Pestneb Posted March 16, 2020 Posted March 16, 2020 To be fair, if this thing is too nasty, the are precedents where such diseases have basically killed off anyone without enough resistance and then going forwards the general populace are sufficiently resistant to the disease not to be bothered by it. iirc the bubonic plague is like that... or actually maybe that's leprosy. Anyway, new measures.. as far as I can see schools are still open though? shame.
Ashley Posted March 16, 2020 Posted March 16, 2020 It seems to be half-hearted which is basically summed up by this: The suggested closing of businesses, rather than enforced, also means insurance won't cover them so theatres etc are going to be hit hard. In personal news I've booked a flight home for Wednesday (arriving Friday). Unsure yet if I'm going to get it. 1 1
Julius Posted March 16, 2020 Posted March 16, 2020 Parents have pulled my younger brother from school, as he (like me, much more so when I was younger) has a history of respiratory problems. He's in Year 9 and has no exams this year, so why risk it? A third of the people on my floor at work didn't turn up today, and there's been a lot of coughing today. Work suspiciously cancelled mandatory two week core leaves effective immediately last Friday (these were for auditing purposes), and it was so out of the blue that none of the managers that I spoke to knew of this change happening, and we all know why that was - and it's already showing the results they wanted: a few of the folks on my team are at the limit of the company's paid sick leave, and so are having to utilise holiday allowance to ensure that they still get paid and can cover the bills. I don't care for the politics of it at all, because while I like the concept of politics, I have a dislike for politicians dating back to my early childhood. But this is such a mess it's unbelievable. As @Ashley's post mentions, we're being advised to avoid pubs, restaurants, and even offices, but that's all useless until they start enforcing these things. There is no way that my workplace closes before the government mandates that they, and everyone else, do so. Wishing my fellow N-Europers good health during this time, stay safe folks 2
Grazza Posted March 16, 2020 Posted March 16, 2020 I can't understand why people want to mix with each other at this time. It's like they just don't get it. I'm still finding some people stand a bit too close to me and, worst of all, you still get idiots going out and coughing near others. What worries me most is the supermarkets. I can avoid most other places, but it seems inevitable I'll be too close to someone infected whilst food shopping at some point (and obviously the trolleys are disgusting too). We need enforced social distancing, where everyone is instructed they have to be a certain distance away from others. Maybe I'm oversimplifying it, but if everyone did that, remained clean, washed their hand etc we could stop it being passed on at all, couldn't we? 2
Jimbob Posted March 16, 2020 Posted March 16, 2020 Works half given the go ahead to work from home, however I need to talk to my line manager tomorrow to discuss my options. My opinion, it'll be the best option as I'll avoid the train to/from the office (and those who refuse to stay off when ill). However, it'll depend on what my manager says tomorrow. If it goes well, should be working from home Wednesday onwards
Rummy Posted March 17, 2020 Posted March 17, 2020 Another great read on the topic of whats happening now and what might happen next and how global differences may have notably differed outcomes; https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca
Glen-i Posted March 17, 2020 Posted March 17, 2020 Sooner or later, I'm gonna have to start thinking about stopping my weekly travel to @Dcubed's house. Which means my online gaming opportunities go down the drain. There's a funeral coming up that I'll have to go to, but after that? Still, at least I'll be able to get Animal Crossing because of that.
Rummy Posted March 17, 2020 Posted March 17, 2020 Saw this occur live yesterday and just...god. This is what's wrong with half the world right now -.- https://mobile.twitter.com/JeremyVineOn5/status/1239512626134224896?s=08
Will Posted March 17, 2020 Posted March 17, 2020 25 minutes ago, Rummy said: Saw this occur live yesterday and just...god. This is what's wrong with half the world right now -.- https://mobile.twitter.com/JeremyVineOn5/status/1239512626134224896?s=08 The non-expert talking about what happened in Singapore and Taiwan is just plain wrong. I can't speak for Taiwan but in Singapore there wasn't a two week lock-down, everyone isn't (and wasn't) wearing masks, and the cases are still coming in thick and fast. They have done a good job of isolating people once it's confirmed that they have it, but it's not like it's some amazing case of we haven't had it. It's also much easier to control in a tiny very rich country with amazing public healthcare compared to anywhere else. 4
Nicktendo Posted March 17, 2020 Posted March 17, 2020 (edited) Tell us about Taiwan @londragon. 11 hours ago, Grazza said: I can't understand why people want to mix with each other at this time. It's like they just don't get it. I'm still finding some people stand a bit too close to me and, worst of all, you still get idiots going out and coughing near others. What worries me most is the supermarkets. I can avoid most other places, but it seems inevitable I'll be too close to someone infected whilst food shopping at some point (and obviously the trolleys are disgusting too). We need enforced social distancing, where everyone is instructed they have to be a certain distance away from others. Maybe I'm oversimplifying it, but if everyone did that, remained clean, washed their hand etc we could stop it being passed on at all, couldn't we? Latvia passed a couple of laws yesterday. Breaking quarantine (not confirmed infected): 350 euro fine. Breaking quarantine (confirmed infected): Up to 3 years in jail Not keeping at least 2 metres from others in public places: Administrative penalty (probably a smaller fine). Edited March 17, 2020 by Nicktendo 2
Londragon Posted March 17, 2020 Posted March 17, 2020 Tell us about Taiwan [mention=8211]londragon[/mention].Taiwan has a wonderful National Health Service, with a vibrant community of Doctors. People desire to become Doctors, and there’s an abundance of them.Taiwanese are also habitual mask users regardless of this outbreak, and certain manufacturing companies have changed their output to enable enough masks arrive at pharmacies throughout the country.It helps that Taiwan is relatively small, with a 23 million population, an island, so early and decisive quarantine, self isolation, and strict rules regarding what to do for each individual were implemented as soon as China started to obfuscate its responsibilities.We had a 2 week school closure we’ll before any other country, and all public spaces have access to hand sanitiser spray.If you feel ill, there is a hotline number 1922, to phone, they give advice in all languages, if you are under quarantine then the government will provide you with 25 quid a day per person in your household, free food deliveries on a daily basis, and phone you 3 times a day to follow their instructions, like asking how your symptoms are, etc. If your symptoms get worse they send a CDC team in, to evacuate you to a specific hospital.Schools classes will be closed if a single student is confirmed, and the entire school closed if 2 students in the school get it. Th3 entire county school system gets shut down, including unis and colleges, if over 12% of the school’s have closed.I mean, they are on top of it, the numbers haven’t gone up from the 45 cases or so. They did go up today, but that was because 9 people arrived back to Taiwan from a package tour of Eygpt, but they were known and have been quarantined immediately.I have a feeling it’ll only take one idiot to spread it to an uncontainable level, but it hasn’t happened yet.3 weeks ago, one guy who had to self quarantine, went off on a tour of Taiwan instead. Turns out he didn’t have Coronavirus, but the government fined him $1,000,000 Taiwanese Dollars. Which is about £27,000, as a warning to other mental deficients.Fair play to the authorities over here. 3
Ashley Posted March 17, 2020 Posted March 17, 2020 I didn't watch it but it seems the second day of press conferences and once again it raises more questions. I appreciate these things aren't going to be perfect but it seems they've announced a 3 month mortgage holiday but also seemed to suggest it applies while the person is ill. What if they're no ill but lose work because of this? What about renters?
Julius Posted March 17, 2020 Posted March 17, 2020 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Ashley said: I didn't watch it but it seems the second day of press conferences and once again it raises more questions. I appreciate these things aren't going to be perfect but it seems they've announced a 3 month mortgage holiday but also seemed to suggest it applies while the person is ill. What if they're no ill but lose work because of this? What about renters? I work at a bank, related to the team which would deal with the brunt of this directly. We haven't received an update on this at all, and people are starting to call in, and are having to be turned away (for now) as we haven't had any official communication on the matter allowing us to start actioning this. Looks like it came out of the blue, and it's caught us off guard. Should I be in tomorrow, it'll be interesting to see if we've figured it out and actually have an update. Definitely been a weird day at work today so far. Half my team is off, half the floor is off, and only know they're starting to ask about people's home broadband connections (for potentially working at home). We should have been doing this weeks ago. Goodness knows what happens next Edited March 17, 2020 by Julius 2
Ashley Posted March 17, 2020 Posted March 17, 2020 I suspect it's partially arrogance on behalf of the government thinking that their press conference would give enough answers to everyone. Did they give any indication of timeframes. If you say something like "this is what we're going to do. We're going to work with businesses now. It will come into effect on Monday" then you'll still get some people contacting banks but you've managed expectations somewhat. I guess they announced it and maybe told CEOs in advance but not given enough time for people to get things in order. 1
gaggle64 Posted March 17, 2020 Posted March 17, 2020 (edited) My twice-weekly karate class is cancelled until further notice, scuttlebutt is the headteachers at the school we use think schools will be shut by next week. My main concern through all of this are for some of my vulnerable co-workers in the call centre (no working from home) - older folks, people on cancer treatment etc. NHS site says they'll start contacting vulnerable people after the 23rd, I'm honestly hoping it'll be to tell vulnerable people to isolate. My day would become a nightmare but I'd rather that than lose colleagues. Lots of anxiety around, piss-poor messaging from the government isn't helping. Obviously it's a complex problem but Boris on the podium isn't helping. No clarity, no confidence, no ability to break it down to the important essentials. Edited March 17, 2020 by gaggle64 1
Pestneb Posted March 17, 2020 Posted March 17, 2020 2 hours ago, Ashley said: I didn't watch it but it seems the second day of press conferences and once again it raises more questions. I appreciate these things aren't going to be perfect but it seems they've announced a 3 month mortgage holiday but also seemed to suggest it applies while the person is ill. What if they're no ill but lose work because of this? What about renters? would be very nice if it was across the board. but the technicalities are interesting. A lot of buy to let mortgages.. are they covered? if so it should be on the condition that the tenant is released from their obligation to pay rent. For private renters who own a property 100% I'm not sure how easy it would be to impose free rent. With Mortgages it's complicated but their are limited places where a mortgage can be legally obtained so it's still doable. Be interesting to hear the details though.I do think it's an excellent idea though, because it should (if it filters to renters) remove the main financial obligations most of us have and make self isolation far more palatable.
drahkon Posted March 17, 2020 Posted March 17, 2020 Very close to 10000 infections in Germany. 211 in the city region where I live, 100 of those are actually in the city. We're gonna be dealing with this for months...
Julius Posted March 17, 2020 Posted March 17, 2020 (edited) So, my workplace is finally starting to look into the possibility of us working from home, and a few people have been asked about their home broadband connections. With half of the floor and most of my team off, however, I do feel like it's too little too late. Admittedly, our department largely deals with phones and we focus primarily on this in difficulty, so it's no surprise that we were completely overwhelmed today after being both overstaffed and being caught completely off guard by the chancellor's announcement this evening. Problem is, I feel like those above me are waiting for those above them for instructions, and so on. No-one is taking initiative, or showing that they're willing to take accountability and look into different approaches in a flexible manner. Edited March 18, 2020 by Julius
Ganepark32 Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 Went out to do a shop at 9am this morning at Asda to cover the next week or so but they've clearly struggled to restock as there are so many shelves lying empty. Some things like pasta and beans just don't look like they've even been replaced since the last time I was in a few days back and other areas like toilet roll and milk and bread are apparently going out as quickly as they're put on the shelves. It's ridiculous seeing people hoarding up jars of passata and large cartons of eggs, the latter of which will probably end up in the bin in their majority. And even with them implementing limits on how many of one item you can buy, people were literally running round the shops with arms full of bleach and meat. My partner and I overheard someone arguing about the lack of Dettol on the shelves and when she was recommended she buy bleach instead she responded by saying that she couldn't drink bleach The weirdest thing is that because all the UHT milk has been bought up, people are bulk buying the milk alternatives like soya and coconut milk despite many not drinking it. I actually needed to pick up both and although I managed to get the latter with a carton of rice milk, people are scrambling to grab anything like these on the shelves (though many are forgetting that the refrigerated milk alternatives still have a month best before date on them). People are doing the same with the Linda McCartney meat free stuff as well. It's still mobbed out though and worst of all, there are so many people out and about coughing heavily at the moment as they walk around the shops. Why are people not understanding that if they've got a heavy cough and such they should be staying at home, not wandering around supermarkets coughing openly. I don't get it. My partner's work is similarly being far too laid back about things and it's a EMI care unit. They're only just now starting to get some PPE in but they're not preventing residents capable of going out the home from doing so. Mix that with everyone still going out as they are and a general mentality of "Its not too bad" from older generations, this thing is going to end up crippling everything economically and health care wise. Have to go out again on Friday to pick up a prescription and not looking forward to it. 1
Ashley Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 I think it's going to be a weird culture shock when I'm back. I think I'm going to Airbnb a place in Birmingham (and while I want to be upfront in advance and say I'm using it to self isolate and I'll clean it etc I fear they may cancel if I do) and I'm going to need to get stuff in as there will be nothing and I'm worried I won't be able to get anything. Anyway, now to go buy some toilet paper and bring that back to the country with me! 1
Dog-amoto Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 Seeing a load of people on social media acting like self isolation is the fashionable thing to be doing. “Day 1 of isolation...” like they’re fishing for likes and sympathy. Oh do fuck off. This is the thing that’s annoying me about all this. People simply can’t be trusted to make sensible decisions for themselves. The panic buying has proven this. People are morons, they are shutting themselves away just because they have a bit of a cough, some are using it as an excuse to have time off work. These people who don’t really have anything worse than a cold are going to come out in two weeks time and just get infected for real. My daughter has a bit of a cough at the minute, but it’s nothing different than what she gets from time to time. So as a result, she’s not allowed at school as a precaution. I also had quite a bad cough myself last week which has cleared up, again, felt no different than any other time. Government advice is that I should shut myself away, but at the same time, I won’t be able to be tested because they’re only testing people who are seriously unwell or have visited high risk areas, according to the 111 service. Developing a test that can tell if you’ve already had the virus and making it widely available should be the absolute number one priority. 1
Beast Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 6 hours ago, Ganepark32 said: Went out to do a shop at 9am this morning at Asda to cover the next week or so but they've clearly struggled to restock as there are so many shelves lying empty. Some things like pasta and beans just don't look like they've even been replaced since the last time I was in a few days back and other areas like toilet roll and milk and bread are apparently going out as quickly as they're put on the shelves. It's ridiculous seeing people hoarding up jars of passata and large cartons of eggs, the latter of which will probably end up in the bin in their majority. And even with them implementing limits on how many of one item you can buy, people were literally running round the shops with arms full of bleach and meat. My partner and I overheard someone arguing about the lack of Dettol on the shelves and when she was recommended she buy bleach instead she responded by saying that she couldn't drink bleach The weirdest thing is that because all the UHT milk has been bought up, people are bulk buying the milk alternatives like soya and coconut milk despite many not drinking it. I actually needed to pick up both and although I managed to get the latter with a carton of rice milk, people are scrambling to grab anything like these on the shelves (though many are forgetting that the refrigerated milk alternatives still have a month best before date on them). People are doing the same with the Linda McCartney meat free stuff as well. It's still mobbed out though and worst of all, there are so many people out and about coughing heavily at the moment as they walk around the shops. Why are people not understanding that if they've got a heavy cough and such they should be staying at home, not wandering around supermarkets coughing openly. I don't get it. My partner's work is similarly being far too laid back about things and it's a EMI care unit. They're only just now starting to get some PPE in but they're not preventing residents capable of going out the home from doing so. Mix that with everyone still going out as they are and a general mentality of "Its not too bad" from older generations, this thing is going to end up crippling everything economically and health care wise. Have to go out again on Friday to pick up a prescription and not looking forward to it. Don't even get me started with that shit! It's annoying me so much right now and it's actually stressful! Facebook is to blame for a lot of this (well, the people using Facebook but you get my drift). The stuff people have sent me is unbelievable. Someone made a post saying that milk alternatives keep their dates longer than regular milk and the next thing you know, everyone wants it. The milk alternatives were selling out stupidly fast, which is annoying because that's what I need. It's got to the point that I have had to buy more than I wanted to due to people being dumb. I've managed to buy a month's worth (which is 8 cartons for me) because I've been without it for a week and a half now. Another post I saw, which was gross, was that baby formula can be used as a substitute for milk to put in your tea and coffee. I just find that absolutely disgusting if they've bought it for that reason. Like, drink black tea, black coffee, water with lemon...it won't kill you! Not just that but everything else is selling out too because the essentials are going. Toilet roll, kitchen roll, anything in tins, paracetamol, ibuprofen, tea, coffee...you name it, it's near enough gone. The stuff I've heard from my friends as well has been gruesome and quite frankly, horrifying. For instance, yesterday, my friend, who is pregnant, picked up the last bottle of Calpol and she got shoved by a guy who was also after it. Luckily she's okay but the lengths these people go to is so bad. I've seen a sales assistant in a shop yesterday coughing repeatedly in her hands and then touching everything on the shelf. Another guy later in a supermarket actually sneezed and coughed all over the food without covering his mouth. People are tramps- I can't deal with it sometimes. Even without the virus, cover your mouth with your arm or in a tissue! I thought it was common sense! It actually makes me hate people with the stuff I've seen. I don't know what's going to happen with my jobs or my course. It makes me scared not only for my employment but also for me catching it. I have breathing problems and it's the worst when I'm sick. I really don't want to catch this whatsoever!
Goafer Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 1 minute ago, Animal said: It's got to the point that I have had to buy more than I wanted to due to people being dumb. I've managed to buy a month's worth (which is 8 cartons for me) because I've been without it for a week and a half now. You do realise that this is why there's shortages right? It's not just people clearing shelves in a blind panic, it's the "Just in case" buying that's just as harmful. I've bought what I need. No more, no less. If something's sold out, I'll get something else. I'm vegetarian, but If I have to, I'll eat meat. Fortunately, meat free stuff is pretty much immune from panic buying where I am. It was funny to see the meat aisle empty, but the meat free section fuller than I've never seen it. 1
Beast Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Goafer said: You do realise that this is why there's shortages right? It's not just people clearing shelves in a blind panic, it's the "Just in case" buying that's just as harmful. I've bought what I need. No more, no less. If something's sold out, I'll get something else. I'm vegetarian, but If I have to, I'll eat meat. Fortunately, meat free stuff is pretty much immune from panic buying where I am. It was funny to see the meat aisle empty, but the meat free section fuller than I've never seen it. Yeah but I can't have dairy otherwise I would have had normal milk. The people buying the alternatives most likely don't even need to drink it. I'm a meat-eater but I have a bad intolerance to dairy. I haven't done it with anything else but I've already not been able to get milk for myself for a week and a half. Also, I may have to isolate myself soon and the only thing I have nothing of is milk. Everything else I've been buying for weeks. Edited March 18, 2020 by Animal
Sheikah Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 You do realise that this is why there's shortages right? It's not just people clearing shelves in a blind panic, it's the "Just in case" buying that's just as harmful. I've bought what I need. No more, no less. If something's sold out, I'll get something else. I'm vegetarian, but If I have to, I'll eat meat. Fortunately, meat free stuff is pretty much immune from panic buying where I am. It was funny to see the meat aisle empty, but the meat free section fuller than I've never seen it. Exactly, people buying to combat panic buying are in fact panic buying. This situation is being caused by people doing this!
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