Just been told that the schools in England are being shut from Friday Joe.

Except if a pupil has a parent who is a NHS worker or a police officer. Figure how that would work?

Yes Pete I've seen that news. They will have to have at least a couple of staff to care for those kids but in a way it makes sense as its not a good idea for a grandparent to take over the care.
Turns out children seem at less risk and talk is that it's due to thier recent measles jabs.

We have just lost,this morning ,a very good elderly friend in Holland due to the virus. His poor daughter is now struggling to drive to Holland from France to be with her elderly mother who was nursing him! It's not going to end well I'm afraid.

Pete! Stay safe and stay home mate.

"Draconian!
Let's hope the uk gets off lightly as from what I'm seeing from the uk public they are acting like its Christmas.

How about this. A good pal has the virus in Surrey. He has isolated himself for seven days. His wife works in a hospital and has carried on working and his son has carried on working. They all live together. He has in the last hour told me that it looks like he will looking after his grand children next week as the schools may shut!

What do you think of that?"

I am unsure what you mean, are you annoyed that the Schools are shutting now in the UK and that that your mate who is elderly is going to have to look after his own grandkids to help his own family? or you think the Schools should stay open with children passing the virus between each other and then to those in the home environment, orTeachers forced to work unable to self isolate to accommodate the nations child minding service?

Interesting how many occupations are now very much non essential with hordes of people self isolating at home on full pay pontificating from their ivory towers whilst many of the lowest paid and undervalued in our society are now essential expected to work on the front line police, NHS, teachers. cleaners, energy workers, and the poor sods in the gig economy not even classed as employees like delivery drivers, retail workers, hospital support staff, agency workers etc.

Every country I think in Europe has shut it's Schools including France the UK is now following that thinking. Who is looking after the kids in France Germany Italy etc? In the UK the Schools are remaining open for all vulnerable children and those of essential workers so your friend should be alleviated from his child minding duties from Monday. I am unsure how anyone can mitigate all eventualities in any case.

Christmas? perhaps in their selfish purchasing habits in the local stores as there is nothing left where I live.

Unsure why but after being in lockdown for 2 weeks in Italy their infection and death rate continues to climb rapidly.

Well, if the infection has up to two week incubation period, it might take up to two weeks before you’re even symptomatic. Then you need to get ill, then properly in trouble, then pass away and be reported. I can see that it can easily be two weeks or more before the effect of any action shows up in the death rate. If, in two more weeks, the death rate is still climbing, then there’s something wrong.

Firstly I'm not annoyed about anything. But I'm amazed that my pal that's got the virus intends to guard his grandchildren and his wife thinks it's been ok to continue working in a hospital during his first seven day isolation(not) and cooking and also sleeping in the same bed.
The schools off stuff is very complicated and I imagine a major headache for all the parents and teachers.

Poor Italy seem to have been at the brunt. But let's see. But isolation is the answer.

As for you're comment about the various dictator regimes in past in Europe. Really fella!

True but the incubation period appears to be circa 5 days and symptom develop just shy of 12 days.

Wow, could do with your expertise over here in France. Job done

Schools will be open - its just that they wont, generally, be open for pupils or teaching staff.

Unless I'm medically knocked out myself and isolated from school grounds, then I shall still be doing FM provision onsite - albeit with a now dynamically altering priority list !!

Our side street has started a Whatsapp group in which anyone needing, or offering, help can quickly post...I've a feeling this is not uncommon in small communities but for somewhere like Edinburgh where one often doesn't know one's neighbours it's very much Blitz-spirit.

Can't be bad - it seems to be part of the baggage at time of general danger.

https://www.wissenschaft.de/science...ensivbetten-in-europa-gesundheits-check/

Intensive care beds per 100,000 pop in each European country. Obviously for some people this is just more lies from the EU - "The UK being an Island nation that washes it hands more often and uses more soap needs fewer beds"

This crisis is going to bring many chickens home to roost but then perhaps only for those not so blind to see.

A 2012 graph...

Not sure where the 'for some people .. lies from the EU' comment comes from ??, but I would agree with the sentiment that the graph shows (I think).
The more people in this Country their are with selfish sloth mentality, using up medical resources for the binge drinking consequences and other selfish acts etc, the less money from the finite resource pot will be available for the individuals that are properly needy - and of course those numbers increasing daily.

THAT is the historical and acute crisis for the blind to see.........that will be morphing into the C-19 crisis.

Even later data shows a similar picture: https://data.oecd.org/healtheqt/hospital-beds.htm

The NHS does a lot with the resources at its disposal but other countries simply spend much more on health and should have more resources.

This is a joke right? No-one can be that stupid can they? (rhetorical question...I know how stupid people can be). Just very sad to read your words.

That's shocking.. My other half works for the NHS and has been instructed to move to a hotel if there is any risk of infection from home, paid for by the NHS

It's no joke and that's why a large part of the general public needs saving from themselves. Enforced sensible lockdown with enough give and take by the enforcement authority's to allow people to sensibly move about only when nessesary.

But like I mentioned before in my opinion the uk would have riots if a lockdown was enforced.

I observed at lunchtime today that you can't horde fish'n'chips... even working from home, the company buys lunch on thursdays!

Keep well everyone.
Hoping to bring out the coupe from hibernation imminently, so hopefully I can find an MoT station open for business in the coming weeks!

Blimey Mark you've been quiet - no water trouble down your manor I hope?

Better the measured response then, especially so given lockdown's in Italy and France is not giving the reductions as hoped. As for linked inner city issues the French for instance have their Parisian Banlieues (2005?) and the 'Banlieues' located around all of their major cities subject to endemic racism, poverty and inequality a powder keg of social discontent, interesting to see how the French have policed the 'gilets jaunes' protests and disorder a predominately white middle class reaction to government economic policy to that of the protest in the Banlieues' non white working class districts.

What I'm intrigued with is what techniques Germany is using to control it? Population of 82 million, 17300 cases but have 'only' 44 deaths. Is their screening / Covid19 surveillance more advanced than elsewhere?

I was hoping that my 4 year old daughter would be able to stay at school under the 'key worker' scheme as my partner is a hospital consultant doctor. Just had a call from the school and apparently both parents have to be key workers. She's part-time, but what that really means is she works an average of 6 days a week but gets paid for 4.

So basically we have a choice to make. I either give up my job or my partner gives up hers. I suspect a lot of people are in the same boat.

One on hand you've got people looking out for and helping others - such as people doing shopping for elderly neighbours, some shops giving away hand sanitizers for free, etc.

And then on the other hand you've got people only looking out for and helping themselves - such as panic shoppers causing chaos for others, people buying loads of high demand products and then selling them online at several times their original price, etc.

If you conduct yourself as a good person during the good times when you yourself are comfortable, it may be because of character, convenience or custom. But if you conduct yourself as a good person during the bad times when you yourself are uncomfortable, then that most certainly is because of character.

What I'm saying is, bad times reveal the true nature of people.

Dan the School is incorrect one parent has to be classed as a key worker.

We were wondering that too

I think it is good luck so far. The Germans are only testing really likely cases but the authorities are worried that an explosion in the number of serious case is just around the corner. Requests to stay at home as much as possible is getting stronger with fines being imposed as of tomorrow for meeting in groups (more than 3 if not family). Restaurants may not seat guests anymore. Takeaways and home deliveries are still allowed. Most other shops are shut apart from food stores, chemists, petrol stations and "DIY" shops.

It's all getting ridiculous now Luckily, I'm a stockpiling hoarder anyway, so have enough to keep me going, but I'm glad I'm already like this as each time I've gone to the supermarket, anything I want to keep stocked up on hasn't been available

Anything that is still on the shelves is the more expensive version I've had to pay extra for organic carrots as the usual, cheaper one weren't available. Even the Kale had sold out (I need this for my Bearded Dragon)

Lidl are limiting jars of sauce, tins of things like tinned tomatoes,etc., to one per transaction! There's no milk, bread,eggs etc Maybe it's because I couldn't get there until 7pm tonight and stock was already low?

On a more positive note though, it's nice to now be considered a 'key worker' and not at risk of losing my job or any money!

Good luck to all and stay safe!

As of midnight last night, only Australian nationals or residents can come in, so yesterday we had an influx of foreigners coming in so they could holiday. Tasmania, being an island State, was toying with the idea of raising the drawbridge and stopping everyone except residents coming in, but Federal laws overrule State, so now anyone coming in must self isolate for 2 weeks, as of midnight last night. My wife is in a mental health clinic in Melbourne, they're stopping visitors as of Monday, so I can't go and see her, if I did I'd have to isolate for 2 weeks on my return.

On another note, we've had idiots fighting over toilet paper in supermarkets, in the US people are lining up to buy guns. Two culturally different responses to people shitting themselves.

Ahh, Mick, the advantages of having that big "Moat" around you.

On a sad note, the Annual Fiat Nationals planned for 2 weeks time has been cancelled, although there are still plans to hold the Sprint meet, being dubbed the " Peroni Vs Corona Challenge".

For the first time since inception, the 72nd Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race at Easter has been cancelled. I think the main concern is the gathering of people before the start and at the finish (after 308nm of racing). Sad, because this would have been my 40th race and I also miss out on the cruise home.

Waiting for new Aussie slang to be born in the next few months:-
Early guesses:-

Sanny - Hand Sanitiser
In Iso - Self Isolation/Lockdown
The Rona - self explanatory
Magpie – Supermarket hoarder

In a Sentence :-

Me boss tested pozzi for the rona so now I’m in iso. Popped down to Woolies for some sanni but it’s been bloody magpied.

Makes sense to me!

Ah, she'll be fine!