dunroaming

4 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Is the NHS even set up to incorporate 250,000 volunteers within a short time frame?

 

 

It's a support system so should be.

46 minutes ago, dunroaming said:

170,000 volunteers overnight and the 250,000 expected to be signed up by tomorrow  I signed up but I may be rejected due to age. 

Spoke too soon.  250,000 signed up now. it's 10.00 am in the UK and they only called for the volunteers last night!

Most areas in the UK have a community neighbourhood website for people to share information.  Ours has been going for a couple of years now.  On Monday a group of Uber drivers posted that they are volunteering to take any "Key Workers" to their place of work for free for the foreseeable future.  It is a way for them to avoid a lot of people being exposed by using public transport.  This morning two local taxi companies have joined in by offering the same.  I imagine this will be countrywide very soon.

3 hours ago, robblok said:

Eh yes they are doing a far better job in Germany. Far lower death ratio to cases. I guess their healthcare hasnt been stripped like in the UK. 

 

Sobering to see the difference between Germany and the UK. Far more cases in Germany but a far lower death rate. UK 8.077 cases 422 deaths, Germany 32.991 and 159  deaths. UK seems to do it similar to Netherlands 5.560 and 276 deaths. 

 

Looks like Germany is doing a great job UK and Netherlands not so much. 

 

Possibly there are more tests done in Germany, but again that shows they are doing it better then both UK and Netherlands.

 

 

The earlier people are tested obviously has a baring and Germany certainly tests earlier than some other countries.  But just going by the figures you would think that Thailand is doing a brilliant job re deaths from the virus.  Surely not a time for anyone to grandstand over how well their country are doing.  Thousands of people are dying and much of that is because they are choosing to ignore the advise of their respective governments.

I now know two people who have the virus, both in their fifties and have no underlying medical problems.  However they are both in hospital and one is seriously ill.  They both work in the city and travel in every day by train and then underground, along with thousands of others.

8 hours ago, overherebc said:

I just hope the almost brain dead will let their few brain cells meet up for a minute or two and listen.

Everyone knows it cannot be 'stopped' spreading but it can be slowed down to give all the medics a fighting chance.

The biggest problem is going to be controlling the 'must buy everything now' dipsh-ts so supermarkets should now start one or two item limits.

The panic buying at supermarkets seems to have pretty much stopped now.  The parks were crammed full of people at the weekend and that was just plain stupid.  However it was Mother's Day and for once the sun was shining and I think that people knew this shut down was imminent. My local park (Bushey Park) has closed the roads running through it which effectively means that the car parks are inaccessible.  So just visitors on foot for now.  

It's still not clear who can and can't go to work and what businesses are allowed to open.  More clarity is needed.

6 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

But but but but.... we were promised from the master race, we have the capability to meet demand!

If this doesn't change things at the next election nothing will!

There are masks and there are masks, you have to have the correct ones to have any effect whatsoever.

2 hours ago, darksidedog said:

It's great in retrospect to be able to see the sense in shutting the stable door, while you still have a horse, though he is simply uttering what many of us have been saying for nearly two months now, that Thailand should have had a strict immigration procedure in place a long time ago. Keeping the arms open in welcome for so long to save tourism numbers, was bound to have consequences sooner or later.

I didn't see any scientific evidence above to back up his claim this is a different strain, so hope he has that at least partially wrong.

I too have seen no evidence that this is a different strain.  Some scientists in Valencia were investigating the possibility but that's all.  In reality Thailand has no greater number of cases than other countries in the region and they are all less than parts of Europe where the spreading of the disease is far more intense.

Social distancing is imperative but that is down to the people to do.  Hard to do in Thailand but at least they still have the wei rather than the hug.

8 minutes ago, lexilis said:

Damn! That is some industrial strength idiocy right there.

Must be an ill judged attempt at satire.  Pathetic I know...

Hardly anyone wears masks in the UK unless they are working in the hospitals.  In fact the only other mask wearers are tourists who are coming from the countries where wearing masks are pretty much de rigueur.

Having said that we know that Thai's do like a face mask ????

Hope you guys have got your box sets ready!  I know there is concern in the UK now that the internet will be slowed down considerably due to the excessive usage, especially when the schools are closed and many children are doing there schoolwork on line.  Add to that the people "working" from home and the rest of us spending many hours stuck in the house and I expect we will be subject to quite a few internet crashes.

Don't know about Thailand but it must have an effect there as well.  Maybe it will result in an increase in the birth rate?

1 hour ago, evadgib said:

I've posted this observation before, but if I were living in UK in these conditions i'd be out with a ferret & nets emptying the warrens and/or clearing the abundance of pigeons, squirrels, 'branchers' (Juvenile crows/good eating when shot in Springtime); plovers eggs (legal until 15 Apr unless the law has changed) or Trout tickling. Unfortunately the skills are lost on millennials who won't touch anything that isn't wrapped in cellophane with a sell by date.

The 18th century that we all know and love eh!   The gypsies still do all that of course, when they are not feeding their faces in McDonalds or Pizza hut!

33 minutes ago, Laughing Gravy said:

How very true. They won't eat fish unless it is a fish finger. Seafood unless its in a pizza and vegetables unless its on a burger.

 

And they wonder why they are so retarded, spoilt, privileged and have no common sense but think they are intelligent, because they went to university and have a degree in some nonsense subject.

Ha! Ha!.  The England you know is far from the one I live in.  Pizzas and burgers and fish fingers are very much out of fashion these days and have been for years. You won't find a university student within a hundred miles of them. They are still there but very much for the sub twelve olds. 

8 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

Sad the supply chain is that bad there. 

The supply chain isn't bad at all.  It's partly this knee jerk panic gene that we Brits tend to have.  At Christmas Supermarkets are closed for one day and yet the shelves are stripped bare the day before by the locust like panic buying.  I will never understand it.

This time the panic buying is more understandable.  People are advised not to go out unless necessary and the thought is that we will be barred for going anywhere shortly.  Combine that with the schools being closed and all those kids expect to spend their days eating their parents out of house and home and you can understand just what pressure that will bring.  So people are stocking up and we can all get  that.

However there is no shortage of supplies, it is just a matter of keeping the shelves continually stocked.  I know that Waitrose near us are taking on dozens of extra staff for shelf stocking and increasing their delivery schedules.  Plenty of A level students around to do the shelf filling at the moment.

1 hour ago, Basil B said:

Just been talking to a customer who was working the evening shift in a supermarket last night, after the government announced the closure of pubs, all the cheap beers, ciders, wines and sprites were sold out in minutes.

 

Some of the things UK supermarkets are selling out of:

• Toilet Rolls
• Hand Sanitises
• Bead
• Four
• Eggs
• Sugar
• Fresh Meat
• UHT Milk
• Fresh and Frozen Vegetables
• Baked Beans
• Pasta
• Rice
• Pet Food
• Soaps
• Washing Powders
• Pot Noodles
• Soups
• Breakfast Cereals

Now add Beers, Ciders, Wines and Spirits...

 

This was a Tesco's sliced bread racks on Wednesday afternoon.

 

 

 

The supermarkets near me sold out of beer and spirits the moment the people started panic buying and self isolation was mentioned!  Now whenever they re-stock the booze the shelves empty quicker than the ones that sell toilet paper!

Begs the question about visa runs.  If you can get across a border do you then have to self isolate for a month on coming back in?  I know all you savvy ex-pats don't have to worry about such things but many do.

11 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

It’s not quite that simple is it.

 

There were and still are very many people who actively sought to play down the risk of this virus, for example referring to it as a ‘mere flu’ and nothing to worry about and/or hoax.

 

You’ll find examples scattered across news threads here on TVF.

 

Efforts were made to sow confusing messages and distrust in government advice.

 

Curiously very many people spreading misinformation were apparently singing off the same song sheet.

 

People were/are confused because there has been an effort to confuse them.

That is all true.  Let's not forget that Johnson has a history of lying and not being straight with people. Consequently people are suspicious of government statements about anything.  Not knowing what is true or just Boris Bull*hit . But he has stepped up now and should be given credit for doing so.

9 minutes ago, URMySunshine said:

Agreed he is doing a great job at the moment and listening to calls on LBC phone-ins he is bringing the country with him. Desperate times call for desperate measures and national unity and local networks of volunteers and pulling together. 

 

On a local level many are stepping up to the plate with formula one now turning their hand to manufacturing ventilators for the NHS.  We have several initiatives near where I live shopping for the elderly and dog walking for those who need it.  Local plumbers and electricians offering to come out for the elderly or infirm completely gratis.  Even most banks and credit card companies are temporarily scrapping late payment charges.  It feels like people are genuinely wanting to help each other,  a world away from the vitriol over the dreaded Brexit!

Nothing like a national tragedy to bring the best out of the Brits.

8 hours ago, balo said:

Good job UK, other countries pay 60 to 75% of the wages.  Let's hope this will not last for 18 months or Boris might regret the decision. 

Boris has little choice and it is possible that it will last longer than anyone expects.  But we all need to stop bickering about maybes and support what the government are trying to do.

8 hours ago, steve187 said:

people should have stopped travelling, that was the idea behind closing sations and train line routes etc.

And yet.... people were asked to work from home where possible but otherwise go to work as normal.  Although it was always going to end up with these closures I think the government were justified in trying to get people to act responsibly and avoid pubs and restaurants of their own accord.  Unfortunately the people just stuck up a finger and carried on ignoring the advise.

I would say they are now crying in their beer but.... maybe not 

9 minutes ago, Logosone said:

It does not look like the UK's own experts from the NHS share this view:

 

Britain's coronavirus crisis could last until Spring 2021 with up to 8MILLION people - or 15% of the population - hospitalised, secret NHS briefing reveals

 

• The document shows health chiefs expect the virus to last for another 12 months
• It says that around 80 per cent of the population are expected to be infected 
• It is understood document drawn up in recent days by Public Health England
• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8114925/Britains-coronavirus-crisis-Spring-2021-7-9million-people-hospitalised.html

I think this just illustrates how little anyone knows yet.    Everyone is trying to second guess the fallout based on what has already happened in other countries but it seems that each country has a different outcome.  One thing is for sure, everyone needs to take this very seriously!

12 minutes ago, melvinmelvin said:

the way I understand what has been said is not that it is beaten in 12 weeks, but that the peak will have been reached

in about 12 weeks from now

 

UK is not alone in thinking alone such lines, there are other countries thinking the same

 

True and everyone is watching the time scale of things in China where it all started and is now well under control.  But thinking it and monitoring it is not the same as declaring it as fact.  Still he did retract it shortly afterwards and that is good enough under the circumstances.

10 hours ago, anto said:

Boris a posh buffon . 

I agree that Boris's statement about beating the virus in three months was just hot.  In fact when pressed he said that nobody knew how long it would take but he thought it "could" peak in twelve weeks or so.  like I said it was all hot air.

However, I am one of Boris's biggest critics and as much as I hate to say it, I think he is doing a good job tackling this pandemic.  I was expecting knee jerk reactions and him lying about the facts at every opportunity, but he hasn't.  It seems to be a well structured response and his daily briefings, where he takes questions from journalists, shows he isn't shirking the difficult questions.  So for now at least "Kudo to you Boris"!