Coronavirus (Non-Politics)

[Special Blue]

I work for NR, £20 notes are a distant dream....

All 50's now ?

 

[Benfleet A1]

I've heard that the virus can stay active on plastic bank notes for a couple of weeks, especially the higher denominations. Just as a precaution I've set up a PO Box for you all to send your £20 notes. I'll dispose of them safely for you.

PM me and I'll let you have the PO Box details.

What a nice guy.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Any sign of the lock down in Spain coming to an end soonsoon?.
Will be interesting to see who goes first in Europe .Economics over people's lives will come into play shortly.Meanwhile the Swedish model will give some pointers too for all the so called experts

I'm sure there'll be at least another fortnight's extension here in Spain (currently locked down until the 26th April,after starting here in mid-March).

Logically, Italy will be the first country to come out of lockdown since they went into it first.Noticed on the Beeb at lunchtime they were talking about some partial relaxation there soon.

It will be interesting to see how long Sweden will be able to continue their current model.The Swedes are a notoriously relaxed people but.......

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

In Italy the cities and old towns are very different from the rural areas and they might go for situations reflecting that and restricting area travel, back to how they started.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

It probably helps that their total population is around 10 million, whereas the Spanish population is 46+million.

Indeed.Pubey is right to mention that they were quick to lockdown relatively early.They do however have an extensive land border with Spain with not very many people having second homes in each other's countries (unlike eg. France/Spain).
There were reports in the Spanish media yesterday and today of French second home owners occupying their flats on the Costa Brava for Easter.Not very clever.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

not just geographically - Sweden has the highest number of single households in the world, and given it is a more equitable country than many there isn't as much overcrowding in housing and fewer people in poverty who are most at risk of transmission. Also the people just aren't as sociable as Mediterranean Europe.

I work with a disease modeller who lives near Malmo (so pretty isolated in UK terms but metropolitan for Sweden) and when he heard about the potential lockdown he moved up to his summer house (which is very common for wealthy 'city dwellers') which is completely in the middle of nowhere. So they're a country quite used to social isolation and he's used to spending months out in the wild not really bumping into people.

Sounds quite good to me!

Indeed .My English mate, (who now has Swedish nationality) lives near Ystad.It's "pretty isolated" around there as you say.However given that Sweden is the only Scandinavian country (to the best of my knowledge) not to have gone into lockdown I do wonder how much longer they can sustain their current policy model.Mind you they managed to remain neutral during WW2,without too much difficulty.

 

[Up the Shrimpers]

So no real update on the lockdown just repeating stay in for the Easter weekend. Think I heard them say they will look at it again at the end of next week.
They really need to say a date otherwise people will think it ends on Tuesday.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

So no real update on the lockdown just repeating stay in for the Easter weekend. Think I heard them say they will look at it again at the end of next week.
They really need to say a date otherwise people will think it ends on Tuesday.

From what I've seen out and about locally, and from all the reports coming in of all the crazy behaviour with parties going on all over the place, then lockdown has to go on. On the news today they said the Greater Manchester police had to break up nearly 500 parties and 166 street parties in the last two weeks. A party is bad enough, but street parties? What's that all about? So many idiots about. No time for complacency, and most sensible people think the lockdown is the best way of dealing with it.

 

[wakes123]

There's too many idiots in this country the lockdown will go on for months.


The Government/Police need to be stricter imo. There needs to be a bigger deterrent for breaking the rules.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

So no real update on the lockdown just repeating stay in for the Easter weekend. Think I heard them say they will look at it again at the end of next week.
They really need to say a date otherwise people will think it ends on Tuesday

From what I've seen out and about locally, and from all the reports coming in of all the crazy behaviour with parties going on all over the place, then lockdown has to go on. On the news today they said the Greater Manchester police had to break up nearly 500 parties and 166 street parties in the last two weeks. A party is bad enough, but street parties? What's that all about? So many idiots about. No time for complacency, and most sensible people think the lockdown is the best way of dealing with it.

Not giving a firm date for any extension of an existing lockdown until the last possible moment is a depressingly familiar pattern for anyone living in Spain.

Any Easter weekend breaches of the lockdown (and I saw that stuff about Manchester earlier),of course, just means that the lockdown in the UK will inevitably be extended,if not necessarily toughned up.

 

[OldBlueLady]

This should have been clamped down on when people started doing this at the start of the supposed "lockdown".

https://twitter.com/x/status/1247773642051575811

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

This should have been clamped down on when people started doing this at the start of the supposed "lockdown".

https://twitter.com/x/status/1247773642051575811

Yeah there were similar stories here a couple of weeks ago about "madrileños"and wealthy Catalans fleeing to their second homes in the country before the lockdown started in Spain, back in mid-March.Knowing how the Cornish feel about "emmets" they're not going to be too popular.

 

[Mad Cyril]

Just been cycling. Loads more cars on the road. I suspect people are going to drop the ball this weekend.

 

[Member]

Just been cycling. Loafs more cars on the road. I suspect people are going to drop the ball this weekend.

Especially with today's briefing being about how the numbers are looking positive and that the curve is starting to slow. If anything the measures should be stricter, we're not out of the woods and if you look at Italy, their numbers have plateaued and then stayed there.

 

[Billy Bests boot laces]

Just been cycling. Loads more cars on the road. I suspect people are going to drop the ball this weekend.

All shops closed on Sunday, so Old Bill should be out in force, questioning motorists on where they are going? Certainly not shopping!.
Monday supposed to be 12* max, with chilly Northerly wind. Should keep a few cretinous day trippers indoors?.

 

[Shrimpers are Magic]

I do wish people would stop comparing us to other countries.
Demographics differ from country to country.
This is what the experts running the response have said from day one, why isn't anyone listening?
From where I'm sat, 20,000 was given as the figure we are trying to come under. That as things stand looks about right.

 

[Mad Cyril]

One in ten Americans have lost their jobs.

The economic effects of the virus are going to be with us for decades.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

I do wish people would stop comparing us to other countries.
Demographics differ from country to country.
This is what the experts running the response have said from day one, why isn't anyone listening?
From where I'm sat, 20,000 was given as the figure we are trying to come under. That as things stand looks about right.

It's only natural.Everyone wants to know where they are on the curve.It's ahistorical not to want to compare your own country's position with that of other countries.

David Miliband was making the point yesterday that just because most African countries currently have few outbreaks of the virus doesn't mean that the West shouldn't be currently investing in basic preventive techniques there, in order to prevent a second wave of infections after lockdown restrictions are lifted in Europe.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

So sad to hear that a doctor who came out to warn that the PPE equipment in his ward was inadequate and not fit for purpose, has died of the virus. These doctors and nurses are in some cases working inches away from infected people. They are the front line. They need the best protection. Incredibly, they are not downing tools, probably not in their nature. The PPE situation is getting much better, but everyday we still hear on the TV and radio of people screaming out for PPE or better PPE.

 

[Holy Joe]

So sad to hear that a doctor who came out to warn that the PPE equipment in his ward was inadequate and not fit for purpose, has died of the virus. These doctors and nurses are in some cases working inches away from infected people. They are the front line. They need the best protection. Incredibly, they are not downing tools, probably not in their nature. The PPE situation is getting much better, but everyday we still hear on the TV and radio of people screaming out for PPE or better PPE.

Is the PPE situation getting better- seeing appeals on facebook, allegedly from staff at Basildon Hospital, that they are out of gowns

And from a more reputable source dated yesterday....

Lack of surgical gowns for medics 'a disaster in waiting', say NHS bosses

Hospitals in England running out of vital protective gear for staff treating Covid-19 patients

www.theguardian.com