Now here's a conundrum
 

Our local Sainsbury's yesterday it was apparently heaving from 7.00am with Over 70s fighting for The Last Toilet Roll.

Lunchtime we went to a fairly remote but till now popular pub. We had booked for six but four of our close friends withdrew. We were the only ones eating, with two at the bar.

Somerset has a population of 560,000 and we have 7 affected patients, none of whom are in the County's hospital. We think the pub was the safest place to be yet it has now closed and possibly may never re-open.

Shut the village pub and the heart is ripped out of our community.

Are we sure the country's tackling this in the right way?

Dave

I think we are. You have to understand they can't destinguish between pubs. In normal areas they have still been heaving despite the warnings. I have seen it with my own eyes. We need to stop the virus. They are trying to save business. Ultimately lives have to come first though.

I actually agree with the closure of places like pubs and restaurants, especially as the symptoms are not obvious sometimes for up to 14 days. The problem, like the supermarket issue, is crowds of people in close quarters. Masses of people panicking in supermarkets, doing what they are not supposed to do.

The pub etc is not a necessity (unfortunately lol), those who gathered defying sensible advice of avoiding crowded places have caused this. A bit of common sense was needed. If people went about their 'normal' shopping habits, the shelves would continue to be restocked, there would be 'normal' amounts of people in the shops. If you were not well, you would not go out anyway, however if you needed to get something when you were not well, and didnt have the ability to do it yourself, you could get a delivery, you most likely could have asked for help from someone - just as you would do, if you had the flu, gastroenteritis etc.

If you had the flu, gastro etc, you would avoid contact with people as a matter of course, you would likely not feel like doing certain things anyway, but you would have been considerate of those who were vulnerable. When my parents were being treated for cancer, I had a cold, once was quite severe. But I would not have visited them in hospital at the time, as not only them, but their fellow patients would have been susceptible to my cold, and that could easily have developed with their suppressed immune system to pneumonia.

I didn t feel like going out at that time anyway, but I could have, I could have gone out to a pub, met with friends, passed on my cold to them, who then passed it to their granny who had just been released from hospital after recovering from TB.

It is not about you. It is about those who cannot deal with it. You if you are healthy will likely only feel like a heavy cold. But do you know who you pass it to? Then the people you passed it to, have had to go into hospital. Say three people become infected, that is three more people in the hospital. Two survived, one died, but before they went in, those three passed it to three more each, who needed hospital treatment. Now nine more people are in hospital. The first one is in the morgue, the second and third are recovering in the ward, the next nine people are all being treated in the ICU. The ICU now does not have adequate facilities to treat the man who was due to have a bypass operation tomorrow. The man who finally reached the top of the lung transplant list, does not have an ICU bed, never mind a respirator to help him recover after the operation ........................ and it goes on.

It is not even just about the suffering to the individual, but also the support network we have, that is already at breaking point, the NHS.

I still blame social media for spreading stupid. We didnt have to get to this point of panic and empty shelves. :duh:

Incorrect
 

You are incorrect.
Your county has 7 confirmed cases. You have no idea how many are infected.

For once our politicians are doing what is required. If anything erring with when they closed things on the later side.

It is not about you or me (hopefully) but about others who may catch it who will not be able to fight it. One of my best pals had a kidney transplant. Lifetime of medicines and a vulnerability to infections and viruses. It is not OK for him to get it because people are failing to comprehend how serious this could be.
My parents are over 80 one suffering from cancer the other with heart issues
They could both be in trouble if they catch this
The list for most folk is probably similar.

Let us hope and pray that the staff in the NHS are able to cope with what comes. Without them and many other important occupations that are vital to keeping life going we will be in serious trouble.
Not going out for a drink or a meal is a small price to pay to help others
Chris

I said some days ago that shutting the country down was the way to go but the economics of it were omg.

Alas the media has scared people and the truth.... what is the truth?

I don't know how serious it is but my choice is, take a chance and go out, stay home.
If I go out and don't catch it then all is well, if I catch it then being in the high risk group all is not well.

Once it was known to be spreading I would say that all those that were coming into the country should have been taken into isolation, not allowed to walk free and risk infecting others. How on earth that could have been managed is beyond me.

Alas people will ignore both rules and advice.

macafee2

The problem we have is what you stated in your second paragraph " 6 close friends" . If a stranger was chasing you with a gun, you would run away from the danger. But people don't understand, it's your smiling, close friends that are the biggest threat. These "close friends" are most likely the ones that would pass it to you.

I have a little part time job delivering meds for a pharmacy. The sweet little old dears don't see me as a threat. I am the nice guy who takes the meds every week, and chats to them for a few mins. Since this started I have told them, "Look, what I can get through the letterbox I will post. If it won't go through the letterbox, I will knock on the door and when I hear you at the other side of the door, i will put it on your doorstep and walk away". In every case, bar 2, they replied, "It's ok Mike, you can carry on coming to the door as normal. I would miss talking to you". You can see the problem here can't you?. Mr nice guy can't possibly have coronavirus. My own daughter seems to have the same attitude.

I believe this is why it's spreading like it is. It's the invisible killer that's passed between friends.

And as for the morons that are clearing the shelves of foods and toilet rolls. These idiots have made the problem far far worse. Now, instead people going on their once a week shopping trip, they are having to go every day chasing the elusive bum roll. This means they have to mix with others when we should be at home.

If we had done the SHORT, SHARP, SHOCK treatment right at the beginning, it would have been over by now.

In fact, if China had clamped down instantly, it wouldn't have even left China.

You’re spot on sir, in fact they tried to hide it for three weeks apparently

https://youtu.be/n4Mx9nxWTIw

I am quite certain, that no amount of self quarantining will keep you free from a virus that is easy to catch!

For quarantining to be effective totally, you have to avoid contact with anyone and anything! for a prolonged period until the disease has subsided, one way or another.

So at best this forced shut down of the economy can limit infection and prolong it. That is the argument.

The economical costs are going to be enormous though, and the societal implications colossal.

A modern economy is like a living thing. You can't just switch it off, and then expect it to catch a life like before, when you want to switch it on again.

Many people warned about a situation like this. They were laughed at and called conspiracy theorists, yet those that took it seriously have plans in place and buffers built in, that will help in a case like this.

There has also been warnings about why this is happening, and what we can expect might happen in the longer run.
Maybe it would be time to look critically at what is going on?:o

And for the disease itself.
It is a flue of sorts, that can progress and develop into pneumonia after about a weak, but that normally will only happen if there are underlying conditions!.
Of these underlying conditions we know age, chronic disease and/or a compromised immune system is contributing factors. But it appears that compromised lung function is an additional major problem. There are theories why especially Italians in the north are so badly affected, and age and air pollution seem to be major factors. Add to that that many Italians also smoke, and that men smoke more than women. That fits with a lot ofwhat has been seen.

There are Russian experts that stress that the best you can do is rinse your throat and nose with saline solution and/or using a nebulizer. It is stressed that people should do this thoroughly until a clear and unobstructed air passage is achieved. And this is advise anyone can do!

Copied from the translation of the Russian text:
A: Are you asking for some simple recommendations? First of all, take a good care for the nasal mucosa and oropharyngeal area.

Q: To wash it with saltwater?

A: Yes, wash it thoroughly. But “lors” – non-prescription medications and sinus cleaners to stop running nose and for an effective lavage. That is, the feeling of free unobstructed breath should come after all. The second thing is the oropharyngeal area behind the uvula. And there, too, you need to make a good lavage of the oropharyngeal region.

Q: So you don’t just have to squirt it up your nose, you have to gargle it deep down your throat?

A: Yes, and rinse it out. And don’t be lazy. Do do it until you get a feeling of clean, good airways. Of all the ways, this is the most effective. I would advise those people who can afford to buy a nebulizer or…

Q: Do you mean, it’s aerosol, right? With ultrasound?

A: Yes. And it allows the hygiene of the upper respiratory tract to be brought to a good state. When a cough starts, it is desirable to still apply the medications that we prescribe for patients with bronchial asthma. This is either Berodual, or Ventolin, or Salbutamol. Because these drugs improve mucociliary clearance, relieve spasm.

If anyone wants to check the advice, here is a link:
https://thesaker.is/how-to-treat-cor...tion-covid-19/

I would throw my tobacco and or Vaper in the trash can, and use this enforced period to wean mysel off these stupidities!;)

And then don't panic, that is never going to help. Plan, act and help with whatever you can. A calm head in a crisis is the best help anyone can get.

Rudyard Kipling springs to mind!

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run—
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

And there’s the idiotic people who could possibly kill many with their selfishness

Yes the right way, explains it all:
 

Yes the right way, explains it all:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgBla7RepXU&t=14s