I heard a piece on the radio in the past few days, with a roving reporter doing vox-pops, asking the question - "are people here worried?" His increasingly desperate attempts at locating panic ended triumphantly when one man said, "yes, I expect some people are a bit worried."

At what point do we think the official government line will be "due to the exceptional circumstances of Coronovirus, there is no longer the money available to.........."

Dont want panic everyone but i am already finding difficulties in obtaining certain medicines from my wholesalers and they have no stock of alcohol gels or surgical masks for at least the next 8 weeks paracetamol had quadrupled in price and low availabilty this is just the start of people panic buying and reduced supply of medicines from india our biggest supplier of generic medicines having a massive impact in my job

Same - we have a regular supplier of PPE and cleaning supplies; yesterday they couldn't fill our order for gloves, face masks or hand sanitiser - and they have no indication when the latter will be available again.

Folks are going mad.

Beds will not be found. It is estimated that 100 people will be lining up for each intensive care bed. Only those most likely to survive will be treated. So if you are over 60 or under 60 with an underlying health problem you will not be treated.

Already running out of single use surgical equipment (imported from China!) - so, yes, operations galore will get cancelled.

Another issue - are the government going to build creches for children of NHS staff? The likelihood of closing schools has been mentioned so NHS staff will need to stay at home to look after theirs unless govt magics up huge creches.

I dont doubt that "non urgent" operations will be cancelled, it seems to be an obvious step.
However, your thoughts om treatment will depend on the severity of the illness and of course the numbers involved.

Certainly the situation has some way to go and I guess it all depends on how the governments 4 step plan works out.
Apparently we are between step 1 and step 2.

I dont doubt that, if your figures of 100 people are lining up for each intensive care bed then, it can only be based on need and probability of surviving.

I work for a MAT, and we've been working on a contingency plan for the past week for if we have to start closing schools. If all of ours close, that's over 20 thousand primary and secondary age kids staying at home, many who will need some form of adult supervision.

I'm just border line 60 in June and suffer from RA while it limits my ability to live as I used to do when I could hold a job down it does put me with an underlying health issue with the drugs I have to take to help control it and to be honest I don't feel like it is a threat to me, but that is the pig headed part of me that still thinks I can still change the world

Dont give up on trying to change the world mate and just be pleased that Dally isn't running the health service or the country.
The thing that getting a little older tells us, is to fight for our rights and not be pushed around by anyone and I think you will be ok on that score

I wonder at what stage RL may be affected by this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/51777154 As I suggested in the opening post, travel to and from France will be most interesting, especially for the fans

I wonder at what stage RL may be affected by this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/51777154 As I suggested in the opening post, travel to and from France will be most interesting, especially for the fans

If the NHS is under strain, and people start asking tough questions about why the service has been allowed to degrade so much that it doesn't have capacity for this, I wonder if the government will take responsibility for it, or will they mock outrage at anybody trying to hold them accountable for "using the NHS as a political football" and "taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis".

I think some Government Ministers will be ecstatic at the thought of coronavirus spreading throughout the country.

With an estimated death rate of around three percent & a population of sixty odd million, that could be one hell of a cost saving.

The N.H.S. would be a major benefactor, imagine all the “creaking gates” taken out of the equation, those waiting list would take a hell of a dive.

Add to this the savings on pensions & pension credits, free bus passes, winter fuel allowances & T.V. licences that’s one almighty cost reduction.

Then, with some much new housing stock freed up, prices could come down to a reasonable level.

The future's bright, the future's COVID-19.

Those "creaking gates" are the Conservatives' core voters.

Abdu Sharkawy

I'm a doctor and an Infectious Diseases Specialist. I've been at this for more than 20 years seeing sick patients on a daily basis. I have worked in inner city hospitals and in the poorest slums of Africa. HIV-AIDS, Hepatitis,TB, SARS, Measles, Shingles, Whooping cough, Diphtheria...there is little I haven't been exposed to in my profession. And with notable exception of SARS, very little has left me feeling vulnerable, overwhelmed or downright scared.

I am not scared of Covid-19. I am concerned about the implications of a novel infectious agent that has spread the world over and continues to find new footholds in different soil. I am rightly concerned for the welfare of those who are elderly, in frail health or disenfranchised who stand to suffer mostly, and disproportionately, at the hands of this new scourge. But I am not scared of Covid-19.

What I am scared about is the loss of reason and wave of fear that has induced the masses of society into a spellbinding spiral of panic, stockpiling obscene quantities of anything that could fill a bomb shelter adequately in a post-apocalyptic world. I am scared of the N95 masks that are stolen from hospitals and urgent care clinics where they are actually needed for front line healthcare providers and instead are being donned in airports, malls, and coffee lounges, perpetuating even more fear and suspicion of others. I am scared that our hospitals will be overwhelmed with anyone who thinks they " probably don't have it but may as well get checked out no matter what because you just never know..." and those with heart failure, emphysema, pneumonia and strokes will pay the price for overfilled ER waiting rooms with only so many doctors and nurses to assess.

I am scared that travel restrictions will become so far reaching that weddings will be canceled, graduations missed and family reunions will not materialize. And well, even that big party called the Olympic Games...that could be kyboshed too. Can you even
imagine?

I'm scared those same epidemic fears will limit trade, harm partnerships in multiple sectors, business and otherwise and ultimately culminate in a global recession.

But mostly, I'm scared about what message we are telling our kids when faced with a threat. Instead of reason, rationality, openmindedness and altruism, we are telling them to panic, be fearful, suspicious, reactionary and self-interested.

Covid-19 is nowhere near over. It will be coming to a city, a hospital, a friend, even a family member near you at some point. Expect it. Stop waiting to be surprised further. The fact is the virus itself will not likely do much harm when it arrives. But our own behaviors and "fight for yourself above all else" attitude could prove disastrous.

I implore you all. Temper fear with reason, panic with patience and uncertainty with education. We have an opportunity to learn a great deal about health hygiene and limiting the spread of innumerable transmissible diseases in our society. Let's meet this challenge together in the best spirit of compassion for others, patience, and above all, an unfailing effort to seek truth, facts and knowledge as opposed to conjecture, speculation and catastrophizing.

Facts not fear. Clean hands. Open hearts.
Our children will thank us for it.

#washurhands #geturflushot #respect #patiencenotpanic

I wonder if those who are so keen to show a 'calm, reasoned approach' to the threat of a pandemic virus would be as measured had Labour won the election and Jeremy Corbyn become PM.

Or would they now be shouting about the need to "leave the country" because the "UK is finished".

Are you really trying to make this political, jeez, I knew you were a bit daft, didn't have you down as stupid.

A silver lining to the cloud may be that, if sporting events have to take place behind closed doors, there may be FTA viewing for many sports, that currently charge for their services.
Every cloud...…………….

On a serious note, with Italy now "quarantining" 15 million of their population, should there be absolute travel bans put in place for certain areas.
Also, with older people being the most likely to take a cruise and the 65+ age group being most vulnerable, is it time to stop these large scale "prison ships" leaving port, which have started to look like incubators for the virus.

So, you're advocating Abdu Sharkawy's speech, IR80? You're hilarious you wannabe libertarian types!

You're all "every man for himself" when it comes to society, but the minute it looks like you might get really ill, maybe even die, you're all "we've got to look out for one another".

It's just like those Billy big balls types in government who dismiss experts and want to do away with 'interfering' advisers. They're all "we're listening to, and acting on expert advice" now.

There's nothing like a good pandemic to show the whites of people's eyes.

Very true - Michael Gove's words seem very hollow now don't they; I'm imagining a lot 'experts' going, "Oh - not so sick of us now are you...?"

It' quite strange that only certain types of experts are to be trusted or in this case, scapegoated if things dont follow "the model".

See also the NHS and its staff.

The speed at which they went from "a flabby, wasteful organisation, bloated with middle managers pushing paper around a desk, which needs to get leaner" to "our NHS heroes working tirelessly on the frontline of healthcare" was astonishingly quick, especially when the people saying the former realised they would be relying on the latter if they got sick.

Didn’t take long for various posters on here to go down the political route. Ref experts, most of them are deeply divided except piers Morgan he obviously knows the solution to that and everything else. The Israel method is to prevent it reaching the country, successfull so far (tiny amount of cases) argument against that us That it will break out sometime and the general population won’t have any amunity against the virus. Some uk experts believe that stamping the virus out now is the answer.
The government seems to think that maintaining a level of cases will eventually overcome the problem. So let’s face the facts nobody knows what the outcome will be. One thing is for certain is scores of companies and individuals will go bust. The big question is how many companies can the government bail out. Looking at rugby league, should the game go into lock down clubs who are already in debt will fold. Regarding the eu, Italian banks have been virtually bankrupt for years the Germans and the ecb have been reluctant to help out in times past. So unlikely to help out when this is all over. Italy will be bankrupt when this is over.Without doubt this country will overcome the health problems. I would think the financial outcome will set back the country years.

No, common sense prevails, not a liberal ideal. there is no chance of me getting seriously ill or dying anytime soon, sorry if that disappoints.

Shrink wrap your knives and forks, laminate your copy of The Socialust Worker, stay at home, whatever makes you feel safe.

[url=https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=tablet-android-samsung&source=android-browser&q=tesco+panic+buying#ip=1but don't keep encouraging this hysteria...[/url

That's the point - even the experts don't agree. We had some shouty expert on QT on Thursday - Prof John Ashton telling the world the government experts were wrong. Ashton is Labour, but I don't actually think that was behind his outbursts and this shouldn't be political despite the usual whining mob on here. Some experts think it'll be gone by summer, others thinks it's here for years with seasonal peaks. Every expert has their own view...many of them conflict and they're all a damn sight better informed than any of us. Seems to me it's going to spread whatever and flattening the curve while isolating the vulnerable is about the best anyone can do - but the timing seems to be crucial.

Taking all things into account it seems likely the majority of us will contract it at some point. For 90% of us it'll be mild to a right 'orrible b'stard according to most evidence. About 10% will require medical or hospital intervention and something between 2-5% will die, mainly the most elderly and those with severe medical complaints. If I have one frustration - I want to hear what the 'pre-existing conditions' are when people succumb. I have a vested interest as I'm sure many of us do.

We are heading for a shutdown - most likely in the next 7 days if not sooner. Many people are heading for financial disaster. I'd like to see lenders ordered into mandatory 2 month mortgage/loan holidays (or part-holidays), landlords to vastly reduce rents (not all can afford to lose rental income entirely), perhaps even to dip into the deposit scheme. Business and utility rates waived for 2 months. To be fair some banks/buildings societies are quietly offering mortgage holidays - but if/when the shutdown comes it must be mandatory. Stick those 2 months on at the other end - what difference does it make.

Many people WILL lose their jobs in the next few weeks. Everyone in the travel & hospitality industries is bricking it right now. Airlines, tour operators, travel agencies, hotels, etc are laying off staff already. Many will go bust - some already have, Flybe being a bigger example but make no mistake some of the major airlines are on thin ice. Then think of the industries that rely on those sectors - catering, transport, events providers, cleaning, laundry...the supply chains are huge, many millions globally. Retail is in big trouble, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, etc...the list is almost endless.

My daughter's school closed for 2 days last week for a 'deep clean' after a child's parent had been 'in contact' with someone who'd been to Italy and was a confirmed case. Well intentioned, but utterly pointless several days on. Horse...bolted.