live on their own with little support, this must be terrifying for them.

It is hard to make sure people self isolate. So learn from other countries and make it happen.

I'm in SE Asia, and i can assure you I'm looking at the UK as fucking insane.

Everyone in Ireland feels the same and it's discussed quite openly on radio and TV. It's a big worry with NI still having schools open and being expected to carry on as normal while we're being responsible and limiting social contact.

Yep the french and Spanish are all leaving Paris/Madrid to go to their friend’s country home or Morocco. Morocco has had to close its borders. Coughing as they go.

My parents were already self isolating.
But for anyone living alone this is going to be very hard. Living totally alone for 4 months would be very tough. So I think there needs to be something to let single people who don't have carers coming in, live in a more group situation.

Also will jobs be kept open for those still working?

The schools closing will possibly defeat what they're trying to do (whether you agree or not) as it will mean it takes longer to create the herd immunity and therefore the quarantine would be longer.

I suspect they'll aim to keep the schools open as long as possible and only close them to effectively use them as a brake when they thing we're approaching being beyond coping capacity healthcare wise - where coping capacity will have a very different definition to normal!

Herd immunity is a theory being rubbished by many scientists for this virus. Yes I know the government wants schools to stay open to infect the population.

I want to lock down with the children and yet I’m forced to send them to school. I’m vulnerable and very worried. I could stay home and manage.

@Sakura7

I maybe wasn’t clear about what I meant about economy. I don’t care about banks or airlines or whatever but we do need to continue with food production, manufacturing, utilities, etc or we will survive this illness to live in a world very very changed to this one we do now, yes the government is making a gamble, that the deaths of a relatively few healthy people are worthwhile if it holds society together. I’m glad I’m not making that call but I can’t see how the world can shutdown for a year and society can still renemerge at the end

So did the affluent middle class of China, how do you think it spread? This is going to fuck over the most vulnerable members of society because richer people have options to travel.

But Boris just doesn't have the balls to make decisions. He's obviously hoping scare mongering and paranoia will self isolate a large chunk of the population without him being the bad guy.

@Sakura7

I’m sorry that I didn’t say in my earlier post that I am sorry about your mother.

You will find this cruel probably but if your mother only has a few months to live then there is no reason for her to isolate. Isolation is to stop the vulnerable from catching it so they can go on living, if your mother is dying anyway (and i know this sounds so callous and I’m sorry) then there is no additional risk from her catching it, you should spend as much time as you and her wish together

@Really12345 The Government is gambling that 500,000 deaths (using the Governments own figures) is an acceptable price to pay. It really isn't.
Other countries are still managing to run essential services. If they can. I am sure we can figure it out.

@DarkMutterings Yes dealing with this virus properly means taking hard political decisions and showing real leadership. He is currently coming across as a bumbling indecisive idiot with zero leadership.

EU countries closed their borders. In some countries they monitor movement via SIM cards and if you cross the borders, you get an SMS nicely informing you that you either stay at home for 14 days or get prosecuted.
Yet today’s Daily Fail has articles about pissed off Britons whose flight was turn away and not allowed to land so they can enjoy their hols in Benidorm.
There are large groups of British tourists trying to come back to Britain from Spain or cruise ships - those clearly went on holidays when the epidemic was already full on.
And yet there’s talk about how the UK are doing it right while the EU aren’t and how the Brits are so responsible? Following the advice of scientists?
Congrats on lessons in self-delusion and open schools because they’re the covid’s Petri dishes.

@KinderGurl

“If anyone here was Prime Minister then what would you do?”

• I’d immediately scrap all benefits except for disability.
• I would then trial everyone being given a living wage so that they can self quarantine if needed, and still pay their rent and mortgages plus bills and food. This could then help stop the economy from crashing. I would hope it would also foster good will so that people might start rallying around helping their fellow neighbours and loved ones, without being terrified that they will not be able to pay their basic bills and feed themselves etc.
• I would semi close schools for all students except those who’s parents work in essential services that we will need. This would not necessarily need to be staffed by teachers as if all schools set home learning they could do this there.
• I would bring what army that could spared home. We will need them including the medics.
• I would requisition all private hospital beds to be used for the emergency and also immediately try to get what health staff I could trained in the basics of critical care.
• I would make use of other buildings which could

be suitable to turn into temporary hospitals.

• I would try to get specialist equipment that we need. Perhaps we already have the factories. Perhaps they need more man power?
• I would make sure that anyone showing symptoms were tested even if this meant using private path labs. We need to know the figures.
• I would encourage business where possible to let their employees work from home and do flexible hours during this crisis.
• I would allow trainee health staff to decide if they wanted to work in this crisis or not and pay them a fair wage.
• I would allow retired health professionals or ones who’s registrations have lapsed to decide if they wanted to come back and to try to immediately retrain them in their competencies if possible. The same goes for police services. I would recruit more community police officers.
• I would work on the supply chain that stores are currently using as it currently isn’t working.
• I would be open, honest and transparent about what we had decided to do as a government and why.
• I would close all travel in and out of the U.K except for goods.
• I would ask everyone to socially distance themselves except for work. I would also restrict travel in the U.K.
• More counsellors and mental health assistance also. This could be a very traumatic time for a lot of people.

I think we might need to start thinking outside the box to deal with this crisis. I’m sure what I’ve said will be picked apart and perhaps some of what I’ve said might not even be possible... but it’s much better to give people hope that perhaps we can make something good come out of such a shitty situation. Hope generally inspires people to help.

@EerieSilence The schools are deliberately being kept open to infect everyone.
I thought those posting last week about taking their kids out of school were over reacting. Now I wish I had done it last week.

@alloutoffucks - that’s an absolute and utter madness. Sending whoever can to work from home and make provisions for those who can’t is the way.
There are qualified childcare workers in Ireland off home due to closure of creches offering to take care of children of healthcare personnel for free right now for example.

@alloutoffucks

I think the idea that the government wants to 'infect everyone' is wide of the mark. What we have to remember is that the UK is still well behind where countries like Italy, France and Spain are at the moment.

Schools WILL CLOSE- it's about making sure it happens at the right stage of the virus, and we're not at that point yet.

Yes I know it is mad. But the UK government approach is for most people to get the virus with half a million people dying (from Governments own figures). They make out it will be people who are practically at death's door anyway. But that simply is not true.

And in top of that there is suggestions that some people are being left with long term lung damage, and some men may be made infertile.

And on top of that the idea of herd immunity is a theory that most scientists seem to disagree with.