Corona Virus

[FoxesDeb]

3 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

I read that we wouldn’t get any firm information until Thursday.......  fri may 8th is a bank holiday and three weeks on from this Thursday. I wouldn’t have thought they wouldnt be in a hurry to lift restrictions until after that date as the thought of good weather and mass gatherings at parks and beaches would be something they want to avoid .........

Oh I thought it was going to be today, I probably read that on here though! 

[BlueSi13]

1 minute ago, st albans fox said:

I read that we wouldn’t get any firm information until Thursday.......  fri may 8th is a bank holiday and three weeks on from this Thursday. I wouldn’t have thought they wouldnt be in a hurry to lift restrictions until after that date as the thought of good weather and mass gatherings at parks and beaches would be something they want to avoid .........

France is expected to announce that lockdown conditions will be extended to May which is no surprise considering they have been hit harder than we have so far...

 

I have no doubt we will follow suit. 

 

We have a while to go yet folks...stay strong and take it day by day by day 

[st albans fox]

Just now, FoxesDeb said:

Oh I thought it was going to be today, I probably read that on here though! 

The three weeks is up today and the assumption is that we would be told today what is happening. Legally, I expect we should have an announcement of some kind today if only that the lockdown is being reviewed at the moment and will continue until a decision is made public later this week ...I wonder if the may bank holiday is the reason for the delay ..... they dont want to impose a lockdown of more than three weeks at a time and are therefore buying time till Friday of this week. 

[Nick]

1 hour ago, The Fox Covert said:

A plastic smirk which barely conceals a heart of evil. Quoted from the Guardian yesterday.

 

Priti Patel has refused pleas to accept more unaccompanied children from the notoriously overcrowded refugee camps on the Greek islands amid dire warnings of an impending humanitarian catastrophe.

The charity Médecins Sans Frontières wrote to the home secretary on 13 March asking her to “significantly increase” the number of child refugees transferred to the UK as well as “facilitate the urgent evacuation” of those with chronic and complex health conditions.

Patel did not respond. Instead the Foreign Office replied on 31 March, saying the UK would continue to support the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal, which for the past four years has aimed to prevent asylum seekers from travelling to Europe.

 

We are talking about children here, who are not economic migrants and did not choose to be in the terrible situation that they are in now.

Many of them have no documents to prove their identity, are thousands of miles away from their parents - if their parents are even still alive, and are entirely dependent on the camp administration for their care.

Their circumstances are not that different to the Jewish children sent away from Nazi Germany in the Kindertransports immediately before the last war.

In a fairer world than we have today, the wealthier countries in Europe and the Americas would agree to take children in proportion to the population and resources of each country. 

Instead we have Priti Patel, whose attitude is shameful and embarrassing.

 

The camps are dreadful and the flood of migrants needs to be stopped but shutting the door on innocent children is just inhuman.

 

I read this Gaurdian article yesterday, it was forwarded to me - but I have to say the writing of that article from headline to structure was entirely predictable. Had it been written without the inflammatory insertions and suppositions, it may have had an impact that didn't look like it was written to attack Priti Patel (and she deserves scrutiny and challenge to say the least) and to actually highlight the plight of children in Greek camps - because written in a more factual way without the supposition and left-leaning attempt to discredit - it may have actually served a fvcking purpose and helped some kids.

[ithuriel]

Considering the daily death rate, relaxing this quite lax lockdown now would make the past 2/3 weeks a waste of time and historians would probably see any such thing as laughable.

I'd expect this current form of lockdown to last into May at least, that is my guess on things.

[Strokes]

33 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Being a pavement cyclist and passing within millimeters of pedestrians is poor form at the best of times but during a time of self distancing due to an air borne virus when there's literally no traffic on the road next to you is next level inexplicable

Surely both cyclists are to blame? They both have handlebars.

[Nick]

4 minutes ago, Strokes said:

Surely both cyclists are to blame? They both have handlebars.

I'm not sure I follow... - I think he means cyclists riding past you on the pavement without social distancing....

 

Push em off I say.

[Leicester_Loyal]

Raab has already said last week that a decision about the lockdown won't come until the end of this week, so I don't think we'll know until Thursday or Friday.

[Strokes]

9 minutes ago, Swan Lesta said:

I'm not sure I follow... - I think he means cyclists riding past you on the pavement without social distancing....

 

Push em off I say.

I misread it.

Probably best to avoid physical contact but maybe carry a stick to throw through their spokes.

[Countryfox]

I really really really hope people like this are caught ...   and there names and mug shots put on the front of every paper.

 

 

[Leicester_Loyal]

3 minutes ago, Countryfox said:

I really really really hope people like this are caught ...   and there names and mug shots put on the front of every paper.

 

 

**** that, I hope someone catches up with them and permanently damages them.

[Guest Bilo]

Still waiting to hear what Priti Patel has achieved as Home Secretary.

[EastAnglianFox]

2 minutes ago, Bilo said:

Still waiting to hear what Priti Patel has achieved as Home Secretary.

 

Maybe wait somewhere else then....

[Dahnsouff]

1 minute ago, Bilo said:

Still waiting to hear what Priti Patel has achieved as Home Secretary.

She has done exactly the same for me as the last 5 did. Does that count?

[Guest Markyblue]

5 minutes ago, Bilo said:

Still waiting to hear what Priti Patel has achieved as Home Secretary.

Well being the child of Ugandan immigrants and becoming home secretary is probably an achievement in itself. 

[Carl the Llama]

1 hour ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Being a pavement cyclist and passing within millimeters of pedestrians is poor form at the best of times but during a time of self distancing due to an air borne virus when there's literally no traffic on the road next to you is next level inexplicable

To counterpoint this it's equally unacceptable that all the cyclists in my area have apparently decided that slightly fewer cars on the road means they no longer need to stick to the left-hand side of the lane to let vehicles pass

[Strokes]

7 minutes ago, Bilo said:

Still waiting to hear what Priti Patel has achieved as Home Secretary.

Remind me when she was appointed again.

[Milo]

What’s with all the Home Secretary bashing? 🤷‍♂️
 

Does anyone really care that much - or is just an excuse to have a pop at an unpopular minister. 
 

I can think of about half a dozen Home Secretaries that are worse than this one. 
 

Jack Straw was a particularly odious individual. Theresa May was pretty grim, as was Amber Rudd. 
Michael Howard was awful and Blunkett was just inept. 
 

I think the position must bring out the worst in whoever is doing the job. 

[The Blur]

1 hour ago, st albans fox said:

I read that we wouldn’t get any firm information until Thursday.......  fri may 8th is a bank holiday and three weeks on from this Thursday. I wouldn’t have thought they wouldnt be in a hurry to lift restrictions until after that date as the thought of good weather and mass gatherings at parks and beaches would be something they want to avoid .........

Yup as @Leicester_Loyal said,   Raab has confirmed this in his first speech last week.

 

I can see the logic in delaying the announcement until later this week but as seen on here,   there would be some who is expecting an announcement or some form of clarity at least tonight.   I would have thought that it would be sensible to announce four weeks extension encompassing early May bank holiday today.   The lockdown conditions can then be altered later on if there is a need for full lockdown.    The next announcement would be two weeks before Spring May bank holiday so a reduced lockdown window if needed would likely to be reflective of the reduction in cases/deaths (hopefully!).

[Alf Bentley]

Interesting report on BBC lunchtime news re. lockdown relaxation plans. They vary a lot....

 

- Spain: Manufacturing & construction to resume (but presumably not customer service / retail?)

- Italy: Manufacturing not resuming, just a few more shops (e.g. bookshops, baby clothes); lots of bars/restaurants now going bust 

- China: Starting to get back to normal, in theory, but much less so in Wuhan...so regional differentiation

- S. Korea: Never had a lockdown, relied on mass testing & tracing - still true, I presume

- Singapore: Just tightened lockdown again after signs of a 2nd wave - fines/prison for those in breach

- Japan: No lockdown, just voluntary requests for social distancing & widespread use of masks in Asia 

 

I hope there'll be wider media coverage of what's happening in other countries. I hope those advising govt are also studying it closely to see what works and what doesn't.

Far too early for any UK relaxation yet, but these are decisions we might face in a few weeks - and different countries seem to be responding very differently (even Spain v. Italy, never mind Asia)

 

I assume places with high concentrations of people - pubs, restaurants, cafes, shopping centres, sports grounds, cinemas - may take months to return, at best, assuming they haven't gone bust.

Or might some be able to open but with limitations on numbers / distancing arrangements as with food shops?

There might also be less demand for such places, initially at least, due to people's fear/caution about catching the virus.

[Bellend Sebastian]

1 hour ago, Swan Lesta said:

I'm not sure I follow... - I think he means cyclists riding past you on the pavement without social distancing....

 

Push em off I say.

 

1 hour ago, Strokes said:

I misread it.

Probably best to avoid physical contact but maybe carry a stick to throw through their spokes.

 

56 minutes ago, Carl the Llama said:

To counterpoint this it's equally unacceptable that all the cyclists in my area have apparently decided that slightly fewer cars on the road means they no longer need to stick to the left-hand side of the lane to let vehicles pass

I'm not without sympathy towards those that lack the confidence to ride on the road - as a cyclist myself I know it's sometimes f-ing terrifying, but if you're doing something you're not supposed to be doing don't be an arsehole about it.

 

I was irritated because in the circumstances when we're all supposed to be looking out for each other, low level twattery for some folk still wins through.

 

Incidentally, I'm not against bikes being on the pavement per se. I have a brilliant idea for a rule where you can ride a bike on the pavement but if you cannot pass any pedestrian without getting within 3 metres of them you have to dismount. Yes it is great isn't it, you can thank me later, donations to the usual PO Box etc

 

[Carl the Llama]

4 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

 

 

I'm not without sympathy towards those that lack the confidence to ride on the road - as a cyclist myself I know it's sometimes f-ing terrifying, but if you're doing something you're not supposed to be doing don't be an arsehole about it.

 

I was irritated because in the circumstances when we're all supposed to be looking out for each other, low level twattery for some folk still wins through.

 

Incidentally, I'm not against bikes being on the pavement per se. I have a brilliant idea for a rule where you can ride a bike on the pavement but if you cannot pass any pedestrian without getting within 3 metres of them you have to dismount. Yes it is great isn't it, you can thank me later, donations to the usual PO Box etc

 

Or they could just not try to run pedestrians over and not dawdle in the centre of active lanes.  It used to be possible before Covid-19, it should theoretically be even more possible now. 

[Guest Bilo]

So Priti Patel has achieved nothing as Home Secretary then?

 

Good to hear. 

[Bellend Sebastian]

12 minutes ago, Carl the Llama said:

Or they could just not try to run pedestrians over and not dawdle in the centre of active lanes.  It used to be possible before Covid-19, it should theoretically be even more possible now. 

Cash or cheque is fine

[Jimothy]

1 minute ago, Bilo said:

So Priti Patel has achieved nothing as Home Secretary then?

 

Good to hear. 

She hasn't been in the role long, but the real question is, what has she achieved as a minister other than going to illegal meetings, getting sacked and being accused of bullying her staff. The only thing shes achieved is being appointed, but once there she does **** all but cause controversy.