The Coronavirus thread.

[MyQul]

I have 5 live on in the background when using PC, try the links below and you should be able to listen from the start.

If still live BBC Radio 5 live - 5 Live Drive, 08/04/2020

If finished - BBC Radio 5 live - 5 Live Drive - Available now

I don't normally listen to the radio apart from R4 in the morning when I'm doing my back exercises. But thanks anyway :hat:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I don't normally listen to the radio apart from R4 in the morning when I'm doing my back exercises. But thanks anyway :hat:

If you use the second link its to the podcast so you can listen anytime it suits you. BBC Radio 5 live - 5 Live Drive - Available now

 

[MyQul]

Ah, I see. I have the BBC sound app on my kindle. I think I could probably listen to it on that

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Worth a try. thumb

 

[MyQul]

Been catching up on the news. The US has been absolutely mauled 1858 death today 806 in NY city alone

 

[Chippy_Tea]

The figures are scary but then when i look at the graph i see at my age i have an equal chance of of dying from Covid-19 as the flu so fingers washed and crossed i will be fine. thumb

 

[Bevvied]

my bestie oppo, just told me his sister is in intensive care (or whatever it's called now)
she's a nurse.

 

[simon12]

The figures are scary but then when i look at the graph i see at my age i have an equal chance of of dying from Covid-19 as the flu so fingers washed and crossed i will be fine. thumb





View attachment 24260

Thats your risk of just dying of any cause not dying with flu

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Whatever length if time is mentioned, you not expect to be let out by then.

I hope I can go on holiday on July 1st but it probably wont happen. Was really looking forward to our honeymoon.

Congrats - and that's tough timing, that's right in the middle of where things may be being let off. I think it's important to realise that it won't be a binary on/off - they'll release "high priority" things like eg small shops sooner, but I can see a lot of "discretionary" activity like eg going to the pub or cinema being banned for rather longer, or they might eg allow beer gardens but not being inside pubs - it's the prolonged time in a confined space that's the real risk, whereas outside the risks seem to be much lower.

And you can expect cycles of lockdowns and releases until we get a vaccine - the ratio of lockdown to release depends on how many extra deaths you are comfortable with.

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/mrc-gida/2020-03-16-COVID19-Report-9.pdf

@Chippy_Tea - worth seeing the article that graph came from for a bit more context and also bear in mind that I think it's based on Chinese death rates, Europeans seem to be a bit more hit by it for various reasons including possibly genetics.

 

[MyQul]

but I can see a lot of "discretionary" activity like eg going to the pub or cinema being banned for rather longer,

My 82 yr old client is absolutely distraught that the pubs are closed. I wont mention the above to him

 

[terrym]

Congrats - and that's tough timing, that's right in the middle of where things may be being let off. I think it's important to realise that it won't be a binary on/off - they'll release "high priority" things like eg small shops sooner, but I can see a lot of "discretionary" activity like eg going to the pub or cinema being banned for rather longer, or they might eg allow beer gardens but not being inside pubs - it's the prolonged time in a confined space that's the real risk, whereas outside the risks seem to be much lower.

I completely agree with your comment on a progressive release of the lock down. The first priority will be getting more essential services people back into the workplace, with others to follow and schools to re-open in a limited way to assist in this. And getting the economy going again is going to take priority over folks going out to pubs, restaurants, tightly packed sports venues, and theatres and the like (which I would have thought will stay closed for some time to come), to start to pay for all of this at both a national and individual level. And if there is evidence of it going pear shaped due to the dopey unthinking mentality of the typical Brit, and the curves start to rise again, back to square one.

 

[Rodcx500z]

My view is its to soon to do any kind of let up to the lock down mainly due to the dumb ***** who think its ok to flout it, both my kids work in retail and tell me constantly of people buying stuff that is not essential to every day life ie air freshners for a car wtf, a bar of chocolate and a can of pop, the few are going to make this last longer for the many, it really is terifying that some folks think its ok to just carry on like it is not happenning, myself and my misses have not been through the door for 3 weeks our kids do the shopping for us and my wifes mother on their way home from work or day off, i would say back end of may early june at the earliest, i agree essential workers yeah all else no way

 

[Richie_asg1]

Is it just me or is looking at the daily chart of death rates is like some kind of grim Top Trumps?

I see we have a remarkably low number of recovered. Does that mean like Bevvied here you don't feel right for a long time afterwards. (I'm glad to see your sense of humour has returned though )

Regarding nurses without the right PPE, If I remember correctly we were sending soldiers to the front line without equipment too. Or is all this also part of the master plan so our nurses all have immunity and thus don't cost the taxpayer money in expensive masks...if there are any left.
You would think that manufacturing masks would be a priority, and an easy win.

 

[MyQul]

Is it just me or is looking at the daily chart of death rates is like some kind of grim Top Trumps?

I see we have a remarkably low number of recovered. Does that mean like Bevvied here you don't feel right for a long time afterwards. (I'm glad to see your sense of humour has returned though )

Regarding nurses without the right PPE, If I remember correctly we were sending soldiers to the front line without equipment too. Or is all this also part of the master plan so our nurses all have immunity and thus don't cost the taxpayer money in expensive masks...if there are any left.
You would think that manufacturing masks would be a priority, and an easy win.

I think the actual death figures are a lot worse as I think they dont count deaths in nursing homes only hospital deaths. As nursing homes are peopled with the oldest and most vulnerable the figures would be much higher if they added them in

 

[Leon103]

Recovery rates look bad because they are only testing those in hospital and I would say most of the people going to hospital are really ill and about to die.

I have a lot of support for the NHS but was shocked to learn of the treatment of my niece yesterday. She is not even 1 yet and after 24 hours of sky high temperatures, most of which was spent sleeping and moaning, with various of complaints. A ambulance was called and they took her to a&e. Not a place you want to go in the current climate. Once there they recorded her temperature, 39.6c and that's all they did. No other checks, no tests. A doctor said that it could be a ear infection. No checks of the ear and no anti biotics. Just asked to leave. Mother and child were told to leave the marquee which was the pop up a&e and find a way to get home - 15 miles away.

 

[MyQul]

Recovery rates look bad because they are only testing those in hospital and I would say most of the people going to hospital are really ill and about to die.

I have a lot of support for the NHS but was shocked to learn of the treatment of my niece yesterday. She is not even 1 yet and after 24 hours of sky high temperatures, most of which was spent sleeping and moaning, with various of complaints. A ambulance was called and they took her to a&e. Not a place you want to go in the current climate. Once there they recorded her temperature, 39.6c and that's all they did. No other checks, no tests. A doctor said that it could be a ear infection. No checks of the ear and no anti biotics. Just asked to leave. Mother and child were told to leave the marquee which was the pop up a&e and find a way to get home - 15 miles away.

I think that shows just how bad things are and just how on it's knees the NHS is right now. I dont think were being told the truth by the governmet/the media exactly how bad things in the NHS are right now. Just all the protect the NHS, it the greatest thing ever' we keep getting

I hope your niece gets better soon btw.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I must admit, I'm not paying too much attention to the butcher's bill, we're still a way off cracking this thing and it's just too depressing to watch it closely IMHO. But this piece from the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford is a useful look at the mechanics of the various UK data sources for those interested.

As an aside, the European Centre for Disease Control is generally regarded as one of the best sources for comparing international data.

I think that shows just how bad things are and just how on it's knees the NHS is right now. I dont think were being told the truth by the governmet/the media exactly how bad things in the NHS are right now. Just all the protect the NHS, it the greatest thing ever' we keep getting

The trouble is that the NHS is the closest thing we have to a secular religion these days, and the problem with religion is that its fundamentals are literally set in tablets of stone and by questioning those fundamentals people think you're questioning their identity rather than just trying to have a conversation about the best way to organise one of the biggest bureaucracies in the world. Or you think that you're questioning the commitment of the people on the front line rather than the faceless managers etc behind them. Until we can have those kinds of difficult conversations without it turning into yah-boo politics then the NHS is not going to change.

For instance - there's been lots of praise for the German health system recently. If we assume that German doctors and nurses are no more dedicated/talented etc than British ones, then one has to look at what else is different about the German system. The fact that (like most of Europe) it is insurance-based (with lots of safeguards for the most vulnerable) has to be an obvious one to look at, but that's a conversation that is just impossible in current British politics.

It also doesn't help that eg the BBC have minimal interest in talking about what makes other European countries tick, and are far more interested in turning this massive global problem into a human-interest story about one man from the Westminster village. I think I'm going to scream every time the main news go to Laura-bleeding-Kuenssberg rather than having a proper look at the economic effects, or talking about why there's no Nightingale in the NE or SE outside London, or for instance the fact that 5 London bus drivers have died of Covid19. To be fair, Newsnight has been doing a better job on that front, but the relentless personality-driven Westminster stuff drives me nuts.

 

[Cwrw666]

the fact that 5 London bus drivers have died of Covid19.

It said 10 on the radio last night. My son in law is a bus driver but fortunately he's been furlowed as the bus service has been halved plus there's all the coach and school run drivers. It's a bit of a relief. He volunteered as he's got asthma but if he got it then we'd get it as our daughter is currently working here at the moment as we're in the middle of lambing.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Yikes - and I see there were at least 5 others as of 24h ago, three Transport for London workers, an Underground employee and a worker for one of TfL's suppliers. Buses are great places to get infected, and must be one reason for some of the ethnic variation in cases, I suspect that most BBC journalists take the Tube in to work, so they don't "see" the bus network.

Whereas for Sadiq Khan it's personal, as his dad is a bus driver. I'm not great fan of Khan's but you've got to feel for him, seeing the death toll among transport workers into double figures but not being able to stop transport in London because it will just screw everything else up. I'm glad I'm not in his shoes - and I'm not going to be hard on him if he makes decisions in the moment that don't look perfect in hindsight.

 

[trueblue]

Spoke to my Sister this morning she is a senior A&E nurse of over 35 years experience. Last night she started to show symptoms so is now isolating. She works in a major London hospital and says they have been battling the last few weeks with inferior PPE, she has bought bits herself but not able to acquire the needed equipment with the result being over 50% of her staff are now off work. She despairs when politicians say they have the equipment but there is a logistic problem as her hospitals procurement team were asking for it months ago as they expected London to be badly hit but keep getting fobbed off and despite being a conservative voter is now convinced they are lying just to us so we believe they have it under control . She is also convinced the new Nightingale hospital is more of a PR stunt to show how "well" they are doing as mogst London hospital have closed wards that could have been reopened but that would have looked bad politically. Her eldest son is a paramedic in Norwich and is also struggling to say safe. She finish by saying most of her colleagues believe we are on course to be as bad or maybe worse than Italy and Spain despite having more warning what was on the way. Stay safe.

So I'm pleased to say my Sister did not get any worse and returned to work yesterday. Spoke to her yesterday and she described the A&E as resembling a war zone. Apart from the Corvid cases they dealt with over 20 cardiac arrests, she says on average it would be 5 at the most, and they are putting that down to the stress people are under. After being away for a week she was hoping for the PPE situation to have improved, it hasn't, she sat at home watching the ministers saying there is no shortage it just needs to get distributed but still no improvement for one the the biggest trusts in London. She needs a full face mask as she wears glasses but is given goggles. Their is a lot of incompetence going on in our government couldn't organise a p!ss up in brewery.