To say please don't go to your second home

[Beesisabuzzin]

With talk of London going into lockdown tomorrow can I remind second home owners that Cornwall has one hospital. Devon has four hospitals. Where I live in Devon there is no food in any of the supermarkets. Please, please stay away, our communities cannot deal with an influx.

This 👏👏👏👏

Many, if not, most second homers aren't Londoners. They're people from all those places that now don't want them. Norfolk, Devon, Cornwall, elsewhere in the UK. They moved to London doing what you don't want them to do to their hometowns - putting a strain on London's hospitals, housing, public services. There might be a few more hospitals in London but there's also millions of people. The flagship central London hospitals cater for people across the UK and they have additional pressures - knife crimes and the many vulnerable homeless in London. Hospitals in outer London are not well equipped at all. They're struggling, some in special measures. Those I worry most for are the vulnerable in London. The elderly, the disabled, those who can't just escape to a second home somewhere else. Coronavirus is already everywhere in the UK. No official cases doesn't mean no cases. Any lockdown should apply to the whole country or it will keep spreading and just get worse and worse.

Tryingtoprep has called it about right IMO. Any lockdown should take immediate effect because moving around in pursuit of the 'best' place to sit out the isolation phase is only going to add to the contagion risk.

We have the worst situation. Supposed leaks have meant people have fled but no upside of lock down.

From the Telegraph's rolling Covid-19 coverage:

"The Southwest looks most vulnerable in terms of current ratios. It has the oldest population (so the highest expected mortality) and lowest number of critical care beds per head of population. The modelling suggests it needs six times the capacity (600 per cent).

On the upside, the Southwest currently has a relatively low infection rate."

But the article goes on to say that if infection rates increased rapidly, it would cut swathes through the elderly population. London by contrast, has the youngest population, and the densest, but is much better resourced. All figures are per capita ratios.

The infrastructure is not in place at all in most of the UKs peripheries. Even primary care is offered on skeletal staffing numbers due to issues in recruitment. Anyone requiring specialist hospital care would need to be transported to the nearest specialist centre (Cornwall often send to Bristol for example for specialist paeds). So you aren’t comparing like with like. City hospital are undoubtedly going to get overstretched in the next few weeks but it won’t reduce this if you go rurally because if you get very ill there the local hospital is unlikely to have the staff or resources to treat you. You’ll be transported back to the specialist city hospital.

Also, once again, you risk spreading the virus and into populations with a higher number of elderly people.

It's a bit late for this, I fear. In my son's class of 22, at least half of the parents have second homes.

Most have already pulled out their children and left London, either to go abroad or to the usual hotspots: Cotswolds/Dorset/Cornwall...

Londoners might not know how poor facilities are out of London and in a rural area.
We go without a lot while happy to do so to be in a quieter place but it is not going to cope with people bring Covid with them.
Not enough doctors, ambulances or hospital beds

We have no big shops or supermarkets.
Hosptial is nearly 30 miles away and too small for the resident population.

I agree people shouldn't be travelling due to the risk of spreading it. With exceptions for essential workers and emergencies (domestic abuse, etc). That applies equally for anyone wherever they're from. Not all second homers are Londoners. Not all those travelling out of London or elsewhere are second homers either. Some are adult children returning to their parents. None of that is ok. People should be staying put.

I'm concerned for London's elderly and vulnerable because they're a minority, albeit a fairly sizeable one. Because they're a minority less thought is given to them in the first place. Really we shouldn't be looking to divide during this time. There should be equal provision (at any time, not just Covid related) for everyone who needs it wherever they are in the country.

London is national hospital for England. Not the other UK countries.

NHS doesn't equal the whole of the UK. Different countries have different rules and funding. It isn't the same. I didn't know until I joined the NHS just how different it was between them. When I became ill it became even more apparent as there's no specialists in my conditions in Wales and when I was seen in England the treatment was refused as no "specialist" in Wales would sign off on it (because there were none).

It has been raised in parliament about what support there is for the NHS in other countries as England doesn't equal the UK. I know some of the funding put to one side is for England only not the other countries.

@maryso so you’re going to decamp to one of your many homes when you get ill and then travel back to London for treatment if you get more ill. 🤦‍♀️

Yet you think the stupid yokels are the type to wander the streets infecting people...

@gingersausage if I get infected by my patients, I will no longer be able to continue work. I already isolate from my own family who are able to home-work and none of us go out beyond our homes. Have you been out of your home since February, and is that because you are doing work that requires you to do so? By all means continue projecting your feelings as you feel the urge; you will not change my behaviour. Most of the people I see who are from out of London are actually quite welcoming, and not attention-seeking addicts who cannot resist any chance to berate strangers as judged by their own standards.

*I am worried that I could have it.

But the NHS won't test me for it.
I did ask them and they said no. And there are no private GPS or Cliics that will do it.

So how do we know if we got it or not if they won't test?*

@MissyJane2 you assume you do have it, you stop being selfish and you self isolate just in case.

What you absolutely DON'T do is go round the shops and shake hands with unsuspecting people, jesus it really isn't that hard!

People like you are the reason the Govt need to implement a proper lockdown for a couple of weeks

I go out to walk XingDog daily and never stand close to anyone. Our contacts in China started talking about the coronavirus about New Year. We have steadily laid in extra supplies each week for eight weeks. We are now ready to isolate for six weeks, but we have not stripped any supermarket shelves in doing so. We anticipated the crisis and prepared. Milk, bread and onions may run short, but we have enough and enough to help friends who have miscalculated their needs a bit. Not prepared to assume complete responsibility for feeding them as a family totally,

It's interesting: if you are prepared, and you know disorganised people, where does hospitality begin and end?

Unbelievably, I am still getting emails from cottage companies inviting me to book an Easter break. We were looking forward to booking our first break of the year this month in North Devon, but no way are we going now. Apart from anything else, I can't see the point if we can't visit the local pubs, have a nice meal out etc.

Yes it is true that Cornwall only has one hospital. I have had personal experience of how dire that hospital can be, a few years ago when my mother was in there, and that was in a relatively normal period. The whole healthcare/infrastructure situation in Cornwall is the main reason I have no intention of moving back there.

We holidayed in Cornwall about 3 years ago. DS (then aged 4)needed an ambulance for breathing difficulties. Hospitalised for 4 days.

It took 3-and-half-hours for the ambulance to reach us.
A first responder was with us after a couple hours, with oxygen cylinder. The first responded was clearly well over 70, a volunteer, and fabulous. Ambulance blue-lighted us there.

I’d not go uk Cornwall just now....

In Cornwall too. There's no point people coming down really. Nowhere much is open, not many restaurants etc to use. So please, stay where you are, we're struggling to cope ourselves.

These areas are glad enough of second homers and holiday makers' money to keep them afloat.

It isn't the second homers being selfish. We want your money but we don't want you?

You are the reason my brother's children all live outside Cornwall, they can't afford to buy a house. Not everyone benefits from tourists, even in the summer.

Oh and how many people with a second home are registered with a GP near their holiday home? So if you are ill where do you go?

Pieceofmaria your advice isn't really true. Many people have very mild symptoms indeed and may not even realise. Secondly, even if you go on to develop a severe form you can transmit the virus before the symptoms appear. This means there are without a doubt many people out and about transmitting the virus without realising.

I wasn't talking about the Coronavirus. I was talking about flu. They are not the same thing.

People love to say they have the flu when the actually just have a bad common cold. That is what I was talking about.

It's a bit late for this, I fear. In my son's class of 22, at least half of the parents have second homes.

This is why the supposed leak of lockdown is worst version. All downside of spreading and no upside of the social distancing we need.

About a third of DS's class also have buggered off to their country homes or abroad. These mobile people were the ones who were key in bringing the virus into this country, and are now also spreading this about. Just look at the numbers - from the beginning, one of the top areas for cases is/was Kensington and Chelsea.

Judging from yesterday, people's selfish interest seems to trump civic duty: heavy traffic leaving London on the M4, people still in pubs and restaurants and just milling about, bootcamp classes for the yummy mummies still packed in the park, and playgrounds in the parks heaving with children off school by parental wishes. .

Just in case the message is not clear, this from the Guardian today about the next spikes in cases in Italy

‘The rise, which has been particularly steep in Lazio, Campania and Puglia, is believed to be largely the result of the thousands of people who fled south after Lombardy, where the outbreak in Italy began, was quarantined on 8 March. The entire country was put under lockdown on 9 March and rules were tightened on 11 March’.

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/19/southern-italy-braces-for-tsunami-of-conronavirus-cases?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Why this assumption all Londoners are loaded ! But get it

Why this assumption all Londoners are loaded

Streets are paved with gold

Of course the vast majority are not at all loaded. London has some of the biggest poorest communities and areas, and millions more ordinary folk trying to duck and dive through the high housing costs etc.

However it is probably fair to say that many of the country’s wealthy are in London.

London is probably more polarised within the city than the polarisation between London and the rest of the country.

But hey, we are all London wankers...

These areas are glad enough of second homers and holiday makers' money to keep them afloat

Tourism keeps areas afloat, not second homers. Holidaymakers and second homers have a different impact. Huge numbers of second homes are empty all year, taking housing away from locals but not adding to the economy. many Rick up for the weekend bringing their shop with them.

Caravan sites, BnB’s, Hotels, day trips, holiday lets which are busy all year : provide employment and trade.