Worried About Coronavirus- thread 35

[TheStarryNight]

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DS is reception. His class work takes about 40 mins daily for literacy and maths but I am doing a little extra if he's in the mood to keep him entertained. He's supposed to do pe weekly but we do a 10 min TV or YouTube work out daily. We have a family walk at lunchtime when DH isnt working. He's also got art type tasks or other play related tasks which are more or less things he'd do anyway. One task was plant some seeds and grow a plant, which given that's what I'm doing anyway with him is easy peasy. He comes and watches whilst we cook and that great until he utters the dreaded words '"can I help?'"

That much 1 to 1 is easily enough given how much they get in school time. Most of school is just socialising.

For us it's a question of keeping DS entertained for the rest of the time. I'm grateful for animal crossing as its helping kill an hour or so daily and DS is learning coordination with computing. But he is strictly rationed on it because we found he went nuts with too much screen time when he was younger. It made him bounce of the walls and his behaviour deteriorated which kind of defeated the point of it. He's pretty self sufficient at playing on his own as a result.

Tbh we involve DS in most stuff we do as a family so it's not too much different from normal.

He just misses his friends.

Can I ask a question here please?

I drive my son to work most days. It’s a 45 min round trip twice a day. I don’t get out of the car, just there and back.

Is this acceptable do you think?

Regarding this antibody test they’re developing. I get that it’s an important scientific breakthrough which will also have a positive effect on the economy if some people are able to go back to work. I read that Germany is planning to issue “immunity certificates” to those with antibodies and that our authorities are thinking of the same.

I can’t help but worry that this will create a privileged caste of those who are allowed to go back to society and benefit from it, and the rest of us who are stuck under restrictions for the foreseeable future. Almost like we’re punished for following the rules. I also worry it could make desperate people risk it and get purposely infected so they could go back to work. I haven’t really seen anyone mention this concern yet so I wonder if I’m the only one thinking about it? How do they plan to stop discrimination? How do they stop people getting purposely infected?

Is this acceptable do you think?

Yes. I've seen it on a BBC Q and A session and it was regarded as fine as it was for a defined purpose and was common sense as the alternative was public transport which exposed others unnecessarily.

It's not technically in the four reasons, but its not taking the piss either and has a legitimate justification because it minimises contact as much as possible.

I can’t help but worry that this will create a privileged caste of those who are allowed to go back to society and benefit from it, and the rest of us who are stuck under restrictions for the foreseeable future. Almost like we’re punished for following the rules. I also worry it could make desperate people risk it and get purposely infected so they could go back to work. I haven’t really seen anyone mention this concern yet so I wonder if I’m the only one thinking about it? How do they plan to stop discrimination? How do they stop people getting purposely infected?

I think part of the thinking is to deal with key workers who can not avoid working first.

But yes I think its something that's not being talked about and is hugely important.

As a stay home mum this puts me right at the back of the queue for an immunity certificate too. Especially since DH can work from home and I don't have a 'legitimate' reason to leave the house other than for shopping and to take DS to school in ordinary times.

This does not mean I want to be stuck at home for months longer than others. Especially if my friends get certificates and are able to start socialising again.

Realistically if people do get immunity certificates and people start socialising that'll be a driver of a breakdown of the whole system as people simply will just go and visit friends whether to deliberately to be infected or because they are bored, fucked off and feeling left out.

The only real reason for immunity certs that I see therefore is in front line jobs and longer term as a travel requirement / insurance requirement for visas which will become much more commonplace after years of visa free travel.

Immunity certificate will switch many from not wanting to get it to wanting to have had it.

It would feel great to have one. If people want to take the risk so they can get one it will be hard to stop. But we may well be past the first peak and they could be the second.

Do people believe this idea that most people dying would anyway soon?

I’m hearing too many cases of people for whom that would not be the case. Colleague with slight asthma (on here), child the other day, HCP. The above feels like more whitewashing.

www.independent.co.uk/voices/coronavirus-lockdown-off-licence-alcohol-alcoholism-a9440011.html?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1585773762
lockdown is the time to kick our national alcohol habit for good
Off licenses aren't essential services – and closing them during the coronavirus pandemic would yield more for the nation’s health than almost any other policy intervention

Oh do fuck off.

Prohibition didn't work. Moonshine kills. And you would see illegal breweries and distilleries popping up.

DH recently went into a home brewing shop in a very rough bit of Manchester. He got talking to the owner. Turned out home brew was popular locally cos of the low cost...

On the other hand maybe they should crack on with this idea cos we've got a lot of bottles due to be ready in a fortnight. We could make a killing.

I am failing miserably at 'home' schooling.

Youngest is in Rec so needs me to sit and do it with him. Eldest is really bright but so lazy its really hard to get her to do what she needs.

I am working still so don't have the time to argue with her constantly.

They won't have a holiday though. We will continue to work with them through the Easter holidays.

We do what we can but it's not easy.

Although i do sometimes wonder if those who do lots of home schooling (well according to FB) could actually be doing more harm than good. If they are deciding to teach their children in a different way to school.

marsha even the elderly could have quite a few years of quality life. Someone in their 70s could live 30 years and be enjoying their retirement and grandchildren.

Quote-Although i do sometimes wonder if those who do lots of home schooling (well according to FB) could actually be doing more harm than good. If they are deciding to teach their children in a different way to school. Quote.

Agree. I am a Science teacher, oh is Maths. We can both teach dd who is in year 7. Other subjects I would not have a clue. Though there are people I can ask. Primary maybe ok but secondary is so vast now with the new GCSEs.

Getting dd to work with us though is another matter as she doesn't see why she has to do extra compared to the rest of the year.

Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico
This is a strange comment. The govt can't really be concerned that car use was higher on a Monday than on the previous Saturday & Sunday, can it? Surely that's simply a matter of folk going to work (at a similar level to the Friday)?

Normally this guy talks out his arse and has me rolling on the floor together with my eyes.

But he has a point on this occasion...

@RedToothBrush makes sense that the increase would have been down to payday?

I'm thinking that it's people driving to large supermarkets to restock supplies .

It's not easy for many people to keep enough in for a family for over a week .

Re people who 'should not have died', weren't in particularly vulnerable etc...

Presumably they are outliers, statistically. We are hearing about them- and remembering them- because they are not 'Maud, 82yrs, also suffering heart failure'.

Maud is no longer news, no matter how loved she is by friends and family. 18yr old Darren, the healthy active basketball champion, is news.

@Random18 me too. My daughter is difficult (8) but did a fantastic animation on her IPad last night so going to try and extract some of that later when I log off. My son (10) is very bright and needs routine but we're so close to Easter holidays they would have been beginning to unwind gently now.

I was in first year (year 7) - showing my age in 1985. We had loads of teachers strikes. Was off for ages.

If I wasn't working full-time and harder than I normally do in work (working on Covid communications and worked a 44hr weeks last week it might be easier. Plus stoner drunk ex-H does fuck all with them normally so even though he can't work right now (kitchen chef) same stands unfortunately.

Pickled yes definitely outliers but also seeing posts on here not in the news.

Hard to get a picture of how many of course.

Thank you RedToothBrush
I certainly don’t want him getting the bus.
I also don’t allow anyone else to come along for the ride (which is giving me a nice break from the rest of the family)

@Loire02 you asked about shelf life of samples and whether backlogged ones would still be ok to test .
This from the facts and figures thread and ,to me ,suggests the RNA ( whatever that is ! presume needed for test ) is v vunerable .

I've read that many samples collected from the 100 GP surgeries that were part of the senitel testing had to be thrown away because something to do with not quite correctly taken /packaged .

TheElementsOfMedical Wed 01-Apr-20 16:52:39
It's been a long while since I've worked with RNA and I've never had to prepare it from actual clinical samples, but I can offer some possible ideas of why the current tests have a high incidence of false negatives.

(1) Depends how much viral material is present in the patient's airway at the time of swabbing.
(2) I do not know how the swab is prepared for analysis but RNA is very vulnerable to breakdown so could be lost during the process due to RNAse enzymes secreted from [well, every living thing including people's skin] and sticking around on surfaces.
(3) Further to that, the RNA could again potentially be broken down (for the same reasons) whilst the RT-PCR itself is being set-up.

refraction I suspect science homework in our house may be interesting when they get older.

DH is rather good at science, well obe specific field of science. I wonder if he will help or hinder the kids.

DH is rather good at science, well obe specific field of science. I wonder if he will help or hinder the kids.

Sure he will be fine with a Scientific background. The key words annoying though.

The nuclear physicist describing nuclear fission would only have got 3/4 marks as he didn't use a key word for example.

@peridito thank you very interesting.
Hopeful the labs are working up their testing capacity. Saw a University lecturer on TV this am, saying, that he has complied a list of Uni labs with little work offering their capacity.

I think part of the increase in driving in London is the state of the Tube.

I drove to work, and I never usually do, but I'm not getting on the Tube now if I can help it.

Wonder how much of this type of thing has been going on globally?

A little light entertainment. Yesterday it was a dinosaur...