@Superficial, thanks, good post.
However, the unwritten thing is that a lot of NHS productivity is tied up in a lot of things that are important, but could get thrown out of the window in a real emergency.
What are the chances that there will be the flexibility to change the rules if that becomes necessary? In China, their system would just issue orders from the top and it would happen, but I'm not sure in the UK.
I personally don’t think a vaccine is likely to be available any time soon
How much of that is down to actually developing a vaccine, and how much is following the rules for testing it? Dynamic risk assessment across the whole risk is the way forward but I don't know if we have the culture to make it work.
How much of that is down to actually developing a vaccine, and how much is following the rules for testing it? Dynamic risk assessment across the whole risk is the way forward but I don’t know if we have the culture to make it work.
TBH given the economics of the common cold if there was an effective vaccine across corona virus mutations I think it would have been done by now?
There are some pretty effective anti-virals though but I think the risks from those is way higher than from COVID-19 ???
Some weapons grade tool in the office next to us has just returned from fortnight holiday in Italy. Has spent last couple of days feeling unwell and only deemed to say something to boss this morning, having been in the building, toilets, cafe, meeting room etc…
Utter tool.
This is why we are screwed. The utter stupidity of a significant proportion of the population. People not wanting to compromise their; holiday, concert, commute in the vain hope / indifference / delusion that they are somehow different from the thousands already carrying / ill / spreading. I've got 3 x tickets for the Stereophonics at the Hydro in Glasgow tonight. Told the wife and daughter a few days ago that we're not going.
The Govt allowing the Cheltenham Festival and other mass attendance stadia based events to continue is utter, utter madness. Regardless of how mild the symptoms may be in a young / fit / healthy majority, continued social interaction will pass the virus through them to the elderly and immunocompromised, causing untold misery and death. We truly are led by donkeys but hey; 'the economy' Rsoles.
How much of that is down to actually developing a vaccine, and how much is following the rules for testing it?
If I recall, le trump asked the same question in that video the other week and was told they have a history of making things worse so reducing testing would be bad.
See here for a better answer than my imagination: (amp link skips the sign in)
We truly are led
There's your issue. Don't be led by anyone, make your own choice.
Some weapons grade tool in the office next to us has just returned from fortnight holiday in Italy. Has spent last couple of days feeling unwell and only deemed to say something to boss this morning, having been in the building, toilets, cafe, meeting room etc…
Utter tool.
In your circumstances I can understand why you're raging about it.
A mate works for one of the big media agencies in that there London. They’ve put everything in place and this Friday they’re trialing everyone in the business, throughout the country, working from home. Offices not even open.
Anyone else hear of similar? Seems like a sensible idea if you’re the kind of business that can do it (ie: not making cars)
We've got contingency plans in place for us but it's pretty easy. We've all got Company provided Latops, VOIP phones and we're in IT support so if we can't do it...
A few clients are very focused on it now, buying laptops and other portable devices for staff etc.
My advice if anyone owns / manages a small business, get your plan in place NOW, don't wait until half your staff are self-isolating or they put down a 2 week curfew and then expect IT to have everything in place, it's neither quick or easy (or dare I say cheap).
I still get eejits on linkedin inviting me to pointless presentations and conferences, I take great delight in telling them to cancel. Govt needs to be a lot more forceful in cutting down on non-essential gathering like the Cheltenham fest, because open air events like that with portaloos etc are going to be a breeding ground. I'd lay a tenner on Glasto being cancelled.
As others have pointed out, the office based workers are in a better position to work remotely but everyone who isn't deskbound is stuck with the effect of other people's responsibility (as per MattOABs daft colleague)
In January we booked the trip to visit family in Sicily at easter. Gah. Even if the flight isn't cancelled I'm thinking it's going to be risky going even though there's no reported mass outbreak on Sicily... sensible suggestions welcome
Any front line NHS workers care to comment on just how. Much better the NHS would be able to help hundreds of extra sick people in I. C wards or high dependency units in the summer
I'm not, but my Wife is.
I don't know about ICU / High Dependency units, although a friend of my Wife does work in one and it's not like they're sitting around half empty just waiting for a pandemic to arrive, it's a considered a pretty tough gig in Nursing. Of course to get to one you'll need to go via A&E usually, they're already stretched and people with serious heart problems are spending a night or more on a trolley waiting for a normal bed, let alone ICU.
There's some flex in the system, my Wife for example will soon be likely told to cancel some or all of her wound clinics and residential visits to be redeployed to screen people for Coronavirus at home, she REALLY doesn't want to, 2 kids at home and a poorly Dad in Hospital already with a heart problem she doesn't want to catch it, but as much as she's saying she won't do it, I know she will, she'll moan every minute but she'll do it.
In my not very knowledgeable opinion, when the outbreak comes hundreds will die of Coronavirus, but lots more will die of other things, because it'll be harder to provide the right care. Triage is going to be brutally tough.
While we’re all gloating over Ms Dorries infection spare a thought for her mother of 84 who is in the same house and is probably not in a happy place right now.
Wishing this upon anyone is not classy.
Its a tough call between "have i got the virus, should i tell someone" and "lets just crack on" i suspect that lots will do the latter despite needing care.
I also expect there will be a lot of folk "putting it on" at the moment for a day off.
this Friday they’re trialing everyone in the business, throughout the country, working from home. Offices not even open.
Anyone else hear of similar?
we did that last Friday
Yeah, I made a right brag about on here yesterday... we’re WFH until further notice...
But as someone mentioned, there are still techs in the sites still there to support if necessary.
A few mates who work for other large Tech Companies are still going into the office as I type...
What will happen to all those who work for the civil service? Doubt they’ll be allowed to WFH and given laptops..
Sharing the good news: Petrols come down in price 👍😍👍
Anyone else hear of similar?
We've made arrangements for everyone to work from home at no notice, if requested.
Very few of our civil service department have the ability to work from home. Such nonsense was stopped 3-4 years ago as the "best" way forward is clearly to centralise everyone into fewer bigger regional centres.
"This is why we are screwed"
Totally right. We are such a selfish bunch of twunts as a nation (hello Brexit?) that rather than self-isolate we'll self justify instead.
Picking my up my daughter from ballet on saturday in a small crowded cloakroom and one of the mums was coughing away telling her friend that not only had she been to Italy skiing all half term but that she had also been to Rome the weekend before on a mini break!!!!! The other mum literally jokingly said oooh perhaps you'd better self isolate and they both burst out laughing with one saying but that would stop me going to see Mamma Mia tomorrow and they laughed again. I asked why she was coughing and she looked at me with a pitying smile and said she 'just had a cough' It was probably the nearest I've come to murder in a while.
TBH given the economics of the common cold if there was an effective vaccine across corona virus mutations I think it would have been done by now?
Aren't virus mutations common?
There are some pretty effective anti-virals though but I think the risks from those is way higher than from COVID-19 ???
Are anti-virals targeting specific virus only or blanket cover all viruses?
midlifecrashes
Member
Over in USA, MIT and other universities clearing out undergraduates, telling them to leave by Tuesday and not expect to be back until Autumn term. Switching all classes to online.Wonder if/when UK follows, I have a kid at Imperial with two European field trips booked.
I work at Imperial, seem to be planning well and working from home support for for staff who need to self-isolate, not heard about anything on the student side though no cases yet.
83 more today, the previosu highest daily increase was 65 on the 8th. Looking at the total numbers its going up by a 1/4 to 1/3 every day. Whats a critical number when behviour needs to change?
Was in our office on Monday for a couple of hours. Quite a few people doing the usual office thing of righting the world. Quite a few said 'it's just a bloody cold, all this fuss over nothing'.
That attitude really is about to bite us on the arse badly. Official UK cases now up to 456, an increase of 83 in a single day.
More than that it would seem
83 more today, the previosu highest daily increase was 65 on the 8th. Looking at the total numbers its going up by a 1/4 to 1/3 every day. Whats a critical number when behviour needs to change?
Going by what has happened in other countries, I'd say in a couple of days we will be well passed 1000 cases, increasing exponentially.
In purely unemotional terms it is just a numbers game unless you go drastic and draconian very early doors.
We are bang on trend to be in exactly the same place Italy is in now in 9-14 days.
Quite why we should think any differently is beyond me.
With a two week incubation period this was always going to be difficult and (more importantly) onerous to contain.
Which forumite is it that owns a nuclear bunker again?
Hello @mudshark - Imperial too. We're just gearing up for WFH. Working out logistics for those that need to still come in.
TBH given the economics of the common cold if there was an effective vaccine across corona virus mutations I think it would have been done by now?
Aren’t virus mutations common?
Yes, hence why there is a new flu vaccine each year ... though I'm most definitely not an expert my laymans understanding is some families mutations are more different from our auto immune recognising the variant than others....
There are some pretty effective anti-virals though but I think the risks from those is way higher than from COVID-19 ???
Are anti-virals targeting specific virus only or blanket cover all viruses?
I was referring to the generic anti-virals... the stuff gets put into a work travel kit with "DO NOT USE UNLESS " in huge red letters when you travel to Areas with Ebola etc. We were always told it was an absolute last ditch thing.
I once nearly got forced into a bubonic plague vaccine decades ago due to a political, cross border dispute between Libya and Tunisia where one or the other was claiming an outbreak of plague in the other. Apparently that's a really dodgy vaccine as well but in the end the trip was rescheduled.
@dannyh I'm not convinced Italy is going to be the model for this, all the data suggests Italy are in a special place all of their own. Especially if we consider mortality.
The annoying this is that we are not prepared to go to war with the virus like they did in South Korea.
Where is our government promising 25 Billion to tackle it head on.
I will be interested what happens in countries 'under control' when they start relaxing bans and restrictions. That will be the time for real vigilance.
Matt
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Given where we are on the curve, expect things to be locked down in a few weeks.
Currently 13 days behind Italy, who have just banned public gatherings.
Balance for the government between being too cautious and the public not listening vs leaving it too late.
Going by what has happened in other countries, I’d say in a couple of days we will be well passed 1000 cases, increasing exponentially.
Especially as now we're finally increasing the number of tests we conduct each day:
- so far 27,476 people have been tested
- new tests up to 10,000 per day
We’re planning on effectively closing the office for a fortnight starting Monday, before reassessing matters at the end of this period. Thankfully, most staff are already set up for home working.
I’ve told my own team to begin working from home from tomorrow unless they’ve good reason to be present in the office.
We usually don’t permit home working for anyone responsible for childcare, but planning to waive this in the event that they close schools.
Feel very lucky that we’re able to do this and recognise that such steps aren’t practical for many.
I think the most concerning information thus far is that it is reportedly communicable during the incubation period, i.e. prior to the onset of symptoms. Was also concerned to hear that high blood pressure is likely to interact badly with it. Not worried for myself, or my own family, but parents and siblings are all falling into one risk category or another.
Interesting times.
Was in our office on Monday for a couple of hours. Quite a few people doing the usual office thing of righting the world. Quite a few said ‘it’s just a bloody cold, all this fuss over nothing’.
They might not be showing concerns but it is other people with weak immune system that might be affected if they are carriers.
At my office there are few of my older colleagues that have some underlying illness before and still recovering so they are the ones that is a great concern.
Sharing the good news: Petrols come down in price 👍😍👍
- may be short lived based on some of the conversations I've had today.
– may be short lived based on some of the conversations I’ve had today.
Ohh stockpile petrol...
Hmmm.... if I soak lots of sponges that’ll hold a few litres 😂
It'll come in handy for the bog roll riots due to start next week
Are all these people working from home going to keep there little spreaders, I mean kids, off school?
I hear you can make a workable petrol substitute by watering down alcohol hand sanitiser...
Thanks to mudshark and RichBowman for the Imperial update.
Hmmm…. if I soak lots of sponges that’ll hold a few litres 😂
Sounds fun.
Many of us are ready to work from home (University) and are now instructed to take laptops home each night - doesn't help when you forget to bring it back the next day !
Some NHS advice has been worrying a colleague. Her husband went skiing on Saturday in Italy, on arrival was told no skiing and your going home. Arrived back today and he is self isolating. NHS has advised she should carry on as normal going to work unless she get's symptoms - she's somewhat concerned it will be too late by then.
FYI if anyone is thinking about buying a Laptop or works for someone who is considering buying laptops or mobile devices to work from home, it might be worth doing it now.
Prices are pretty fluid with our channel supplier, they change daily with little rhyme or reason but they're up about 10% from 2 weeks ago, but that's not the headline really. All the good value / cheap stuff is gone. What's left is the older 7th Gen Intel stuff with the less than perfect 128GB SSDs or higher end stuff that's lovely to have, but not if you need to buy a couple of dozen that you may or may not use, or indeed just use for a short period of time.
There's a reasonably long lag from supplies coming from China as it mostly comes by sea so new stock is still arriving, but it's expected to be catching up with the disruption soon.
It's probably not affecting the consumer side at the moment, I doubt anyone is panic buying Acer laptops, and you can upgrade a Home PC to Pro pretty easily, but it's £100 per device.
Travelled through Euston quarter of an hour ago, place was comparatively ghost-like! This is the last of my perambulations for now, no word on WFH for me just yet (although I can, to a degree), although the company's getting well stuck into ensuring there's plenty of kit and access for the folks that matter.
Train is properly deserted, maybe six people in a carriage that would normally not have a seat free.
The Goverement has had a comprehensive plan in place to deal with a pandemic flu outbreak for ten years, background here.
Here is the preparedness plan which helps explain why the govermnment is doing what it is doing
And here are a number of papers which were used to help determine the best approach.
no, that would interfere with riding my bike!
Fair point
A department at work (not near me, I'm remote anyway) has a suspected case and the whole team's now WFH. Not a huge deal for us as we do it a lot anyway. Probably only 20-30 people in a large site though.
http://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-outbreak-declared-pandemic-by-who-11955521
can we panic buy now?
