Coronavirus (OLD)

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by Pierre

It’s not going to be enforced, it is asking over 70’s for their own good.

I took the use of the word 'instructed' to mean that over 70's won't have a choice, but that's only what Robert Peston has relayed ie nothing official has been announced by the government.

I wonder why the govt is relaying via the media; why not make a Prime Ministerial announcement directly to the nation? I'm sure it will happen at some stage.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the Queen spoke to the nation (she might have even pre recorded this prior to her going into quarantine).

A request from the PM & the Queen might also be enough to make the majority of the over 70's compliant.

If the over 70's choose to disobey this request or instruction, will the government get heavy handed with them? The Conservative party rely on the grey vote and so they won't want to alienate them.

On the other hand, if they end up losing their life through going outside, It's a cold heartless fact that the government will save a lot through reduced expenditure on pensions and future health costs from people that are likely to no longer be economically active. Are they really that bothered if such people become infected?

[papa smurf]

people were fighting in my local Aldi this morning 5 mins after it opened stripping the shelves of all tinned goods except mushy peas.

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by Taf

According to a virologist statement I have been reading:

"Again, being infected does not mean you will die. Probably not, especially if you are not 40+ man with underlying medical condition!"

I hope she means "person" and that this is not a sexist virus.

It's more likely to effect men, apparently they think that this is because more men are likely to smoke and this helps Covid-19 finish them off through respiratory issues.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

people were fighting in my local Aldi this morning 5 mins after it opened stripping the shelves of all tinned goods except mushy peas.

l saw the same type pictures from some other supermarkets as well as why can't they behave like civil human beings.

[papa smurf]

Originally Posted by denphone

l saw the same type pictures from some other supermarkets as well as why can't they behave like civil human beings.

The local paper showed many pictures of empty supermarket shelves prompting panic buying they neglected to point out it was only toilet paper and hand sanitizer that was in short supply ,maybe the government should get the press under control,the papers are full of rubbish.

[heero_yuy]

Why toilet paper?

There's plenty of red tops on sale.

[Uncle Peter]

Some supermarkets are just crap at stocking the shelves at the best of times. Go into my local ASDA on any given day and it's like being time warped back to the Soviet Union in the 1970s.

Fun fact for the loony stockpilers regarding pasta: With some basic culinary skills and a little elbow grease it's actually quite easy to make and it can be stored in something called a freezer for a couple of months or more.

[heero_yuy]

You forget you're dealing with the woke generation. They have absolutely no idea how to do anything that isn't on facebook or instagram.

[papa smurf]

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

Why toilet paper?

There's plenty of red tops on sale.

There's also no shortage of bars of soap what's the deal with hand sanitizer.

[Ramrod]

I wonder how many people have died of the flu so far this winter? I'm guessing that it's in the thousands but no panic over that so far.......:/

Hard to find figures for this year, but I did come across this for the previous 4 years ;

Public Health England estimates that on average 17,000 people have died from the flu in England annually between 2014/15 and 2018/19.
However, the yearly deaths vary widely from a high of 28,330 in 2014/15 to a low of 1,692 in 2018/19.

Strangly, we did not see mass panic in those previous four years, esp in 2015 ....

[RichardCoulter]

It's because those at risk of dying can receive a vaccination, to help stop them getting flu in the first place.

With this thing there is no vaccination yet, so the elderly/disabled/ill are at it's mercy.

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by Paul

Hard to find figures for this year, but I did come across this for the previous 4 years ;

Strangly, we did not see mass panic in those previous four years, esp in 2015 ....

The mortality rate is judged to be more than 10 times the normal rate. Plus you have those that are severely affected but don't die.

[Ramrod]

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

It's because those at risk of dying can receive a vaccination, to help stop them getting flu in the first place.

With this thing there is no vaccination yet, so the elderly/disabled/ill are at it's mercy.

The vaccination that you speak of is minimally effective but I suppose that it makes people feel better. I get many a patient who says "I won't get the flu as I've been vaccinated"

---------- Post added at 19:06 ---------- Previous post was at 19:06 ----------

Originally Posted by Paul

Strangly, we did not see mass panic in those previous four years, esp in 2015 ....

Indeed......

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

It's because those at risk of dying can receive a vaccination, to help stop them getting flu in the first place.

Its not as effective as you seem to think. My Mum was vaccinated, but still got the flu anyway (fortunately, not a serious case).

Originally Posted by nomadking

The mortality rate is judged to be more than 10 times the normal rate. Plus you have those that are severely affected but don't die.

While its probably higher than flu, the actual rate is just a guess atm, since they have no idea how many mild cases go unreported, and therefore not counted.