sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
Thank you! Good ole wayback machine! lol I am going to post in a couple of places with a hat tip to you.
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Discussion thread II - Covid-19 (new coronavirus)
- Thread starter Pathfinder
- Start date
gsgs
Registered User
what's an original language article ? As I understand it almost everyone here would be banned soon without further warning.
Is there some searchengine that lets me search only "allowed" content ?
Also pages without cookies and legalese ? The internet how it was in the good old times
google translated articles are OK ? what about translated English-German and back to English
some news-sources should be ok (?) USA-today or such
Can't copyright material be marked and deleted automatically
when I quote a scientist from a newspaper, his exact words belong to the newspaper ?
So, even he himself is not allowed to repeat it
Western countries are being very tight lipped. This is France and there are claims that the US is also keeping quiet on cases.
Loire: suspected new case of coronavirus
We also contacted the management of the CHU du Saint-Etienne, which was to communicate on the subject at the end of the day, before changing its mind on the orders of the ARS, which reports to the Ministry of Health. Contacted also, this ministry, which had already taken note of the article of Progress, regrets that such information could have leaked in the health services. " No communication will be made until there is a confirmed case " informs the ministry.
https://translate.googleusercontent...3.html&usg=ALkJrhhQdGEUiyi_F2_fpShrkzmx_RD0mA
Loire: suspected new case of coronavirus
We also contacted the management of the CHU du Saint-Etienne, which was to communicate on the subject at the end of the day, before changing its mind on the orders of the ARS, which reports to the Ministry of Health. Contacted also, this ministry, which had already taken note of the article of Progress, regrets that such information could have leaked in the health services. " No communication will be made until there is a confirmed case " informs the ministry.
https://translate.googleusercontent...3.html&usg=ALkJrhhQdGEUiyi_F2_fpShrkzmx_RD0mA
Avoid crowds over virus, Japan health minister warns AFPFebruary 16, 2020, 8:47 AM EST
Japan's health minister on Sunday urged the public to avoid crowds and "non-essential gatherings", including notoriously packed commuter trains, to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading in the country.
Katsunobu Kato warned the nation was "entering a new phase" in the outbreak of the virus, which has infected nearly 60 people in Japan so far.
https://news.yahoo.com/avoid-crowds-over-virus-japan-health-minister-warns-134748040.html
Japan's health minister on Sunday urged the public to avoid crowds and "non-essential gatherings", including notoriously packed commuter trains, to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading in the country.
Katsunobu Kato warned the nation was "entering a new phase" in the outbreak of the virus, which has infected nearly 60 people in Japan so far.
https://news.yahoo.com/avoid-crowds-over-virus-japan-health-minister-warns-134748040.html
Treyfish
Moderator
February 16, 2020 3:51 pm [h=1]Coronavirus quarantine relocating to Camp Roberts[/h] SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. - Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez announced that there will be a group of individuals returning to the United States from China who are exhibiting symptoms of the coronavirus...:tiphat:https://keyt.com/health/2020/02/16/coronavirus-quarantine-relocating-to-camp-roberts/
Treyfish
Moderator
[h=1]Autopsy on two COVID-19 patients finished in Wuhan[/h] Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-16 23:30:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan
WUHAN, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Autopsy on the bodies of two patients who died from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were finished Sunday in Wuhan and the autopsy results have been sent for further examination, a local hospital said.
The autopsy work on the first body was finished at around 3 a.m. and the second at 6:45 p.m. Sunday, according to Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, a major designated hospital to admit confirmed cases in Wuhan, as permitted by national laws and policies, and with the consent of the patients' family members...:tiphat:http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-02/16/c_138789322.htm
WUHAN, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Autopsy on the bodies of two patients who died from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were finished Sunday in Wuhan and the autopsy results have been sent for further examination, a local hospital said.
The autopsy work on the first body was finished at around 3 a.m. and the second at 6:45 p.m. Sunday, according to Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, a major designated hospital to admit confirmed cases in Wuhan, as permitted by national laws and policies, and with the consent of the patients' family members...:tiphat:http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-02/16/c_138789322.htm
sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
The word "will" now reads "may". "SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. - Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez announced that there may be a group of individuals returning to the United States from China who are exhibiting symptoms of the coronavirus."
kiwibird
Editor, Senior Moderator
https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/18239292.coronavirus-medics-protective-suits-spotted-cowley/
Tight lipped here too!
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public
The UK Government attitude of not even closing down schools, they already reopened the rest home that was visited by the Doctor with confirmed Coronavirus, (which houses perhaps the most vulnerable group of people), is so completely at odds with the unprecedented lengths China is going to in order to stop the spread that it just does not seem to add up! The NHS is often overwhelmed by ordinary waves of "ordinary" flu that it can't be that they feel they can cope with the spread because of their technological superiority! I just don't understand how they can be so fatalistic - unless they think that the social damage is more dangerous than the physical damage of an epidemic!???
Does anyone have a logical explanation?
kiwibird
Editor, Senior Moderator
Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Translation Google
CORONAVIRUSES
Social media users punished as Chinese regime tightens censorship on coronavirus epidemic
BY OLIVIA LI
February 17, 2020 Updated: February 17, 2020
The International Center for Cyberspace Law in China has posted on its website a list of social media users who were punished between January 22 and February 6 for "spreading rumors" on the internet about the appearance of the new coronavirus, now called COVID-19.
The table listed 167 cases, with dates, details of the "rumor" and the sanction for each. Some cases involved more than one social media user.
The table was preceded by a short statement: "Faced with a major public health crisis, it is necessary to control rumors on the Internet in good time. "
Counting infected patients is prohibited
The majority of "infractions" were notifications of confirmed or suspected cases in their city or neighborhood. Some included the number of deaths.
For example, a man from Baoding City, Hebei Province wrote on his blog, "I sincerely believe that the authorities have not disclosed the actual number of infected patients. I heard that in a village about 20 kilometers from ours, the number of confirmed cases was six on January 26. All were sent to the hospital for quarantine. But I have not seen any official reports including these six cases. "
He received five days of administrative detention for this message. Administrative detention means the arrest and detention of an individual without trial.
Another man from Anhui Province received six days of administrative detention and a fine of 500 yuan (66 euros) for revealing in his blog that "21 medical staff from the General Coal and Coal Hospital" North Anhui electricity workers have been infected with the mysterious viral pneumonia and have been quarantined for several days . ”
A person surnamed Chen in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province said in his message: "In Hebei Province, there have so far been 313 people infected with the virus and 26 people have died from it. " The police said that his statement was a rumor that had caused panic. Chen was detained for 10 days.
A social media user nicknamed Lu, in Guangxi province, was detained for 10 days after revealing in his message that a man recently returned from Wuhan died suddenly. The police insisted that although a man from a local village did indeed die, Lu's statement about the man returning from Wuhan was incorrect.
On January 27, a person nicknamed Wang in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region informed his friends on WeChat, "Be sure to explain to our loved ones that this disease is not as commonplace as the media has said. It is not a flu-like illness, it is a plague-like contagion. My cousin from Wuhan called me yesterday and told me that the real situation is much worse than what the media say. There are long queues in hospitals in Wuhan and there is a shortage of protective equipment for medical personnel. They are now treating patients with little or no protection. "
What Wang said was consistent with reports from foreign media, but local police determined that it was false information and placed Wang in detention.
Video publication denied
In several cases, individuals have been punished for videos they have posted on social media.
On February 5, several social media users in Chengdu shared a video showing many medical personnel gathering outside a high-rise building with a statement identifying the residential complex. Chengdu police issued a public notice criticizing them, listing their names, and claiming that the scene shown in the video did not take place in Chengdu.
Likewise, on February 3, in Yibin City, Sichuan Province, a man nicknamed Chen posted a video showing an ambulance and medical personnel actively working in his community. "You see, in the Sunshine community, two people are taken away," he says in the video.
Police said Chen did not know what was really going on, and that he had caused ill effects in the population by claiming that the patients he saw were sick from the new coronavirus. "According to official information from the local CDC, there have been no confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in our district so far," the police announcement said.
In two other cases, police ordered the authors of the videos posted to admit that their videos contained archive footage unrelated to the new coronavirus epidemic.
W. B. Yeats
@WBYeats1865
#China #Wuhan An allegedly diseased #WuhanCoronavirus patient was moved onto a van full of bodies.
- A woman was crying desperately in the background.
- Workers in hazmat suits tossed their used gloves into uncovered rubbish bins in the residential area.
Embedded video
240
12:21 PM - Feb 11, 2020
Twitter Ads info and privacy
267 people are talking about this
Internet policewoman says she works 20 hours a day
A small media group in Shandong Province praised an Internet policewoman who works 20 hours a day monitoring WeChat messages. "Guo Qiqi, a policewoman from the local police cyber surveillance center, was so busy during the Chinese New Year holidays that she kept her cell phone with her to do her work 24 hours a day," said an article in the January 28.
According to Ms. Guo, on January 22, the city's police department launched an emergency response plan. For seven consecutive days, four female officers worked as a team to monitor the web 24 hours a day.
“As soon as a problem is identified, we must resolve it within 30 minutes. The pressure is enormous. We cannot even have a meal with our families during the New Year. All of our time is spent reading WeChat messages, checking rumors and deleting messages, " said Ms. Guo.
When this article caught the attention of readers, they posted Agent Guo's story on various Chinese forums to condemn the Chinese regime's censorship . This news angered many residents.
"It is precisely because of these bastards that the virus is now spreading all over the world. "
"They are doing the most despicable work that harms everyone. "
“Internet police are an undercover figure of the Chinese Communist Party. They are unscrupulous. "
https://fr.theepochtimes.com/les-ut...censure-lepidemie-de-coronavirus-1249294.html
CORONAVIRUSES
Social media users punished as Chinese regime tightens censorship on coronavirus epidemic
BY OLIVIA LI
February 17, 2020 Updated: February 17, 2020
The International Center for Cyberspace Law in China has posted on its website a list of social media users who were punished between January 22 and February 6 for "spreading rumors" on the internet about the appearance of the new coronavirus, now called COVID-19.
The table listed 167 cases, with dates, details of the "rumor" and the sanction for each. Some cases involved more than one social media user.
The table was preceded by a short statement: "Faced with a major public health crisis, it is necessary to control rumors on the Internet in good time. "
Counting infected patients is prohibited
The majority of "infractions" were notifications of confirmed or suspected cases in their city or neighborhood. Some included the number of deaths.
For example, a man from Baoding City, Hebei Province wrote on his blog, "I sincerely believe that the authorities have not disclosed the actual number of infected patients. I heard that in a village about 20 kilometers from ours, the number of confirmed cases was six on January 26. All were sent to the hospital for quarantine. But I have not seen any official reports including these six cases. "
He received five days of administrative detention for this message. Administrative detention means the arrest and detention of an individual without trial.
Another man from Anhui Province received six days of administrative detention and a fine of 500 yuan (66 euros) for revealing in his blog that "21 medical staff from the General Coal and Coal Hospital" North Anhui electricity workers have been infected with the mysterious viral pneumonia and have been quarantined for several days . ”
A person surnamed Chen in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province said in his message: "In Hebei Province, there have so far been 313 people infected with the virus and 26 people have died from it. " The police said that his statement was a rumor that had caused panic. Chen was detained for 10 days.
A social media user nicknamed Lu, in Guangxi province, was detained for 10 days after revealing in his message that a man recently returned from Wuhan died suddenly. The police insisted that although a man from a local village did indeed die, Lu's statement about the man returning from Wuhan was incorrect.
On January 27, a person nicknamed Wang in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region informed his friends on WeChat, "Be sure to explain to our loved ones that this disease is not as commonplace as the media has said. It is not a flu-like illness, it is a plague-like contagion. My cousin from Wuhan called me yesterday and told me that the real situation is much worse than what the media say. There are long queues in hospitals in Wuhan and there is a shortage of protective equipment for medical personnel. They are now treating patients with little or no protection. "
What Wang said was consistent with reports from foreign media, but local police determined that it was false information and placed Wang in detention.
Video publication denied
In several cases, individuals have been punished for videos they have posted on social media.
On February 5, several social media users in Chengdu shared a video showing many medical personnel gathering outside a high-rise building with a statement identifying the residential complex. Chengdu police issued a public notice criticizing them, listing their names, and claiming that the scene shown in the video did not take place in Chengdu.
Likewise, on February 3, in Yibin City, Sichuan Province, a man nicknamed Chen posted a video showing an ambulance and medical personnel actively working in his community. "You see, in the Sunshine community, two people are taken away," he says in the video.
Police said Chen did not know what was really going on, and that he had caused ill effects in the population by claiming that the patients he saw were sick from the new coronavirus. "According to official information from the local CDC, there have been no confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in our district so far," the police announcement said.
In two other cases, police ordered the authors of the videos posted to admit that their videos contained archive footage unrelated to the new coronavirus epidemic.
W. B. Yeats
@WBYeats1865
#China #Wuhan An allegedly diseased #WuhanCoronavirus patient was moved onto a van full of bodies.
- A woman was crying desperately in the background.
- Workers in hazmat suits tossed their used gloves into uncovered rubbish bins in the residential area.
Embedded video
240
12:21 PM - Feb 11, 2020
Twitter Ads info and privacy
267 people are talking about this
Internet policewoman says she works 20 hours a day
A small media group in Shandong Province praised an Internet policewoman who works 20 hours a day monitoring WeChat messages. "Guo Qiqi, a policewoman from the local police cyber surveillance center, was so busy during the Chinese New Year holidays that she kept her cell phone with her to do her work 24 hours a day," said an article in the January 28.
According to Ms. Guo, on January 22, the city's police department launched an emergency response plan. For seven consecutive days, four female officers worked as a team to monitor the web 24 hours a day.
“As soon as a problem is identified, we must resolve it within 30 minutes. The pressure is enormous. We cannot even have a meal with our families during the New Year. All of our time is spent reading WeChat messages, checking rumors and deleting messages, " said Ms. Guo.
When this article caught the attention of readers, they posted Agent Guo's story on various Chinese forums to condemn the Chinese regime's censorship . This news angered many residents.
"It is precisely because of these bastards that the virus is now spreading all over the world. "
"They are doing the most despicable work that harms everyone. "
“Internet police are an undercover figure of the Chinese Communist Party. They are unscrupulous. "
https://fr.theepochtimes.com/les-ut...censure-lepidemie-de-coronavirus-1249294.html
Treyfish
Moderator
[h=1]Geneva international inventions fair postponed to September due to coronavirus[/h] The coronavirus epidemic has made a new collateral victim: the international exhibition of inventions in Geneva, which was to be held at the end of March, is postponed, we learned this Monday, February 17. Half of the exhibitors were to come from Asia and especially from China.
By Yann Gonon with AFP.Posted on 2/17/2020 at 5:20 pmThe Geneva invention fair will not take place at the end of March, as planned, in Geneva. The event is postponed to next September we learned this Monday, February 17. In question, the epidemic of coronavirus which rages in Asia.
The 48th international fair for inventions was to be held at Palexpo from March 25 to 29. It is therefore postponed from September 16 to 20, 2020 next...:tiphat:https://france3-regions.francetvinf...e-septembre-cause-du-coronavirus-1788801.html
By Yann Gonon with AFP.Posted on 2/17/2020 at 5:20 pmThe Geneva invention fair will not take place at the end of March, as planned, in Geneva. The event is postponed to next September we learned this Monday, February 17. In question, the epidemic of coronavirus which rages in Asia.
The 48th international fair for inventions was to be held at Palexpo from March 25 to 29. It is therefore postponed from September 16 to 20, 2020 next...:tiphat:https://france3-regions.francetvinf...e-septembre-cause-du-coronavirus-1788801.html
Treyfish
Moderator
[h=1]Couple Diagnosed With Coronavirus Flew on Delta and Hawaiian Airlines Planes, Companies Say[/h]
By Jack Phillips February 17, 2020
A couple who was diagnosed with coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, flew on two airliners earlier this month around Hawaii, according to statements from Hawaiian Airlines and Delta Airlines.
A husband and wife from Japan departed from Oahu later tested positive for the virus, KHON2 reported. Delta told the station that Flight 611 left from Honolulu to Nagoya on Feb. 6....
..The couple also took Hawaiian Airlines flight HA265 from the Hawaiian city of Kahului to Honolulu on Feb. 3, the airline confirmed.
CDC officials asked Hawaiian Airlines to provide information about the flight, “which transported a Japanese visitor who had since become ill and, upon his return to Japan on another carrier later in the week..:tiphat:https://www.ntd.com/couple-diagnose...ian-airlines-planes-companies-say_435796.html
By Jack Phillips February 17, 2020
A couple who was diagnosed with coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, flew on two airliners earlier this month around Hawaii, according to statements from Hawaiian Airlines and Delta Airlines.
A husband and wife from Japan departed from Oahu later tested positive for the virus, KHON2 reported. Delta told the station that Flight 611 left from Honolulu to Nagoya on Feb. 6....
..The couple also took Hawaiian Airlines flight HA265 from the Hawaiian city of Kahului to Honolulu on Feb. 3, the airline confirmed.
CDC officials asked Hawaiian Airlines to provide information about the flight, “which transported a Japanese visitor who had since become ill and, upon his return to Japan on another carrier later in the week..:tiphat:https://www.ntd.com/couple-diagnose...ian-airlines-planes-companies-say_435796.html
Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Authorities tight-lipped on Farnham coronavirus scare
Monday, 17 February 2020 - Health
PUBLIC Health England has refused to disclose whether a patient of a Farnham GP practice found to have recently travelled to one of the affected coronavirus areas has tested positive or negative.
The Ferns Medical Practice, at the Farnham Centre for Health, was closed "as a precautionary measure" on Wednesday, February 13 after a patient was found to have recently travelled to the Far East.
It reopened a day later after a "deep clean" and reassured its patients that "all measures are being put in place to assure public and staff safety"... http://www.haslemereherald.com/arti...onavirus scare§ionIs=news&searchyear=2020
Monday, 17 February 2020 - Health
PUBLIC Health England has refused to disclose whether a patient of a Farnham GP practice found to have recently travelled to one of the affected coronavirus areas has tested positive or negative.
The Ferns Medical Practice, at the Farnham Centre for Health, was closed "as a precautionary measure" on Wednesday, February 13 after a patient was found to have recently travelled to the Far East.
It reopened a day later after a "deep clean" and reassured its patients that "all measures are being put in place to assure public and staff safety"... http://www.haslemereherald.com/arti...onavirus scare§ionIs=news&searchyear=2020
sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
Please - no more stories from cbtvn.com
They appear to be extremely unreliable.
Remember - many site make money from clicks.
If you see something from them, please try to find another corroborating source.
Thanks!
They appear to be extremely unreliable.
Remember - many site make money from clicks.
If you see something from them, please try to find another corroborating source.
Thanks!
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sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
Someone sent a question to our email account. They did not give me permission to reveal their name:
Is it possible to know if China's ability or capacity to respond has diminished?
Is it possible to know if China's ability or capacity to respond has diminished?
Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Phuket health chief explains vague virus updates
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) Chief has defended the lack of information made available at the mandatory daily coronavirus situation updates, saying Phuket officials are under orders from Bangkok to restrict the information being made available to the public.
By The Phuket News
Monday 17 February 2020, 06:18PM
The explanation by PPHO Chief Thanit Sermkaew to The Phuket News today (Feb 17) follows weeks of silence on how many people in Phuket have been put under observation on suspicion that they may be infected – or even what happened to the 10 people who were last reported on Jan 31 as under observation at hospitals in Phuket on suspected of being infected with virus.
Chief Thani today even declined to confirm which passengers are being screened at Phuket International Airport for elevated body temperature.
“I am not allowed to give any information to the press about coronavirus updates at all. There is only the public information through the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department [PR Phuket], which receives orders from Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana only,” Chief Thanit said.
“This is by order of the Ministry of Health in Bangkok to not give out any information,” Chief Thanit added...
Read more: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-health-chief-explains-vague-virus-updates-74878.php
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) Chief has defended the lack of information made available at the mandatory daily coronavirus situation updates, saying Phuket officials are under orders from Bangkok to restrict the information being made available to the public.
By The Phuket News
Monday 17 February 2020, 06:18PM
The explanation by PPHO Chief Thanit Sermkaew to The Phuket News today (Feb 17) follows weeks of silence on how many people in Phuket have been put under observation on suspicion that they may be infected – or even what happened to the 10 people who were last reported on Jan 31 as under observation at hospitals in Phuket on suspected of being infected with virus.
Chief Thani today even declined to confirm which passengers are being screened at Phuket International Airport for elevated body temperature.
“I am not allowed to give any information to the press about coronavirus updates at all. There is only the public information through the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department [PR Phuket], which receives orders from Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana only,” Chief Thanit said.
“This is by order of the Ministry of Health in Bangkok to not give out any information,” Chief Thanit added...
Read more: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-health-chief-explains-vague-virus-updates-74878.php
sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
A person sent this video to our email concerned about releasing the first group of Wuhan returnees to the US without a lab test to confirm they are negative for Covid-19.
At 1:23
On Tuesday, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat held a press conference on “Coronavirus: What We Know, What We’re Doing” at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQj4cgOrWIc
At 1:23
On Tuesday, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat held a press conference on “Coronavirus: What We Know, What We’re Doing” at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQj4cgOrWIc
This is a good question. Specifically, Wuhan is under extreme quarantine. As of today they are not allowed to leave their homes or drive their cars. I would expect that this will drop their daily report numbers.
I don’t think there is a way to really know unless China were to come out and state it.
kiwibird
Editor, Senior Moderator
I agree. We only started seeing authorities welding apartment/house doors shut recently - and yesterday I saw a video of a whole street that had been boarded up.(here - https://twitter.com/i/status/1229067090558160896 ) You don't take that sort of action if you are not under stress. It is inhumane and you would think, inefficient, to leave people locked away to either live or die on their own without any medical support at all. China have also stated they are preparing to build a further ten hospitals. This does not tell me they think this outbreak has peaked and is winding down. There is just something completely incongruous about the difference in attitude to this virus between China and Europe. If it was just social management - they wouldn't need the extra hospitals.
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I can give you an opinion and try and indicate what that opinion is based on if it helps.
I think that whilst we have great doctors and epidemiologists, following 10 years of underfunding, the whole PHE and NHS system is a mess. The NHS at present can barely cope with the workload from a severe flu year, and we are (in England alone) 10,000 doctors short and 40,000 nurses short. Critical supplies have been purchased on a 'just in time' basis and I would eat my hat if even a tiny percentage of hospitals / NHS Trusts have adequate safety stocks for an emergency such as this one due to funding shortages - and even if they are trying to correct that now, it will be difficult if not impossible to secure extra supplies of disposables and PPE equipment. They (i,e the powers that be within hospitals') know this, but i am entirely unconvinced that PHE (Public Health England) have grasped this fact and the cosnequences of it - instead choosing to try and position masks as unnecessary - not just for the public at large but also most medics.
See https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/1822...lling-control/
And https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/1823...reak-brighton/
My daughter is a doctor and takes part in a Mum's group for medics. She tells me that the group is 'alive' with reports that people who have all the right travel or close contact history are being sent by NHS 111 to their GP surgeries (this is NOT supposed to happen). When GPs and medics are trying to arrange testing it is frequently being denied; even close contacts of KNOWN cases are having difficulties.The medics themselves are being refused testing in many cases when there is a good justification for them to take place. In other words, it is not just a local problem in Sussex (see news reports linked above), its a national level of disorganisation and confusion.
It is a total mess. Now add to that that the UK fears social unrest and panic more than anything else, and I suspect (pure guess) that No 10 has made it more or less a state secret to discuss actual cases under schedule D notices, so suspect cases are not being reported. I also question how accurate our PCR testing is given that only 30 - 50% of tests in China of clinically diagnosed cases have been positive... so lots of cases may be being treated as severe influenza. (Again my guess). Yet they have expanded the country list FOR testing.
Now more lately it looks like they will be using self isolation as a policy, but economic concerns (keep the economy going will be No 1 priority for the current government IMHO) means that I think they will just let this run and manage things on an ad hoc basis. I dont think the strategists have a clue about how severe this will be and the knock on effects as a whole, at every level. They are too preoccupied with the potential catastrophe of Brexit (again IMHO) and all energies are focussed in that direction.
So my conclusion is that - even though some are well aware of the problem and potential severity, they are choosing to take the best case scenario and assume it wont be worse that the current flu season. God help us in the UK if even half this lot of supposition is correct!
Edit: One additional point is that the UK already uses its army medics within the NHS to bolster numbers - so we dont have a military 'reserve' to deploy either. In fact, we will lose these medics back to the armed forces in an emergency situation, as they will need to focus efforts on their primary job - looking after armed forces and their families... so the understaffing situation will get far worse. Additionally, we currently have ONLY 50 specialist isolation beds and 500 ICU beds nationally in England. If they let this run and @20% of cases are severe, (given that the disease course runs for several weeks before recovery or death), we will not have beds for severe cases (i.e we won't be very much better than 1918) within a few days of an epidemic outbreak as things stand (i.e if the situation in China is mirrored equally in the UK.)
Not only do we have a dire shortage of hospital beds, but also a dire shortage of medics - and if the current lackadaisical attitudes continue and we don't adequately protect the medics we have, then they will get sick and there will be no-one left to treat the patients.
Second Edit: This local report just put out sums things up really.https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/182...doctors-coronavirus-isolation-says-clinician/
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