For those (including me) that have wondered if drastic measures are really needed, this article is very useful, especially the 'flattening the curve' bit.


https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/09-03- ... anageable/

For those (including me) that have wondered if drastic measures are really needed, this article is very useful, especially the 'flattening the curve' bit.


https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/09-03- ... anageable/

First SL game to be played under closed doors.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/51820654


You would have to wonder if the finances of clubs like Wakey and HKR can cope with this.

First SL game to be played under closed doors.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/51820654


You would have to wonder if the finances of clubs like Wakey and HKR can cope with this.

That's two very, very small rugby teams.

That's two very, very small rugby teams.

Yes, I have just been reading about this;

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... s-covid-19

Yes, I have just been reading about this;

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... s-covid-19

Isolating Care and Nursing Homes will almost certainly be one of the next steps, but you only need to look at what has happened in Italy to realise that large numbers of people that require hospitalisation will crash our NHS. All medical staff over there are involved with CV patients rather than their normal elective surgery work. And even then, they are having to decide which CV patients to treat. That is what happens when you allow the virus to take its natural course and is why countries are trying to do exactly the opposite; slow the infection rate and spread the numbers over a more manageable period of time.

Then there is the risk of a recession. Which is why the small business measures were announced in the budget yesterday. Airline and travel company shares have already plummeted, but small companies are very vulnerable because of their cash flow; with little reserves and perhaps a bank loan they depend on their monthly income to pay salaries and debts. If work dries up or they don't get paid by customers they go to the wall. Have a look at the stock market over the past month;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/c9qdqqkgz27t/ftse-100

Have a look at the price of oil;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cmjpj223708t/oil

Some of this will indeed be panic (markets are driven by fear and greed), but there is a genuine possibility of a major recession with lots of job losses.

Finally think about the general effects on society. Policing the streets, providing an ambulance service, looking after school children, young adults looking after elderly relatives, bus and train services, the financial system etc etc. Our society is complex, it doesn't take much ( heavy rain, leaves on the line, 1cm of snow on the roads) to destroy the equilibrium and cause chaos.

Isolating Care and Nursing Homes will almost certainly be one of the next steps, but you only need to look at what has happened in Italy to realise that large numbers of people that require hospitalisation will crash our NHS. All medical staff over there are involved with CV patients rather than their normal elective surgery work. And even then, they are having to decide which CV patients to treat. That is what happens when you allow the virus to take its natural course and is why countries are trying to do exactly the opposite; slow the infection rate and spread the numbers over a more manageable period of time.

Then there is the risk of a recession. Which is why the small business measures were announced in the budget yesterday. Airline and travel company shares have already plummeted, but small companies are very vulnerable because of their cash flow; with little reserves and perhaps a bank loan they depend on their monthly income to pay salaries and debts. If work dries up or they don't get paid by customers they go to the wall. Have a look at the stock market over the past month;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/c9qdqqkgz27t/ftse-100

Have a look at the price of oil;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cmjpj223708t/oil

Some of this will indeed be panic (markets are driven by fear and greed), but there is a genuine possibility of a major recession with lots of job losses.

Finally think about the general effects on society. Policing the streets, providing an ambulance service, looking after school children, young adults looking after elderly relatives, bus and train services, the financial system etc etc. Our society is complex, it doesn't take much ( heavy rain, leaves on the line, 1cm of snow on the roads) to destroy the equilibrium and cause chaos.