Westminstenders: No pubs till Christmas?

[RedToothBrush]

Today the news has moved towards acknowledging covid-19 reality: Nicola Sturgeon has explicitly stated that some social distancing will carry on until the new year in all likelihood.

When Matt Hancock asked if this was true for England too, he refused to say yes but he said that Scotland was working from the same framework as England.

In case anyone does still need this spelling out, this means the outlook for the hospitality and leisure industries is bleak.

There are extremely unlikely to be many enjoying a holiday in the sun any time soon, whether it be in Devon or Spain.

We won't be celebrating birthdays in restaurants nor having a pint in the pub.

Conversations on the doorstep from a couple of metres away is as good as it gets.

That means if you can't adapt you may not survive.

To add into the mix changes to customs to those companies who are operating seems insanity. But that's a political not a scientific decision to be made.

Whether reality in this will kick in, in the next six weeks or so before EU budgetary decisions relating to an extension have to be made remains to be seen.

Until then, there is no news but covid-19.

I think the thing about hairdressers is that it will be by appointment so tracking and tracing will be easier.

You’re in the North, aren’t you, Squid? What happened to the Manchester and Harrogate Nightingale hospitals?
and thanks to you and your colleagues. Our government is responsible for the suffering and death of so many people of far more worth than any of them.

There is no need for an App, your phone number is sufficient.

Which one ?

“Our comms have been the best in Europe. We scared everyone shitless, but now we have to undo some of that.”

I think the real truth is the low level of trust the public has that the government has the publics best interests at heart.

Would you trust Boris to be honest that it's OK to go back to work ? A man who has been sacked for lying twice, and who lied to the cameras during the election ?

Hairdressers in France are opening when lockdown starts to be eased, on the 11th (well, 12th, as they're mostly shut on Mondays).

These are the rules:
handwashing/disinfecting on arrival;
hairdressers to wear mask & goggles/visor;
clients to wear masks with elastic over ears to allow for haircut;

over 1m between clients at all times;
clients to be given disposable overalls/ washed and tumble dried bathrobes.

DC's hairdresser has announced a 5€ surcharge to cover the extra costs. Which is fair whack given that it's 15€ a wash and cut for them.

The problem with the UK is there isn't enough masks, visors to give to drs, nurses, dentists etc never mind hair dressers. Until we get enough PPE for businesses and schools (NHS should be first in the queue) I don't see how they can open safely.

I'm in the North and work for the NHS (not frontline), the Nightingale hospitals in Manchester and Harrogate are open but not many patients.

The masks are causing an outcry here: there was a massive shortage and they were requisitioned as of early March.
They are still rationed for HCP.
Now it turns out that supermarkets have millions (Carrefour alone has 175m, for instance, 225m according to one article I read) and are to sell them as of Monday.

There is no need for an App, your phone number is sufficient.
"Mum, I tried to call you but there was no answer"
I'd left the phone in the car
"Why"
It keeps buzzing and annoying me
"Will you carry it around while COVID is still going on"
No. It would buzz whenever I was near people. Call me on my real phone landline

That's interesting AuldAlliance, would be good if Keir Starmer or a journalist asked the question to our government as to whether any work is being done on the procurement of non surgical masks.

There is no need for an App, your phone number is sufficient.

I'll reserve judgement (because if this "app" is going to be as spectacular as the EU citizen registration one, I'll need sunglasses to protect my eyes from it's brilliance) but the more I hear about this "app", the more it starts to sound like a poster child for malware. Wants access to your personal data, wants access to your location, wants access to your bluetooth, wants access to send and receive data.

Wouldn't surprise me if they tried to sneak a cryptocurrency mining stack in there too, just for lolz.

That's before you consider how flaky bluetooth is at the best of times.

My DB in the US has a UK spec phone (and number) - I wonder if he'd sign up for me ? Or my cousin in Spain ?

Casual readers might form the impression that I'm not taking the notion of a government "app" seriously. Which I refute in the strongest possible terms. I am taking it as seriously as they are.

Now it turns out that supermarkets have millions (Carrefour alone has 175m, for instance, 225m according to one article I read) and are to sell them as of Monday.

I don't think they have them all yet. The totals being given by the supermarkets are the totals they have on order and will make available this month. Some of those masks will be in containers at sea still.

I don't understand the scandal (except insofar as I understand that being scandalised is a the French national sport). If everyone in France is going to need masks then you are going to need the "grande distribution" to distribute them. People are going to need to buy more masks than they buy cartons of milk! Does anyone seriously think that small businesses like pharmacists could order or distribute masks on this scale?

In my town of about 5000, which has around 5 pharmacies, that would require local pharmacies to stock and distribute something in the region of 100,000 masks in the next few weeks (imagine the queues, and the difficulties with managing social distancing). Of course the supermarkets have to get involved because they are the only businesses with the logistics and the distribution capacity which are capable of doing it efficiently and safely.

I don't think they have them all yet. The totals being given by the supermarkets are the totals they have on order and will make available this month. Some of those masks will be in containers at sea still.

AKA "Doing a Hancock" ...

I thought masks were coming from the Mairie or is that just us locally? We had notification that the communauté des communes was doing the procurement. A few people in the village have been making them and asked for donations of old sheets and elastic. We already have one each.

The scandal is coming from a statement made by 7 medical orders (doctors, midwives, nurses, dental surgeons, physiotherapists, podiatrists, pharmacists).
They say staff were still being told there were no masks to be had, patients who were at risk couldn't get any, and yet Carrefour already has 10 million that they can start selling on Monday, and the CEO was on TV advertising the fact that they'd have 175m soon. They are suggesting some supermarkets may have been stockpiling them even though they have been designated a requisitioned product for two months to allow all stocks to go to HCP.

I don't think anyone has been suggesting that pharmacists should be responsible for selling them It was more indignation that although there is still serious rationing for HCP and fragile patients, now millions are suddenly available to be sold at 10x their usual price (0.95€ instead of 0.095€) as of the 4th, and that supermarkets are using them as a marketing strategy to get customers back instore.

Although I agree that being scandalised is very French and when Muselier is one of the outraged it's not generally a good sign...

The mairies are providing washable fabric masks, AFAIK.
Ours will have 2 per person.
The ones being sold in supermarkets are disposable.
The 2 washable masks/person, which can be washed a limited number of times, will need to be supplemented by others, either fabric or disposable.

Wilfred?!

Wow, he's got a mop of hair on him!

The GPS system worked well in Taiwan

I'm not surprised pp think it won't work in the UK
There always seem to be loads of reasons why the Uk can't manage to do things that other countries can
Then we do it our way .....

Every time in this crisis that ministers claim "world leadership" seems to mean that they decided to ignore what everyone else is doing and instead do it the British way,

.... their interpretation of which is to try all possible wrong ways first

One in 5 deaths of healthcare workers are of Filipinos

"Why are so many Filipino health workers dying? - BBC Newsnight"

At least 25 Filipino health care workers have now died with Covid-19, despite making up less than 2% of the NHS workforce.

for Squid and all the underpaid and unappreciated NHS staff putting their lives at risk.

This morning I went to local corner shops. Outside the local Tesco One Stop was a polite queue of people standing outside. Except at one point a person pushed past everyone waiting and went inside. The poor Tesco person tried to say something, but the bloke wasn't having it. It wasn't against the law etc. And this attitude is at a time when we are still supposed to be staying at home?! What will happen once lockdown is lifted?

A good history of PPE cockups saga:

Peter Foster@pmdfoster

See this lovely graphic, but in January docs are using 'ebola-style' PPE, then in early Feb the first PPE guidance (now off the website, < Photo 1 >
but we tracked it down) says docs need gowns, FFP3 respirator, face protection - the full monty basically - for suspected cases. /8
.....
It didn't help that UK guidance advised PPE that was less stringent that the WHO and EU CDC in non-ICU setting.

So careworkers in general/triaging wards felt less protect just with flimsy apron, visor 'on risk assessment', mask and gloves. Compare here w WHO/EU /11 < Photo 2 >
.....
There is another fundamental issue,
which explains why SIX heads of the august Royal Colleges of medicine (and this is not BMA) wrote this letter to PPE Tsar warning the govt of it's "duty of candour" to doctors and the public on PPE /24

https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/news/joint-letter-lord-deighton-ongoing-ppe-supply-challenges

Well Wilfred certianly isn't Prem.....

Also interesting timing in releasing the photo .... having the desired effect of pushing away the headlines regarding the government trying to scam the nation in regards to name of tests done.

Wilfred.