Downing Street is live now

[Jenasaurus]

Johnathan Van Tan is provided an update from Downing Street. Not looking good.

Blah blah blah manchester blah blah france blah blah increases blah blah graphs blah balh pressure on the NHS blah blah measures needed blah blah whatever

No announcements whatsoever. This is just an (exceptionally poorly presented) situation update

You're right, it's absolutely dire.

I believe Boris is still speaking at 6pm
Heard it earlier on sky news.

I actually think this is quite a good update.
Van tam always comes across well, he makes things make sense and is clear to the point.
I would listen to him over most at the minute.

@1happyhippie

I believe Boris is still speaking at 6pm Heard it earlier on sky news.

I actually think this is quite a good update.
Van tam always comes across well, he makes things make sense and is clear to the point.
I would listen to him over most at the minute.

I agree about Van Tam, I thought he had been banned from making these announcements after showing disdain for Cummings antics though, nice to see him back

Future is bleak. No cure. No vaccine. No light at the end of the tunnel

Rinse and repeat

Hmmm there is a trend here.

Before the first restrictions you got them giving you the worse case scenarios and trying to up everyone's fear and anxiety.

Just before the restrictions were relaxed it was all about 'the majority will have minor symptoms or none at all' so get back to work and eat out to help out.

Now we are back to the upping of fear and anxiety with apocalypse predictions.

And they wonder why they have lost a lot of people on this.

Low rates of increase in infection for children under 16. Children dont drive the spread of COVID in the same way they do influenza.

@JamSarnie

Hmmm there is a trend here.

Before the first restrictions you got them giving you the worse case scenarios and trying to up everyone's fear and anxiety.

Just before the restrictions were relaxed it was all about 'the majority will have minor symptoms or none at all' so get back to work and eat out to help out.

Now we are back to the upping of fear and anxiety with apocalypse predictions.

And they wonder why they have lost a lot of people on this.

The perceived level of personal threat needs to be increased among those who are complacent, using hard-hitting emotional messaging. To be effective this must also empower people by making clear the actions they can take to reduce the threat.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/882722/25-options-for-increasing-adherence-to-social-distancing-measures-22032020.pdf

It has links at the bottom showing why people are fearful, it's by design.

The phrase "let it rip" has been coined specifically to promote fear.

Of course it has, whenever I try to put an argument forward about how we need to have a functioning economy, I am accused of wanting to kill granny, and worse, before I can go onto say that we need to protect the vulnerable.

There has been a deliberate move to polarise opinion and the “lockdown lovers”, for want of a better phrase, cannot or do not want to hear about any alternatives.

Thank you- was waiting until 6pm

Thanks OP for updates

What channel was this on? I missed it.

@Jenasaurus

How did you get that alert?

I like van Tam

BBC news

Just finished - now commentary

And on Sky

@JamSarnie

Hmmm there is a trend here.

Before the first restrictions you got them giving you the worse case scenarios and trying to up everyone's fear and anxiety.

Just before the restrictions were relaxed it was all about 'the majority will have minor symptoms or none at all' so get back to work and eat out to help out.

Now we are back to the upping of fear and anxiety with apocalypse predictions.

And they wonder why they have lost a lot of people on this.

Absolutely.

Boris is addressing parliament at 3.30 then news conference st 6pm

@MJMG2015

What channel was this on? I missed it.

@Jenasaurus

How did you get that alert?

I got sent it via JOE.co.uk - they send me the alerts to all the briefings and announcements.

@Marcellemouse

A load are in for other things and not ill with Corona. They're just picking them up now because they test all new admissions. Don't think they were doing that before the first lockdown?

I think they were, at least in some areas - a friend of mine tested positive when he was admitted for treatment to an injury. He had no symptoms.

How and when they will said what area is which tier?
Or they won’t?
Or is only the Liverpool area they plan to put into tier 3 and the rest of England will be normal.?
I’m in South East.

Maybe people will start to bloody listen now and take some personal responsibility.

No the general public can't be blamed 100% for the spread but everyone can take some personal responsibility and do why they can to help get this under control.

It's like when they say they will make an announcement on the Monday and everyone says "oh now people will go out for one last night out" And the government get blamed.

Why? Why can't those people think well you know what, we should probably start to rein it in a bit right now and see what they announce on Monday instead of going out and not caring about anyone else.

@BrazenlyDefying

responsibility on every citizen to defeat this virus and get under control.

Fucking ridiculous. It's a FUCKING VIRUS. I haven't the power to defeat it, because I am not fucking wonder woman. And neither has anyone else. This whole pushing the responsibility for managing it onto the general public? Just no. Yes we should be taking responsibility for our own actions just as we always should do. But if things run out of control that's not my "fault". All the looking to blame, point fingers, shame the "covidiots" and the fecking Covid Marshalls makes me sick.

This is nobody's fault.

But the problem is, it spreads when someone with it gets too close for too long to someone else. And ultimately, that IS down to each and everyone of us.

TheUnwindingCableCar

Totally agree

trouble is round here people arent socially distancing....and thats the old as well as the young. you would have thought that older people would especially be more bothered and abide by the rules.

I feel totally conflicted. I pulled my dc from school about a week before Boris announced schools closing in March and at the minute I've got no choice but to send them

Presumably that's because they're vulnerable, or you are?

Thank you OP.
I think they are ramping up the fear factor before imposing more lockdowns later today.
But, unless they are actually outright lying about the hospital figures
(and that is not impossible with this bunch, astonishingly)
then it is worrying so we should be paying attention.
All we can do though is keep living as responsibly as we can, surely?