Do most people think this has been handled very badly?

[agentstarling]

Even though people maybe disagree with my other thread about it MAYBE being exaggerated I think most people would agree it has been handled very badly. I only found out that it was their strategy to let it go through the country from Nigel farage (who I think is self-isolating lmao). They haven't communicated anything at all about shutdowns etc and BJ seems to be like a rabbit caught between the headlights and has show zero leadership. They haven't explained how people should eat drink when isolating how they should manage their kids etc. I don't think he will be voted in again maybe even Corbyn would have been better.

Yes I do. The biggest issue for me is a lack of information. There has been no real advice for younger vulnerable people. Fine if we isolate ourselves, but my husband still works so if he had to join me, how do we pay for anything? He would lose his job. There are so many rumours floating around now about over 70 isolation and anti inflammatories and silence from the government. Boris vanishes at the weekend. People are emptying shelves. I wish they would just release a few statements about all of this.

While I understand their comments about how long term containment would crash the economy, they don't seem to be doing much about flattening the curve. They want people to get it but aren't testing anyone not in hospital, elderly and vulnerable not been told to stay in. They have no idea how many people will have this in ten days. Letting it run rampant will overwhelm the NHS as younger people are needing ventilators too in other countries. Health workers have no ppe which is a disaster in waiting. Vulnerable teachers are expected to look after children. When all vulnerable people isolate for 3 months or don't and die everything will fall apart as people underestimate how many younger people are in the at risk group.

They also need to stop advising and start telling employers about 7 day isolation. I know several people who are being told to go in or they will lose their jobs. I want them to acknowledge SSP will be a disaster for many people.

It very clearly does work in the short-term. Cases in China and other countries have dropped massively since lockdown measures were introduced

Exactly. In the short term. It might get a whole lot worse again. Who knows.

Im not adverse to a lock down, personally. if the government put some kind of measures in to keep everyone paid.

If they dont, well come out of lockdown to no jobs, no childcare, no homes etc etc.

They also need to stop advising and start telling employers about 7 day isolation. I know several people who are being told to go in or they will lose their jobs. I want them to acknowledge SSP will be a disaster for many people.

There are care workers in my area being told that if they self-isolate, they must supple the employer with a blood sample taken at their local GPS to verify they have the virus to qualify for SSP. So they're effectively telling employees to take the disease into their local surgeries, or carry on working and infect all of their clients. And how many of these employees have kids at school or nurseries?

If you look at it on a population level, it's all well and good, but look a bit closer and all the wheels fall off.

"There are care workers in my area being told that if they self-isolate, they must supple the employer with a blood sample taken at their local GPS to verify they have the virus to qualify for SSP. So they're effectively telling employees to take the disease into their local surgeries, or carry on working and infect all of their clients. And how many of these employees have kids at school or nurseries?"

@SnoozyLou

That's nuts, as in my area only those admitted to hospital can be tested. this is the sort of batshittery the Govt needs to address urgently.

I don’t think they care about the batshittery though - only about how their message lies is coming across.

That's nuts, as in my area only those admitted to hospital can be tested. this is the sort of batshittery the Govt needs to address urgently.

The internal email turned up on Spotted (I know, notoriously reliable but several care workers verified that they'd had it). You could no more fly to the moon than get your GP to do that, so they're basically saying employees won't get paid. From what I've read you have to go to HMRC SSP disputes team and they'd probably get fined for withholding SSP unfairly but that's going to take a while and some people who don't have severe symptoms will feel pressure to go into work, infecting all these elderly people who in the meantime aren't allowed to see their loved ones.

I know there is no perfect solution but this is just nuts.

And they don't even test by blood test anyway, do they?

@PhilCornwall1 okay I didn't necessarily mean it like what to eat I mean more if you have children they are also likely to have it so maybe you should isolate with them? Can you take paracetamol or ibuprofen drink alcohol etc? Can you go out for a walk if there is no one around or do you have to be cooped up the whole time? What if you have to work and you can't afford to isolate what if the person is homeless, pregnant etc

The French are saying ibuprofen and other anti inflammatories could make it worse.

@SnoozyLou

Indeed I believe the test is a swab at present, so nothing makes sense about the approach being taken at all.

Administrative ineptitude like this will overload HMRC and the benefits system and the knock on effects will be felt for a long time alongside hardship and the potential results of spreading the virus.

My heart goes out to those struggling already with all of this. Utterly unnecessary given that a month ago it was clear this was going to explode.

It seems there is a severe shortage of testing kits hence the restrictions.

My isolating friends have said that the HCPs who dealt with their visit to A&E said that the chest X-ray showed "something" which could be a chest infection or could be CV19 but only a CV test would show it but without admittance no test would be done.

This impacts treatment, transmission and is potentially dangerous.

This guy is explaining the government strategy. Feel sorry for those who have to die before quarantine measures are put in place however, and surely extensive testing (like in South Korea) could solve the problem, but they are not doing either.

Locally the care agencies who are witholding SSP are losing staff to the ones who aren’t. My relatives agency has suddenly had an influx of 200 care staff from other companies and they have been grateful for them.

okay when I said about eating or drinking I wasn't really meaning that literally lmao I meant more like if you can drink alcohol when you have symptoms etc. For example my parents are both over 70 but they look after my nephew on Monday's I don't know if they can continue to do that also my niece regularly visits them will she not be able to. There isn't enough communication it has improved a bit but I agree with other posters that the hysteria is getting worst and is partly a result of the lack of communication.

*This guy is explaining the government strategy. Feel sorry for those who have to die before quarantine measures are put in place however, and surely extensive testing (like in South Korea) could solve the problem, but they are not doing either.

*

I'd like to thank Bob, from Number 37, for explaining this so well.

Probably scared the crap out of his neighbours though.

The view of a Harvard epidemiologist. When he first heard the UK government’s approach to the virus, he thought it was satire.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/15/epidemiologist-britain-herd-immunity-coronavirus-covid-19?CMP=share_btn_fb

The test is a swab in your mouth and right up your nose. And I mean right up your nose. Had mine done last weekend.

I assumed right from the start that the government would cock it up, because that's what this shower do with everything. The Harvard opinion confirms this. If it's malice rather than incompetence, I expect that the disaster capitalists are going to make a LOT of money when all that unproductive cash locked up in pensions, savings and house equity is released by its owners dying.

@Helpmechangemymindsetplease I think the trouble is, we're reliant on being able to turn the tap off. It would be smashing if it worked though.

I know it's how modern political comms are done now. But I think the way PM hel a press conference on our approach as if this was defacto action then Hancock as been pre briefing the media on poteial actions is disgusting. For example potentially isolating over 70s.

Makes people not know where to look for official gov advice and not trust them. Really feeling angry about it.

According to who? Boris, or The Lancet?

It’s simple mathematics @SnoozyLou.

Maybe it is okay they are not having a lockdown now because there aren't that many cases but you have o remember the incubation period is av 5 days plus the time it takes for the person to get ill so we are always maybe 7 days behind.

How can it be "simple mathematics" when you don't know what your base numbers or any of the extrapolations are?

You can do the calculations using the numbers you've decided to use but that doesn't make it any more accurate than the next person's guess.

370 deaths in Italy today alone. They are having to use churches as mortuaries. I don’t know how the UK government can in all good conscience take the approach it is taking. People in their 30s on ventilators in Italy and France so we are being lied to about that as well.

This is the bit that bothers me.

Half of the overall cases are expected within a period of a few weeks, with 95% in a period of around 10 weeks.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51895873

Why would you want people intermingling initially and spreading it quickly? I completely agree that it's too early to go into lockdown, but it seems they've actively encouraged transmission. They could have stopped large public events and put people returning from Italy in isolation at least. Why wouldn't you stall and get the ventilators, facilities, etc in place?

Is it a case of "getting corona done" so we can get back to the important stuff, ie Brexit, whatever the cost?

Yes and no. More guidance would be appreciated but equally I can’t see how you can plan a head anymore than 24hrs.