Update From A Semi-Locked Down Country #2..!
It happened. The UK's clown prince Prime Minister finally realised that he is going to have to do his job and not shirk shamelessly out of it, like he did when he helped Brexit slither in, then decide he wanted nothing to do with actually implementing it.
After weeks of hoping that many would get it but not die ("herd immunity" gibberish) and wishy washy half-measures ("advising" people not to go to pubs), he has now actually been statesman-esque and laid down some laws. Earnestly telling people that to avoid spreading the disease, we are going to have to not leave the house very much and it will all be punishable by fines and the Police.
The reaction? Most people support this, the coverage of the catastrophic effects it has done in Spain and Italy just over the English Channel in Mainland Europe are well documented here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52014023
The downside? There are a minority of people who think that this is nonsense and are carrying on largely as normal, assuming that only octogenarians will be affected by it, even though a healthy 21 year old girl was killed by it:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-52041709
The result? Some people are terrified and some people think they are on some elongated bank holiday, coupled with the Sunny weather, they are enjoying a great old time.
For me personally, I know a few people who have probably had it (Toni's Mum and Dad, my Cousin Rick and my friend from work Phil) but as none have been tested, due to you having to be hospitalised for that to happen, they AREN'T in the official figures, even though they very likely have had it.
Therein lies the problem, not testing people means that many, many more people could have it, following that logic, it might not be as lethal as first thought but it might be considerably more infectious. Potentially, figures of infections and deaths are about to go through the roof, as they have in Europe when the testing kits arrive...
I am now working from home, the Council literally handed me a computer to set up and told me that I wouldn't be returning to my workplace with less than 30 minutes notice. I walked home for a mile and half carrying a monitor in one arm, a keyboard in the other!
Schools are closed but some Nurseries are open for Keyworkers such as myself and Toni, so Travis is largely unaffected, apart from Fridays where he would have been the only child in, so they are closing and Toni will look after him.
My Dad can no longer leave the house for the next quarter of a year! I will be getting his shopping for him and he sent a list today that included weights of cereal boxes he wants!
As he doesn't have the internet and even if he did, he would soon discover that there is nowhere enough capacity for feeding the whole country via online shopping and as a result he can't actually book a slot to get food! Lucky that I am on hand, eh?
My friends Andy and Terri had a child at 28 weeks, who is still in Intensive Care 3 months later - now only one of them can visit him at a time. The trouble is, the more people who need to be put on ventilators nearby, the more dangerous it is for him and anyone else in a perilous place health-wise.
The more victims who need to attend Hospital, the more likely nurses and Doctors also get struck down, affecting treatment for everyone. Doctors have come out of retirement, Students have passed their courses early and other companies are now making medical equipment to keep the ailing alive.
Will it be enough? Most people think not, the expectation of impending doom is the difference between this and most other news stories. Insidious lurking horror and powerlessness to affect it is utterly horrid to live through.
This is being equated to a 9/11 situation but a better comparison would be that this is like living through the Black Death. A Black Death seemingly of our own creation.
After weeks of hoping that many would get it but not die ("herd immunity" gibberish) and wishy washy half-measures ("advising" people not to go to pubs), he has now actually been statesman-esque and laid down some laws. Earnestly telling people that to avoid spreading the disease, we are going to have to not leave the house very much and it will all be punishable by fines and the Police.
The reaction? Most people support this, the coverage of the catastrophic effects it has done in Spain and Italy just over the English Channel in Mainland Europe are well documented here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52014023
The downside? There are a minority of people who think that this is nonsense and are carrying on largely as normal, assuming that only octogenarians will be affected by it, even though a healthy 21 year old girl was killed by it:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-52041709
The result? Some people are terrified and some people think they are on some elongated bank holiday, coupled with the Sunny weather, they are enjoying a great old time.
For me personally, I know a few people who have probably had it (Toni's Mum and Dad, my Cousin Rick and my friend from work Phil) but as none have been tested, due to you having to be hospitalised for that to happen, they AREN'T in the official figures, even though they very likely have had it.
Therein lies the problem, not testing people means that many, many more people could have it, following that logic, it might not be as lethal as first thought but it might be considerably more infectious. Potentially, figures of infections and deaths are about to go through the roof, as they have in Europe when the testing kits arrive...
I am now working from home, the Council literally handed me a computer to set up and told me that I wouldn't be returning to my workplace with less than 30 minutes notice. I walked home for a mile and half carrying a monitor in one arm, a keyboard in the other!
Schools are closed but some Nurseries are open for Keyworkers such as myself and Toni, so Travis is largely unaffected, apart from Fridays where he would have been the only child in, so they are closing and Toni will look after him.
My Dad can no longer leave the house for the next quarter of a year! I will be getting his shopping for him and he sent a list today that included weights of cereal boxes he wants!
As he doesn't have the internet and even if he did, he would soon discover that there is nowhere enough capacity for feeding the whole country via online shopping and as a result he can't actually book a slot to get food! Lucky that I am on hand, eh?
My friends Andy and Terri had a child at 28 weeks, who is still in Intensive Care 3 months later - now only one of them can visit him at a time. The trouble is, the more people who need to be put on ventilators nearby, the more dangerous it is for him and anyone else in a perilous place health-wise.
The more victims who need to attend Hospital, the more likely nurses and Doctors also get struck down, affecting treatment for everyone. Doctors have come out of retirement, Students have passed their courses early and other companies are now making medical equipment to keep the ailing alive.
Will it be enough? Most people think not, the expectation of impending doom is the difference between this and most other news stories. Insidious lurking horror and powerlessness to affect it is utterly horrid to live through.
This is being equated to a 9/11 situation but a better comparison would be that this is like living through the Black Death. A Black Death seemingly of our own creation.