Westminstenders: A test of logistic planning

[RedToothBrush]

We are witnessing a demonstration in Government crisis management.

For the past week journalists have asked the same questions and politicians have said they've already done it / are doing it in the near future. But as time wears on, the inability to produce the answers or demonstrate results is proving illusive.

This will have consequences.

It is a demonstration in how planning has proved to be lacking in certain areas.

With Brexit in mind, the lack of vision, coordination with business and wider capability and capacity this does not bode well.

Demand starts to drop - wishful thinking surely.

I don't know if it's due to the Easter holiday clampdown that the French PM mentioned yesterday (not that this part of France is on holiday yet), but there are roadblocks and police patrols all over my little provincial town.

I read that the army was being sent to Nîmes to help enforce the lockdown.

Do you have any idea why?

It's really calm over this side of a France (SW, near Toulouse). I haven't seen any police in three weeks and the expected "wave" of hospital cases apparently hasn't materialised - presumably because the lockdown stopped transmission in time.

Peregrina: yes, Muselier, who's head of the PACA region, was v cross, saying the US had paid cash at the airport, 3 times over the original price, and a planeload of facemasks destined for France went to the US instead.

Wild West stuff, indeed.

Be thankful for small mercies: at least BJ doesn't acknowledge his DC, so the chances of a Jared Kushner-type figure in the UK are marginally less.
(Tonight's barrel-scraping effort at positive thinking...)

Mistigri
Maybe because Nîmes is at a bit of a crossroads where the A9 and A54, as well as various other roads, meet. So they think there will be people trying to sneak off on sunny Easter breaks in various directions?

The SE of France is, on the whole, less law-abiding than the SW, IME.

In my département, there are relatively few cases so far. Although the ones I know who have been diagnosed haven't been tested and confirmed, so we come back to the issue of data.
But the Bouches du Rhône and Marseille, in particular, have been harder hit, of course, although far less than I'd have expected. Touch wood...

According to Reuters, the UK govt is expecting from 20,000 to worst case 50,000 deaths

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-scenario-e/exclusive-uks-worst-case-coronavirus-toll-is-50000-dead-but-uk-is-not-on-course-for-that-source-idUSKBN21K2GW

The British government’s worst case scenario envisages a coronavirus death toll of 50,000
if self isolation is not fully adhered to,

but the United Kingdom is not right now on course for a toll of that scale,
a source familiar with the government’s emergency discussions said.

According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, the worst day for deaths is projected to be April 12, which this year is Easter Sunday.
.......
A so-called “good” outcome in the circumstances would be a death toll of fewer than 20,000 in the United Kingdom,
according to the source.
A Downing Street spokeswoman declined immediate comment.

“Sadly the coronavirus continues to grow,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.
“The best scientific analysis is that the rate of infection has been doubling every three to four days.”

Should be a range of fewer than 20,000 up to a worst case of 50,000 deaths

Trump playing politics with lives in the US:

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/03/mask-wars-coronavirus-outbidding-demand

US states have found themselves competing against each other and the federal government for equipment.

The New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, said this week that it was like “being on eBay with 50 other states”.

State governors learned they could not rely on the rapidly depleting national stockpile,
especially after Donald Trump made it clear that federal help would be affected by political preference, saying he wanted governors to be “appreciative”.

especially after Donald Trump made it clear that federal help would be affected by political preference, saying he wanted governors to be “appreciative”.

🙄 There is no end to this narcissist’s need for adulation. Some of the stuff he’s come out with lately has been revolting. Is there any sign it’s hurting his approval ratings?

DH went to the supermarket today. We live semi rurally and there is a small supermarket where we are but we know they have had problems with stock and sheer number of people using it.

So he went to the next area over which has two larger supermarkets which are generally quiet. It's about 5 miles at most.

On his way home he encountered a police road block. They were stopping all traffic in both directions and checking what people were doing.

Obviously DH with a pile of shopping in the boot had a fair explanation and they waved him through.

The road he was on was a major A road.

I've seen police in our centre driving around when we've been for our walk. And I've seen a pcos huffing and puffing on his bike cycling past my window on our very quiet cul-de-sac (it has a pedestrian exit at the bottom).

It's surprised me.

It's hardly a population hot spot.

My point being I do think the police are going to be very aggressively out in force this weekend and into next week as the Easter holidays have started in the UK too.

They are clearly actively on the look out for those flouting the social distancing laws.

I never in a million years thought there would be road blocks in our part of the world.

PMK

The logistics of shopping.
DD bikes 6 miles to supermarket from her work. She does a week's shopping for both of us. I drive to supermarket and sit in car. She brings trolley to car leaves it waves and bikes home. I get out of car load car and drive to her house where Dgd is waiting indoors. I put dds shopping on doorstep wave to Dgd through window, drive home wave to dd as we pass each other on way to respective homes. All the time I'm humming ' mission impossible' theme! The things we do to obey the rules and keep each other safe!.

US swoop on masks sees 3M supplies diverted from Berlin
Trump making friends and influencing people left, right and centre. This is the kind of stunt that gets remembered.

There has to be a way to get Trump impeached for his conduct in the last two months.

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/03/im-not-going-to-do-it-trump-refutes-his-own-administrations-advice-on-masks

"Friday’s briefing also produced a very Trumpian moment as he referred to the models projecting the virus’s spread and death toll. He said: “The models show hundreds of thousands of people are going to die. You know what I want to do? I want to come way under the model. The professionals did the models. I was never involved in a model – at least, this kind of a model.” "

FFS

Sos that’s a clever arrangement. Glad you’re coping.

When a country elects a President on the primary message of
"America First",
This sort of piratical behaviour will go down very well with his core voters.
Britain needs to remember this when we're out there looking for our new best friend with Brexit.

Was " I was never involved in a model – at least, this kind of a model.”
actually a joke? 😱

Wrt the disproportionately high death rate for African Americans - many work in blue collar occupations interfacing with the public - public transportation in all roles, cashiers in shops, pharmacies, and supermarkets, police officers, postal workers, certified nurse assistants, care workers, hospital food service, hospitality (housekeeping, food prep, etc), nursery/daycare.

I wonder if he will steal some masks from the British, or if he will avoid that, so that our rightwingers will still be able to bleat on about the Speshul relationship.

I am sure that it was imaginary even in Churchill's war time days. He personally knew America better than the average Briton because his mother was American, and then contrived something around that.

Another Labour manifesto pledge being implemented ...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-52153700

Free bus and train travel for NHS workers.

Oh dear! Labour party manifesto being implemented. What if Corbyn had won and implemented it?

We should find out in a couple of hours who has replaced him. Maybe then it will shut up the Corbyn would do worse brigade.

Wondering if the alcohol produced in sourdough fermenting can be used as hand sanitiser...

..................
Was " I was never involved in a model – at least, this kind of a model.”
actually a joke
Yes, from a pathetic sexist pig.
Just when you think he couldn't sink lower..

Not just a joke but a boast. 'I can pull models'...

Oh dear! Labour party manifesto being implemented. What if Corbyn had won and implemented it?

Well we've already outspent the Labour manifesto by a few orders of magnitude. Which - if nothing else - shows the money was there all along, if we needed it. I hope people remember that when it's next an issue in an election. We always find the money if we think it's worth it.

I hope people remember that when it's next an issue in an election.

I would hope so too. I wonder if one of our tame Tories could come along and explain how it's absolutely fine, because it's being spent by the Tory party, so it's really the natural order of things.