I think all schools are doing the same, with fee-paying schools trying hard to work even harder to differentiate themselves. I’m lucky in that we were scheduled anyway to have broken up by now, but when we go back on Easter Tuesday I’m not expecting to be working any less hard than normal. Things may play out differently; one thing I think we should all learn from this is that ‘if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans’.
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Yep - & as at yesterday’s stats, we were still mirroring the number of deaths from Italy (last 2 days = 77+56) = 233 total, but still 2 weeks behind…
The whole point of the government’s response to Covid19 is to flatten the curve and lengthen the duration of the pandemic. The same amount of people will get infected and 80% will need to catch it to get heard immunity. That will also mean that sadly it could mean 500.000 deaths in the UK.
Where that leaves the RAFAC I don’t know but the was things are going i personally can not see schools being fully open before September and the corps will follow what the schools are doing and the government’s response to covid 19
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There’s been some talk of a rolling tightening and loosening of social distancing measures to try and spread the epidemic out in the UK. Over a period of 12 months you’d see alternating tighter and looser restrictions - whether that means schools and community groups could open during the looser periods I don’t know. I think it’s important we acknowledge there won’t be any quick solution to this problem though.
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My understanding from talking to people inside the NHS is that they are predicting about 18 months of struggling in one form or another. Not at the same rate they are now and some of that is financially recovering afterwards etc.
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We need to worry about NOW first - look at the morons packing Snowdonia for example!
It very clear that voluntary social distancing isn’t working - make it very simple. Enforce it / close down all but essential food shops, etc. People should read all the stories from people in Italy who, in hindsight, wished they hadn’t gone out / let their kids out 2 weeks ago.
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Yeah I fully agree - just saying we shouldn’t expect a quick fix.
I’ve never known the UK to be compared so much to Italy. In the UK compared to Italy we culturally distance ourselves socially any way. We do not habitually kiss or hug random people when we meet them, we use verbal greetings or maybe in a more formal setting a handshake. Also our demographics are different, much older population and a lot more smoking it might mean the Italians are probably more susceptible will need to restock with children, to make up for all the old people dying. I am finding it odd and coincidental that since it was suggested we are 2 weeks behind Italy, the death figures especially seem to mimicking Italy’s figures of a fortnight previous. Why aren’t we comparing ourselves with Germany, Denmark or Benelux? Why Italy? Is the number of deaths there a convenient hook to hang the reason for actions on, now that the 2 week delay is firmly set in the minds of the populace to feed the hysteria? TBH they could put any number up for the confirmed cases and deaths and we wouldn’t have a scooby.
Want to stop this, stop 24 hr news (restrict it to 15 mins at 6am, midday, 6pm and midnight) and take all SM down, these have been spreading fear and panic disproportionately. Odd photos on SM (which seem to make the papers) of random things, like queues, no bog rolls, no pasta, no baked beans in random shops and places, which then gives the small-minded the idea they have to go and buy as much as possible where they live, because they may never see the item again.
Watch a news program in the last week or so and it repeats the same old same old every couple of minutes with comments and analysis from “correspondents” stood outside buildings and “experts”, being asked the same banal questions, to fill up the time. I think Boris should stop the briefings and just do it as a broadcast and not Q&A with the usual suspects asking the same questions in a different way. They can make up their own minds like they will do anyway. I think they should also take Jeremy Vine off the radio, just because he’s Jeremy Vine and a patronising idiot and nothing like his brother. Have his brother do his radio program during this nonsense chucking in a few one liners and it would be much better to listen to.
My dad is 94 and is pretty certain that during WW2 people doing these things would have been arrested, as it’s spreading disquiet. Maybe make an example of some the twitbookapp types to get the message out there that they shouldn’t do it.
Frankly I’ll be at work tomorrow and will continue to do so, unless I get this bug.
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Really?
I agree. Social media and hysteria in the news is making this all worse. Time to cut the crap people.
Just flood the TV and Radio with reminders about distancing, not going out etc, give people no means to escape the right messages.
As for the Socials and the frankly utter tripe that is being posted on there, that is really annoying me.
I wonder if I post on Facebook that I have a friend on the ISS who knows that there is an alien invasion fleet coming to destroy us but NASA wont publish the news, will this be believed by the masses on Facebook?
This news clip (Sky News - Italy) should be mandatory viewing - on the news / social media. There are many people now in ICU who are under 40 - this is no longer “an elderly generation” risk - it’s your brother / sister / cousin, whoever. Only 48 more deaths today in UK. And don’t expect anyone to be able to turn up to a funeral, even if it’s yours…
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People will just be given a box of Ash if this goes the way it’s looking.
UK funeral tomorrow (via a friend’s information) - the church is closed, it is being broadcast via Skype for anyone who wanted to attend.
With Mother’s Day today, & casting my mind back to my ma’s funeral in January, I would be heart-broken at not being able to attend. That said, if her heart hadn’t decided to fail, she had enough food in an indoor chest freezer to feed half her street for 6 months!! 
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It’s mental, isn’t it?
I have a colleague (normally a sensible, educated man) who was showing me pictures of military vehicles on the move*, which apparently “proves” that the country will be imminently locked down, and martial law will be declared. He couldn’t be convinced otherwise. 
*The same ones doing the rounds on facebook wagons parked on the side of the road (looks like it’s Germany, and dash cam Footage of armour on a low loader, with the in car temp showing 17°), so both blatantly rubbish.
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Off topic, but sorry to hear that, mate.
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Ex Cold Warrior or similar - been on the cards from months, so yes, larger than normal military convoys going up /down some major routes.
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Hang on…
“Flatten the curve and lengthen the pandemic”
What?
A lot of people are going to get infected whatever plan is put in place - the government want to “flatten the curve” by spreading out the number of infections over a longer period of time. This lessens the strain on the NHS but means the pandemic may last longer.
All of this is a horrendous balancing act for the people in charge - people are going to die, all they can do is to try and reduce the numbers.
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I had a friend who was saying the same kind of thing, convinced that the Army would be on every street tomorrow.
I asked him how big he thought the Army was. His answer?
“At least a million people” 
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No. I am more than well aware of that. See my posts above.
It came across as some political dig, as if it was somewhere saying the government was delaying or dragging it out for whatever political gain. I could have read it wrong though.
And again military convoy pictures doing the rounds are scaremongering as its returning troops and equipment from various exercises cancelled.