Coronavirus

[Orraloon]

This might put a bit of a dent in the herd immunity theory?

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200315_13/

[DonnyTJS]

1 minute ago, Orraloon said:

This might put a bit of a dent in the herd immunity theory?

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200315_13/

It's the second time that's happened here; both were on that cruise ship. I'd put it down to poor testing, but that's just an assumption.

[Orraloon]

12 minutes ago, DonnyTJS said:

It's the second time that's happened here; both were on that cruise ship. I'd put it down to poor testing, but that's just an assumption.

I wouldn't assume that, but I hope it is. There are 4 coronaviruses that do the rounds regularly. The levels of immunity they give people who get them is very variable. A lot of us will have been infected by the same coronavirus multiple times over our life times. We know relatively little about how this new one is going behave.

 

Edited March 15, 2020 by Orraloon

[phart]

I understand the government position on what they're trying to achieve. It's the way they're going about it that doesn't seem commensurate with the stated aims.

Everyone else is trying to "flatten the curve" as well, just going about it in a totally different way.

Here's some NYT journo talking about it

 

Here's behavioural scientists contradicting the government behavioural scientists line.

https://sites.google.com/view/covidopenletter/home?fbclid=IwAR1cLFdRGs7EzSRXyv23jT7nbd7dz6nlT5u8HYP4Sr4J4rSjKSalyELLtDc

 

I'm hoping that my inate dumbfuckery and epidemiological ignorance is totally blinding me.

[phart]

Unless the government has decided we are so fucked that any action for this "current wave" is doomed to failure so they're doing a "tactical retreat" now to try and stem any second wave of the virus. Then everything sort of makes sense.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing I keep telling myself, so the other possibility is I know just enough to make a complete fuck up reading the situation.

Edited March 15, 2020 by phart

[TDYER63]

53 minutes ago, DonnyTJS said:

Ey up, TDyer. I don't really think this can be classed as a positive, particularly since it was actually the demise of Genesis P. Orridge that brought me back (unless that was Covid19-related, which, considering the life s/he'd led, would be a bit of a bastard).

Another rational voice on here can only described as positive 😊 

RIP Genesis P. Orridge . 

[King Of Paisley]

58 minutes ago, Orraloon said:

The airlines will have a get out of compensation under the EU regulation 261/2004 as this will be classed as "extraordinary circumstances". So it will be up to individual airlines to decide whether they refund or not. For example if you're on Ryanair, forget it. 

That's where insurance comes in and it will depend on the terms and conditions of what insurance you have. 

Some, probably many, folk will lose out. Especially those who don't have insurance.

 

My folks had their holiday to the Canaries last minute yesterday by Jet2 and have been assured by the travel agent they booked with that they will get a full refund. Same goes for our holiday to Menorca in July if TUI pull the plug. Both include deposits. What isn't covered is if Spain removed their restrictions, The FCO declares its safe to travel but people still take fright and cancel then not a penny is returned. Came from my local branch of Barrhead Travel when I popped in to enquire

[phart]

Also Donny I was in Amboseli a few weeks back and looking at Kilamanjaro, you came to mind with that picture you posted of your burnt hands from climbing it.

[Huddersfield]

1 hour ago, DonnyTJS said:

We were due to fly to New Zealand from Japan a few days ago, but decided against it. Non-essential, and the friend we were due to stay with is in her 70s, not worth the chance of picking something up on the plane and transferring it to her. Couple of days after we cancelled, NZ put all arrivals on self-isolation anyway (not sure how that would work in practice).

Seems odd that Japan hasn't seen higher numbers - most in Hokkaido - considering the amount of movement between here, S Korea & mainland China. Schools were closed a fortnight back, bit of a bog roll shortage for a while, but life's more or less as normal atm. A lot of talk about true numbers being suppressed from fear of Olympic cancellation, but don't think they'd be that daft.

Sorry to see you're having to self-isolate, Huddersfield. All the best [shit - the emoji bank has gone wank]

Cheers Donny & it’s good to see you back. The positive here for me is that barring some spectacular bad luck, I won’t be copping for the virus. The downer is not seeing the family for however long but as my wife so eloquently put it, I’d be f**k all use to them if I was dead so just hoping it passes over soon enough.

[phart]

 

[TDYER63]

I am now an hour and 20 mins holding for Easyjet in the phone. They are allowing you to rearrange your travel with no administration cost but I need a couple of questions answered. 
My flight is in 2 weeks , does anyone know if you :

1. need to rearrange using the same route or you can rearrange it to a completely different flight and just pay the extra cost of the flight of necessary.

2. Need to decide on the new route and new date before your current booked date of travel arrives or can you ‘suspend’ the travel till there is more clarity . 

[macy37]

The easyJet thing is a fucking con if you’ve only paid £55 return for your flights. No admin fee to pay however there’s the flight price difference to pay. It can’t be a straight swap.

Over 70’s isolation happening in “next few weeks”. Boris playing a blinder, get rid of those who are burdening the country’s finances.

[Toepoke]

Comparison of the in memoriam columns from Bergamo in February and on Friday there....

 

 

 

[TDYER63]

4 minutes ago, macy37 said:

The easyJet thing is a fucking con if you’ve only paid £55 return for your flights. No admin fee to pay however there’s the flight price difference to pay. It can’t be a straight swap. 

I dont mind paying more as I could use Easyjet again when things settle down , the new flights would  likely have cost me more anyway as I will choose to fly further afield than I have currently booked. What I dont know is if I need to rebook the flights before the end of this month (when I am due to travel. ) I cannot see the point of booking something now , for example in June,  if you dont know what the situation will be like in various countries then.  

[macy37]

32 minutes ago, TDYER63 said:

I dont mind paying more as I could use Easyjet again when things settle down , the new flights would  likely have cost me more anyway as I will choose to fly further afield than I have currently booked. What I dont know is if I need to rebook the flights before the end of this month (when I am due to travel. ) I cannot see the point of booking something now , for example in June,  if you dont know what the situation will be like in various countries then.  

Their website explains it does it not? 

[daviebee]

2 hours ago, King Of Paisley said:

Simple reason - if the Scottish Government acts before Johnson does then you'll get the usual suspects in the British press howling to the moon about undermining BoJo, politicising this situation. 

But I do agree though. We need to act further within the powers we have and not wait on this dithering UK Government 

We need to act WITHIN AND WITHOUT the powers we have, not wait for this fkin buffoon with his herd immunity bullsh*t. The first priority of a government should be to protect its people and if the SG don't have some particular power then they need to start acting as if they already do. And if that lot in WM don't like it they can go fck themselves. Scottish lives are more important than waiting for "permission" on what we can and can't do to save our people.

[thplinth]

Japan and China took it seriously early on. A very organized response and a public very committed to taking preventive measures. Both have now managaed to realtively squash it. Japan was second in the cases list early on they are now 15th with a low death rate and a very low rate per 1 million of population. China also now has a relatively low rate of cases per 1 million of population.  It does work but you have to have a population that will strictly enforce it (china and japan do but for different reasons) and you have to move quickly.

Looking at the situation in Italy I am staggered at the approach of the UK. Boris could set a record for becoming PM with a huge majority and being out of the job in record time. It is just beginning to get a good foothold in the UK so what is going to stop it going like ITaly but much worse as we are doing nothing really in comparison to slow it, quite the reverse it seems.

Edited March 15, 2020 by thplinth

[vanderark14]

11 minutes ago, thplinth said:

Japan and China took it seriously early on. A very organized response and a public very committed to taking preventive measures. Both have now managaed to realtively squash it. Japan was second in the cases list early on they are now 15th with a low death rate and a very low rate per 1 million of population. China also now has a relatively low rate of cases per 1 million of population.  It does work but you have to have a population that will strictly enforce it (china and japan do but for different reasons) and you have to move quickly.

Looking at the situation in Italy I am staggered at the approach of the UK. Boris could set a record for becoming PM with a huge majority and being out of the job in record time. It is just beginning to get a good foothold in the UK so what is going to stop it going like ITaly but much worse as we are doing nothing really in comparison to slow it, quite the reverse it seems.

The UK government will have to shut pubs otherwise idiots will flock there. The pubs around us were rammed yesterday.

[Lobey]

Wayne Rooney talking more sense than the Gov - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51896488

also https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-51897786

[vanderark14]

Just now, Lobey said:

Wayne Rooney talking more sense than the Gov - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51896488

also https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-51897786

Its time to call it a day when a shaved ape like rooney knows better than the government 

[King Of Paisley]

55 minutes ago, daviebee said:

We need to act WITHIN AND WITHOUT the powers we have, not wait for this fkin buffoon with his herd immunity bullsh*t. The first priority of a government should be to protect its people and if the SG don't have some particular power then they need to start acting as if they already do. And if that lot in WM don't like it they can go fck themselves. Scottish lives are more important than waiting for "permission" on what we can and can't do to save our people.

Correct. This is more than political grandstanding. If NS acts decisively to protec our most vulnerable and that upsets the likes of the Express, Torygraph or Daily Mail editors or readership then so be it. There's too much at stake here.

[Orraloon]

2 hours ago, King Of Paisley said:

My folks had their holiday to the Canaries last minute yesterday by Jet2 and have been assured by the travel agent they booked with that they will get a full refund. Same goes for our holiday to Menorca in July if TUI pull the plug. Both include deposits. What isn't covered is if Spain removed their restrictions, The FCO declares its safe to travel but people still take fright and cancel then not a penny is returned. Came from my local branch of Barrhead Travel when I popped in to enquire

That's good to hear. I think folk who have booked a package holiday will be OK for a refund. It's the ones with flight only and no insurance that could lose out.

[Huddersfield]

18 minutes ago, Orraloon said:

That's good to hear. I think folk who have booked a package holiday will be OK for a refund. It's the ones with flight only and no insurance that could lose out.

I cancelled an EasyJet flight & only got a refund of tax. Luckily I have a specialist medical policy & a helpful consultant who has signed a form to say he would strongly advise me not to travel (this was 2 or 3 weeks ago). The downer is going to be in some ways if they cancel the flight anyway then I bet I won’t get the money back. Maybe not an issue if the insurers pay out but all the same I bet that’s what they do. 

[phart]

When I first heard about this, I could not believe it. I research and teach the evolution and epidemiology of infectious disease at Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health. My colleagues here in the US, even as they are reeling from the stumbling response of the Donald Trump administration to the crisis, assumed that reports of the UK policy were satire – an example of the wry humour for which the country is famed. But they are all too real.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/15/epidemiologist-britain-herd-immunity-coronavirus-covid-19

 

 

 

Edited March 15, 2020 by phart

[Redz]

4 hours ago, thplinth said:

I don’t recall where I saw it or how accurate it is but someone was saying travel insurance/ refunds were possibly effected when the WHO declared a pandemic. Force majeure type deal.

I contacted ours last week as it looked like The Masters would be cancelled / date moved.

No issues with a claim if the foreign office says it's an area for essential travel only or, if the event is cancelled / postponed. 

Paid on credit card too, and have booked with 'Your Golf Travel.' ATOL Protected.

Personally, as long as any new dates are acceptable / transferable I'll be happy with that and no refund.

Edited March 15, 2020 by Redz