Coronavirus

[BillyStubbsTears]

Brilliant plan floated today by the Govt. We'll deal with this by bringing old doctors back out of retirement.

But.

Hang on.

People in their 70s who catch the virus are thirty times more likely to die than people in their 40s.

So the Govt is saying they expect retired doctors on comfortable pensions to literally risk their lives looking after people who are probably going to recover ok?

[wilts rover]

Come on Billy thats a genius plan.

You either have more people helping with care of patients - or you save a fortune in pensions. Genius from Cummings, I mean Hancock..

[drfchound]

I would have thought that people in their seventies were more likely to die than people in their forties anyway.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Wilts.

I wish you'd not mention Hancock's name in this context. It's truly terrifying that the nation's health is in the hands of someone whose entire career has been built on nothing but soundbites and having the right friends.

It's been a worry of mine for a long time, that we have a generation of politicians who are pygmies compared to the ones of the past. I guess that's what happens when first rate minds can earn a lot more in jobs where they are not savaged by the Press and ridiculed by people (like, to be fair, I've just done with Hancock.)

The Labour Deputy Leadership election has had me reflecting moodily on this. The big names are Rayner and Burgoyne. I've barely heard of the other three. And I'm a political obsessive.

Compare those two to the Labour Deputy Leadership contenders in 1980. Dennis Healey and Tony Benn. Whatever you think of their politics, they were political heavyweights with generations of serious, deep thinking and holding very high office behind them. And (and I don't think this is irrelevant) experience of service in WWII. Healey especially, was a Major in the Anzio campaign, which, apart from the training in organisation that would have entailed, meant he had experience of decision-making in the most stressful situations.

My fear over the past few years is that we simply don't have politicians of the calibre required to deal with a serious crisis. I think we'll find the answer to that over the rest of this year.

Might help if we had a full-time PM to take control. Johnson thinks of himself as a new Churchill. You reckon Churchill would have vanished for a fortnight while a threat like Coronavirus was growing?

[BillyStubbsTears]

I would have thought that people in their seventies were more likely to die than people in their forties anyway.

Well aye. But would you be happy to put yourself in the front line, where, if you catch the virus, your chances of dying within a fortnight are 10-15%?

[BillyStubbsTears]

Here's a thought.

The Govt says folk with Coronavirus should self-isolate. Which means, stay off work. Keep your kids off school and (predumably) stay off work to look after them.

How does that work for folk in the gig economy, or just about scraping by in a self-employed job?

[Bentley Bullet]

The old doctors that are planned to be brought out of retirement won't be dealing directly with the virus. The idea is that they treat other conditions, leaving existing younger doctors with more time to deal with patients that are suspected with the virus.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Ah. That makes more sense.

[BillyStubbsTears]

I see Johnson has asked the MSM and social media not to spread false information.

Do you reckon he has ANY sense of irony?

[BillyStubbsTears]

This from the BBC about Italy.

"Half of all confirmed coronavirus patients in the country have mild conditions and have been told to stay at home, according to Italian news agency Ansa.

Some 40% are in hospital and only 10% are in intensive care, Ansa reported."

Is that supposed to be re-assuring? ONLY 10% in intensive care? So what happens when 2-3 million people have the infection in a given country? There will ONLY be 250,000 people in intensive care?

[Ldr]

No that appears to be a statement of fact not an attempt at reassurance mate, happy to help

[SydneyRover]

there wouldn't be room for 10% to go to ICU anywhere in the world there are not enough respirators or beds.

[BillyStubbsTears]

No that appears to be a statement of fact not an attempt at reassurance mate, happy to help

Then it's a strange choice to use the word "only". That is a value-loaded word. It's not neutral.

[Ldr]

I can understand your thoughts there. I just didnt read the same into it. We are definitely wired differently you and i

[BillyStubbsTears]

there wouldn't be room for 10% to go to ICU anywhere in the world there are not enough respirators or beds.

Precisely my point. If 10% of infected people are so ill that they need ICU treatment, that's terrifying.

[BillyStubbsTears]

I do sometimes wonder if you're on happy pills Ldr. You don't seem phased by the thought of us losing a tenth of our wealth or a tenth of our population!

[Ldr]

I do sometimes wonder if you're on happy pills Ldr. You don't seem phased by the thought of us losing a tenth of our wealth or a tenth of our population!

I worry about things in my immediate sphere of control. The rest will happen regardless of whether I worry or not so I dont let things get to me mate

[BillyStubbsTears]

The 10% of our wealth WAS in your sphere of influence. You said yourself last night that you weren't massively bothered about that. Although a couple of years ago you did appear to be bothered about us losing a much smaller amount that we weren't actually losing. Seems like strange priorities.

[Ldr]

Acknowledging that, whilst a member of the eu I massively resented us putting more money in than we got out. Now we are out am comfortable with things that are worrying you as a price to pay for not being still involved. You know my thoughts on the march towards a federal Europe and am at ease with a cost to not be a part of that. Some things are worth more than money to people

[Sprotyrover]

Evening gang, just been announced that the worst case scenario for Uk could be 80% infected and 1% dead, however in another Breath WHO says death rate is 3.4% .so that's 55 million infected and 550,000 dead one using the WHO figure 1.8 million dead.

[wilts rover]

Yes they used the 3% figure on Channel 4 news this evening for current death rate.

Of course the virus does have a disproportionate effect on the eldery and the UK does have a higher than average aging population.

[BillyStubbsTears]

On the flip side, they are thinking that the longer they have to prepare, the better the knowledge will be of how to treat the symptoms, so they expect the death rate to come down over time.

[SydneyRover]

From Australia.

The CMO has given the latest statistics on infections. He says there are now more than 90,000 cases globally, and 3,078 deaths. Italy has 2,036 cases, Iran 1,501 cases and 66 deaths,

Korea 4,212 cases, France 178, Germany 157. Australia has 40 cases, with 15 in NSW. Brendan Murphy notes again that Iran is likely significantly understating the size of its outbreak.

[Donnywolf]

Wilts.

I wish you'd not mention Hancock's name in this context. It's truly terrifying that the nation's health is in the hands of someone whose entire career has been built on nothing but soundbites and having the right friends.

It's been a worry of mine for a long time, that we have a generation of politicians who are pygmies compared to the ones of the past. I guess that's what happens when first rate minds can earn a lot more in jobs where they are not savaged by the Press and ridiculed by people (like, to be fair, I've just done with Hancock.)

Got to agree - he is SO BAD I now refer to him as Han-cog as I swear if you watch you can see his cogs (more likely his Cog) whirring. He looked way out of his depth

I have obviously been anti Tory since being of voting age but by god at least some of them in the past HAD nous,and credibility. The current crop of supposed Ministers are exactly the opposite

Well connected sound biters - briefed to the hilt - but often failing to remember what someone had told them

Hang-cog the other morning answered a single question about Corona 3 times - each with a slight twist but each broadly the same answer. His cog was obviously whirring enough to know if you answer the same question "at length" even 3 times then it runs down the clock and they cant ask you many more questions

Agree with BST that these MPs / Cabinet Ministers are the worst I have ever seen or heard since I cant remember when.

[Donnywolf]

AND on a totally different note

We are told - wash your hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds. Sing the National Anthem twice to help you get the length of time right

What chance do we have when at a local Garden Centre yesterday a bloke in his 60s comes out of the s*****r and goes straight out without stopping to wash his hands ?

Unlikely he had CV but even without it his contamination was on each door he opened - in the Cafe where he returned to and on everything he touched in the Gift Shop or Bird food Bags and all the other stuff

Of course this is nothing new. Have a pee or worse in Supermarket bogs and march straight out. Lovely looking Granny Smith apple (my favourite) - oh no bit of a cut on it - so scruffy B puts it back and that and evert=ything else the dirty gits touch could impact on a customer who follows them

Sickening

[Bentley Bullet]

That's the trouble DW, no matter how many times and how long we wash our hands we're only as clean as the dirtiest person when coming out of the toilets.

[Donnywolf]

Dirty disgusting buggers - keep off my apples !

See a lot of it at Rovers in Bogs. Lots of people (Ill guess 25%) dont bother washing their paws even after a pee and then just leave.

[Ldr]

Just for perspective. Current uk coronavirus cases 53 (ITV website 04/04/2020) uk population estimate 66,435,600 (ons 2018 mid year estimate, released 26th june 2019) based on those figures an infection rate of 0.00008%

[BillyStubbsTears]

Ldr.

How many cancer cells do you think a person has when the cancer has just started?

How about 1? Then it doubles. And doubles again. And again...

[Ldr]

Do you just live for the glass to be half empty? Just a statement of current state of play nothing more