Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[chrismpw]

I've heard instances of some companies offering to pay for work stations (e.g. tables, chairs, monitors etc) but not sure on the policy of claiming back electric / heating. Have a mate who's company upgraded everyone's WiFi for them which is pretty decent.

My workload is drying up though at the moment, wouldn't be surprised if I was stuck on furlough by the end of this month.

In all honesty I'm letting it slide because its temporary and these are times where we shouldn't focus on the trivial - but if companies started doing this long term after the event....

 

[mahermi1]

The path we were going down was dictated by the CMO and the CSA. The plans were approved by the government and enacted by the Civil Service. Additional scientific advice caused a change in the agreed approach. The new approach was approved by government and is being enacted by the Civil Service and the rest of the state....and that’s it....I’m sorry it doesn’t fit your political agenda, but there we are.....

No offence mate, but if he has a political agenda, don't you have one as well, BluePete ?

 

[Paris]

It must be serious

 

[peteblue]

No offence mate, but if he has a political agenda, don't you have one as well, BluePete ?

I do. But in respect of this virus we are in the hands of the Medics and Scientists.....

 

[ChesterBlue]

Wasn’t that what Trump originally said himself though? Both the UK and US governments have dropped the ball big time in my opinion

 

[mahermi1]

I do. But in respect of this virus we are in the hands of the Medics and Scientists.....

At least your honest.

 

[Paris]

The lack of testing for NHS and other front line staff is really grinding my gears.

 

[tsubaki]

It must be serious

saw her outside Colbert in Sloane Square once, absolutely stunning

 

[summerisle]

Instead of obfuscating, just tell us the unvarnished truth for a change.

 

[Baines' left foot]

You not WFH mate? Thankfully I haven't had to hop on the tube since mid-March as i'm able to do it all on my own doorstep.

This virus could change the way work is done moving forwards. Companies will see they can save dollar by not having fixed offices with work still getting done.

I’m a construction site manager so there’s not much I can do from home. I don’t even have a work laptop. To complicate matters further I’m also off ill and have been for the last 2 and a half weeks with intense tinnitus/ear issues so I’m going to speak with my HR department about sick pay. So far in London I’ve been unable to see a doctor and have just had telephone appointments. The doctor thinks it’s just a simple ‘plumbing issue’ but after 2 and a half weeks it hasn’t let up much at all and so if they put me on statutory sick pay then I’ll have to give up my rented accommodation and move back in with my parents, which is far from ideal at present.

I’m at the mercy of my companies sick pay policy which states ‘it’s at the discretion of the director’ which is vague to say the least. How they deal with that will dictate what happens next. I’ve been with them for 4 years so you’d hope they’ll help me out, but I’m not convinced they will.

I’m hoping they put me on furlough so it buys me some time with this illness.

 

[Sentinel]

At least your honest.

That's what we are all hoping for mate. That they've got it right. We're all concerned about our loved ones. The trust in parts of the medical establishment has been seriously undermined. We looked to them to be the vanguard. And I'm not talking about the heroes on the front line who are dealing with this.

I'm talking about the folks who nod and steer policy. Who basically turned around and played a deaf ear.

They've got a lot to answer for. It's becoming increasingly evident, if they had actually bothered to check, that faced with a pandemic very few of them had the cojones to tell politicians hard realities.

Covid-19 risk was deemed moderate by scientists

Coronavirus was judged a “moderate risk” to Britain by the government’s scientific advisers five weeks ago as cases began to surge in Italy, The Times has learnt.Scientists on a government committee, including the key pandemic modeller Neil Ferguson, met on February 21 and discussed the Covid-1

www.thetimes.co.uk

 

[peteblue]

This is why I don't think you can separate the political aspect of this from the overall situation.

Why the UK failed to get coronavirus testing up to speed | Paul Hunter

Pursuing a controversial herd immunity strategy put the government on the back foot, says academic Paul Hunter

www.theguardian.com

The government’s initial controversial policy of mitigation focused on the elderly and vulnerable, and mass testing was a secondary concern. At the point the government shifted its strategy to suppressing the virus and decided to roll out testing, it was already playing catchup. The government had made no preparations to increase the supply of testing kits or expand laboratory capacity – and the UK found itself at the back of the line in a global queue for tests.

The above happened. It was a political choice made by the Conservatives. It was a shocking decision that was rightly called out far and wide.

The lack of testing and the development of the virus in this country is a direct consequence of what Dominic Cummings did - and by proxy, what Boris Johnson allowed him to do. It's extremely important to highlight this, just as it is to keep a laser focus of blame on China for starting all of this.

I have no political bias on this - I have no political home in the UK given Corbyn and Johnson are two sides of the same awful coin as far as I'm concerned. No, I simply recognise the importance of holding people in power to account for their actions.

Well we all make mistakes.....

The media. And by extension the population.

The WHO just operate on an abundance of caution like they should, as they did with SARS and Zika. Its not a reflection on the potency of the epidemic.

This is just a cold that's been hyped up by the media to draw hysteria and thus interest in their channels.

It's a cold though, not malaria.

 

[ForeverBlue92]

And

Last week the WHO's Dr Maria Van Kerkhove said there had been "quite a few" reports about people in the early stages of disease maybe losing sense of smell or taste.

But she added: "this is something that we need to look in to, to really capture to see whether this is one of the signs of Covid-19".

Lead researcher Professor Tim Spector from King's College, said: "When combined with other symptoms, people with loss of smell and taste appear to be three times more likely to have contracted Covid-19 according to our data.


I don't really give a toss about games and sets to be honest. If you want to feel like your winning an argument on the internet, go right ahead.

It's not helpful to say that the main symptom of this is a loss of smell and taste. How many people die because of that?

Is it a clue/indicator? Sure it may well be. Is it the main symptom? Hell no

Alright lad calm down

 

[peteblue]

The lack of testing for NHS and other front line staff is really grinding my gears.

Someone in PHE is going to get their arse kicked........

 

[KaiserEFC]

The lack of testing for NHS and other front line staff is really grinding my gears.

It would be good for knowing when you can go back to work and not still be infectious, I agree