Westministenders: Lockdown continues

[BigChocFrenzy]

The UK has been on lockdown since 23 March,
with no end in sight.

The deaths peak is predicted to be around 17 April,
with the controversial IHME prediction that the UK will have considerably more total deaths - 66,000 - by summer than other European countries.

Supermarkets are struggling to satisfy demand for online slots for the vulnerable
and to keep shelves supplied for other customers

Like all countries, the UK economy is being hammered and heading for a deep recession.
Estimates are for UK GDP to fall 15% this year.

A million people have applied for Universal Credit
The self-employed and small - and some large - businesses are struggling to stay solvent.

They don't know how long to plan for.

The PM is in ICU and Raab has taken over as stand-in, but needs Cabinet approval for decisions.
Probably BJ will be unfit to resume his duties as PM for several weeks, if ever.

WIll he stand down soon and let the Cabinet choose a new PM,
or will the UK continue for weeks with a stand-in leader during the worst crisis since WW2

What's the plan, anybody?

Feelings of needing control (buzzword for Brexit) and risk taking behaviours (men usually - see another pattern?) are psychologically interesting.

However is it possible that those not adhering to social distancing (since this is phone data not reduced further) are merely builders, bin men and other key workers? I still think there will be research after the event showing they are more likely to not social distance and have parties etc - what would be the point after spending every day working in an environment where you can't?

Hancock "promising" test for care homes - let me guess, they will come after the expected peak on 17th April? At least the "test, test, test" message appears to have dawned on him, as he says it is now "key"! Blow me down! www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52289607

On a more hopeful note, plasma studies seem to be going well as suggested in February www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30141-9/fulltext?fbclid=IwAR2TwkHx2UhzLim-WlGhzxR3CHjct5NhGMFecKJftnSdbz2stXuRSwY5n7E and I note Wales is now treating patients this way www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-antibody-transfusion-wales-cardiff-18087216 - seems to be working

The link between lower earners/'working class' * and brexit is well established, I thought?

Certainly, whilst we are happily (or unhappily) working from home, family members in construction, food shop work, delivery drivers are all still working. Many of them longer hours than ever. This isn't necessarily their choice; like many, they do not have the resources to survive indefinitely on no or limited pay and don't have the job confidence to walk out over unsafe measures.

Given what we know about the Brexit demographic, I'm not surprised there's a tight overlap. I think many of them do not have much choice in the matter and it's probably another example of those at the bottom getting shit on by those above - a feeling which I believe had no small part in causing brexit, however misguided.

(*used for easy shorthand - I know it's a gross oversimplification)

It's been really noticeable from the start that the areas with fewer cases have looked like Leave areas.

Initially a rich person's disease (spread by travel to Asia and Italy).

Then a disease that spreads more easily in densely populated urban areas with large populations of essential workers who find it hard (practically) to socially distance.

So obviously likely to spread first and more rapidly in major urban centres.

However West Midlands is a hotspot ... and quite Brexity.

Abraid2 Sun 12-Apr-20 23:55:06

I think Germany or France are more illuminating case studies in terms of demographic similarity and population density

A comparison with Ireland is more useful because both Ireland and Britain are islands, have separate health systems existing on each island (Scotland, NI), and have similar health systems and hospital systems/medical training, and even staff working in both systems who have experience of working in the other one.

Hands up who is surprised by the ransom note

Josh Lederman @joshnbcnews
BREAKING: Trump, in the middle of a pandemic, says he's halting all funding to the World Health Organization pending a review

Dh, who takes more of an interest in things USian, tells me that Trump can't however much he's like to cut the funding as it's for Congress to decide.

He does seem to be trying to demonstrate that every single item on this list is true and not just an exaggeration

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52285301
The French Government can take a running jump on this one I'm afraid.
Define essential
For somebody working from home it is all of the tools of their trade - be they office supplies or art materials or musical instrument spares.

For somebody who needs to do urgent repairs to their house after a plumbing leak its maintenance and decorating supplies.

For somebody trying to keep preschool children sane its whatever it takes.

For a person on their own its whatever it takes to keep them sane.

Clothes wear out even in confined spaces.

This whole essential malarkey is getting utterly daft.

A comparison with Ireland is more useful because both Ireland and Britain are islands, have separate health systems existing on each island

But no huge hub airport and far fewer mixed-generation BAME households. BAME population hit far harder than white population.

TRUMP loves COVID. Its killing Democratic voters in far greater numbers than republicans

Trump diverting blame as normal.
What's amazing is that Bill Gates is the 2nd biggest donator to the WHO after the US

Kon
Jeff Bezos could fund the whole thing with the extra billions he has made since lockdown
but he wont

LQ
In France, you can buy supplies for your job/arts/crafts from a whole range of sources, online and otherwise.
DIY and hardware shops are open, for plumbing, etc. supplies. Garden centres have been allowed to reopen so plants can be planted, not die instore.
I've ordered clothes for DS2, who's growing fast - just not from Amazon.
I've ordered seeds from a seed merchant and various items (hand cream, cleaning stuff) from an online shop.
The mairie has set up a whole web page where people offer to buy and deliver things for those who can't go out.

The measure doesn't say you can't order non-essential items, but that you can't order them from Amazon for such time as it takes to check Amazon's measures are sufficient to protect workers.

And it makes little difference to delivery times, as the PO is only delivering mail/parcels Wed-Fri, so Amazon's delivery is no faster than anyone else's.

The DS are rereading books they have, because they want to wait until our local bookshop opens again rather than buy from Amazon.
I had a quick peek at the thread on here where people are treating themselves and was a bit surprised, TBH, at how much online shopping is going on in the UK.

Garden centres have been allowed to reopen so plants can be planted, not die instore.
I wish they would do that here.
I need more seeding compost

I've just tried making my own with a mix of vermiculite, compost (sterilised in the microwave), leaf mould and some of the kiss scarified from the lawn I think the moss was a mistake - but we'll see how it goes

pretty
I am at the end of my 100 litre bag of perlite
Vermiculite is down to a few litres
And I need around 40 litres just to pot up veg seedlings ....

but mainly it saddens me that plants are dying in garden centres when they could make many many people happier planted in gardens

Flouting social distancing = selfish
Brexit voter = selfish

Believing that 5g and any virus are linked = susceptible to Internet guff

Not a surprise

The French Government can take a running jump on this one I'm afraid.

I think outsourcing the health risk to inadequately protected minimum wage workers for non-necessities is shitty behaviour. There are plenty of other places to order from.

Clothes wear out even in confined spaces.

Do they really? What are you doing in them?

COVID is killing the Blue voters first.

It is coming for the Red states in the next few weeks.

Not sure if any of you needing compost are in Kent, but this place is doing deliveries with £5 bags of compost optional www.plants2people.com/delivery

Burney
children have this pesky habit of growing when you feed them

Median ages of population:

The UK has a lower median age than most other W / N European countries;
Ireland even more so
However, relationship of age to CV deaths is not consistent

47 Italy
46 Germany
45 Spain
42 France
40 UK
38 Ireland

https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/

Ok I’ll concede the point on kids’ clothes. You sounded a bit like an arse on my FB complaining she didn’t have enough indoor clothes.