Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[Neiler]

How are those governments able to afford to do that for so long?

The EU.

 

[Hickson9]

How are those governments able to afford to do that for so long?

The EU is issuing bonds and then loaning the money to individual states.

 

[YoboCopter]

Nations extending their furlough schemes

France
Germany
...for the next 24 months
Italy
Spain
...into 2021



"....but, but, but it cant be done Dave. Impossible."

Why would anyone want to be furlough’d anymore out of choice?

 

[Disgruntledgoat]

Why would anyone want to be furlough’d anymore out of choice?

Maybe you don't want to out of choice. But if your employer can't sell their goods or services effectively to the point that thryd be making a loss on fixed costs and wages and therefore have to lay people off...

 

[Bruce Wayne]

How wearing face masks can affect social distancing

A study by behavioural scientists at Warwick Business school found wearing face masks can adversley affect attitudes towards social distancing.

www.wbs.ac.uk

 

[Billy Dean]

Nations extending their furlough schemes

France
Germany
...for the next 24 months
Italy
Spain
...into 2021



"....but, but, but it cant be done Dave. Impossible."

It's ok for those Marxist states to do it, Dave. But not a centre-left economy like the UK.

 

[ToffeeTim]

How wearing face masks can affect social distancing

A study by behavioural scientists at Warwick Business school found wearing face masks can adversley affect attitudes towards social distancing.

www.wbs.ac.uk

I'm not really surprised by that

I can only speak from my own experience, but around the start of the pandemic, I noticed people wearing masks who acted like distancing did not apply to them in the shops. It was only a few people, but the vast majority were taking the advice seriously at that time so it was pretty noticeable.

 

[zzr45]

It's ok for those Marxist states to do it, Dave. But not a centre-left economy like the UK.

What Dave fails to mention is that the onus is now falling more on the employer to fund
employees, the schemes are nowhere near the level they were at the start.

The governor of the Bank of England’s comments about ‘zombie jobs’ probably explains why we’re pulling away from it. Essentially funding people to sit in jobs that might never be needed again. Surely far better to encourage people to move into lines of work that are more future proof than essentially kick the can down the line.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

What Dave fails to mention is that the onus is now falling more on the employer to fund
employees, the schemes are nowhere near the level they were at the start.

The governor of the Bank of England’s comments about ‘zombie jobs’ probably explains why we’re pulling away from it. Essentially funding people to sit in jobs that might never be needed again. Surely far better to encourage people to move into lines of work that are more future proof than essentially kick the can down the line.

You could argue that the low levels of interest rates we've had since 2008 has led to a huge number of 'zombie firms', which have played a major part in the chronically low productivity levels. There are an awful lot of 'lame ducks' being kept alive by an infusion of cheap credit.

 

[davek]

Hard to know, so much research is being done on immunity, the current thinking is there is some months of immunity and antibodies before they waine. But then hypothetically there could be a T-cell response here which led to or helped to a second milder version.

Or the the second case may have been a different maybe mutated strain, sounds like it was picked up in a different country if it was diagnosed at the airport, while the original case may have been in Hong Kong, if it has and continues to mutate it will be in the population as common as the flu from now on, in whatever form.

More will likely come out about this. If accurate, it blows a few approaches out of the water like Herd immunity and the Swedish way.

If this is the "first case" of reinfection (more likely a matter of the original infection laying dormant) then it suggests, given that some people have had this since December last year, that antibodies produced gives a lot longer than 'a few months' immunity.

The evidence does appear to be mounting that we'll see different strains of this virus; less deadly but more infectious in some cases. The autumn/winter flu period will complicate matters though.

Just a layman interpreting recent developments.

 

[davek]

What Dave fails to mention is that the onus is now falling more on the employer to fund
employees, the schemes are nowhere near the level they were at the start.

The governor of the Bank of England’s comments about ‘zombie jobs’ probably explains why we’re pulling away from it. Essentially funding people to sit in jobs that might never be needed again. Surely far better to encourage people to move into lines of work that are more future proof than essentially kick the can down the line.

I didn't fail to mention that though did I? I mentioned many times that employers needed to take more of the weight of furloughing workers.

 

[davek]

How are those governments able to afford to do that for so long?

Their governments make a conscious decision to step in and elevate the health of the nation over and above their economies.

They'll borrow on the international markets, they'll use state investment banks, tax breaks for businesses.

These are ideological decisions. The UK Government now stands alone out of all major western European nations in declaring an end to furloughing workers.

 

[roydo]

Ussain Bolt tested postive.

They are T and T ing everyone at his 34th birthday party, including Raheem Sterling.

 

[zzr45]

I didn't fail to mention that though did I? I mentioned many times that employers needed to take more of the weight of furloughing workers.

No Dave, the way you presented it was that those governments were continuing their current schemes at current levels. That clearly isn’t the case. The issue will be that employers will very quickly go bankrupt if they have nothing coming in, so Germany expanding the furlough but putting more onus on employers is great, until the employers themselves go bust. Who pays for these employees then?

You could argue that the low levels of interest rates we've had since 2008 has led to a huge number of 'zombie firms', which have played a major part in the chronically low productivity levels. There are an awful lot of 'lame ducks' being kept alive by an infusion of cheap credit.

It’s a very valid point. A lot of those types of firms have had a stay of execution for 6 months and staff paid for. A lot of them won’t be here next year.

 

[davek]

No Dave, the way you presented it was that those governments were continuing their current schemes at current levels. That clearly isn’t the case. The issue will be that employers will very quickly go bankrupt if they have nothing coming in, so Germany expanding the furlough but putting more onus on employers is great, until the employers themselves go bust. Who pays for these employees then?

It's clear that the Germans are going to delay structural change to the economy and take a hit in the short term in order to fund job retention. They do that because they can, they have the reserves (as does the UK) and they value the health and standard of life of their population.

The UK government will have to climb down on this October cut off point. They are out of step. If they dont, you will see mass unemployment and social disturbances. Somehow I dont think the Tories will want to see that.