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I don't get why we have to wait to take the next step/implement the next level of guidelines & closures, if they are needed (which they are just look at Italy) why don't we do it now and less people will die.
 
Ain't that the truth.

Not really. It's more subtle than that. Huge amounts of working parents rely on schools as childcare during the working day. Some of these people work in healthcare, pick your food in supermarket warehouses, deliver your essential goods, work in the water plant that treats your water, or provides your power, or collect your bins, etc etc etc.

Turn off this facility, and there will be a huge knock on effect. This had to be judged against not shutting down the schools and perhaps more of these workers getting ill it the same time. It's a fine balancing act the government has to perform.
 
It is really weird, that some governments did that and some didn't (Italy is totally different kettle of fish). Smaller countries like Czech, Poland, Romania did it, bigger countries like France Germany and us, still holding of. I guess they all have their own scientific advisers.

My guess would, they just don't know, because it is so new
 
It is really weird, that some governments did that and some didn't (Italy is totally different kettle of fish). Smaller countries like Czech, Poland, Romania did it, bigger countries like France Germany and us, still holding of. I guess they all have their own scientific advisers.

My guess would, they just don't know, because it is so new

It might be new, but there might also be experiences learnt from other pandemics.
My guess would be incompetence combined with a frail economy.
 
Not really. It's more subtle than that

The bottom line is thee is no reason to have huge numbers of people gathering they could stop it now but they won't and the reason is money, tale football the PL clubs will be fine if they play behind closed doors as they will stream games (they have discussed this today) for fans but the lower league teams couldn't survive without the money they take at the turnstiles and what they make on food and drink so they will carry on letting us gather in numbers until they have no option and have to stop it and by then it'll be too late and that's just football.
 
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I don't get why we have to wait to take the next step/implement the next level of guidelines & closures, if they are needed (which they are just look at Italy) why don't we do it now and less people will die.

Supposedly there's a fight going on in government between the health people who want to shut down everything ASAP regardless of consequences, the Treasury who are worried about the economy, and the behavioural psychologists who are worried that if we go too hard too soon then everyone will get bored and start relaxing precautions just as it reaches its height, leading to more deaths than if they had waited. So our short attention span could be the death of us.

This is a translated Facebook post from Sunday from a doctor working in Bergamo : https://promarket.org/the-fight-aga...alian-hospitals-on-how-to-prevent-a-disaster/

He makes clear that one difference between this and flu is that secondary infection is relatively rare in flu, whereas this stops lung function at an early stage, and opens it up for secondary infection much sooner, which is what tends to kill.

The power of exponential maths means that we could be 2-3 weeks away from the position in Italy, where allegedly they've pretty much had to give up on the over 65's, they're leaving them with just basic nursing care to die or survive (and around 1 in 7 aren't making it), they're saving limited intensive care beds for people of working age, supposedly the average age in intensive care is 49. And that's in a country with twice as many ventilators as the UK.
 
Ireland are closing schools and college.

BBC News -
Schools, colleges and other public facilities in the Republic of Ireland are to close in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar said the measures take effect from 18:00 on Thursday to 29 March.
 
Just been informed that a couple two doors down from us are in isolation after getting back from a weekend in Italy :coat:
 
It seems to me that countries like Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong & Taiwan have said we will contain the virus and they have done to a large extent while Europe has decided we won't contain it and only take action as things get worse and we will all follow Italy and have over run hospitals and cases will only peak when a majority are exposed.
 
Have not been in Taiwan or Hong Kong, but went to Singapore last year. Different culture than ours, they are much more obeying the rules, they are cleaner (no rubbish on the street etc) public services are kept to higher standards.
Anyway, it looks like it is a guessing game and each country health adviser makes educated guess what to do best. Is this exactly followed by the government, we don't know.
 
Finally some practical advice, unsurprisingly from the Germans:
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Latest from the BBC - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51845861

Two more people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of UK deaths to 10.

There are now 596 confirmed cases in the UK, up from 456 on Wednesday - with 491 in England, 60 in Scotland, 20 in Northern Ireland and 25 in Wales.

It comes as the government is expected to announce within hours that it is stepping up its coronavirus response.

It is anticipated the UK will switch to tactics aimed at delaying its spread, rather than containing it.

The latest two deaths were an 89-year-old at Charing Cross Hospital in London and a woman in her 60s at Queen's Hospital in Romford, NHS England said. They both had underlying health conditions.

As of 09:00 GMT, a total of 29,764 people had been tested for the virus in the UK.

The rise in confirmed cases - of 140 - is the first time the day-on-day increase has been more than 100.
 
Latest from the BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51857856

Coronavirus: UK moves to next stage in virus plan

Anyone with a new persistent cough or high temperature is now advised to self-isolate for seven days, as the UK government moves to the "delay" phase of its plan to tackle coronavirus.

From Friday, school trips abroad will be banned, and older people and those with pre-existing health conditions have been told not to go on cruises.

In total, 10 people have now died in the UK with the virus.

There have been 596 confirmed cases across the country.

Announcing the measures after an emergency Cobra meeting, Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the spread of coronavirus as "the worst public health crisis for a generation".

He said: "Some people compare it to seasonal flu, alas that is not right. Owing to the lack of immunity, this disease is more dangerous."

The number of UK cases rose by more than 100 on Thursday, up from 456 on Wednesday - with 491 in England, 60 in Scotland, 20 in Northern Ireland and 25 in Wales.

As of 09:00 GMT, a total of 29,764 people had been tested for the virus in the UK.

The latest two deaths were an 89-year-old and a woman in her 60s - at two hospitals in London. They both had underlying health conditions.

Up to now, under the previous strategy of containment, people were told to self-isolate only if they had the cough and fever but had also been to an affected country recently, or had contact with someone who had tested positive for the virus.
 
Looks like the government won in their battle to keep the country running, against advise.

I can't believe it's taken them all day to come out with this announcement. It was supposed to have been before 11am. The new measures are rubbish and don't go far enough but closing th4 schools would have had a massive impact on working families.
 
Closing schools would have put the most vulnerable at even higher risk as Grand Parents would generally be looking after a high percentage of the school kids and these people are the ones most likely the die from the virus so IMO that part of the plan is a good move I will leave reservation on the others
 
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