Coronavirus Pandemic

[KlaxonCow]

I meant longer to recover from C19 than to die from C19, though.

Oh, in that case, yes, that's probably correct.

I was thinking "from first symptoms to outcome", in terms of the "recovery" stats, as that was the topic at hand.

[Deckard]

So after the WHO boss has been saying “test test test” for weeks

We

Frontline NHS staff in England will begin being tested this weekend to see if they have coronavirus.
Workers with symptoms or those who live with people who have symptoms will be checked - starting with critical care doctors and nurses.
It follows criticism over a lack of testing for health workers.

[Little stoned kiwi]

Been talking to a friend who works in the hospital. They predict we will follow a trend similar to Italy. Just on a smaller scale.
We'll know in two weeks how bad it will be. I saw this coming and am pissed the government and media have been trying to downplay this. Obviously so it doesn't spook people, but many aren't following isolation and the army will likely be rolled out soon.

[gilesgoat]

Just been talking with my friends in Italy .. Carabinieri/Polizia CONSTANTLY patrolling roads all time checking people respect the rules, you can't really go out without meeting them !

My friend lives in a place where she sees a Carabineri car patrolling twice every hour.

[edit] - also it's better to recall "how the Italian system works" because you are by default "guilty until proven innocent", it's up to YOU to prove YOUR innocence NOR them to prove your guilt, if you are stopped by Carabinieri you are guilt by default "something was already wrong".

"Everyone ( in Italy ) has at least made 1/2 wrong something by default" .. sadly .. by how things go, that is often true ..

[edit2] - also Carabinieri in Italy can be VERY intimidating, "nobody like them that much, they don't like anybody" .. this is NOT "oi mate a slap in the back" this is - F**K ! - and if they act "friendly" it can be even much worse beware they are MASTERS OF DECEPTION .. first they give you a smile then then lock you up in a nasty cell !

[Barney]

Til Lindemann (Rammstein frontman) has it bad...

https://www.bild.de/unterhaltung/leute/ ... .bild.html

Fortunately he doesn't have the virus.

[F-ZeroOne]

Beware both the poorly done preliminary study and - though this should really go without needing to be said - anything Trump tweets:

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/are-hy ... -covid-19/

[MattyP]

Confusing this.

So have had a sore throat and a weezy chest for a couple of days this week. Decided to stay in anyhow as I would if I was ill anyway. But have I had a dose of this?! No temperature... Guessing it's just a regular cold.

So do I self isolate for 7 days? Decided to anyway just out of respect for my fellow humans out there.....

Feeling better today so think what I had has passed....

[KlaxonCow]

Has anyone ventured out shopping under the lockdown yet?

Had to do my weekly shop, unfortunately. If there was any chance of a delivery slot with anyone right now, then I'd have opted for that.

It's totally post-apocalyptic out there. I felt like an extra in "Day of the Triffids" or "The Walking Dead" or something.

Folks in face masks, scarves over their noses and mouths or some wearing gloves, standing behind lines marked on the floor, 2 metres apart. Queuing outside was the same, as they'd only let a certain number of people into the shop at one time. One entrance and one exit, to keep the flow moving in the same direction.

But, hey, absolutely no-one there was treating it as a national holiday. Not remotely, as frightened kittens darted past one another to dare not be within 5 metres of anyone else for more than 19 milliseconds, grasping tightly to the scarves over their faces.

Everything else is shuttered up and closed, with the obligatory "sorry, we're closed because of COVID-19" sign stuck on the shutters, as I walked home through a completely human-less ghost town.

There's at least some sign of re-stocking after the insane panic buying - though, no, the toilet roll and hand sanitiser shelves remain bare and empty, so that bit of panic buying hasn't ended, and it's not the full selection. But it seems to be getting slowly back to that.

It's miserable out there. Stay home, protect the NHS and save lives.

But, also, stay home because there's nothing out there anymore. Only post-apocalyptic misery.

It's really been quite the traumatic experience - and I'm only partially exaggerating for comic effect there (in a "if you don't laugh, you'll cry" sort of way).

[Cloudane]

Yep it's depressing knowing this is probably going to go on for a few months at least, if not a year or more...
I totally understand the need to protect everyone and am fully on board for reasons already stated. Yet a part of me also thinks "depending how long this goes on for, will we be throwing away a life actually worth living/prolonging in the process?"
I mean, this could basically be like everyone losing a year of their lives. The average person only gets about 80 of them. That's a lot to throw away (if you consider sitting at home watching Netflix and playing Animal Crossing as throwing it away anyway, which to an extent I do, a year's worth of events I was looking forward to is cancelled, pubs are shut and may go bust and never re-open etc)
I do know it's necessary, I'm just whinging.

Done a few shops to be honest (not all on the same day obviously). Yes I know. One for the helpless old lady across the road, one for the parents and myself, and a second one for the stuff we forgot the first time...

Shop 1: Corner shop. She'd arranged for them to have everything bagged and ready to go, and paid over the phone so I just had to nip in and pick it up and put it on her doorstep, though the counter is at the opposite end to the entrance. I thought it'd be the safest place as it's small and not many people shop there but to be honest I thought it wasn't great - narrow aisles and the onus on customers to distance for themselves which the 1 or 2 people in there didn't seem bothered with so I kept having to dive into an aisle and wait when someone decided they wanted to come shambling towards me. Impressed with the protection for staff though - they'd erected a big perspex screen across the checkout area like you get in rough parts of cities. Good on them.

Shop 2: Booths (Northern supermarket). This felt much safer and is where I think the big supermarkets are actually an advantage at times like this as rather than just what "mom and pop" decide to do for their corner shop, they are owned by a big corporation with strict health and safety procedures behind them.
Signs everywhere, cones in the car park to help herd people at a 2m+ distance from each other as they queued for the 1 out 1 in policy (not sure how many they let in in total, I'd say there were about 6-10 at a time). Most people were very good at staying their distance. Inside, everything was close to normal stock levels including bread and milk (I didn't bother looking at the bogroll aisle) and it wasn't too difficult to remain 2m from everyone apart from the odd time when someone would decide they HAVE to pass by you in an aisle and not give you much chance to get out of the way but this was only for a couple of seconds and I held my breath as a precaution.
Criticisms - they didn't seem to be sanitising trolley handles (but anyone with sense would carry their own alcohol sprays / wipes anyway rather than relying on the companies to do everything for them) and no screens/barriers for the checkout staff. I kept a good respectable distance, paid by contactless, etc but felt sorry for them as no doubt some people will be more careless and lean in. I'm worried for people like cashiers if they're not well protected as viral load does seem to be a severe risk factor.

Shop 3: Tesco click and collect. Finally it's quite easy to get a slot at ours now within a day or two. Generally I'd say the safest option as long as you bring a good alcohol based disinfectant (we just repurposed a 99% IPA meant for electronics stuff and put a spray head on it) to sanitise the touchscreen with when you get there. Then you just put your name in, which bay you're in (protip: just like EV charge networks they seem to forget we live in a left-to-right reading country and have a habit of numbering bays backwards), 2 minutes later someone wheels out your crates, shouts your name from a safe distance to confirm and leaves you to it. Transfer bags of stuff to car, set empty crates aside. BTW Tesco are rationing - we were only allowed one 10-pack of Abbot Ale
Criticisms - again I think it'd be ideal if you saw someone constantly coming out and sanitising the touchscreens but you should look out for yourself anyway rather than relying on that. And plastic waste - click and collect is pre-bagged using the "bags for life" that most of us now have hundreds of the bleeding things already, and packed really wastefully as well, like about 2 items per bag. I suppose plastic waste is the least of our worries at the moment but it'd be nice to still try and look after the environment while we're busy fighting this thing.

Habits that are well ingrained already: wash hands before going out. Sanitise any touch points using the 99% alcohol spray and a wipe. Collect goods - if shopping inside do not pick anything up just to inspect it, generally treat it as "you touch it you buy it". Sanitise hands, open car, put stuff in car, sanitise hands again. Go home, bring stuff in, wash hands thoroughly. Use spray to sanitise any hard surface packaging / tins / bottles / etc and handles and surfaces of bags. Wash hands again. Put stuff away. Wash hands again. Go and sanitise touch points such as the door handles and light switches. Wash hands again.

[(o)(o)]

Drove through cheshire town not a mask in sight. Couples walking the dog, guy cycling, light traffic, families with kids in tow. I live in a town with a very elderly population.

BTW if you're wondering why are they making such a feeble attempt to acquire respirators? We've got a shortage of 43,000 nurses and 10,000 doctors and it takes experienced staff to operate them, according to this intensive care doctor :

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/mar/15/coronavirus-uk-manufacturers-urged-to-consider-switching-to-making-ventilators

@Cloudane It's not going to be like this for 18 months. Will peak April/May then die down. I hope. That said it could flair up for another wave by autumn/winter. Drove past Booths here and there was no obvious safety stuff happening on the outside - no cones - carpark maybe 1/4 full quite a few folk milling about.

I'm wondering if some people are a bit thick?

[Ollie]

I'm wondering if some people are a bit thick?

I mean, an awful lot of people voted to have Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, so yes, I'd say it's a good bet.

[(o)(o)]

Need a like button!

[Little stoned kiwi]

Has anyone ventured out shopping under the lockdown yet?.

I've been once so far. It was fine. The only place to go is supermarkets (everything else is closed, including butchers and greengrocers).
I picked my time right by going in the evening when most people with families are having dinner.

[Cloudane]

Odd, I assumed the Booths setup was nationwide. As they also had signs up about reclaiming car parking fees which don't apply at ours...

Certainly hope it won't be like this for long but already events in July have cancelled so I think at the very least we'll see a much more "socially distanced" year and possibly round two from around September depending how it reacts to warm weather

[VNVObit]

Has anyone ventured out shopping under the lockdown yet?.

I've been once so far. It was fine. The only place to go is supermarkets (everything else is closed, including butchers and greengrocers).
I picked my time right by going in the evening when most people with families are having dinner.

Yes, managed to get some stuff delivered (milk, bread, fresh fruit & veg) but needed a few other things (couldn’t get the tinned food I wanted)
Went out at 6am to a Tesco metro near me. Noticed quite a few things had price increases
Trying to reduce number of times I go and keep it out of normal hours were possible