Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak

[Stan]

This new slogan government have thought of is absolutely bollocks though. 

They've taken the 'stay at home' message out and replaced it with 'stay alert' what the fuck does that even mean? Gives cretins and idiots the excuse to go out or do what they want by saying 'I'm staying alert it's fine!'. How do they think the public will abide by lockdown rules by taking the most direct and definitive instruction out of the slogan that had become so synonymous with everyone for the past 6-7 weeks?! 

It's utterly baffling. Stay alert is too ambiguous and too wishy-washy compared to the clear 'stay at home' directive. 

[Carnivore Chris]

1 minute ago, Stan said:

I just don't get how you can call them a bunch of muppets when they're probably working their arses off to find a cure as quickly as possible. 

Of course culpability and blame will be dished out but that doesn't mean we get to ignore the virus as it is with us now. It's not like you can go back in time and stop it, is it? There'll be the inquiry and investigations, definitely in the UK as well because it's quite clear there's so much done wrong. But to say it's 'their problem' is not the case - they may be implicated for how it spread but now it's up to the public for trying to stop the spread. 

'I'd rather catch the virus'. So then what about your family and friends you might want to see? What if you carelessly gave them the virus and they died? Is their death on your hands too because you decided to not give a fuck any more? 

One is being sent to the South East, the most affected part of the country at that, to do non-essential work as of tomorrow. This is pretty much my main reason for saying "fuck this lockdown" now. What sort of a lockdown is it when the government are allowing people to be thrown under a bus and are only helping certain people? In fact what sort of a lockdown is it when you have police on London bridge practically cuddling up? Or when BBC are encouraging a party where people are all mingling together and barely 0.5m away from each other? These piss you off as well as it seems like so many sacrifices are made for nothing.

Another thing that pisses me off are these recruitment agencies. I've never been a fan of them anyway as they recruit people for work they know nothing about themselves and make money out of people. This is what prevents many from finding full time work. Every company should either take people on full time, or sub contract them(they even save shitloads of money by doing so) and completely cut these clowns out of the game. BUT the cheek of them sending txts out from the comfort or their own home, trying to recruit people to carry out jobs in buildings makes me think they are bigger cunts than ever.

I didn't mean it literally where I said muppets and it's what anger can do to me, they aren't Matt Handcock, they(whoever they may be) will be the heroes(along with health workers and anyone working in the food industry) if they do end up discovering a vaccine. But waiting for one could pretty much be forever.

Tax will shoot up after this as well and people getting nothing now, will then have to pay for other's fuck ups yet again? It's like a cycle of getting fucked and it gets to the point where you start to grow tired of it.

 

 

 

 

[LFCMike]

1 hour ago, Carnivore Chris said:

It's not easy, in fact there may never be a vaccine ever. So as if I'm sat in waiting for one. I'd rather catch the virus, as it's nowhere near as bad as deteriorating mentally.

Course we are saving their arses. This is their problem and the rest of the governments around Europe for allowing people from a virus ridden country to freely travel around the world until the damage was done and it was too late. Any death is on their hands.

It's illegal to release invasive animals into the wild as they cause disease and kill native animals, but it's ok when it's humans? What the fuck is up with this world? Fucking idiots. Nevermind lockdowns, the damage was already well and truly done way before that.

Already been through it, not eligible like many aren't.

 

It's not about you catching it. It's about who you pass out on to.

[Bluewolf]

15 minutes ago, Stan said:

This new slogan government have thought of is absolutely bollocks though. 

They've taken the 'stay at home' message out and replaced it with 'stay alert' what the fuck does that even mean? Gives cretins and idiots the excuse to go out or do what they want by saying 'I'm staying alert it's fine!'. How do they think the public will abide by lockdown rules by taking the most direct and definitive instruction out of the slogan that had become so synonymous with everyone for the past 6-7 weeks?! 

It's utterly baffling. Stay alert is too ambiguous and too wishy-washy compared to the clear 'stay at home' directive. 

What concerns me about this is that we started our control measures much later than everyone else and they have had 3 or 4 weeks more time to bring it under control and now we seem as though we are in a rush to get back to 'the new normal' along with every other country doing it.. I mean they are only just bringing in the airport controls and that's not due for another 2 bloody weeks?? Our Government has only 2 speeds, slow and stop.. We can't stay in lockdown forever that's a given and for the likes of @Carnivore Chris and many hundreds more just like him they need to be getting back to work for financial reasons alone let alone the mental health aspect of it.  It's appalling that people like you are not being given some basic assistance at the very least just to help tide you over... 

Our Government were too slow to react to it in the first place and now seem over keen to get back out there  amongst it as soon as possible, If they had left lockdown in place for at least a couple more weeks I think that would have been a more reasonable expectation.. So much of getting back to work relies on our ability to supply staff, workers, services with the right PPE they will need to 'control' this as an ongoing concern and that simply isn't in place... 

We are even seeing second spikes of it from other countries where they lifted some restrictions and had to reverse them again but at least they had better controls to start with, we are as always starting everything on the back foot and winging it hoping it won't turn out too bad.. Talk of getting kids back to school early has been soundly knocked back by the Unions because of PPE and safety concerns on how that's going to be managed but for the general public travelling everyday to and from work I suppose we will just have to take our chances.. 

[Stan]

13 minutes ago, Bluewolf said:

We can't stay in lockdown forever that's a given and for the likes of @Carnivore Chris and many hundreds more just like him they need to be getting back to work for financial reasons alone let alone the mental health aspect of it.  It's appalling that people like you are not being given some basic assistance at the very least just to help tide you over... 

I know I've had some debate with Chris but I do sympathise with his position. I can't bear to think what it's like in that situation not working or earning for that long when that's what you've have been used to for years on end. I'm surprised he's not eligible for any kind of assistance at all as that's not what the advice we have been given but obviously don't know all of his circumstances.

@Carnivore Chris I don't want you to think I'm just ignoring that bit of your situation, especially the MH bit and I don't ever want to downplay that, so in advance apologies if it does come acoss like that. 

[Bluewolf]

Just now, Stan said:

I know I've had some debate with Chris but I do sympathise with his position. I can't bear to think what it's like in that situation not working or earning for that long when that's what you've have been used to for years on end. I'm surprised he's not eligible for any kind of assistance at all as that's not what the advice we have been given but obviously don't know all of his circumstances.

@Carnivore Chris I don't want you to think I'm just ignoring that bit of your situation, especially the MH bit and I don't ever want to downplay that, so in advance apologies if it does come acoss like that. 

Thing is for those still working like myself things are as close to normal life as I can get, go to work, get paid and then pay my bills each month so for me and people like me the health aspect is the most concern.. For all those that are not working or getting any financial support throughout all this must be an absolute nightmare... Not only don't they have any cash coming in but those bills for rent, tax etc are not going away, just getting added up and delayed for payment at a later date so even if people do eventually get back to work they will no doubt have to start thinking about how they are going to be managing that debt they have accidently been saddled with through no fault of their own and where the Government needs to consider a secondary support plan for people in that situation.. 

[RandoEFC+]

The latest baffling element of this debate now is "we can't stay in lockdown forever". Give your head a wobble please. Nobody is arguing in favour of that. At most, people are arguing that there shouldn't be significant changes for 3 more weeks. 

And if you think what's happened in England is a "lockdown" then you're sadly mistaken. If a real lockdown had happened, the infection rate would be much lower by now and you actually could start talking about getting back to something relatively normal.

Instead the government have fucked it up with poor messaging and unclear policies, parts of the public have fucked it up with ignorance and ill discipline and parts of the media have fucked it up by treating it like a soap opera and giving dangerous sociopaths like Katie Hopkins a platform to spout shit about something she isn't qualified to comment on. But that's what England has been reduced to now, a perfect storm of ignorance, selfishness and confused nationalism.

[Bluewolf]

22 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

The latest baffling element of this debate now is "we can't stay in lockdown forever". Give your head a wobble please. Nobody is arguing in favour of that. At most, people are arguing that there shouldn't be significant changes for 3 more weeks. 

As it was something I directly said I will respond to it... Truth is we can't stay in lockdown forever that's just a fact and unless I missed a raft of posts on here to say otherwise I don't see anyone else asking for it to remain either so not sure what the point was in highlighting that fact?? As you can see from what I said in my post a bit further down I would be in favour of an eased lockdown situation in another couple of weeks but for that to happen we need to have all the other elements in play for it to be a success, Testing PPE for frontline workers etc.. that is something we are not in position to offer people as it stands.. 

All the rest of your post I pretty much agree with though... There has effectively been no lockdown for any of the frontline workers since it began and although a lot of people could be kept away from the worst of it by working from home or being furloughed for Health reasons so many hundreds more have not been able to do so.. The Government has not been able to give those vital services the relevant protection they should have had to start with and now they are suggesting more people should start getting back in the mix.. baffles the mind, poorly thought out and poorly executed as per the norm in this country.. 

Edited May 10, 2020 by Bluewolf

[Stan]

So, in order to clarify the new 'stay alert' message, this is what one of the government ministers, Robert Jenrick, had to say.

 

'stay alert will mean staying alert while staying at home as much as possible'.

 

 

[CaaC (John)+]

Singapore using robot ‘dog’ to enforce social distancing

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/singapore-using-robot-dog-to-enforce-social-distancing/ar-BB13QSVi?ocid=mailsignout

 

[Danny]

6 minutes ago, Stan said:

So, in order to clarify the new 'stay alert' message, this is what one of the government ministers, Robert Jenrick, had to say.

 

'stay alert will mean staying alert while staying at home as much as possible'.

 

 

Are they trying to out-do each other in dumbfuckery? The national papers have all wanked over the possibility of a reduced lockdown, the public have seen it, let’s change the stay at home part of the slogan to stay alert and send entirely mixed signals out.

[Stan]

1 minute ago, Danny said:

Are they trying to out-do each other in dumbfuckery? The national papers have all wanked over the possibility of a reduced lockdown, the public have seen it, let’s change the stay at home part of the slogan to stay alert and send entirely mixed signals out.

In addition to the above, according to Jenrick it's business as usual by this explanation...

Appearing on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Mr Jenrick said: "Stay alert will mean stay alert by staying home as much as possible, but stay alert when you do go out by maintaining social distancing, washing your hands, respecting others in the workplace and the other settings that you'll go to."

So nothing has changed. Literally nothing barring the PR brand-update of the slogan for absolutely fuck all reason.

[Harry]

3 hours ago, Carnivore Chris said:

I can't say I'm going by the rules for much longer then as a vaccine could take years, or there may never even be one. Life's too short to wait for a bunch of muppets to find a cure for a virus that shouldn't be anywhere near Europe and there are no guarantees they will even find a vaccine. This is not my problem, I've done my bit and I get nothing for it so they can fuck off.

As soon as old man has to travel 200+ miles tomorrow to work away in a NON ESSENTIAL job, the lockdown is officially over for me.

I don't get paid for this. 9 weeks without a wage and then you find out you aren't eligible for this 80% that everyone else around the country are receiving. Sacrificing everything from mental and physical health to financial well being simply to save a bunch of toff boys arses(as let a be fair, this is their business) while I get fucked as always. 

This country can fuck off as far as I'm concerned.

I've been operating under the assumption a vaccine could take 18 months or more however members of our scientific community lately have been speaking with more confidence than I'd expect of something potentially being available before the end of the year.

I get your frustration. Definitely i'm starting to itch for an end to restrictions primarily for my son to return to school. He's in 4 year old kinder. At that age the learning is almost entirely about social interaction, and increasing confidence and resilience of kids. My son is quite timid and already I've seen him become more shy under this lockdown and more anxious about leaving the house (not fear of COVID, just as a timid kid who's now not used to being out in crowds). 

I'm fine with some level of restrictions for a long period but I want him to return to school.

[Tommy]

Apparently the reproduction rate has gone up again in Germany. From 0.65 to 1.10. 

[Harry]

11 minutes ago, Stan said:

In addition to the above, according to Jenrick it's business as usual by this explanation...

Appearing on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Mr Jenrick said: "Stay alert will mean stay alert by staying home as much as possible, but stay alert when you do go out by maintaining social distancing, washing your hands, respecting others in the workplace and the other settings that you'll go to."

So nothing has changed. Literally nothing barring the PR brand-update of the slogan for absolutely fuck all reason.

It's gonna be better fit for am eased level of lockdown type restrictions though.

I suspect we'll be being told to stay at home as much as you can within some level of comfort until this whole thing eases.

 

[Harry]

5 minutes ago, Tommy said:

Apparently the reproduction rate has gone up again in Germany. From 0.65 to 1.10. 

The lower your case count the easier it is for that ratio to spike.

 

[Harry]

Just think though what could be done in a do over with this virus... All the things we shied from doing earlier for fear of the economic impact of the measure...

[DeadLinesman]

10 minutes ago, Tommy said:

Apparently the reproduction rate has gone up again in Germany. From 0.65 to 1.10. 

Read that this morning. Second waves inbound.

[Stan]

11 minutes ago, Harry said:

It's gonna be better fit for am eased level of lockdown type restrictions though.

 

Save it for that time, then.

At the moment, and it's not been confirmed, but the rumours are that the only things that can open are garden centres, waste recycling centres and libraries.

However, the same kinds of thing applies if you were going out to do your shopping - only travel if essential, and once you've got to where you need to be (i.e. supermarkets, GPs, hospitals etc) maintain the social distancing, be safe, wash your hands etc etc.

Nothing has fundamentally changed. The 'stay alert' just screams of attention-seeking from the government 'look at us, we're doing something'. 

[Burning Gold]

1 hour ago, Tommy said:

Apparently the reproduction rate has gone up again in Germany. From 0.65 to 1.10. 

Surely this was inevitable? Lockdown hasn't magically changed the properties of the virus. The only variable that's changed to bring it down is people's interactions, as enforced by the restrictions. As soon as they're lifted and people return to some version of normal, the number goes up again.

I can't figure out why anyone is in the least bit surprised by this.

[...Dan]

1 hour ago, CaaC (John) said:

Singapore using robot ‘dog’ to enforce social distancing

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/singapore-using-robot-dog-to-enforce-social-distancing/ar-BB13QSVi?ocid=mailsignout

 

Wasn't this a Black Mirror episode?

[CaaC (John)+]

8 minutes ago, ...Dan said:

Wasn't this a Black Mirror episode?

Don't know? I had to Google Black Mirror as I did not have a clue what you meant. 

[Carnivore Chris]

3 hours ago, Stan said:

I know I've had some debate with Chris but I do sympathise with his position. I can't bear to think what it's like in that situation not working or earning for that long when that's what you've have been used to for years on end. I'm surprised he's not eligible for any kind of assistance at all as that's not what the advice we have been given but obviously don't know all of his circumstances.

@Carnivore Chris I don't want you to think I'm just ignoring that bit of your situation, especially the MH bit and I don't ever want to downplay that, so in advance apologies if it does come acoss like that. 

I admit, I say things irrationally when I'm angry. I even remember arguing on the phone with an employer once and I told him I was going to go on to his site and murder him . I just simply don't know what I'm saying at times when my head goes. Maybe going out for more than just a bit of shopping twice a week would help as well.

The reason for the lack of support is probably because of only working as a sub-contractor from Feb-April in 2018-19 tax year, with the rest being PAYE and they will go off that. Sometimes they even go off 3 years worth, but not everybody is self-employed for 3 years straight. It depends on the job you take. You could be working as a sub-contractor for 6 months, then spend a few month being paid via PAYE. 2019-20 is the only year that I was self-employed(well, sub-contracted) all year. There is still savings and a juicy tax rebate coming but for me that's not the point as it still ends up a struggle in the end.

 

2 hours ago, RandoEFC said:

The latest baffling element of this debate now is "we can't stay in lockdown forever". Give your head a wobble please. Nobody is arguing in favour of that. At most, people are arguing that there shouldn't be significant changes for 3 more weeks. 

 

When your old man is going to the South East tonight(and you don't see him anyway now) to work in a trade that isn't essential right now and you're receiving no money for your sacrifices(while it's different for others, it's not like we are all in the same boat remember), you'd probably have a different outlook on it.

As for the worry of it being "forever", well this virus is likely here for good now just like the flu is, like HIV is, like Rabies is or whatever other virus(most of which aren't even as contagious as this) exist on this planet and we were all lucky with SARS. If the only option of returning to any form of normality is waiting for a vaccine, then the wait may destroy far more people than the virus itself. The world has a lot of people on it and someone will always be infected now in my opinion.

Honestly though, and I don't mean to sound like a broken record(as the damage is done now), everybody not closing their boarders back in January is the biggest problem. As mentioned, if you are to introduce invasive animals into a new environment, they can wipe out other species by spreading diseases and I've seen it with my own eyes with fish and the KHV virus, where introducing a species with the virus just wipes the whole lake out. It's also a reason why you're obliged to literally soak all your gear in disinfectant before being allowed to enter these lakes. Since we are a living species ourselves, this also applies to us, so at the first sign of a virus, it needs to be taken far more seriously. Not only does it benefit the world, it benefits the country of origin itself as this makes it far easier to contain, track and trace, prevent a second wave in the country of origin and hopefully prevent a such a pandemic from occurring. It probably wouldn't have stopped the virus completely from spreading to other countries as the warnings came too late as it was, although it would have made life easier in trying to contain it.

 

1 hour ago, Harry said:

I've been operating under the assumption a vaccine could take 18 months or more however members of our scientific community lately have been speaking with more confidence than I'd expect of something potentially being available before the end of the year.

I get your frustration. Definitely i'm starting to itch for an end to restrictions primarily for my son to return to school. He's in 4 year old kinder. At that age the learning is almost entirely about social interaction, and increasing confidence and resilience of kids. My son is quite timid and already I've seen him become more shy under this lockdown and more anxious about leaving the house (not fear of COVID, just as a timid kid who's now not used to being out in crowds). 

I'm fine with some level of restrictions for a long period but I want him to return to school.

It's even worse for kids as their brains are still developing and this can have a negative impact on their future mental health. But I'm sure you will get him through it mate. It's not ideal though as it's not just falling behind on education(especially at Kinder of course), but a massively important time to be around other kids and developing that confidence ready for the next stage of going to primary school, which can be a scary experience itself.

 

 

 

[...Dan]

46 minutes ago, CaaC (John) said:

Don't know? I had to Google Black Mirror as I did not have a clue what you meant. 

 

[Stan]

1 hour ago, ...Dan said:

Wasn't this a Black Mirror episode?

Yes. One I very much enjoyed.