Coronavirus (aka COVID-19) - just how serious?

[Cugel]

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they won't be allowed out, at all. That, at least, is enforceable.

Ive absolutely no idea how

Not difficult. Armed forces. Shoot to kill. Will probably come first for those looting all the abandoned homes, left empty when aged occupants die and no way for relatives to travel to secure.

Not so impossible. The government has just awarded itself absolute powers because its an emergency. All sorts of anti-people actions may be committed under that umbrella.

The hysterical reactions and rants, including some around here, worry me far more than the pandemic, to be frank. The pandemic is bad enough (although not as bad as it could be - imagine ebola let loose). My worry is that the hysteria and draconian reactions to the pandemic will cause as much if not more damage to society and individuals than will the pandemic itself. It isn't hard to imagine the growth of maddened mobs of vigilantes looking for "Covid carriers" and army lads eagerly "shooting at will" as their most avid dreams of opportunity to do what they joined for come true.

People really need to calm down (and carry on) to a mind state of responsible care rather than swivel-eyed panic.

Cugel

[Ellieb]

& as I said, the retailers are working to increase their capacity. They aren't there yet, so we are where we are.

[nsew]

In light of the current crisis at what point does a person cross the line to become classed as ‘a danger to society’ ? Persons showing virus symptoms and not isolating can be snatched by trained squads but what of those who spread harmful (to public health) content online whether intentional or not?

[Ellieb]

People really need to calm down (and carry on) to a mind state of responsible care rather than swivel-eyed panic.

You seem to think that people are panicking when all they are doing is advocating taking the measures seriously. (& you think posting about the military shooting people for fun is calm & responsible ?)Are you aware of what is going on in France/Spain/Italy? That is going to happen to us. The only way to beat the virus is reduce incidences of social contact. The govt has tried a softly softly approach, its tried advice & guidelines and these have been ignored. As a result this country is on the same infection curve as Italy (or worse). We have fewer critical care beds per population than most of our neighbours.
Tell me, if we don't adopt these measures how exactly are you proposing to prevent the virus spreading?

[100%JR]

OK this lock down thingy...
I get up and take the dog for a walk.Then I go out on my bike.
I do the same in the afternoon.
Then I take the dog for a walk in the evening.
Who exactly is going to know?How is this Policed?
Answer?It's unenforceable!
There must be at least 10 Supermarkets within a 20 min drive of here.Who's going to know if I visit every one of them one after the other?

I'm not for one minute suggesting I would blatantly flout Fuhrer Johnson's instructions but I'm pretty sure there are plenty out there who will.
Johnson announced this at 20:30 last night.At 20:45 I drove to Nottingham to pick my daughter up from Uni.The M1 was no different to a normal day.I'm betting it will be the same today.
Short of martial law this is unenforceable.

Vive la révolution!!

[roubaixtuesday]

Ive absolutely no idea how

Not difficult. Armed forces. Shoot to kill. Will probably come first for those looting all the abandoned homes, left empty when aged occupants die and no way for relatives to travel to secure.

Not so impossible. The government has just awarded itself absolute powers because its an emergency. All sorts of anti-people actions may be committed under that umbrella.

The hysterical reactions and rants, including some around here, worry me far more than the pandemic, to be frank. The pandemic is bad enough (although not as bad as it could be - imagine ebola let loose). My worry is that the hysteria and draconian reactions to the pandemic will cause as much if not more damage to society and individuals than will the pandemic itself. It isn't hard to imagine the growth of maddened mobs of vigilantes looking for "Covid carriers" and army lads eagerly "shooting at will" as their most avid dreams of opportunity to do what they joined for come true.

People really need to calm down (and carry on) to a mind state of responsible care rather than swivel-eyed panic.

Cugel

Alternatively...

I see no sign of panic. Quite the opposite, at the weekend people seemed to gather insouciant of the transmission of the virus and resulting deaths.

People need to calm down, stop reacting hysterically to justified restrictions, and comply for the common good.

[kwackers]

Tell me, if we don't adopt these measures how exactly are you proposing to prevent the virus spreading?

Here's an idea.
Why don't you put forward your ideas?

Even in these unthinking times I'm pretty sure we can all agree that cross infection happens when people are close to each other or handle stuff others have handled.
I posit supermarkets are the main area left where such goings on occur. (Possibly petrol pump handles as well, but I'll leave those for another post )

Do you think supermarkets are safe? If not how are we going to handle them?
Or do you think we should simply leave them be and accept that the virus will pass between folk in there whilst continuing to put harsher and harsher restrictions on all the other improbable forms of transmission?

[pwa]

People really need to calm down (and carry on) to a mind state of responsible care rather than swivel-eyed panic.

You seem to think that people are panicking when all they are doing is advocating taking the measures seriously. (& you think posting about the military shooting people for fun is calm & responsible ?)Are you aware of what is going on in France/Spain/Italy? That is going to happen to us. The only way to beat the virus is reduce incidences of social contact. The govt has tried a softly softly approach, its tried advice & guidelines and these have been ignored. As a result this country is on the same infection curve as Italy (or worse). We have fewer critical care beds per population than most of our neighbours.
Tell me, if we don't adopt these measures how exactly are you proposing to prevent the virus spreading?

Cugel lives "out in the sticks" and perhaps imagines life in more populous areas is degenerating more than it actually is. In my street people have been offering to do shopping for others. People have been sharing what they have and running errands. Delivery drivers have been thanked for all they are doing. There are a lot of people out there being very kind to each other. Yes, there are the other sort as well, but why focus just on the negatives? Hard times reveal people for what they are. Some turn out to be selfish, but others turn out to be the friends you never knew you had.

[Paulatic]

It’s serious now... Greggs are closing their shops!
Who saw that coming?

Edit: I’d better add I’ve used them about once a year so no loss to me but more pressure on other food sources.

[Oldjohnw]

It’s serious now... Greggs are closing their shops!
Who saw that coming?

To raise your spirits: Mike Ashley has done a U-turn after it was pointed out that he does not provide an essential public service after all.

[djnotts]

URGENT. Anyone else just received a text msg saying "You must follow Govt advice and stay at home. You may receive more detailed advice re your health condition soon. Visit www.nhs.uk"

I assume that this is for the 12 weeks category, altho' previously said letter first. And been feeling pretty good - 150 miles in last 5 days best for years! Going to get damn hungry....

[horizon]

I think kwackers is the only sane person in what is fast becoming a mad house.

You might not be the only sane person on here (and I don't think it is a madhouse) but I appreciate your crisp thinking even though we disagree on some fundamentals. I also value the cool-headed logic of many on here, again though we disagree. I am not sure where else you would find such a combination of mischevious questioning, logic, front-line knowledge and properly constructed sentences.

Long may it be.

[pete75]

I am not sure where else you would find such a combination of mischevious questioning, logic, front-line knowledge and properly constructed sentences.

Long may it be.

And that's just Cugel

[AlaninWales]

OK this lock down thingy...
I get up and take the dog for a walk.Then I go out on my bike.
I do the same in the afternoon.
Then I take the dog for a walk in the evening.
Who exactly is going to know?How is this Policed?
Answer?It's unenforceable!
There must be at least 10 Supermarkets within a 20 min drive of here.Who's going to know if I visit every one of them one after the other?

I'm not for one minute suggesting I would blatantly flout Fuhrer Johnson's instructions but I'm pretty sure there are plenty out there who will.
Johnson announced this at 20:30 last night.At 20:45 I drove to Nottingham to pick my daughter up from Uni.The M1 was no different to a normal day.I'm betting it will be the same today.
Short of martial law this is unenforceable.

If you do that then you are an utter buttock. The sort of buttock whose existence justifies authoritarian crackdowns.

[roubaixtuesday]

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