Westministenders: The Virus

[RedToothBrush]

Its like living in a Bad Disaster B Movie.

If you thought Brexit on your TV every day was Bad, The Virus is a whole new level.

The 5pm broadcast with Johnson and friends, and the public infomation video with the unblicking Chris Witty (who has such unfortunate mannerism he makes me think he's me a Dr Who alien akin to the Slitheen).

Who knows what will happen. Just that everything has changed and our entire economy is now on life support whilst we figure out how to deal with the crisis and what on earth our exit strategy is.

Johnson has however refused to join a joint EU purchase scheme designed to assist countries through the crisis.

Meanwhile the US is about to go nuts... so what does that do to a trade deal?

More money for the NHS? More hospitals?

Well its possible that might just happen...

Even the death bit will get hovered up in the end.
It's the Economic bit that's going to really bite.

The phenomenon you're observing is the five stages of grief, Red. Quite a few people are experiencing the denial phase - and it's no surprise, as if there's one thing I learned from the referendum is that there's a huge number of people who really believe that their lifestyles will be impervious to ANY amount of political and economic upheaval.

Their awakening is going to be quite terrible, I suspect. I'd been thinking a No Deal Brexit would be the thing to push them over the edge, but it looks like Covid-19 has overtaken it.

Mockers

wonder where he got the expertise at creating managing fake news?

Looks like Cummings didn't run fast enough. Reported to have covid-19 symptoms.
🤐

I'm trying hard to resist the lure of schadenfreude...

Will the Government ask Justine to remove some of the insanity on the Coronavirus board ?

Noooo - I really need to know how to disinfect my strawberries in Milton.

Does having a haemorrhoid op render you more susceptible to covid effects?

(just asking for a friend...)

Listening there is a fabulous thread on the Coronavirus topic at the moment in which the OP wants Neil Ferguson 'held to account' for causing hysteria and putting us all on 'house arrest' because Peter Hitchins from the Daily Mail says so. Honestly I have never seen so much batshit crazy fuckery in my life.

Looks like Cummings didn't run fast enough. Reported to have covid-19 symptoms.

Oh dear. What a pity. Never mind.

Will the Government ask Justine to remove some of the insanity on the Coronavirus board ?

I suspect advertisers would have more clout. Or someone seeking a libel action ...

Dodgy Dom not nearly self-isolated enough. Starting an appeal to buy bricks and cement to provide work for the unemployed shutting him in permanently.

Even superforecasters aren't respected by the virus, apparently.

"government is cracking down on misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic."

Putin's bots are reported to be in overdrive, trying to create bad feeling between Europe and USA, within Europe, anywhere they can

Sure, some posters are terrified that being at higher risk means doooomed

They are terrified about themselves / their families,
but usually not deliberately trying to scare others (the definition of "scare-mongering" requires intent)

Panic is more likely to happen when real risks are not discussed calmly and factually
Firghtened people dismissed as "hysterical" and told to STFU can turn in desperation to genuinely dodgy & malicious sources

In fact, "scare-mongering" on MN has sometimes just been prediction of what will happen in a few weeks or less

My favourite was that thread just before BJ's speech "scare-mongering to say he'll announce a lockdown"

From scaremongering to fact within 90 minutes of the OP ! 😂

"Does having a haemorrhoid op render you more susceptible to covid effects?"

No, Dominic
but being a haemorrhoid may do so

.

A crowdfunder started by doctors to raise money for PPE has raised over £1 million in a few days.

A source of shame for the government that health workers are having to do it for themselves. Especially as we’ve now lost 3 doctors to CV.

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/masks4nhsheroes/updates#start

😂 Shouldn't laugh, I know
He was trying to do something useful with his time

www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/30/astrophysicist-gets-magnets-stuck-up-nose-while-inventing-coronavirus-device

An Australian astrophysicist has been admitted to hospital after getting four magnets stuck up his nose in an attempt to invent a device that stops people touching their faces during the coronavirus outbreak.

Dr Daniel Reardon, a research fellow at a Melbournee^ university, was building a necklace that sounds an alarm on facial contact, when the mishap occurred on Thursday night.
...
The astrophysicist told Guardian Australia he had ruled out further experiments with the magnets and face-touching,
and would find other ways to pass the time while at home.

DGR

The psychology is grimly fascinating.

Particularly people who voted for the current gvmt and are trying v hard to cling on to the (understandable) hope that they are both doing their best for the country and competent to do so.
It involves some serious mental acrobatics, but defending Brexit was a good warm-up.

As for scare-mongering, the fine line between sharing facts that are unpalatable and, frankly, scary but which may help mitigate, and sharing facts that are so unpalatable people run shrieking from their keyboard, hands over their ears, crying "scaaare-monnnger, lalala, I'm going out for a run in the park!" is a tricky one to navigate.

I saw that BCF.
"Denies further magnets" made me laugh...

Bcf that article has definitely brightened my day it has to be said.

In fact, "scare-mongering" on MN has sometimes just been prediction of what will happen in a few weeks or less

If certain posters put it, it certainly is.

I have to admit I can't stand the vacuous happy memes and Facebook status atm.

I'm far more dark and into gallows humour.

My sons class chat is proving 'challenging' this week for me. No I don't like fucking rainbows!

My sons class chat is proving 'challenging' this week for me. No I don't like fucking rainbows!

Have you seen the video of the little girl wailing because Nando’s (and about a billion other fast food places) is closed? Why do people share this crap?

OECD Evaluation of initial impact of COVID-19 measures on economic activity

https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/view/?ref=126126496-evgsi2gmqj&title=EvaluatinggtheinitiallimpactoffCOVID-19containmenttmeasuresonneconomicactivity

The scale of the estimated decline in the level of output is such that it is
equivalent to a decline in
annual GDP growth of up to 2 percentage points for each month that strict containment measures continue.

If the shutdown continued for three months,
with no offsetting factors,
annual GDP growth could be between 4 - 6 percentage points lower than it otherwise might have been

Also one person's normal is another person's totally crazy.
I spent years basically gently bleaching fruit and veg everyone did where I lived.
When I pointed this out on a thread I was told that I must have been living in a hut on the side of a rubbish dump.
In fact I will never again live such a well supported and comfortable life, it was just that the food wasn't safe due to multiple contamination risks.
Now thinking it through it wasn't sensible to encourage people with anxiety to be more anxious but my first thought wasn't that disinfecting fruit was crazy more that it could be done.
So I unwittingly contributed to scaremongering.