The Covid-19 community thread

[RDW]

First topic message reminder :

With not much sport going on I want to create a thread for anything to do with the global pandemic.

Feel free to use it however you want.

If you need to release stress or anxiety about what's going on to a bunch of strangers who don't know you then go ahead.

If you're self isolating and want some benign chat then crack on.

If you're struggling and looking for anyone to help with anything then reach out here and see if anyone can help out.


This may not be used or it may kick off and help someone out - either way please be nice. We're literally all in it together!

[RDW]

Schools due to shut on Tuesday then they're on Easter holidays.

[Rugby Fan]

Will Greenwood's aunt caught it. He has just reported she has passed away.

https://twitter.com/WillGreenwood/status/1241664235915988993

[lostinwales]

https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-the-hammer-and-the-dance-be9337092b56

Long but we have time to read these days.

[BigGee]

Apparently it was Macron who forced BJ hand over this. Newspapers are reporting that he threatened to close the boarder to us (which would have caused havoc with our food supply) if he did not start taking it seriously!

Also reports today that the herd immunity theory (now thankfully abandoned) was being pushed by our favourite unelected advisor, Dominic Cummings, who did not seem to concerned if a few pensioners went west for the greater good of all!

The modelling suggested that the China approach - total lockdown, would result in 50,000 extra deaths

The take it on the chin (Blitz spirit and herd immunity approach) - would be 250,000 extra deaths

Not really surprising they got cold feet on that one!

[123456789.]

It is crazy how each country is going through the exact same course. China shut down everything and now has 5300 active cases and life is returning to normal. Everywhere else goes through the same process. First, just wash your hands. Cases continue to rise like they did in every other country. Second, stop shaking hands. Cases continue to rise like they did in every other country. Third, please do social distancing but we won't make you. Cases continue to rise like they did in every other country. Fourth, you have to do social distancing. Cases have reached a point when they are out of control.

It is baffling how dreadful the response has been even when we have Italy as a live example of how badly this can go. Apparently the Chief Medical Guy explained how this would go down in early February. So you have to question why we weren't looking to mass produce ventilators then. Best case scenario is that we end up with far too many but, even then, we could have become a supplier.

By the looks of things Rishi Sunak is the new darling of the media and Cummings/ Johnson look set to be cast as the fall guys. Probably rightly so.

[Soul Requiem]

Apparently it was Macron who forced BJ hand over this. Newspapers are reporting that he threatened to close the boarder to us (which would have caused havoc with our food supply) if he did not start taking it seriously!

Also reports today that the herd immunity theory (now thankfully abandoned) was being pushed by our favourite unelected advisor, Dominic Cummings, who did not seem to concerned if a few pensioners went west for the greater good of all!

The modelling suggested that the China approach - total lockdown, would result in 50,000 extra deaths

The take it on the chin (Blitz spirit and herd immunity approach) - would be 250,000 extra deaths

Not really surprising they got cold feet on that one!

What a load of old BS.

[Duty281]

Apparently it was Macron who forced BJ hand over this. Newspapers are reporting that he threatened to close the boarder to us (which would have caused havoc with our food supply) if he did not start taking it seriously!

Also reports today that the herd immunity theory (now thankfully abandoned) was being pushed by our favourite unelected advisor, Dominic Cummings, who did not seem to concerned if a few pensioners went west for the greater good of all!

On the first point, it was claimed that Macron would ban UK visitors to France if nothing stricter was done by Johnson's government, nothing has been said (I believe) about food supply/trade.

On the second, those reports are denied by no.10. Though it should be added, in the interests of fairness, that the report (in the Sunday Times) went on to say that Cummings changed his mind and became one of the strongest advocates in government for the very toughest of restrictions (not herd immunity).

[BigGee]

Apparently it was Macron who forced BJ hand over this. Newspapers are reporting that he threatened to close the boarder to us (which would have caused havoc with our food supply) if he did not start taking it seriously!

Also reports today that the herd immunity theory (now thankfully abandoned) was being pushed by our favourite unelected advisor, Dominic Cummings, who did not seem to concerned if a few pensioners went west for the greater good of all!

The modelling suggested that the China approach - total lockdown, would result in 50,000 extra deaths

The take it on the chin (Blitz spirit and herd immunity approach) - would be 250,000 extra deaths

Not really surprising they got cold feet on that one!

What a load of old BS.

You may not agree with it SR, but it is, as I said being reported in some reputable news outlets in here (Sunday Times) and all over the media in France.

We are all free to choose what we want to believe, but it seems impossible to deny that the UK government has completely changed its tune on how best to manage CV in the space of a week.

[Soul Requiem]

I dont tend to waste my time giving credence to such garbage but each to their own.

Good old Europe to the rescue again.

[lostinwales]

I dont tend to waste my time giving credence to such garbage but each to their own.

Good old Europe to the rescue again.

So there is no evidence that the previous government plan was mitigation and then it suddenly changed? None?

Look any government in this situation is going to find things tough, and whatever they do there will be dissenting voices, but is it just a little bit, a little teeny weeny bit obvious that we could have done better? You know - for instance - ramping up production of protection equipment for the NHS 2 months ago maybe?

[Soul Requiem]

A community thread becomes a platform for politically motivated opinions instead, bravo all.

[lostinwales]

Its not political. It is about ability to do the job.

There is plenty about Boris that can be questioned. If it was, say, dear old JC in power we would probably be having the same conversations. After all, if you elect a moron to a position of power and he surrounds himself with brainless sycophants then you can't complain if he struggles to do a decent job in one of the worst crises in living memory.

It is a free country and questioning power is one of the best ways of keeping it so. Over the next couple of months a lot of people are going to die. We have every right to ask if more could have been done to save lives.

[lostinwales]

A short comment, based on the article I linked to, on what is going to cause death.

As the virus spreads and more people get infected, a significant proportion will end up needing critical care. We only have so many ICU beds. The majority of people needing critical care who don't get it will die.

If all the ICU beds are being occupied by CV patients then other people needing those beds won't get the treatment they need and a majority of them will die too

There are 4 million admissions to the ICU in the US every year, and 500k (~13%) of them die. Without ICU beds, that share would likely go much closer to 80%. Even if only 50% died, in a year-long epidemic you go from 500k deaths a year to 2M, so you’re adding 1.5M deaths, just with collateral damage.

[Soul Requiem]

Of course its political, this talk belongs elsewhere but alas the usual suspects cant resist a pop, typical.

[123456789.]

It is difficult to have a serious conversation about this without it sliding into a political discussion. The whole situation is a reflection of political management. If the Chinese government had not tried to hush up the situation in Wuhan in December, this could all have been avoided. Instead they held two enormous conferences in there allowing literally millions of people to go in and out of the city.
Western governments knew in January that this could happen. Collectively, they wasted that time. We could have seen the mass production of ventilators from January and we did not, we could have seen the mass production of hand sanitiser from January and we did not, we could have seen the mass production of the medical equipment needed to fight this and we did not. Once it was clear that the time had been wasted by the "just flu" brigade, we had the single most lacklustre reaction of any European country. I don't have any idea whether Cummings said what he is alleged to have said. I do know that the idea of trying to achieve herd immunity through the spread of a fatal virus is complete insanity when there is no Vaccine in sight. I would advise reading foreign newspapers to see the state of bewilderment at the UK's reaction to this. I spoke on the phone last night to a Singaporean friend from University. The earliest case in Singapore was in late January, the earliest case in the UK was in late February. They have the same number of cases per million people as we do now and have been able to control it. They followed the WHO advice where in Britain we did not. I am not anti-Conservative, in the vast majority of elections (almost all prior to 2016) I voted for the Tory party. My only, non-rugby, hero is Ken Clarke. Politicians and political parties are not rugby teams or football teams. They are vehicles for the success and well-being of the country. Burying your head in the sand and pretending that our government has dealt well with this because you like the funny man and his mental friend helps nobody at all.
It is right to say this is a community thread. But people within this community are suffering or seeing the people who are suffering because of an international lack of leadership. Totalitarian governments tried to silence their people, which is what they do. Our populist government tried only to be popular, which what they do. I hope to God our government has, against all odds, got this absolutely right because that means my family and my friends will be safer. If they are proven to get this right, then I am more than willing to buy anyone who said otherwise copious amount of beer while they sit and laugh in my face. In the meantime I hope everybody on here remains safe and healthy for the duration, let's keep the red flag flying here etc. etc.

[Soul Requiem]

Blaming the government because you dont like the man in charge doesn't help anyone either but people need someone to blame.

[jimbopip]

Numbers A reasoned and thoughtful response. With at least one

Soul Requiem, I don't think you're adding anything positive to the thread.

[tigertattie]

China are apparently getting things under control now and are opening back up again.

It’s yet to be seen how trustworthy the Chinese reporting on this will be.

Time will tell and I guess Italy will be the example we can follow if lockdown is the way to combat this. Sadly they are still in the multiple new cases each day phase.

[123456789.]

https://scrummagazine.com/life-is-close-to-being-back-to-normal-former-scottish-student-on-coronavirus-in-china/

This is an article about a Scottish rugby player in China, he says things are returning to how they were beforehand with a few alterations. There's also a report in a Hong Kong newspaper that there have been 40,000 more positive cases of coronavirus than the Chinese admitted. Bringing the total to 120,000 total confirmed Chinese cases. The 40,000 unreported cases were asymptomatic, so a third of Chinese cases have not exhibited symptoms. Which is in line with the whole host of celebrities testing positive and saying they feel fine. So it is possible that the extent that this travels through a population unnoticed may be far, far greater than we imagine and it could be the Chinese may have developed a greater degree of 'herd immunity' than we envisaged. It's worth pointing out that this broke out just prior to Chinese New Year when people invariably return home to celebrate with their family. It is estimated that 5 million people for this event alone travelled out of Wuhan to the rest of China. The first case of Coronavirus in Wuhan was in mid-November. Chinese New Year is in January.
I suppose it's time for the unofficial Scottish rugby motto of 'hope for the best, expect the worse'.

[BigGee]

Nice interview by Mark Palmer in the Sunday Times, with the old fans favourite at Glasgow, all action flanker Simone Favaro, who is now a Policeman in Rome. He talks about his thoughts on dealing with the Covid-19 crisis.

Simone Favaro, the former Glasgow flanker turned policeman, has urged Britain to learn from Italy’s experience and “not delay” a lockdown to limit the spread of coronavirus.
The 36-cap former Italy captain is a cult hero among Warriors supporters on the back of a series of hard-hitting Scotstoun displays between 2015 and 2017. He retired from the game last year to pursue a career in the state police, and is now on the frontline of enforcing a “national quarantine” under which Italians may only leave their homes to obtain food and medical supplies or for compelling health or business reasons.
The shutdown — in force until at least April 3 — was brought into force nationwide on March 9, but there has been criticism that the Italian government acted too late in extending it from crisis-hit northern regions. Italy now has now experienced more Covid-19 deaths than China.
“It’s a tragedy, and in my opinion we acted too late,” says Favaro, man of the match in Italy’s historic 2016 win over South Africa. “The virus was concentrated in two main spots, one in Bergamo and one close to Padua, and now it’s all over the country. My message to Britain is, ‘Don’t underestimate this virus; kill the problem at birth, don’t wait.’

“Lots of people have been focusing on the impact on work, business, the economy, but right now there is a priority and it’s people’s lives. Everything starts with the individual citizen, who must understand the situation and why they need to stay at home, but the government has the power to take the lead and they must use it. I’ve seen pictures of packed pubs [in Britain], and it’s the government that needs to act.

“On an individual level, at the end of the day what we’re talking about is sacrificing two or three weeks of work, of your normal life, rather than sacrificing lives. We all need to make a sacrifice that isn’t really a sacrifice. Change the way we live, change our focus. People have difficulty understanding this, but it’s the only way we can all come through this situation.”


Favaro is based at the Monte Mario station, less than a ten-minute drive from the Stadio Olimpico where Scotland beat Italy four weeks — and a lifetime — ago. He has found the locals in this well-to-do neighbourhood generally receptive to the new restrictions.
“It’s a big change for everyone, and for the most part people are respecting the rules. But it’s only the start and even now you’re beginning to see more people out and about,” says the 31-year-old. “People are being asked to stay at home and not go out for inconsequential things. Our job is to patrol the area, taking the names of people who are out. If they’re authorised to be out, no problem. If not, they get fined.

“Now we’re more than a week into it, I’m starting to see more signs of ‘rebellion’. In one sense, it makes me laugh. The average person spends their whole life in front of a screen: a phone or a computer. They watch Netflix, Amazon Prime. Then you tell them they have to stay at home and they rebel — when they can do these things all day, they don’t want to.

“It’s especially hard to make older people understand what’s going on — for a lot of them, the whole thing is plain inconceivable. But it’s absolutely essential if we want to come through this period. Part of my job at the moment is answering the calls that come in to the police. People are asking all sorts of strange questions, but the only response is, ‘Look after yourself and look after other people. Stay at home.’ It’s very simple.”
Favaro, Glasgow’s Player of the Year in season 2015/16, hails from the Veneto region in the north-east of Italy. This area, which encompasses Venice and Treviso, the home of Pro14 side Benetton, is one of the most badly affected by coronavirus.

“I’ve got lots of family and friends there and right now they are fine. They’ve adapted to the situation. For example, people are no longer going out for aperitivo [pre-meal evening drink]: they’re calling each other on FaceTime to do it virtually. When I speak to people in my job, I try to make them reason. They’ll say, ‘I can’t wait to go on holiday, to relax’. But that’s precisely what we can do in this period: be close to our loved ones, our children, or indulge passions that when you come home tired from work, you just can’t do.
“Again, though, governments must not delay in taking the necessary action and parents must be an example in setting rules for their children when the schools, colleges and universities are closed. Take care of your family and friends or find yourself a hobby. Otherwise you’ll do yourself harm. The problem is that you can not only harm yourself with your actions but lots of other people as well. We’re all one big network and we need to look after each other now more than ever.”
The pressure on the emergency services is such that Favaro’s shifts are getting ever longer and ever tougher, but he insists he was still “more tired after matches”, which, if true, doubtless owes plenty to the all-action style that so endeared him to supporters. That resolve, resilience and desire to meet opponents head-on has now found another outlet.

“This kind of situation isn’t unimaginable, because, at the end of the day, when you’re a police officer in Italy you expect a bit of everything. But this problem has come up and our job is to help. It’s important to always have a challenge, and when this one is over, the biggest thrill will be that I can say: ‘I did something’.”

[RDW]

Morning/evening all,

First of all I said from the start that this thread can and should be used for anything that people want. It's fantastic that this has led to 3 pages of 'community' posts - and long may that continue - but there's no way we can go through all this without talking about some of the nitty gritty and policy issues that each country has been facing.

We try and avoid politics on the rugby forum for obvious reasons but I don't think that can be separated here. All I ask that when it is discussed it is kept civil and to the reported facts (noting that what is reported cannot often be known to be 'fact'!)

Personally my view is this is an unprecedented global crisis - something we've not seen since the 2nd world war - and I can't even comprehend the complexity of the decisions needing to be made by our people in charge. These people are making these decisions knowing it could make the difference between 10s of thousands of people dying or hundreds of thousands of people. They are making those decisions often without knowing exactly what the correct path it.

Thing is, it's not like the UK (or Aus) are like China or Italy who were at the head of the storm - there are many lessons that could have been learnt from their experience that we don't seem to have done.

What's more frustrating for me is the Australian attitude (so I can't be accused of having political bias against Bojo!) - they're not taking it seriously here at all. We're pretty much one of the last major countries to be hit here so we really can't say we weren't warned. They've announced shutdown of cafes, bars, restaurants etc today but I've still seen groups of people in coffee shops this morning on the way to work. We were checking out an area to live yesterday but the parks were full of large groups of people having picnics and BBQs together (it was a glorious day).

Australians are going to be in for a big shock very soon!

[Pal Joey]

Morning RDW.

Yes, there seems to be some confusion still. All cafes, restaurants, bars, cinemas, and casinos shut but you can still buy a takeaway coffee?

I really think they should just shut down the schools right away but a head mistress friend of mine had a different view when I spoke to her yesterday. I just don't get it. Where is the responsibility for young children in her care here? Probably the one time I wouldn't mind being sent to detention for talking back... even at my age.

You can't do things half-arsed and leave gaps or have exceptions to such rules. It's either all or nothing - at least for a set period until we can see if the numbers are improving.

[yappysnap]

Chuffing hell, is it really two years since you moved Yappy? Feels like only yesterday.

Crazy isn't it? To think we've been on these boards since what '08? Time flies!

[RDW]

My understanding of the school situation was that (so far) kids have been shown to generally not get the virus, or if they do they don't show signs. As such it's very low risk for the kids themselves, although there have been some cases of children getting it. Opinions may have changed on this recently however so I'm happy to be corrected on this.

The idea of keeping the schools open is it frees up parents to be working in critical services etc.

The obviously problem with this is you need a lot of adults to run a school, plus parents dropping kids off etc. These adults are certainly much more at risk if the schools are open.

[jimbopip]

Flounder, young kids don't seem to be getting it but it seems that they are asymptomatic carriers and that the adults working in the schools, and the parents at the gates are at greater risk. Also, Sixth Form and FE colleges will still be open and the students there are young adults. There is no sense in keeping educational establishments open.
I have just read on FB that the UK currently has more cases than Italy had at the same stage. Not a comforting thought.
Also, very mixed feelings on a personal level; we should have been at Princess Daughter's for lunch today but made do with a video call ...at which point she told us she has just become pregnant. Delighted but concerned.

[RDW]

Congratulations to Princess Daughter, but certainly not ideal timing! Hopefully when baby is born the world will be back to some form of normality, but I'm not confident.

[123456789.]

One thing I would suggest is perhaps multiple threads for this. There’ll be people perhaps going into a dark place who may appreciate messages of support and/ or solidarity from people going through it too. It’s also true that people on here have generally played or watched rugby for many many years. The people in and around rugby tend, from my experience, to be very funny and to have had very amusing experiences. I’d be prepared to bet rather a lot of money that the combined stories of people on here could fill a bestseller. In times like this a dose of levity may be a form of tonic in itself. Lastly, I’ve played rugby with people across the political spectrum. From proud Marxists right through to, thankfully only one individual, who explained to me at great length that he thought fascism was a misunderstood creed. One of those horrendous moments when the others were off talking to girls and you realise that your night out is going toward a very different direction. My experience has been that one’s political view is not in any way connected to a person’s decency and a place where the politics of this can be discussed sensibly, respectfully and, ultimately, with thick skin may be good too.

[yappysnap]

NZ just broke 100 confirmed cases and we have gone into nation wide lockdown, "level 3" which means working from home for all nonessential workers and everyone staying home as much as possible. It's what the rest of the world should have done earlier in hindsight and I hope our government has learnt from others misfortune like it seems.

[RDW]

Good to see from NZ - that's probably the earliest that call has been made and will hopefully make a big difference.

[Pal Joey]

NRL season officially suspended indefinitely. Thank you Queensland... for closing the borders.

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the good wishes a few days ago. I have been feeling very tired and fatigued and although breathing is definitely compromised it's not hospital worthy or even close to that. I am starting to feel better and that began yesterday. I cannot know whether I simply have a viral infection or whether this is 'the' virus but I've never felt like this before I know that much. It's much less debilitating than normal flu which I have had in the past but my worry and my understanding is that many people begin to feel better and then suddenly develop very bad symptoms as the lungs etc give up. Well I am worried for myself but also desperately worried about everyone else and the damage and pain this is having on families and communities. It's times like this that make me thankful for the life I have had but I'm not sure I'm ready to check out just yet! What amazes me and is very frustrating and saddening is the flocks of people in this country not taking this seriously. It really does hurt me to see that as it reveals a selfishness at the heart of people.

Anyway thanks again for your well wishes everyone and hopefully we all pull through this.

[RDW]

Good to hear from you guestalt - get well soon.

[Soul Requiem]

Apologies for being somewhat obtuse yesterday.

Government decisions aside the biggest problem is the idiocy of people, advised to stay at home and to avoid groups of people so the moment they see a bit of sunshine they flock to the seaside in their droves endangering not themselves but elderly relatives who at this moment rely on them. In equal measure you have elderly people who themselves refuse to listen, I understand when you have no one that you need to get to the supermarkets and get groceries but there are those who have a safety net of family but refuse to use it.

Lockdown is coming and the public only have themselves to blame, they've been given ample opportunity to do the right things and have been treated like adults, apparently we're a country of imbeciles.

Sadiq Khan put it best 'if you don't follow the advice then many people will die'.

[Pr4wn]

But that's the issue. The advice from the Govt thus far has been nothing short of a disgrace. Boris appears to change his mind more often than he changes wives.

[BigGee]

Government decisions aside the biggest problem is the idiocy of people, advised to stay at home and to avoid groups of people so the moment they see a bit of sunshine they flock to the seaside in their droves endangering not themselves but elderly relatives who at this moment rely on them. In equal measure you have elderly people who themselves refuse to listen, I understand when you have no one that you need to get to the supermarkets and get groceries but there are those who have a safety net of family but refuse to use it.

I completely agree with you there SR. Whatever the message coming from our government, people only need to look at the tv and see the news of what is going on in other countries and then should take some personal responsibility.

Why do people here think they are immune from this, they will not be?

Congratulations as well Jimbo on another grandchild on the way. Life will go on and we should not deny ourselves the pleasure of being excited at these rites of passage.

GP - glad you are starting to feel better. My infection (if it was truly it) was pretty mild and short lived but my wife has taken it a lot harder, with fatigue being the main issue for her. She is picking up as well though.

I got a phone call from my boss at work yesterday (which I was expecting), asking me to consider coming back to work full time for the foreseeable. Of course I said I would, as soon as I can get out of isolation, so it seems retirement is going to be fairly short lived for me!

In truth though, I have felt very uncomfortable sitting on the sidelines watching this when I have skills to offers and so will be glad to get back. Over 5000 retired nurses are in the process of getting re-registered and coming back to help. That is very commendable, as no doubt a lot of them will not be in the best of health themselves and probably at greater risk.

Italy published pictures yesterday of the 14 doctors who have died so far, it was very poignant.

[RDW]

As suggested by numbers I've set up an alternative thread to discuss the more serious aspects of the crisis.

I want this thread to remain a supportive and understanding environment, which could end up being lost when discussing the more difficult aspects.

As always though regardless of which thread you post on - be kind.

https://www.606v2.com/t69508-the-covid-19-serious-chat-thread#3897116

[Pot Hale]

To date in Ireland, all relevant voices are joined in unison on what measures should be adopted to deal with the virus. The Chief Medical Officer and his public health team (NPHET) are the ones making the recommendations and Govt making the decisions to follow them or not. So far, there has been no conflict between the two - it is a question of timing of when measures are introduced linked to health system capacity being increased.

There is some dissent on how to deal with the consequences of the closing down of businesses, places of education, arts, and other social venues in relation to compensating those who have been put out of work or have had hours reduced. However, further work was done on this over the weekend and a new initiative is due to be announced in the next day or two which will probably see the state paying 75% of wages of those who have been laid off due to Covid-19 up to an agreed cap.

With the country being one of the places where ventilators are produced for distribution to the US and other countries, access to these machines should not be an issue. PPE supplies are an issue but sufficient orders have now been placed with China providing a lot of these supplies very promptly.

Provision of sufficient hospital beds, and more critically, ICU beds, is the biggest medical/healthcare issue that the state has to engage with. We have one of the lowest numbers in Europe. So, Ireland has chosen to continue to ramp up testing and contact tracing as they see this as the best route for reducing/flattening the expected peak. Currently, 40,000 people are waiting for tests and this number will start to be tackled this week with the opening of places like Pairc ui Chaoimh stadium in Cork as a testing centre that will process up to 1,000 people a day. 32 centres have now been set up.

The number of confirmed cases in Ireland is likely to go through 1,000 in the next 24 hours, and will increase exponentially as the testing resources and facilities increase. How many of these convert to confirmed cases, and onward to requiring hospitalisation, and potentially to ICU beds remains to be seen. To date, there has been just 4 deaths with the people being elderly and with previous underlying health complications. No doubt this number of deaths will increase in coming weeks but it remains relatively low so far with a population of just under 5m. (NI is included within UK). The JohnsHopkins centre in the US is the most comprehensive tracker for seeing the global status for each country - although the reported numbers from some countries are well under compared to their population size e.g. Russia - 438 cases and 1 death. https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

Social/physical distancing measures are having a positive effect although a short bout of good weather yesterday saw people out on beaches and in parks walking around with only partial compliance. The Irish Minister for Health has said that NPHET will meet tomorrow to consider further measures to enforce distancing - probably a further stringent level of lockdown. The CMO has said that contacting trace numbers are reducing for those recently tested which illustrates that distancing measures are having a positive effect and should be strengthened and enforced.

With my freelance/project work being cut off, and unlikely to qualify for the new state support, continuing to keep a low profile and just head out to get food when necessary is what needs to be done. This will require at least 5 or 6 months of heavy restrictions in my view. Assumptions that this will be sorted or allow people to move about freely by May/June are wide of the mark, in my view.

Hope everyone continues to keep well, and those with illness concerns have them relieved soon.

[jimbopip]

Guestalt, great to hear you're on the mend.
Gee, don't rush back before the lovely MrsGee is well enough to make your packed lunch for you.
Everyone else, keep posting.
It'll be interesting to see how the early lockdown plays out in NZ. Could lead to a lot of finger pointing and shouting across the globe.

[yappysnap]

Good luck to everyone out there. We're just about to start our first day of enforced lock down here in NZ, ive just helped my local out by buying 5 litres of beer off them that they won't be able to sell as of tomorrow, we must all be community minded, fingers crossed the isolation works. 4 weeks feels like a hell of a long time but it's nothing compared to the worst case scenarios out there.

[RDW]

If I had to chose I definitely would have gone for 4 weeks of total lockdown a fortnight ago compared to likely months shutdown now!

That's very charitable of you taking the sacrifice with all that beer

[tigertattie]

For this thread I shall say

1. Congrats Jimbo (or Grandad as you shall henceforth be known) on princess daughters news. Words of comfort is that the medical folks still believe that the virus doesn’t have a big impact on pregnant ladies but that they are advising to be careful just in case. needless to say, if you have a grandson, Tiger would be a great name. Just saying.

2. Guestalt - nice to see you are getting back to health. Best wishes for you.

Now I'm off to the other thread to lambast the eejits who went in their thousands for a wander along Porty beach over the weekend.

[lostinwales]

BigGee - if you have had the virus you may well be in the enviable position of not getting it again which must be very valuable in your line of work.

One of the toughest aspects of this virus is that medical staff are the one section of society that are almost guaranteed to all be exposed to it at some point. Sadly this means casualties. Every effort should be made to protect them.

[BigGee]

BigGee - if you have had the virus you may well be in the enviable position of not getting it again which must be very valuable in your line of work.

There are probably quite a few of us in this position already, which makes it all the more crazy that we are not being tested. It would certainly be a weight off all of our minds.

[BamBam]

Great idea for a thread RDW. I've not been on the boards in a while but whenever major real life events take place I always get a great sense of community on here

For my part, I've been self employed for the last few years working as a contractor for all types of industries in finance / strategy. I've never been out of work for more than a couple of weeks despite my projects usually being 3-6 months at a time. My last project finished at the end of Feb, and I've been waiting for the phone to ring since then, more or less practicing self isolation out of choice!

I'm lucky enough to have sufficient funds in the company to carry on paying myself for a while, and my better half's salary is plenty to pay the bills, so I'm a lot better off than many others.

I've found it a real struggle to not leave the house, having no work to keep myself occupied and am now running out of things to watch on Netflix. The gym was keeping me relatively sane, but obviously that has now closed too. Currently looking at options to come  up with home work out plans, but it's not quite the same.

I think this crisis is going to fundamentally change society. Hope it's not offending anyone to say that the same workers who were described as "low skilled" and needing to "prove their worth" to the UK 6 weeks ago are the ones keeping our country going. I hope that it's remembered in future, people with my skills have plenty to offer during normal times, but when sh1t hits the fan we're as much use as a chocolate teapot to wider society

[lostinwales]

BigGee - if you have had the virus you may well be in the enviable position of not getting it again which must be very valuable in your line of work.

There are probably quite a few of us in this position already, which makes it all the more crazy that we are not being tested. It would certainly be a weight off all of our minds.

Yes it's insane - until you guys know, every time you get a sniffle it is potentially another 2 weeks out of action.

Can they test to see if you have had it? If you have antibodies to it?

[jimbopip]

Boredom drove me to mow the lawn.
MrsPip won't let me take the bags full of grass to the dump! Says it's too dangerous. We live in rural Essex not Beirut. Or Wester Hailes.

[LondonTiger]

Boredom drove me to mow the lawn.
MrsPip won't let me take the bags full of grass to the dump! Says it's too dangerous.  We live in rural Essex not Beirut. Or Wester Hailes.

You may need it as food shortly.

[BigGee]

BigGee - if you have had the virus you may well be in the enviable position of not getting it again which must be very valuable in your line of work.

There are probably quite a few of us in this position already, which makes it all the more crazy that we are not being tested. It would certainly be a weight off all of our minds.

Yes it's insane - until you guys know, every time you get a sniffle it is potentially another 2 weeks out of action.

Can they test to see if you have had it? If you have antibodies to it?

Not yet, that will be the gold standard once it comes along.

It is being developed I believe, but not ready yet.

[jimbopip]

[quote="tigertattie"]For this thread I shall say

1. Congrats Jimbo (or Grandad as you shall henceforth be known) on princess daughters news. , if you have a grandson, Tiger would be a great name. Just saying.


tigertattie, Princess Daughter has already graced us with one grandson, just 13 months ago; the wonderfully mis-spelt Xander.

We're hoping this one may be a tigress.

Nah, we're praying for healthy.

[RDW]

Well that's the UK gone near full lockdown. Stay safe everyone!

Worryingly he's said all British citizens should come home, but I'm assuming that means people on holiday not people who now permanently live somewhere else like me...

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