Generic Virus Thread

[bickster]

7 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

I don’t think there will be another spike in cases. The worst is behind us in my opinion. Which is why stock market is holding up. 

This post is worth no carrots. Those well known virologists, the city traders

Edited May 11, 2020 by bickster

[bickster]

6 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Yeah, I work from home but we have 149 dealerships in our group opened today with limited staff. They are blagging it a bit though, keeping a quarter of staff furloghed until they start making a profit again, not sure that's allowed?

It's allowed, We've been unfurloughing a few more each week

[Vive_La_Villa]

2 minutes ago, bickster said:

This post is worth no carrots. Those well known virologists, the city traders

The market knows all!

[foreveryoung]

Just now, bickster said:

It's allowed, We've been unfurloughing a few more each week

Cool, hopefully everyone gets back in. Wouldn't want this to end up getting rid of staff with mangers making excuses.

[bickster]

8 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Yeah, I work from home but we have 149 dealerships in our group opened today with limited staff.

Sorry to separate posts but they are breaking the law. Car Dealerships are not off the proscribed list as far as I'm aware and they wouldn't be before Wednesday in any instance (but even then they aren't I don't think)

[foreveryoung]

Just now, bickster said:

Sorry to separate posts but they are breaking the law. Car Dealerships are not off the proscribed list as far as I'm aware and they wouldn't be before Wednesday in any instance (but even then they aren't I don't think)

I thought this, not sure how they are getting away with it really. I wouldn't wanna be back in anyway, some dealers haven't even got robust social distancing procedures in place, or correct PPE.

I've just had a Email from a colleague, who said they are getting the dealers ready to open. I won't mention who I work for but, I can guarantee they have been taking public work today not just key workers.

[snowychap]

25 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Yeah, I work from home but we have 149 dealerships in our group opened today with limited staff. They are blagging it a bit though, keeping a quarter of staff furloghed until they start making a profit again, not sure that's allowed?

Hearing stories already about poor social distancing and people just walking in the showroom for a look, taking no notice of the limited signage, an staff not wanting to work because of no procedures or PPE in place.

So the showrooms aren't open, they've got the staff in to distance sell?

10 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

I thought this, not sure how they are getting away with it really. I wouldn't wanna be back in anyway, some dealers haven't even got robust social distancing procedures in place, or correct PPE.

I've just had a Email from a colleague, who said they are getting the dealers ready to open. I won't mention who I work for but, I can guarantee they have been taking public work today not just key workers.

Or are you saying that they have opened the showrooms? Or opened them to 'key workers'? (Both of which would be against the law, I believe).

Or have the dealerships opened up their service desks? Which, I believe, would always have been okay.

You're not really making it clear.

Edited May 11, 2020 by snowychap

[foreveryoung]

3 minutes ago, snowychap said:

So the showrooms aren't open, they've got the staff in to distance sell?

Or are you saying that they have opened the showrooms? Or opened them to 'key workers'? (Both of which would be against the law, I believe).

You're not really making it clear.

I don't know the detail as I haven't been into a showroom yet, so will refrain from assuming and hearing stories what other colleagues have said. But what I know is our group is open for repairs. I'm taking it must just be for key workers if that's legal, an sales are open to deliver new cars that have been sold online, not sure if they can sell them in Showrooms, I guess not.

[snowychap]

Just now, foreveryoung said:

I don't know the detail as I haven't been into a showroom yet, so will refrain from assuming and hearing stories what other colleagues have said. But what I know is our group is open for repairs. I'm taking it must just be for key workers if that's legal, an sales are open to deliver new cars that have been sold online, not sure if they can sell them in Showrooms, I guess not.

Ah, okay.

That does make sense as I believe it's what they were able to do all of the time - services & repairs and distance sales.

[Straggler]

I've got it. So I can't hang out with friends or family, but I can spend all day with my work colleagues. I'm going to set up a business and employ my friends. It will be unpaid work with a strict BYOB policy. If we are to be governed stupidly, may as well get into the swing of things.

[Sid4ever]

2 hours ago, bickster said:

Rhyl is about as Welsh as Wavertree

They don't call it Liverpool-on-Sea for nothing

and to be fair to Stupid Danny K there really isn't a lot in Shrewsbury to Rhyl vs Shrewsbury to West Kirby (the closest beach on the Wirral), all the beaches are at the top of the WIrral, its a couple of miles differenc and about ten mins difference by road

But anyway, keep him thinking he can't go to the beach, it'd be better for all concerned if he didn't mix with actual people

Talacre says Hi 

[VILLAMARV]

13 minutes ago, Straggler said:

I've got it. So I can't hang out with friends or family, but I can spend all day with my work colleagues. I'm going to set up a business and employ my friends. It will be unpaid work with a strict BYOB policy. If we are to be governed stupidly, may as well get into the swing of things.

I think you should be self isolating mate

Edited May 11, 2020 by VILLAMARV

[bickster]

Just now, Sid4ever said:

Talacre says Hi 

To be perfectly honest, it's Talacre to Abergele, Rhyl is just in the middle

 

[snowychap]

Weren't The Alarm from Rhyl?

[HanoiVillan]

 

[markavfc40]

I think I mentioned on here before my uncle has throat cancer. He started chemo in early March and it was paused after 2 sessions due to needing to create capacity due to coronavirus. He had a call with a consultant today and it transpired he has been getting really bad pain in his back and they now fear it  has spread and have asked if he would like to get Macmillan in to help with care. They said before resuming treatment they will take bloods and a ct scan and give him a call in around 4 weeks. By that time it will have been around 12 weeks since they paused his treatment. Having spoke with his daughter tonight she thinks the cancer has already spread and they won't resume treatment as it will be too late.

I'd imagine what I have described above thousands of other people will be going through similar now or over the coming months as a consequence of creating capacity by stopping treatment, postponing operations and stopping screening. 

Some people whose treatment was stopped/or operation cancelled for them the treatment or operation may not have worked anyway but there is no doubt thousands of others will lose their lives not as a direct result of getting coronavirus but as a direct consequence of our NHS having zero slack in the system and the need to create capacity.

 

[Awol]

Strategy for a Pandemic: The UK & Covid 19

Article by Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman drawn mostly from the primary SAGE sources, so the actual advice the government based its decisions on. He’s got no political affiliation/axe to grind and is always worth a read - full article (52 pages) linked through the above.

First little bit below:

 Lawrence Freedman explains why the UK misjudged the speed and severity of the pandemic.

In December 2019, reports circulated in the Chinese city of Wuhan that people were falling ill because of a new form of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus. After a period of denial, Chinese authorities confirmed these reports. The whole city was quarantined on 23 January 2020. Unfortunately, by the time the virus’s existence was acknowledged it had begun to spread. The second country to be badly hit after China was South Korea. Soon the virus reached Europe and the Middle East. On 11 February, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the new virus was to be known as SARS-CoV-2. The disease it caused would be called ‘COVID-19’. It took another month for the WHO to declare a pandemic. There was now no other word to describe the phenomenon, with more than 126,000 cases reported (a substantial underestimate) and 4,628 lives known to have been lost (also a substantial underestimate). Economic activity around the world was grinding to a halt. Markets were crashing as finance ministers and central banks rushed to devise rescue packages, all of which inevitably involved staggering amounts of debt. Thus, the new decade began with the event that will define it. 

The threat to health was so dire that resisting the virus became an overriding priority, whatever the economic cost. Its virulence and lethality meant that its effects were of a different order than the normal seasonal flu, to which it was often inappropriately compared. Many of those infected showed no or only mild symptoms, but once it gripped an individual breathing became hard, often requiring intensive hospital treatment. Soon health systems in the most affected areas began to buckle under the strain as acute infections rose exponentially. Governments searched for measures, physical and non-physical, advisory and compulsory, to get the coronavirus under control.

It is unusual to have so many countries, varying in size, demography, socio-economic structures and politics, addressing the same challenge at the same time. There was a menu of available measures: stopping the virus at the borders through travel bans; containing it through testing and contact tracing so that infected individuals could be treated and quarantined; suppressing the rate of infection by banning large gatherings, closing schools and then prohibiting all but essential work and social contact. With some exceptions, governments in Europe and North America eventually found that they had little choice but to shut down most everyday social and economic activities. This came with uncertainty about how countries could rebuild and recover, and get back to something approximating normal life. When would effective treatments and vaccines be available? How many of the ‘social-distancing’ measures would need to be maintained to prevent a resurgence of the virus?

[terrytini]

2 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

I don’t think there will be another spike in cases. The worst is behind us in my opinion. Which is why stock market is holding up. 

I think you are in for the shock of your life. We’ve have barely got started, in my view.

Though I do agree it is opinions only at this stage, anyone who says they know is fooling themselves.

[Awol]

24 minutes ago, terrytini said:

I think you are in for the shock of your life. We’ve have barely got started, in my view.

Though I do agree it is opinions only at this stage, anyone who says they know is fooling themselves.

My bold: Agreed. I think the stock market is only holding up for now because funds can’t just sit on cash. They need to invest and there’s almost nowhere else (including sovereign bonds) to put money and make a return. 
 

[HanoiVillan]

Further information on carehomes and carers:

'The report' mentioned in the first tweet is 'Care and support workers’ perceptions of health and safetyissues in socialcareduring the COVID-19 pandemic': https://media.www.kent.ac.uk/se/11148/CareworkersHealthandSafetyreport15042.pdf

Reminder: most care workers barely make minimum wage.