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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » At what stage is lockdown going to crumble?

SystemSystem Posts: 11,008
edited April 2020 in General

imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » At what stage is lockdown going to crumble?

I don’t know about other Pbers but on my permitted daily exercise bike ride there has been a noticeable increase in road traffic with people going to parks ans other open spaces simply to get out of the house.

Read the full story here


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    First
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    The lockdown should last as long as the scientists and doctors say it should.

    Anyone who breaks the lockdown should be shot, welded in their house, and only be given Hawaiian pizzas and tap water for the rest of the lockdown.
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    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,313
    FPT
    kinabalu said:

    RobD said:

    An indefinite extension? A year or so is probably sufficient.

    I agree that a year or so - with emphasis on the last 2 words - is probably sufficient. By "indefinite" I just mean don't hardcode another deadline. There's no rush so why give yourself that additional and needless pressure? We've seen how events can intrude.
    If 'these circumstances' or ones like them continue to be prevalent, there is no point in staying in the EU anyway - the whole reason for extending the transition period is to get a great trade deal and try to maintain some of the 'benefits'. As there are presently zero benefits, and the EU is proving to be about as useful to be a member of in this situation as tits on a fish, I'm unsure as to the argument for continuing to lob in our hard-earned groat. We should quite literally 'fund our NHS' with that money instead.
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274

    The lockdown should last as long as the scientists and doctors say it should.

    Anyone who breaks the lockdown should be shot, welded in their house, and only be given Hawaiian pizzas and tap water for the rest of the lockdown.

    Far too comfortable. Locked in a room with Radiohead Live At Glastonbury being played on repeat.
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    TGOHF666TGOHF666 Posts: 2,052
    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,969
    Mr. Eagles, for a first offence, they should be slapped across the face with a large haddock.

    For a second offence, they should be launched from a trebuchet into the North Sea (or Channel, as geography dictates).

    The third and final offence will see them embark upon an exciting new career as space cannon ammunition.
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    The government should stress we probably won’t know we’ve passed the peak until 2-3 weeks after the peak.
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    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,470
    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    My prediction: the lockdown will last 6 weeks in total. We're almost half-way through.
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited April 2020
    MaxPB said:

    eadric said:

    eadric said:

    Wild prediction: this crisis is so grim America may be forced to move to a nationwide health care system, and universal insurance. It will be the only way to deal with the problems.

    Trump could end up running to the left of Joe Biden.
    Exactly. Just as the Tories are now running a Corbynite war economy.

    These crises make cultures move right - closed borders, nationalism, ethnocentrism - but the economic reality moves left.
    National socialism? 😶
    I genuinely think that the Western consensus of unfettered global free trade across all sectors will change. Its one thing to get plastic crappy toys from China, because it is much cheaper, but things like base chemicals and drugs...

    America have already moved along way from having to worry about the Saudia's for oil and countries moving away from Russia for gas.
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274

    The government should stress we probably won’t know we’ve passed the peak until 2-3 weeks after the peak.

    The government and media need to really show a version of this.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCa0JXEwDEk
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    The lockdown should last as long as the scientists and doctors say it should.

    Anyone who breaks the lockdown should be shot, welded in their house, and only be given Hawaiian pizzas and tap water for the rest of the lockdown.

    The last bit may prove to be counterproductive. To some people it may serve as an incentive to flout the rules.
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    TGOHF666TGOHF666 Posts: 2,052
    Andy_JS said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    My prediction: the lockdown will last 6 weeks in total. We're almost half-way through.
    Thats fine - but they need to set out a timetable soon.

    Can be a flexible timetable which depends on clear measurable progress - but a vision is required soon.
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    TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 39,966

    Its one thing to get plastic crappy toys from China

    I'm not an unalloyed fan of Apple products, but still that's harsh..
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,577
    How they handle arrivals in Singapore:

    No short-term visitors from anywhere in the world are able to enter Singapore......

    From 23:59 on 9 April arrivals from anywhere in the world entering Singapore will be required to serve a 14 day period isolated in a hotel room or similar accommodation provided by the Singapore government. Whilst you are serving this period of 14 days isolation you will not be allowed to leave your room. The 14 day period cannot be reduced, even if you wish to leave Singapore. Failure to comply carries a fine and a jail term of up to six months.

    As per existing regulations, arrivals from from the UK, US, France, Switzerland, India and ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) are already subject to these restrictions....


    https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/singapore/coronavirus

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    MortimerMortimer Posts: 13,936
    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    I am only hearing such notions of pressure from:

    - The whining press
    - You
    - Peter Hitchens

    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.
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    eadric said:
    I'm struggling to see how 2) is reflected in the MPG paper.
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    contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818
    Mortimer said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    I am only hearing such notions of pressure from:

    - The whining press
    - You
    - Peter Hitchens

    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.
    They will start to mind when they see the length of the dole queues, the out of control public finances, the plunge in sterling, the massive depression....
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    RobDRobD Posts: 58,961
    eadric said:

    Ta. I shall read it later

    I'm off for my legal daily walk, in the glorious sun
    You aren't permitted to enjoy it. Strictly exercise only.
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    GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 20,793
    Andy_JS said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    My prediction: the lockdown will last 6 weeks in total. We're almost half-way through.
    Could be as we won't come out of lockdown all at once.

    They'll gradually start easing the restrictions week by week and I could see that beginning around the start of May with a full end by start of June.
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    WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 8,503
    edited April 2020
    eadric said:

    Wild prediction: this crisis is so grim America may be forced to move to a nationwide health care system, and universal insurance. It will be the only way to deal with the problems.

    Indeed. The irony that this could have been Sanders' once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to implement this as a flagship and rallying-call for a Rooseveltite programme, rather than potentially only grudgingly and incoherently by Trump, may be especially and irreversibly bitter for him, and, if it's Trump who does the deed, unfortunate for us all.
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    mwadamsmwadams Posts: 3,136
    TGOHF666 said:

    Andy_JS said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    My prediction: the lockdown will last 6 weeks in total. We're almost half-way through.
    Thats fine - but they need to set out a timetable soon.

    Can be a flexible timetable which depends on clear measurable progress - but a vision is required soon.
    I don't see how it can possibly be as short a time as that.

    Until either the population has largely all had it, or there is a vaccine, then we will need to continue to minimise transmission.

    We have already proven that the only way to do that (and not have everyone think that they are the acceptable exception to the general advice) is to institute a more formal lockdown. The attempt to "discourage" contact and "encourage" handwashing was a total failure.

    I agree, though, that it becomes more and more difficult to police as the number of deaths decreases. So we are probably, and regrettably, in for a yo-yoing between increasing liberty and lagging but increasing numbers of admissions and deaths, followed by more formal lockdown again, that will greatly increase the overall death toll.
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    ukpaulukpaul Posts: 649
    FPT

    GIN1138 said:

    There's only one question on Coronavirus

    When do the measures that we are imposing start killing more people than they are saving?

    Probably at around 3 months. I have never been able to see this lockdown going on past June and still can't...
    In three months there won;t be a British economy in the way that we know it. Thousands of businesses, as Lord Hague said recently ,will have simply given up, never to restart.

    Its now. Its yesterday.
    Aha, you’ve got it. We will never go back to the normal we had and things will change out of all recognition. People will lose and gain fortunes, businesses will shutter only to be replaced by new businesses. People will need to take on different roles and, indeed, completely different jobs. The world will have had to press the reset button and, in the meantime, many lives will have been saved. People are still desperately clinging to what they had, whereas a change of mindset is needed.

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    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,027
    edited April 2020

    eadric said:
    I'm struggling to see how 2) is reflected in the MPG paper.
    If you read the thread, the second development refers to this paper (which is over a week old): https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30243-7/fulltext
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    RobDRobD Posts: 58,961
    eadric said:
    Can I say that's good news?
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    AndrewAndrew Posts: 2,900
    edited April 2020
    Mortimer said:


    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.

    If they properly want to squash it into the low hundreds new cases per day, Italian numbers post-peak suggest June at least.

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    MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,607
    RobD said:

    eadric said:
    Can I say that's good news?
    That's England only, so no.
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    felixfelix Posts: 15,124
    edited April 2020
    In Spain we have just extended our lockdown until 26th April and PM Sanchez says he expects to request a further extension into May. Ours is much stricter than the one in the UK and has pretty widespread support. I am amazed that anyone in the UK should be arguing for it to be relaxed given the statistics you are dealing with. If any politicians or people in the media start this kind of agitation now, personally I'd regard them as being reckless with human life - whatever their politics. It really shouldn't be a talking point at this stage.
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    numbertwelvenumbertwelve Posts: 5,437
    eadric said:

    Andy_JS said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    My prediction: the lockdown will last 6 weeks in total. We're almost half-way through.
    That's very optimistic.

    I reckon it will last til the end of May, possibly longer. Mid June?

    However there may be some tinkering within that. Perhaps some schools and small shops will be allowed to open, etc
    My prediction - end of May for most workers who are working from home (maybe with a transition period of half in/half out in successive weeks), schools and small retailers. Still official advice not to make long distance journeys unless essential.

    Mid June at least for bars, restaurants, hotels and big shops and everything else to be lifted.

    Just a feeling.
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    mwadamsmwadams Posts: 3,136
    ukpaul said:

    FPT

    GIN1138 said:

    There's only one question on Coronavirus

    When do the measures that we are imposing start killing more people than they are saving?

    Probably at around 3 months. I have never been able to see this lockdown going on past June and still can't...
    In three months there won;t be a British economy in the way that we know it. Thousands of businesses, as Lord Hague said recently ,will have simply given up, never to restart.

    Its now. Its yesterday.
    Aha, you’ve got it. We will never go back to the normal we had and things will change out of all recognition. People will lose and gain fortunes, businesses will shutter only to be replaced by new businesses. People will need to take on different roles and, indeed, completely different jobs. The world will have had to press the reset button and, in the meantime, many lives will have been saved. People are still desperately clinging to what they had, whereas a change of mindset is needed.

    I completely agree. The danger is that we end up with just the behemoths sitting on their war-chests who have swept away all the entrepreneurs and small businesses.

    The government needs to give thought to what can be done to help bootstrap the SME sector which is the backbone of the UK economy, and what shape that will take. To be effective, it won't be pretend "cash" - it probably needs to be structural.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,969
    Mr. Eadric, it's gone down before. And then back up.

    Mr. Adams, I agree that the foolishly impatient, egged on by the more reckless and cretinous members of the press, will find it difficult to stick with the concept that fighting a pandemic might take some time. We must hope the vast majority have rather better self-discipline, and that those of limited means are assisted by friends, family, volunteers, and, where necessary, the state.
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    RobDRobD Posts: 58,961
    MaxPB said:

    RobD said:

    eadric said:
    Can I say that's good news?
    That's England only, so no.
    Down from 828 in England only yesterday.
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,577
    eadric said:

    It's gone down....

    I'm not sure we know that.....at least its not gone up......
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    WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 8,503
    edited April 2020
    eadric said:
    Good.

    Edit - as mentioned, we don't have the other nations included in there.
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    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826

    Mortimer said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    I am only hearing such notions of pressure from:

    - The whining press
    - You
    - Peter Hitchens

    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.
    They will start to mind when they see the length of the dole queues, the out of control public finances, the plunge in sterling, the massive depression....
    Indeed, the sort of people who can't see there are two sides to balance to this are the same who think the way to fund more spending on anything is to increase spending on everything else too.

    The lockdown isn't just about slowing transmission, important though that is. Its also about buying time to get the ventilators ready and available, the Nightingale Hospitals ready and available, the PPE ready and available etc

    Once all that's readily available the cost of lockdown won't be worth it forever.
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    MortimerMortimer Posts: 13,936
    Andrew said:

    Mortimer said:


    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.

    If they properly want to squash it into the low hundreds new cases per day, Italian numbers post-peak suggest June at least.

    I agree. I don't expect to be opening my shop until at least July...
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    contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818
    ukpaul said:

    FPT

    GIN1138 said:

    There's only one question on Coronavirus

    When do the measures that we are imposing start killing more people than they are saving?

    Probably at around 3 months. I have never been able to see this lockdown going on past June and still can't...
    In three months there won;t be a British economy in the way that we know it. Thousands of businesses, as Lord Hague said recently ,will have simply given up, never to restart.

    Its now. Its yesterday.
    Aha, you’ve got it. We will never go back to the normal we had and things will change out of all recognition. People will lose and gain fortunes, businesses will shutter only to be replaced by new businesses. People will need to take on different roles and, indeed, completely different jobs. The world will have had to press the reset button and, in the meantime, many lives will have been saved. People are still desperately clinging to what they had, whereas a change of mindset is needed.

    Yes the old world before Corona was so bad it provided us soaring employment, booming wages (particularly for the low paid) and wealth never seen by any society ever in the past.

    We are giving that a self induced heart attack. Its not a reset button
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    matthiasfromhamburgmatthiasfromhamburg Posts: 957
    edited April 2020

    eadric said:
    I'm struggling to see how 2) is reflected in the MPG paper.
    If you read the thread, the second development refers to this paper (which is over a week old): https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30243-7/fulltext
    Thank you, didn't read the whole twitter thread.
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    QuincelQuincel Posts: 3,949
    My only lockdown take is that people should see it ending as a process, not an event. There's a wide continuum from 'normal rules' to 'current lockdown' and I think we'd benefit from focusing more on the area in between. I doubt we'll be back to normal for months, maybe even not this year. But when will the first restrictions be lifted? I dunno, but weeks not months.

    And we may take some steps back towards tighter lockdown partway through the process.
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    I'm prepared to extend the lockdown if I can have Beery Goodness and a big Hawaiian pizza every weekend
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    contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818

    Mortimer said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    I am only hearing such notions of pressure from:

    - The whining press
    - You
    - Peter Hitchens

    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.
    They will start to mind when they see the length of the dole queues, the out of control public finances, the plunge in sterling, the massive depression....
    Indeed, the sort of people who can't see there are two sides to balance to this are the same who think the way to fund more spending on anything is to increase spending on everything else too.

    The lockdown isn't just about slowing transmission, important though that is. Its also about buying time to get the ventilators ready and available, the Nightingale Hospitals ready and available, the PPE ready and available etc

    Once all that's readily available the cost of lockdown won't be worth it forever.
    It wont be worth it for ten minutes.....
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    ukpaulukpaul Posts: 649
    On Topic - Let people who want to put themselves danger do so, let those who don't want to put themselves in danger do so. Back both of those groups up with resources of government, either health or economic. If we can't do what other countries have done because there are too many people who will ignore the government, one way or another, then let us become a gigantic national test case for the rest to follow or avoid.
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    TGOHF666TGOHF666 Posts: 2,052
    Mortimer said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    I am only hearing such notions of pressure from:

    - The whining press
    - You
    - Peter Hitchens

    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.
    I am only hearing "Vote Leave" from :

    - The whining press
    - You
    - Peter Hitchens


    Etc.

    You may be in a bubble.
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    stodgestodge Posts: 12,828
    Afternoon all :)

    Rather like notions of austerity, our version of lockdown looks tame compared with what other countries have enforced. It's probably as much as Government thought acceptable but there are no resources to enforce anything tougher and public transport hasn't shut down completely as it has in other countries.

    I've struggled for days with trying to work out how we end lock down. Once we try to re-start, social distancing is bound to be compromised so if the virus is still around it will likely flare up again.

    On a personal level, my brother has had the virus and even three and a half weeks later, he is struggling to keep his temperature down and requires regular paracetamol. I don't want this and to be honest I'd rather be alive than worry about whether GDP has shrunk by 6% or 25%.

    I also think the more convincingly this virus can be beaten down the harder it will be for it to re-ignite. Ideally we'd have no cases for a week but that's probably not practical.
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    TGOHF666TGOHF666 Posts: 2,052
    What lockdown ?

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/09/police-force-closed-600-parties-including-djs-fireworks-bouncy/

    A police force has revealed it has had to close down more than 600 parties during the coronavirus lockdown, including some with bouncy castles, fireworks and DJs.

    Between March 25 and Apr 7 there were 1,132 incidents reported to Greater Manchester Police across the city.

    These included 494 house parties, 166 street parties, 122 group gatherings for sporting activities, 173 gatherings in parks and 112 incidents of anti-social behaviour.
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    YorkcityYorkcity Posts: 4,382

    Mortimer said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    I am only hearing such notions of pressure from:

    - The whining press
    - You
    - Peter Hitchens

    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.
    They will start to mind when they see the length of the dole queues, the out of control public finances, the plunge in sterling, the massive depression....
    I agree.
    "Does not really mind " what planet is he on.
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    WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 8,503
    edited April 2020
    eadric said:
    Slightly better, although it's always difficult to describe a number of deaths as a positive thing.

    Let's hope that slight decline doesn't make people complacent going into the weekend.
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    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,924
    My wife had a message today..... text or WhatsApp or something, which has replaced, and extended the range of, gossip over the garden wall...... from a friend who live close to a small-ish caravan park on the South coast. Apparently said park is now filling up. It has one or two permanent residents so it can't close, as other I know of have done.
    What will happen later in the weekend I know not.
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    DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 24,247

    eadric said:

    Wild prediction: this crisis is so grim America may be forced to move to a nationwide health care system, and universal insurance. It will be the only way to deal with the problems.

    Indeed. The irony that this could have been Sanders' once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to implement this as a flagship and rallying-call for a Rooseveltite programme, rather than potentially only grudgingly and incoherently by Trump, may be especially and irreversibly bitter for him, and, if it's Trump who does the deed, unfortunate for us all.
    If Sanders had won, the irony would have been that Elizabeth Warren's plans were probably more Rooseveltian. At least they both had plans, unlike the fatuous Mayor Pete or even Joe Biden. Hmm, wasn't the sacked navy captain from the USS Theodore Roosevelt? The Dems' adverts will write themselves.
  • Options
    contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818
    edited April 2020
    stodge said:

    Afternoon all :)

    Rather like notions of austerity, our version of lockdown looks tame compared with what other countries have enforced. It's probably as much as Government thought acceptable but there are no resources to enforce anything tougher and public transport hasn't shut down completely as it has in other countries.

    I've struggled for days with trying to work out how we end lock down. Once we try to re-start, social distancing is bound to be compromised so if the virus is still around it will likely flare up again.

    On a personal level, my brother has had the virus and even three and a half weeks later, he is struggling to keep his temperature down and requires regular paracetamol. I don't want this and to be honest I'd rather be alive than worry about whether GDP has shrunk by 6% or 25%.

    I also think the more convincingly this virus can be beaten down the harder it will be for it to re-ignite. Ideally we'd have no cases for a week but that's probably not practical.

    You make a compelling point but what about the many thousands with other serious diseases whose lives are effectively being put at risk by this gigantic economic gamble.

    These people have been effectively silenced by the Corona obsessed media

    If it gets to the point where we run out of money, or need to impose grinding austerity because of enormous debt, it may cost many thousands their lives.
  • Options
    MortimerMortimer Posts: 13,936
    TGOHF666 said:

    Mortimer said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    I am only hearing such notions of pressure from:

    - The whining press
    - You
    - Peter Hitchens

    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.
    I am only hearing "Vote Leave" from :

    - The whining press
    - You
    - Peter Hitchens


    Etc.

    You may be in a bubble.
    Well, I'd say about the half the people I spoke to (like myself) were Leavers, so.....
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274

    eadric said:
    Slightly better, although it's always difficult to describe a number of deaths as a positive thing.

    Let's hope that decline doesn't make people complacent, going into the weekend.
    If hearing that ~900 people a day are still dying of this doesn't make people think twice, I am not sure what will.
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    geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,135
    Mortimer said:

    Andrew said:

    Mortimer said:


    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.

    If they properly want to squash it into the low hundreds new cases per day, Italian numbers post-peak suggest June at least.

    I agree. I don't expect to be opening my shop until at least July...
    You might be shopped if you do.

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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,577
    https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1248240681459560448?s=20
    https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1248241034695499777?s=20

    Of course the population of the US was a little over a third of what it is today - but still very striking numbers.
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited April 2020
    Standard of the Metro journalism...

    "Another 887 people have died after contracting coronavirus, taking the UK death toll to at least 7,984. Today’s jump in deaths is one of the biggest daily increases since the outbreak began, following a massive rise of 938 yesterday and 854 on Tuesday."
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    stodgestodge Posts: 12,828
    ukpaul said:


    Aha, you’ve got it. We will never go back to the normal we had and things will change out of all recognition. People will lose and gain fortunes, businesses will shutter only to be replaced by new businesses. People will need to take on different roles and, indeed, completely different jobs. The world will have had to press the reset button and, in the meantime, many lives will have been saved. People are still desperately clinging to what they had, whereas a change of mindset is needed.

    I don't wholly agree. I argued at the beginning of this that no job or business had a right to exist and that even in good times many businesses fail.

    We've been through this cycle before - the decline of manufacturing industry led to wholesale job losses and business failures and communities transformed but new business and entrepreneurs emerged, new skills were developed and taught.

    The end of mining is another salutary example of how communities can adapt to massive economic change.

    Throughout history, events (predictable or otherwise) have challenged human ingenuity and adaptation - this will be no different. Much will go on as before but some aspects of life, as you say, won't be the same. We may value some things more and realise that other things we previously held in esteem weren't deserving of that.

    The truth is I'd rather be alive and take my chances in the new world than be buried in the ruins of the old. Perhaps, more than anything else, we'll all value life a bit more and be able to talk about death a bit more too.

  • Options
    ukpaulukpaul Posts: 649

    ukpaul said:

    FPT

    GIN1138 said:

    There's only one question on Coronavirus

    When do the measures that we are imposing start killing more people than they are saving?

    Probably at around 3 months. I have never been able to see this lockdown going on past June and still can't...
    In three months there won;t be a British economy in the way that we know it. Thousands of businesses, as Lord Hague said recently ,will have simply given up, never to restart.

    Its now. Its yesterday.
    Aha, you’ve got it. We will never go back to the normal we had and things will change out of all recognition. People will lose and gain fortunes, businesses will shutter only to be replaced by new businesses. People will need to take on different roles and, indeed, completely different jobs. The world will have had to press the reset button and, in the meantime, many lives will have been saved. People are still desperately clinging to what they had, whereas a change of mindset is needed.

    Yes the old world before Corona was so bad it provided us soaring employment, booming wages (particularly for the low paid) and wealth never seen by any society ever in the past.

    We are giving that a self induced heart attack. Its not a reset button
    Your concern for the 'low paid' is sweet, especially considering that the low paid are still the low paid in that equation. The 'heart attack' is happening because the victim has spent decades living a life that is out of control, thinking that they were invincible. Anyway, as my grandparents used to say 'wealth is no substitute for health', a society that is built on the former will be much happier and less in need of the false comfort of wealth and 'things'.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,969
    Mr. Urquhart, when they, or a close friend or relative, has it.

    At which point many people will blame others. And even those who blame themselves will be unable to undo their past decisions.

    That's why it's important we all do our best to manage our own behaviour. To coin a phrase, we're all in this together.
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    MortimerMortimer Posts: 13,936
    Yorkcity said:

    Mortimer said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    I am only hearing such notions of pressure from:

    - The whining press
    - You
    - Peter Hitchens

    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.
    They will start to mind when they see the length of the dole queues, the out of control public finances, the plunge in sterling, the massive depression....
    I agree.
    "Does not really mind " what planet is he on.
    I'm serious. Many people are coping with the time quite well.

    Its the first proper rest I've had for 5 years, for example. I'm cooking fresh food and eating much better.
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    DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 24,247
    Just before lockdown but after social distancing, there seemed to be a lot more confrontations in the street and on the roads. That might be a danger again, especially if the police are fully occupied policing supermarket trollies.
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited April 2020
    Mortimer said:

    Yorkcity said:

    Mortimer said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    I am only hearing such notions of pressure from:

    - The whining press
    - You
    - Peter Hitchens

    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.
    They will start to mind when they see the length of the dole queues, the out of control public finances, the plunge in sterling, the massive depression....
    I agree.
    "Does not really mind " what planet is he on.
    I'm serious. Many people are coping with the time quite well.

    Its the first proper rest I've had for 5 years, for example. I'm cooking fresh food and eating much better.
    Those of us in comfortable middle class employment, I don't think it really is that bad at all. Most will live in large-ish houses with gardens, so can get outside and not on top of one another. Also, much more likely to be able to do work from home. And with no commute, more time for family.

    I am not finding it tough at all (although harder self isolating away from home this week). But I definitely wouldn't fancy doing it in a one / two bed flat in a tower block for 3 months, especially if I had kids.
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    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    The government needs to explain its strategy - if it has one. Permanent lockdown is obviously unsustainable, so how will it judge when to lift it, at least partially?

    I’m in the fortunate position of being able to bear even a stringent lockdown for a long period without too much difficulty. Others are not so lucky.
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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,943
    There is nothing wrong with going to parks or open spaces locally as long as you keep social distancing, it is gatherings the police are most focused on breaking up.
    Until the curve has flattened though the lockdown must stay
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,577
    Online Covid-19 symptom checker:

    https://symptomate.com/covid19/checkup/en/#0-99990
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    contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818

    https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1248240681459560448?s=20
    https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1248241034695499777?s=20

    Of course the population of the US was a little over a third of what it is today - but still very striking numbers.

    The lockdown medicine is killing the patient faster than the virus. In America it will happen quickly because people will lose health insurance as they lose work and be vulnerable to all sorts of diseases.

    In Britain it will happen to the next generation as they try to cope with a gargantuan mountain of debt and a neutered economy that we have landed them with

    The west can't afford these lockdowns much longer.
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    MortimerMortimer Posts: 13,936

    The government needs to explain its strategy - if it has one. Permanent lockdown is obviously unsustainable, so how will it judge when to lift it, at least partially?

    I’m in the fortunate position of being able to bear even a stringent lockdown for a long period without too much difficulty. Others are not so lucky.

    Indeed. This is true, for some it will be more difficult.

    Incidentally, do you consider this a stringent lockdown? I really don't, compared to other European countries, and especially elsewhere. I just spoke to a friend in Uganda, where they have a 7pm-7am curfew, no cars allowed on the roads etc etc.
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    YorkcityYorkcity Posts: 4,382
    Mortimer said:

    Yorkcity said:

    Mortimer said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    I am only hearing such notions of pressure from:

    - The whining press
    - You
    - Peter Hitchens

    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.
    They will start to mind when they see the length of the dole queues, the out of control public finances, the plunge in sterling, the massive depression....
    I agree.
    "Does not really mind " what planet is he on.
    I'm serious. Many people are coping with the time quite well.

    Its the first proper rest I've had for 5 years, for example. I'm cooking fresh food and eating much better.
    Many will be.
    However the worry for millions of losing jobs and business will be huge.
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    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,379

    The lockdown should last as long as the scientists and doctors say it should.

    Anyone who breaks the lockdown should be shot, welded in their house, and only be given Hawaiian pizzas and tap water for the rest of the lockdown.

    Far too comfortable. Locked in a room with Radiohead Live At Glastonbury being played on repeat.
    Or simply... locked in a room with Radiohead.

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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited April 2020
    Nigelb said:

    The lockdown should last as long as the scientists and doctors say it should.

    Anyone who breaks the lockdown should be shot, welded in their house, and only be given Hawaiian pizzas and tap water for the rest of the lockdown.

    Far too comfortable. Locked in a room with Radiohead Live At Glastonbury being played on repeat.
    Or simply... locked in a room with Radiohead.

    No no, that's going too far. I suggest that's a human rights violation, as it makes waterboarding seem like a walk in the park.
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    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,027

    https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1248240681459560448?s=20
    https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1248241034695499777?s=20

    Of course the population of the US was a little over a third of what it is today - but still very striking numbers.

    The lockdown medicine is killing the patient faster than the virus. In America it will happen quickly because people will lose health insurance as they lose work and be vulnerable to all sorts of diseases.

    In Britain it will happen to the next generation as they try to cope with a gargantuan mountain of debt and a neutered economy that we have landed them with

    The west can't afford these lockdowns much longer.
    Perhaps it will be the catalyst for a transfer of wealth from the overleveraged to the debt-free which will benefit the young. The distribution effects could have the opposite effect of the measures to deal with the financial crisis.
  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,379
    Mortimer said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    I am only hearing such notions of pressure from:

    - The whining press
    - You
    - Peter Hitchens

    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.
    How many were teenagers ?
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    JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 6,006

    Mortimer said:

    Yorkcity said:

    Mortimer said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    I am only hearing such notions of pressure from:

    - The whining press
    - You
    - Peter Hitchens

    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.
    They will start to mind when they see the length of the dole queues, the out of control public finances, the plunge in sterling, the massive depression....
    I agree.
    "Does not really mind " what planet is he on.
    I'm serious. Many people are coping with the time quite well.

    Its the first proper rest I've had for 5 years, for example. I'm cooking fresh food and eating much better.
    Those of us in comfortable middle class employment, I don't think it really is that bad at all. Most will live in large-ish houses with gardens, so can get outside and not on top of one another. Also, much more likely to be able to do work from home. And with no commute, more time for family.

    I am not finding it tough at all (although harder self isolating away from home this week). But I definitely wouldn't fancy doing it in a one / two bed flat in a tower block for 3 months, especially if I had kids.
    I live on my own, in a two bedroom flat, but there is a shared garden I'm using - most of the other residents don't. Unfortunately I'm not set up to work from home, but hoping my employers will sort it out. Have done quite a backlog of household jobs, currently sitting outside reading Middlebrook's Arnhem 1944. A few times a week I have an evening Skype chat with friends, and I get out for a run or a walk every day. Did two weeks' shopping at Waitrose and eating properly. Quiet, but bearable.
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,577
    Interesting summary of research into Covid-19 going on at Cowley Tech:

    https://www.research.ox.ac.uk/Area/coronavirus-research
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    OllyTOllyT Posts: 4,913
    GIN1138 said:

    Andy_JS said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    My prediction: the lockdown will last 6 weeks in total. We're almost half-way through.
    Could be as we won't come out of lockdown all at once.

    They'll gradually start easing the restrictions week by week and I could see that beginning around the start of May with a full end by start of June.
    I think your timescale is not far off the mark. Once the lockdown begins to be eased it will be down to each individual to assess how much risk they want to take. I'm just 70 so would probably suffer quite badly if I got it so I doubt we will be visiting a restaurant, hotel, football match or be flying anywhere till 2021 even if those things gradually become permitted.
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    FloaterFloater Posts: 14,195
    Further 765 hospital deaths in England, bringing total to 7,248
    A further 765 patients have died in hospital in England, up from 6,483 the day before. This brings the total to 7,248.

    Of the 765 new hospital deaths announced today by NHS England, 140 occurred on April 8 while 568 took place between April 1 and April 7.

    The remaining 57 deaths occurred in March, including two on March 19 and one on March 16.
  • Options
    MortimerMortimer Posts: 13,936
    Yorkcity said:

    Mortimer said:

    Yorkcity said:

    Mortimer said:

    TGOHF666 said:

    Once the daily death totals start dropping the pressure to lift the lockdown will be immense.

    The govt need to get out in front of this from Tuesday.

    I am only hearing such notions of pressure from:

    - The whining press
    - You
    - Peter Hitchens

    Every person I've spoken to this week expects it to last until at least the middle of May, and doesn't really mind.
    They will start to mind when they see the length of the dole queues, the out of control public finances, the plunge in sterling, the massive depression....
    I agree.
    "Does not really mind " what planet is he on.
    I'm serious. Many people are coping with the time quite well.

    Its the first proper rest I've had for 5 years, for example. I'm cooking fresh food and eating much better.
    Many will be.
    However the worry for millions of losing jobs and business will be huge.
    Indeed.

    My OH is a key worker, but mercifully can work from home.

    I have a business and expect to lose 100-200k in sales (depending on whether 2 or 4 months till back to normal) for my business, with little opportunity to reduce costs more than say 30%. I ought to survive, as I have a strong, good margin business. Others in the same trade will be similarly struggling. One lesson that I learned early on (after weeks of sleepless nights) was to have a cash buffer. It is a lifesaver at the moment.
  • Options
    contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818
    edited April 2020

    The government needs to explain its strategy - if it has one. Permanent lockdown is obviously unsustainable, so how will it judge when to lift it, at least partially?

    I’m in the fortunate position of being able to bear even a stringent lockdown for a long period without too much difficulty. Others are not so lucky.

    'Others are not so lucky' must be the understatement of the year.

    Thousands of businesses are going to go to the wall permanently by the end of April. unemployment is going to explode, having goodness knows what effects on the millions holed up in tiny flats in our country.

    In the end, its an enormous judgement call that takes a real leader to make. The only answer for me is to restart the economy now and use the money the build up NHS corona capacity more and faster.
  • Options
    squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,331

    The government needs to explain its strategy - if it has one. Permanent lockdown is obviously unsustainable, so how will it judge when to lift it, at least partially?

    I’m in the fortunate position of being able to bear even a stringent lockdown for a long period without too much difficulty. Others are not so lucky.

    Here or overseas.?
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,577
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    ukpaulukpaul Posts: 649
    edited April 2020

    https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1248240681459560448?s=20
    https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1248241034695499777?s=20

    Of course the population of the US was a little over a third of what it is today - but still very striking numbers.

    The lockdown medicine is killing the patient faster than the virus. In America it will happen quickly because people will lose health insurance as they lose work and be vulnerable to all sorts of diseases.

    In Britain it will happen to the next generation as they try to cope with a gargantuan mountain of debt and a neutered economy that we have landed them with

    The west can't afford these lockdowns much longer.
    Perhaps it will be the catalyst for a transfer of wealth from the overleveraged to the debt-free which will benefit the young. The distribution effects could have the opposite effect of the measures to deal with the financial crisis.
    Not to mention the fact that it is killing off the old and sparing the young. It's a virus perfectly engineered to bring about an epochal change, either frightening or exhilarating (depending on where you start).
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    ChrisChris Posts: 11,098
    felix said:

    In Spain we have just extended our lockdown until 26th April and PM Sanchez says he expects to request a further extension into May. Ours is much stricter than the one in the UK and has pretty widespread support. I am amazed that anyone in the UK should be arguing for it to be relaxed given the statistics you are dealing with. If any politicians or people in the media start this kind of agitation now, personally I'd regard them as being reckless with human life - whatever their politics. It really shouldn't be a talking point at this stage.

    I think the virus must be killing the brains of people who are otherwise apparently healthy.
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    contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818

    https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1248240681459560448?s=20
    https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1248241034695499777?s=20

    Of course the population of the US was a little over a third of what it is today - but still very striking numbers.

    The lockdown medicine is killing the patient faster than the virus. In America it will happen quickly because people will lose health insurance as they lose work and be vulnerable to all sorts of diseases.

    In Britain it will happen to the next generation as they try to cope with a gargantuan mountain of debt and a neutered economy that we have landed them with

    The west can't afford these lockdowns much longer.
    Perhaps it will be the catalyst for a transfer of wealth from the overleveraged to the debt-free which will benefit the young. The distribution effects could have the opposite effect of the measures to deal with the financial crisis.
    Yeah try telling that to a moderately paid US services worker living month to month who just lost their job, their health insurance. Someone who does not have have the welfare protections we have here, and whose landlord hasn't been told he can't enforce rent.
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    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,129
    This Conservative government - elected just 4 months ago with a large majority and thus in possession of a clear mandate to manage things as they see fit - has surely factored in a degree of "rebellion" against the lockdown. Only if there is significantly more than this would it be a problem.

    London NW3 - still the Marie Celeste.
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    JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 6,006
    Floater said:

    Further 765 hospital deaths in England, bringing total to 7,248
    A further 765 patients have died in hospital in England, up from 6,483 the day before. This brings the total to 7,248.

    Of the 765 new hospital deaths announced today by NHS England, 140 occurred on April 8 while 568 took place between April 1 and April 7.

    The remaining 57 deaths occurred in March, including two on March 19 and one on March 16.

    I suppose the question has to be, are all stats always that laggy, or is this a one-off tidying-up?
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    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,645
    edited April 2020
    I'm actually positive about how people on the whole are responding to a long lockdown, in terms of pressure to relax, though those in a harder situation than mine will start to chafe in the next few weeks if ad one Hope's deaths start to reduce .

    Without doing a blow by blow of how the decision will be assessed and made, general points on what things would need to look like to do so will probably help sell it.
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    felixfelix Posts: 15,124
    One thing puzzling me is how do those who want a swift end to the lockdown square their views with the supposed love for 'our NHS'. I mean an early end to the lockdown adds to the dangers faced by nurses, doctors, cleaners, checkout staff in the supermarkets....... How can they be so selfish and callous?
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    FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,532

    Floater said:

    Further 765 hospital deaths in England, bringing total to 7,248
    A further 765 patients have died in hospital in England, up from 6,483 the day before. This brings the total to 7,248.

    Of the 765 new hospital deaths announced today by NHS England, 140 occurred on April 8 while 568 took place between April 1 and April 7.

    The remaining 57 deaths occurred in March, including two on March 19 and one on March 16.

    I suppose the question has to be, are all stats always that laggy, or is this a one-off tidying-up?
    No that is pretty much always the case.
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited April 2020
    "Interestingly we are not the only ones who having difficulty identifying commercial tests that work in a home test kit format. The Spanish apparently returned test kits that were not working, and the Germans who are developing their own sensitive kits believe they are three months away from getting these available and validated."

    Without these, we realistically aren't going anywhere fast.
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    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,313
    eadric said:

    RobD said:

    eadric said:
    Can I say that's good news?
    If we're going to lament when it goes up, we are surely allowed a tiny cheer when it goes down. Of course it is just one day, but this time there is no weekend effect.

    New deaths were predicted to peak this Easter Weekend.

    Inshallah!
    Call me a crank ('we all do - everyone') but I think this could be due to the full moon. I was very relieved that Boris got through the full moon. It has a very powerful effect that few are aware of these days.
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    YorkcityYorkcity Posts: 4,382

    stodge said:

    Afternoon all :)

    Rather like notions of austerity, our version of lockdown looks tame compared with what other countries have enforced. It's probably as much as Government thought acceptable but there are no resources to enforce anything tougher and public transport hasn't shut down completely as it has in other countries.

    I've struggled for days with trying to work out how we end lock down. Once we try to re-start, social distancing is bound to be compromised so if the virus is still around it will likely flare up again.

    On a personal level, my brother has had the virus and even three and a half weeks later, he is struggling to keep his temperature down and requires regular paracetamol. I don't want this and to be honest I'd rather be alive than worry about whether GDP has shrunk by 6% or 25%.

    I also think the more convincingly this virus can be beaten down the harder it will be for it to re-ignite. Ideally we'd have no cases for a week but that's probably not practical.

    You make a compelling point but what about the many thousands with other serious diseases whose lives are effectively being put at risk by this gigantic economic gamble.

    These people have been effectively silenced by the Corona obsessed media

    If it gets to the point where we run out of money, or need to impose grinding austerity because of enormous debt, it may cost many thousands their lives.
    Yes reading some of the examples of cancer and transplant patients operations been cancelled is heartbreaking.
    Last year I had a stem cell transplant for myeloma in Leeds.
    Which has put me into remission.
    Very lucky it was last year and not this.
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    StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 14,366
    stodge said:

    ukpaul said:


    Aha, you’ve got it. We will never go back to the normal we had and things will change out of all recognition. People will lose and gain fortunes, businesses will shutter only to be replaced by new businesses. People will need to take on different roles and, indeed, completely different jobs. The world will have had to press the reset button and, in the meantime, many lives will have been saved. People are still desperately clinging to what they had, whereas a change of mindset is needed.

    I don't wholly agree. I argued at the beginning of this that no job or business had a right to exist and that even in good times many businesses fail.

    We've been through this cycle before - the decline of manufacturing industry led to wholesale job losses and business failures and communities transformed but new business and entrepreneurs emerged, new skills were developed and taught.

    The end of mining is another salutary example of how communities can adapt to massive economic change.

    Throughout history, events (predictable or otherwise) have challenged human ingenuity and adaptation - this will be no different. Much will go on as before but some aspects of life, as you say, won't be the same. We may value some things more and realise that other things we previously held in esteem weren't deserving of that.

    The truth is I'd rather be alive and take my chances in the new world than be buried in the ruins of the old. Perhaps, more than anything else, we'll all value life a bit more and be able to talk about death a bit more too.

    Also worth remembering that, even if there is a 25 % permanent shrinkage in the UK economy, that takes us back to the mid 90's, which didn't feel poor at the time. And unlike World War 2, the productive equipment won't get blown up by enemy bombs; it will still be there. And unlike the Great Depression, there is enough productivity even now to ensure food, health and safety for the whole population- though I'd really not want to be in the USA right now.
    Yes, there's a cost to the lockdown. But it's ironic seeing some people go all Project Fear about it.
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    BannedinnParisBannedinnParis Posts: 1,884

    Floater said:

    Further 765 hospital deaths in England, bringing total to 7,248
    A further 765 patients have died in hospital in England, up from 6,483 the day before. This brings the total to 7,248.

    Of the 765 new hospital deaths announced today by NHS England, 140 occurred on April 8 while 568 took place between April 1 and April 7.

    The remaining 57 deaths occurred in March, including two on March 19 and one on March 16.

    I suppose the question has to be, are all stats always that laggy, or is this a one-off tidying-up?
    there was an excellent table on here yesterday showing that, yes, yes they are.
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    contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818
    felix said:

    One thing puzzling me is how do those who want a swift end to the lockdown square their views with the supposed love for 'our NHS'. I mean an early end to the lockdown adds to the dangers faced by nurses, doctors, cleaners, checkout staff in the supermarkets....... How can they be so selfish and callous?

    No an early end to the lockdown means we might actually have some money to bolster their resources further, even after we have given them this breathing space to ramp up capacity.

    It also means they can send their children to school or nursery again, something many NHS workers must be worried about.

  • Options
    SandraMcSandraMc Posts: 591

    eadric said:

    RobD said:

    eadric said:
    Can I say that's good news?
    If we're going to lament when it goes up, we are surely allowed a tiny cheer when it goes down. Of course it is just one day, but this time there is no weekend effect.

    New deaths were predicted to peak this Easter Weekend.

    Inshallah!
    Call me a crank ('we all do - everyone') but I think this could be due to the full moon. I was very relieved that Boris got through the full moon. It has a very powerful effect that few are aware of these days.
    My mother worked as a secretary in a doctors' surgery and she claimed that the full moon did have an effect on some people's mental health. There were patients with mental problems who became noticeably worse whenever there was a full moon.

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    squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,331

    felix said:

    One thing puzzling me is how do those who want a swift end to the lockdown square their views with the supposed love for 'our NHS'. I mean an early end to the lockdown adds to the dangers faced by nurses, doctors, cleaners, checkout staff in the supermarkets....... How can they be so selfish and callous?

    No an early end to the lockdown means we might actually have some money to bolster their resources further, even after we have given them this breathing space to ramp up capacity.

    It also means they can send their children to school or nursery again, something many NHS workers must be worried about.

    felix said:

    One thing puzzling me is how do those who want a swift end to the lockdown square their views with the supposed love for 'our NHS'. I mean an early end to the lockdown adds to the dangers faced by nurses, doctors, cleaners, checkout staff in the supermarkets....... How can they be so selfish and callous?

    No an early end to the lockdown means we might actually have some money to bolster their resources further, even after we have given them this breathing space to ramp up capacity.

    It also means they can send their children to school or nursery again, something many NHS workers must be worried about.

    You sound like the PFA guy spinning that players should not take , a pay cut as the Govt would get less in taxes.
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    contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818

    stodge said:

    ukpaul said:


    Aha, you’ve got it. We will never go back to the normal we had and things will change out of all recognition. People will lose and gain fortunes, businesses will shutter only to be replaced by new businesses. People will need to take on different roles and, indeed, completely different jobs. The world will have had to press the reset button and, in the meantime, many lives will have been saved. People are still desperately clinging to what they had, whereas a change of mindset is needed.

    I don't wholly agree. I argued at the beginning of this that no job or business had a right to exist and that even in good times many businesses fail.

    We've been through this cycle before - the decline of manufacturing industry led to wholesale job losses and business failures and communities transformed but new business and entrepreneurs emerged, new skills were developed and taught.

    The end of mining is another salutary example of how communities can adapt to massive economic change.

    Throughout history, events (predictable or otherwise) have challenged human ingenuity and adaptation - this will be no different. Much will go on as before but some aspects of life, as you say, won't be the same. We may value some things more and realise that other things we previously held in esteem weren't deserving of that.

    The truth is I'd rather be alive and take my chances in the new world than be buried in the ruins of the old. Perhaps, more than anything else, we'll all value life a bit more and be able to talk about death a bit more too.

    Also worth remembering that, even if there is a 25 % permanent shrinkage in the UK economy, that takes us back to the mid 90's, which didn't feel poor at the time. And unlike World War 2, the productive equipment won't get blown up by enemy bombs; it will still be there. And unlike the Great Depression, there is enough productivity even now to ensure food, health and safety for the whole population- though I'd really not want to be in the USA right now.
    Yes, there's a cost to the lockdown. But it's ironic seeing some people go all Project Fear about it.
    It didn;t feel poor at the time because government debt was a tiny fraction of what it is now, and what it will be after Sunak's giveaways.

    That will have to be serviced.
  • Options
    MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,607

    stodge said:

    ukpaul said:


    Aha, you’ve got it. We will never go back to the normal we had and things will change out of all recognition. People will lose and gain fortunes, businesses will shutter only to be replaced by new businesses. People will need to take on different roles and, indeed, completely different jobs. The world will have had to press the reset button and, in the meantime, many lives will have been saved. People are still desperately clinging to what they had, whereas a change of mindset is needed.

    I don't wholly agree. I argued at the beginning of this that no job or business had a right to exist and that even in good times many businesses fail.

    We've been through this cycle before - the decline of manufacturing industry led to wholesale job losses and business failures and communities transformed but new business and entrepreneurs emerged, new skills were developed and taught.

    The end of mining is another salutary example of how communities can adapt to massive economic change.

    Throughout history, events (predictable or otherwise) have challenged human ingenuity and adaptation - this will be no different. Much will go on as before but some aspects of life, as you say, won't be the same. We may value some things more and realise that other things we previously held in esteem weren't deserving of that.

    The truth is I'd rather be alive and take my chances in the new world than be buried in the ruins of the old. Perhaps, more than anything else, we'll all value life a bit more and be able to talk about death a bit more too.

    Also worth remembering that, even if there is a 25 % permanent shrinkage in the UK economy, that takes us back to the mid 90's, which didn't feel poor at the time. And unlike World War 2, the productive equipment won't get blown up by enemy bombs; it will still be there. And unlike the Great Depression, there is enough productivity even now to ensure food, health and safety for the whole population- though I'd really not want to be in the USA right now.
    Yes, there's a cost to the lockdown. But it's ironic seeing some people go all Project Fear about it.
    On a per capita basis that probably takes us back to the mid 80s. I wasn't alive then but I'm almost certain there was a lot of poverty and unemployment. It's not like we can have a second banking and oil revolution to pay the bills again.
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,027

    stodge said:

    ukpaul said:


    Aha, you’ve got it. We will never go back to the normal we had and things will change out of all recognition. People will lose and gain fortunes, businesses will shutter only to be replaced by new businesses. People will need to take on different roles and, indeed, completely different jobs. The world will have had to press the reset button and, in the meantime, many lives will have been saved. People are still desperately clinging to what they had, whereas a change of mindset is needed.

    I don't wholly agree. I argued at the beginning of this that no job or business had a right to exist and that even in good times many businesses fail.

    We've been through this cycle before - the decline of manufacturing industry led to wholesale job losses and business failures and communities transformed but new business and entrepreneurs emerged, new skills were developed and taught.

    The end of mining is another salutary example of how communities can adapt to massive economic change.

    Throughout history, events (predictable or otherwise) have challenged human ingenuity and adaptation - this will be no different. Much will go on as before but some aspects of life, as you say, won't be the same. We may value some things more and realise that other things we previously held in esteem weren't deserving of that.

    The truth is I'd rather be alive and take my chances in the new world than be buried in the ruins of the old. Perhaps, more than anything else, we'll all value life a bit more and be able to talk about death a bit more too.

    Also worth remembering that, even if there is a 25 % permanent shrinkage in the UK economy, that takes us back to the mid 90's, which didn't feel poor at the time. And unlike World War 2, the productive equipment won't get blown up by enemy bombs; it will still be there. And unlike the Great Depression, there is enough productivity even now to ensure food, health and safety for the whole population- though I'd really not want to be in the USA right now.
    Yes, there's a cost to the lockdown. But it's ironic seeing some people go all Project Fear about it.
    It didn;t feel poor at the time because government debt was a tiny fraction of what it is now, and what it will be after Sunak's giveaways.

    That will have to be serviced.
    Without wishing to sound like an MMT adherent, does Japan feel poorer to you because of the level of government debt?
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