Lockdown will end sooner than later

[Mumlove5]

Let’s hope the government will listen to the economists. A balance needs to be created.

I honestly do not think Boris will stand for a longterm lockdown. He wants to get back to normality ASAP.

Plus, infection rates are slowing in Europe🙏🏻

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/04/05/behind-scenes-boris-johnsons-gang-becoming-riven-infighting/

“It’s a false argument that we are either going to save lives or save the economy,” said Sir Iain, a former Work and Pensions Secretary. “We are talking about saving lives right now versus saving lives in the future because people have got jobs to go back to, and a strong economy that can raise enough taxes to pay for the NHS.”

Yet when does the crossover point come when the Government has to start prioritising the economy above all else? “I’d say we have until the end of this month,” added Mr Duncan Smith. “We have a chance of saving the economy if we are out of this in three weeks but much longer and businesses won’t be able to be resurrected and charities will go under. And then we will see real suffering. We get this done, we flatten the curve and we get back to normal.”

@hopsalong - you still aren’t making sense to me. Lockdown has nothing to do with people not receiving treatment for anything other than covid 19. People are not being told they can't go to hospital unless they have covid 19?! My df went to hospital this week for his cancer treatment, despite otherwise being in a group advised not to go out at all. Not controlling the virus so that lots of people are sick at the same time is what prevents hospitals being capable of treating anything else (ie NOT locking down causes that).
Where are you suggesting covid 19 victims go if you do not want them contaminating hospitals? Where is it acceptable for them to contaminate instead? Are you proposing people be tested for covid 19 when they arrive at hospital and telling them they can’t be treated for anything at all if they test positive, because they’ll be contaminating the hospital and spoiling things for people who are sick without covid 19?

People are not being told they can't go to hospital unless they have covid 19?! My df went to hospital this week for his cancer treatment, despite otherwise being in a group advised not to go out at all.

In some areas, yes, they are. My OH has his cancer treatment stopped 2 weeks ago and has received no information etc as to whether it's a temporary delay or whether that's it for the duration. Repeated calls to the oncology dept for someone to phone back and explain the plan have been ignored completely. All we got was someone passing on a message on the morning of treatment to say it was cancelled - nothing else at all.

Mass antibody testing would make a huge difference in deciding how to come out of lockdown safely.
Porton Down are working on a representative sample of the population to try to establish how many people are immune, and how long immunity lasts.
Telegraph article

Mass antibody testing would make a huge difference in deciding how to come out of lockdown safely.

Trouble is that whilst those who've had it aren't at risk themselves anymore, unless they practice good hygiene, social distancing, etc., they'll still be able to pass it on to others by simply touch, i.e. touching an infected surface and then passing it onto other surfaces, etc.

When people are at risk themselves, they're going to be more keen to practice hygiene and social distance, but it they know they're not going to get it, they aren't going to be so careful.

Kazzyhoward - Your OH’s cancellation of his appointment is not because of the lockdown, it’s because the lockdown was timed in such a way that the NHS is in reality already overwhelmed to a certain extent and has had to focus its attentions on the influx of emergency covid admissions and dealing with staff shortages due to self-isolation (and the fact the NHS was chronically understaffed before this, anyway). The lockdown is to stop the situation getting any worse. Without lockdown, your OH’s treatment would be delayed even longer, because there would be even less capacity still, to the point that everything ceases to function.

@slartibarti

Good news. I felt sure that representative sampling must be going on, otherwise the health system and government are staggering blindly.

I expect figures will not be made public until they can convey a cheering message.