PM Johnson warns Britons: more loved ones are going to die from coronavirus

[webfact]

PM Johnson warns Britons: more loved ones are going to die from coronavirus

By Kylie MacLellan and Elizabeth Piper

 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a news conference addressing the government's response to the coronavirus outbreak, at Downing Street in London, Britain March 12, 2020. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/Pool

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Thursday that many more families would see their loved ones die from coronavirus, as the government's chief scientific adviser said Britain likely has as many as 10,000 people infected.

 

Britain and the EU also agreed to cancel face-to-face trade negotiations planned for next week in London due to the outbreak.

 

At a meeting of the government's emergency committee on Thursday, Johnson moved Britain's response to the outbreak to the so-called "delay phase", aimed at putting off the peak until the summer months, ending a phase of outright containment.

 

"It's going to spread further," Johnson said at a news conference, flanked by the government's top scientific and medical advisers.

 

"I must level with you, level with the British public - more families, many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time."

 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stepped up the response to the coronavirus outbreak on Thursday, moving to the so called "delay phase" which includes the option of more stringent measures designed to slow down the spread of the virus.

 

Rapidly spreading disruptions to business, trade and everyday life around the world have triggered panic on global markets, including in Britain.

 

Britain's FTSE 100 was down 10.9%, its worst one-day performance since 1987. Sterling fell three cents against the dollar, the biggest fall since the 2016 vote to leave the EU.

 

The British government has faced questions over why it is not taking the more far-reaching measures seen in many other countries. Johnson defended his approach, saying the government was following scientific advice and would "do the right thing at the right time".

 

He said those showing even mild symptoms of having the virus should self-isolate for at least seven days. In the next few weeks that advice would change to entire households being asked to stay at home if one person has symptoms.

 

"This is the worst public health crisis for a generation," he said.

 

FOUR WEEKS BEHIND ITALY

The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus across the United Kingdom rose 29% percent to 590 over the past 24 hours. Ten people with coronavirus have died in the UK.

 

Graphic: UK coronavirus cases -

 

"There are currently about 590 cases identified in the UK and there are more than 20 patients on intensive care units," chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said.

 

"If you calculate what that really means in terms of the total number, it is much more likely that you have somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people infected at the moment."

 

Vallance said Britain was currently on a trajectory about four weeks behind Italy, which has reported more than 15,000 cases and 1,000 deaths. He predicted the peak of coronavirus cases in Britain may be at least 10 to 14 weeks away.

 

England's chief medical adviser Chris Whitty said not all suspected cases of the virus would be formally tested, with the government focusing on those in hospital.

 

The British plan for dealing with the outbreak has three main phases - containment, delay and mitigation.

 

The delay phase includes consideration of so-called social distancing measures such as more home-working, reducing large scale gatherings and closing schools.

 

Johnson said Britain was not cancelling major public events and schools would stay open for now but that advice could change as the virus spreads.

 

Whitty said at some point social interaction for old and vulnerable people would need to be reduced, but not yet.

 

"People start off with the best of intentions but enthusiasm at a certain point starts to flag," Whitty said. "So we do need to do it at the last point it is reasonable ... to get through what will be quite difficult things to do."

 

Meanwhile, Ireland is to shut schools, universities and childcare facilities until March 29 and restrict mass gatherings, acting Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said.

 

(Additional reporting by William James, Elizabeth Howcroft, Kate Holton and Andy Bruce, editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Stephen Addison)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-03-13

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[UbonThani]

I would guess 50,000 are going to die from various causes over the next few months.

 

But that's not news. If 50 die from Corona mass panic.

[faraday]

If, as Dr Whitty speculates, 10,000 people are already infected, & the supposed mortality rate is around 2 -3%, why haven't more people died?

 

Are there any stats for deaths Vs age?

 

What about previously fit & healthy Vs pre-existing medical conditions?

 

How about some stats on recovery rates?

 

China talks about recovery.....

 

Nope, we've just got to swallow the doom & gloom & prepare for the worst, & frighten people silly.

 

[shy coconut]

Ten people that have died in the UK had tested positive for the co vid virus.

It would be interesting to know how many have died from the flu, I would bet

significantly more and probably from the age and fitness areas.

 

I am concerned about the virus, my mother just turned 80 and has the underlying

illnesses which put her at an increased risk and I have put off visiting her to avoid

any possible infection, but the drastic actions of politicians, panic on the stock market

and in super markets seems a little OTT to me.

[AlexRich]

Thank you previous posters ... the “it’s only the flu” gang.

 

Except it’s not only the flu, it’s a new virus and no one has immunity from it. The death rate in Italy is currently running over 6% of cases. In the USA the regular flu kills 0.1%, and a little more in a bad season.

 

The problem is that although 80% get through it okay, it appears that 20% require hospitalisation, and around 6% need to be attached to ventilators. So Lombardy had to deal with more patients requiring ventilation in a day, than they would normally in a month. So people who need to be ventilated, don’t get it, and the death rate soars. 
 

There are no virologists, epidemiologists, or recognised experts in this field who are calling this a hoax or “only the flu”. 
 

They obviously didn’t study at the University of Thai Visa?

Edited March 12, 2020 by AlexRich

[UbonThani]

Actually people can have immunity. Coronas have been around for over 20 years.

 

The % don't add up. Seems a lot have it untested, no problems. Only people with major symptons get tested. The 6% figure is bogus.

[UbonThani]

8 minutes ago, AlexRich said:

There are no virologists, epidemiologists, or recognised experts in this field who are calling this a hoax or “only the flu”. 

They said tens of millions would die from sars and swine flu too.

 

Common sense says otherwise. After 25 years of scare campaigns  it would be about time people realised what's going on. Who funds these people?

 

 

[DannyCarlton]

6 minutes ago, UbonThani said:

Actually people can have immunity. Coronas have been around for over 20 years.

 

The % don't add up. Seems a lot have it untested, no problems. Only people with major symptons get tested. The 6% figure is bogus.

Covid-19 has been around since December. Immunity to other corona viruses doesn't give you immunity to Covid-19.

[AlexRich]

5 minutes ago, DannyCarlton said:

Covid-19 has been around since December. Immunity to other corona viruses doesn't give you immunity to Covid-19.

I’m afraid you’ve fallen on deaf ears ... lol

 

 

[AlexRich]

11 minutes ago, UbonThani said:

They said tens of millions would die from sars and swine flu too.

 

Common sense says otherwise. After 25 years of scare campaigns  it would be about time people realised what's going on. Who funds these people?

 

 

I’m reading a book about the 1918 flu pandemic. A US army colonel was in charge of a camp and he was advised by senior medics not to overcrowd the quarters with men or accept new men due to the severe flu outbreak in other camps. He ignored their advice. Then had to watch as thousands of his men died. He cared about his men, he had their best interests at heart. He didn’t take the medical advice because it was only flu and he’d seen men get over that with the help of medics. He shot himself in the head with a revolver. 

[geriatrickid]

2 hours ago, UbonThani said:

I would guess 50,000 are going to die from various causes over the next few months.

But that's not news. If 50 die from Corona mass panic.

You are in denial. Listen to the very honest assessment of Sir Patrick Vallance, Chief Science Adviser to the government. Educate yourself.

 

2 hours ago, faraday said:

If, as Dr Whitty speculates, 10,000 people are already infected, & the supposed mortality rate is around 2 -3%, why haven't more people died?

Are there any stats for deaths Vs age?

What about previously fit & healthy Vs pre-existing medical conditions?

How about some stats on recovery rates?

China talks about recovery.....

Nope, we've just got to swallow the doom & gloom & prepare for the worst, & frighten people silly.

 

The UK is in its early stages, but Dr. Vallance gave a very sobering statement; Based upon the current UK  experience, 5% of the cases require intensive care, and this means a respirator. The UK  only has 5000 respirator equipped  beds.  If 100,000 people become ill, then it is expected that upwards of 5,000 will need the  respirator. Now consider what happens to people who have other illnesses that require a ventilator, or if the number of infections hits  1 million at the peak.  Access to the respirators will be rationed, and people will die who would not have died otherwise.  This is what is happening in Italy now.

The emotional trauma for the health care workers forced to select who lives and who dies will be devastating and will leave long  lasting PTSD and brn out a generation of health professionals. That's the collateral damage that must be considered.

 

1 hour ago, shy coconut said:

Ten people that have died in the UK had tested positive for the co vid virus.

It would be interesting to know how many have died from the flu, I would bet

significantly more and probably from the age and fitness areas.

 

I am concerned about the virus, my mother just turned 80 and has the underlying

illnesses which put her at an increased risk and I have put off visiting her to avoid

any possible infection, but the drastic actions of politicians, panic on the stock market

and in super markets seems a little OTT to me.

You misunderstand the  deaths related to the flu. It is a rarity that someone who is healthy dies from the flu. Those that die of the flu are typically on their way out already. With a SARS CoV-2 infection, healthy people will die. There will be people who's lungs are so inflamed by the infection that they will suffocate. People who perhaps worked in an industrial sector, or who smoked or who had  asthma or who had recovered  from a lung ailment but were otherwise in good health  may see their lungs ravaged. They will slowly asphyxiate. People who might have chronic conditions but who could survive a flu exposure because they had an annual vaccination to prevent a serious infection or who had  taken their pneumonia vaccination, may not survive exposure to the SARS CoV-2.    You could be on your way to visit your mum and have an accident and be rushed to a hospital in need of critical care. Unfortunately, there will not be any beds available because they were all occupied by SARS CoV-2 patients, or if you did get care, you would  be in a weakened condition and vulnerable to infection by  the SARS CoV-2 virus circulating in the hospital filled with infected patients. 

 

We have NO immunity. The virus is mutating and could become even deadlier. A vaccine is 12-18 months away. People are terrified. Families will be ripped asunder as love ones die a drawn out agonizing death. It is to be expected that some reaction  will be what you call OTT. 

 

Edited March 13, 2020 by geriatrickid

[UbonThani]

1 hour ago, AlexRich said:

I’m reading a book about the 1918 flu pandemic. A US army colonel was in charge of a camp and he was advised by senior medics not to overcrowd the quarters with men or accept new men due to the severe flu outbreak in other camps. He ignored their advice. Then had to watch as thousands of his men died. He cared about his men, he had their best interests at heart. He didn’t take the medical advice because it was only flu and he’d seen men get over that with the help of medics. He shot himself in the head with a revolver. 

1918 little to no healthcare.

 

Try reading up on modern times.

 

1918 55555

 

Like comparing ww1 with the internet.

 

Sars

Swine flu

Bird flu

Yearly flu

 

You know like common sense and modern times and that

[UbonThani]

17 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

You are in denial. Listen to the very honest assessment of Sir Patrick Vallance, Chief Science Adviser to the government. Educate yourself.

 

The UK is in its early stages, but Dr. Vallance gave a very sobering statement; Based upon the current UK  experience, 5% of the cases require intensive care, and this means a respirator. The UK  only has 5000 respirator equipped  beds.  If 100,000 people become ill, then it is expected that upwards of 5,000 will need the  respirator. Now consider what happens to people who have other illnesses that require a ventilator, or if the number of infections hits  1 million at the peak.  Access to the respirators will be rationed, and people will die who would not have died otherwise.  This is what is happening in Italy now.

The emotional trauma for the health care workers forced to select who lives and who dies will be devastating and will leave long  lasting PTSD and brn out a generation of health professionals. That's the collateral damage that must be considered.

 

You misunderstand the  deaths related to the flu. It is a rarity that someone who is healthy dies from the flu. With a SARS CoV-2 infection  healthy people will die. There will be people who's lungs are so inflamed by the infection that they will suffocate. People who perhaps worked in an industrial sector, or who smoked or who had  asthma or who had recovered  from a lung ailment but were otherwise in good health  may see their lungs ravaged. They will slowly asphyxiate.  You could be on your way to visit your mum and have an accident and be rushed to a hospital in need of critical care. Unfortunately, there will not be any beds available because they are all occupied by SARS CoV-2 patients, or if you do get care, you will be in a weakened condition and contract the ailment.  

 

We have NO immunity. The virus is mutating and could become even deadlier. A vaccine is 12-18 months away. People are terrified. Families will be ripped asunder as love ones die a drawn out agonizing death. It is to bge expected that some reaction  ill be what you call OTT. 

Nonsense.

[Rookiescot]

If we are four weeks behind Italy then I would suggest we implement the measures Italy has in place now.

Lets try and get ahead of the game and be proactive not reactive.

Ultimately we will end up imposing the same restrictions that Italy has anyway.

[Enoon]

 

Thailand: "Nobody sick"

 

US: "Get over it, tomorrow's another day"

 

True to form, it just had to be Britain that said: "Many more families......."

 

The country that likes to say "ooh, that'll never work".

 

 

[Emdog]

I am usually no fan of Boris. But it was refreshing to hear him speak truth (as currently understood), soberly state loved ones are going to die, and that UK government will follow directions of science and medical experts.

Such a contrast to Trump's shady speech

[Enoon]

38 minutes ago, Enoon said:

 

Thailand: "Nobody sick"

 

US: "Get over it, tomorrow's another day"

 

True to form, it just had to be Britain that said: "Many more families......."

 

The country that likes to say "ooh, that'll never work".

 

 

The country that also, with a clear conscience and no announcements, warnings, apologies or "heartfelt" commiserations, quietly culls 1000's of it's elderly every Winter:

 

"UK's Charity Director Caroline Abrahams, said: “Last winter there were nearly 46,000 excess winter deaths amongst people aged 65 and over – a shocking 92 per cent of all excess deaths – equating to 379 older people a day."

Response to new excess winter death figures | Age UK

 

 

Edited March 13, 2020 by Enoon

[elliss]

1 hour ago, Emdog said:

I am usually no fan of Boris. But it was refreshing to hear him speak truth (as currently understood), soberly state loved ones are going to die, and that UK government will follow directions of science and medical experts.

Such a contrast to Trump's shady speech

 

     What about the not loved ones , they won't be missed ..

 

[phantomfiddler]

10 people out of 65 million, that would be in the region of 0.000015%, so we really do have a potentially huge problem here ????

[Bruntoid]

5 hours ago, UbonThani said:

I would guess 50,000 are going to die from various causes over the next few months.

 

But that's not news. If 50 die from Corona mass panic.

Spot on 

[Bruntoid]

2 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

You are in denial. Listen to the very honest assessment of Sir Patrick Vallance, Chief Science Adviser to the government. Educate yourself.

 

The UK is in its early stages, but Dr. Vallance gave a very sobering statement; Based upon the current UK  experience, 5% of the cases require intensive care, and this means a respirator. The UK  only has 5000 respirator equipped  beds.  If 100,000 people become ill, then it is expected that upwards of 5,000 will need the  respirator. Now consider what happens to people who have other illnesses that require a ventilator, or if the number of infections hits  1 million at the peak.  Access to the respirators will be rationed, and people will die who would not have died otherwise.  This is what is happening in Italy now.

The emotional trauma for the health care workers forced to select who lives and who dies will be devastating and will leave long  lasting PTSD and brn out a generation of health professionals. That's the collateral damage that must be considered.

 

You misunderstand the  deaths related to the flu. It is a rarity that someone who is healthy dies from the flu. Those that die of the flu are typically on their way out already. With a SARS CoV-2 infection, healthy people will die. There will be people who's lungs are so inflamed by the infection that they will suffocate. People who perhaps worked in an industrial sector, or who smoked or who had  asthma or who had recovered  from a lung ailment but were otherwise in good health  may see their lungs ravaged. They will slowly asphyxiate. People who might have chronic conditions but who could survive a flu exposure because they had an annual vaccination to prevent a serious infection or who had  taken their pneumonia vaccination, may not survive exposure to the SARS CoV-2.    You could be on your way to visit your mum and have an accident and be rushed to a hospital in need of critical care. Unfortunately, there will not be any beds available because they were all occupied by SARS CoV-2 patients, or if you did get care, you would  be in a weakened condition and vulnerable to infection by  the SARS CoV-2 virus circulating in the hospital filled with infected patients. 

 

We have NO immunity. The virus is mutating and could become even deadlier. A vaccine is 12-18 months away. People are terrified. Families will be ripped asunder as love ones die a drawn out agonizing death. It is to be expected that some reaction  will be what you call OTT. 

 

Doesn’t get more OTT than that ! 
 

Seems to be a rather large IF in there to set off your panic! If you hold much confidence in your chief scientific advisor, why is the rest of the world telling Bojo he should have been acting on this 6 weeks ago ? (Presumably on his ‘advisors’ advice?) 

 

If we have no immunity why are there no reports of fitness instructors et al dying ?

[faraday]

Oh come off it, that's the absolute worst case scenario.

 

If a patient has breathing issues, being mechanically ventilated, is a way along the treatment protocol.

 

Really Moderators, please address some of these alarmist posts.

 

@geriatrickid

[UbonThani]

Internet causes all this mass hysteria

 

Co2

Corona

Trump tweets

 

Every 2nd random flipper panics over things

 

 

[englishoak]

1 hour ago, Bruntoid said:

Doesn’t get more OTT than that ! 
 

Seems to be a rather large IF in there to set off your panic! If you hold much confidence in your chief scientific advisor, why is the rest of the world telling Bojo he should have been acting on this 6 weeks ago ? (Presumably on his ‘advisors’ advice?) 

 

If we have no immunity why are there no reports of fitness instructors et al dying ?

 

A Strawman argument dosnt make the Virus not real or do you really think the world is shutting down and wrecking their economies  for the fun of it ?  Riiiiight..... 

 

 As this is a new virus we have zero experience, data is crucial to understand it and the steps best to take, Chinas data isnt reliable so its a fluid learning curve... i believe the UK is going to attempt to weather the storm and many are expected to die but without a herd immunity any vaccine will be likely at least a winter or two away. When it returns and it will, an immunity in the population will help a lot and also with any future possible vaccine.

 

Plenty of doctors and fit people have died... 42% of Italians on ventilators are under 60 ... your comments about fitness are frankly juvenile and ignorant. 

 

There is no need to panic but being ignorant and dismissive is even worse. Instead get informed because you lad are clearly uninformed and in denial.

Edited March 13, 2020 by englishoak

[Bluespunk]

So far on this thread the following has been proven.
 

You can lead a “covid-19 isn’t dangerous” advocate to facts, but you can’t make them think. 

[billd766]

5 hours ago, UbonThani said:

Nonsense.

And your medical qualifications are what exactly?

 

Do you have knowledge and qualifications in virology and immunology?

 

Are you in fact in any way connected to the specialist medical community, have up to date knowledge of ALL the ICU beds in ALL the hospitals in the UK?

 

Or are you perhaps just a keyboard specialist with credentials from Khao San road university?

[AlexRich]

5 hours ago, UbonThani said:

1918 little to no healthcare.

 

Try reading up on modern times.

 

1918 55555

 

Like comparing ww1 with the internet.

 

Sars

Swine flu

Bird flu

Yearly flu

 

You know like common sense and modern times and that

You’re ignorance knows no limits. Imagine the best equipped hospital in Lombardy, with 20 icu beds with ventilators. 100 patients arrive this week with viral pneumonia, all requiring a ventilator. Antibiotics have no effect on a virus. That’s what is going on in Italy, and went on in Wuhan. Iran is worse because it has even less facilities.

 

The problem with common sense I see that it isn’t that common.

 

 

 

[Stargeezr]

Only 7 days quarantine Boris?  Are you using Trump logic?  Trying to get rid

of the old pensioners?  How  nice!

Geezer

[sanemax]

5 hours ago, Rookiescot said:

If we are four weeks behind Italy then I would suggest we implement the measures Italy has in place now.

Lets try and get ahead of the game and be proactive not reactive.

Ultimately we will end up imposing the same restrictions that Italy has anyway.

We need to cancel the Premier League immediately, BEFORE Liverpool get enough points to be champions 

[sanemax]

5 hours ago, Emdog said:

I am usually no fan of Boris. But it was refreshing to hear him speak truth (as currently understood), soberly state loved ones are going to die, and that UK government will follow directions of science and medical experts.

Such a contrast to Trump's shady speech

Well done, you manged to wait until page 2 of a thread before mentioning  Trump