Corona Virus

[The People's Hero]

I'm not sure this gives you much insight, but in my experience things have started to be taken 'seriously' in the corporate world this week.

 

On Monday, most insurance brokers and insurers in the City were talking up BAU. As the week progresssed, I had meeting cancelled and was told that offices had been entirely closed with all staff told:

 

- Do NOT come in to London. Work from home/remotely

- NO meetings.

 

Generally the office closures are ad hoc (possibly just this week); but one company I'm aware of has told the staff to be prepared to work remotely until 1st June.

 

I had 9 meetings booked in this week. 1 has gone ahead.

 

Probably not interesting for most of you but there we are.

[Suzie the Fox]

Booked to goto Egypt in 12 days and all the reports i am now seeing is that Egypt were evasive with the truth at the start and their low amount of people with the virus is a lot higher than originally reported. Not really sure what to do, as the trip was originally planned for last October and was cancelled due to the flight being with Thomas Cook. I will be so gutted if i have to cancel it again.

 

I've read through this whole thread for inspiration and information and am still none the wiser  I dont personally suffer with any ailments and not in the over 70 bracket so i'm verging towards 'sod it' and just going but then i am taking my mum who has had Nile cruise on her bucket list forever and she is 76... 

 

Really dont know what to do... Thoughts on what you would do in my position would be appreciated. 

[Jon the Hat]

23 minutes ago, The People's Hero said:

I'm not sure this gives you much insight, but in my experience things have started to be taken 'seriously' in the corporate world this week.

 

On Monday, most insurance brokers and insurers in the City were talking up BAU. As the week progresssed, I had meeting cancelled and was told that offices had been entirely closed with all staff told:

 

- Do NOT come in to London. Work from home/remotely

- NO meetings.

 

Generally the office closures are ad hoc (possibly just this week); but one company I'm aware of has told the staff to be prepared to work remotely until 1st June.

 

I had 9 meetings booked in this week. 1 has gone ahead.

 

Probably not interesting for most of you but there we are.

We have banned international travel, and our Madrid office has now advised WFH.  It's BCP city for office based people.  Our challenge though, like for example retailers and logistics companies is we have to keep our operations going or the supply chain will stop in not many days, so the messaging between "you lot stay and home" and "not you - you have to keep on working for the good of the world" is rather sensitive.

[nnfox]

1 hour ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

So the rate of infection has started to slow in China, what percentage of their population has been infected? 

Approximately 0.007%.  If ALL of the Chinese cases were in Wuhan alone, then we're talking about 8 people out of every thousand. Obviously they shut the place down though which has really helped

 

Currently in the UK, approximately 0.0008% after about 2 weeks of no restrictions, but this will rise.  Still, I don't believe that now is the right time to make big changes.  It will come though.

 

Whilst talking about percentages, of the 26k people that were thought to potentially have it, 98.5% didn't.

[Detroit Blues]

18 minutes ago, Suzie the Fox said:

Booked to goto Egypt in 12 days and all the reports i am now seeing is that Egypt were evasive with the truth at the start and their low amount of people with the virus is a lot higher than originally reported. Not really sure what to do, as the trip was originally planned for last October and was cancelled due to the flight being with Thomas Cook. I will be so gutted if i have to cancel it again.

 

I've read through this whole thread for inspiration and information and am still none the wiser  I dont personally suffer with any ailments and not in the over 70 bracket so i'm verging towards 'sod it' and just going but then i am taking my mum who has had Nile cruise on her bucket list forever and she is 76... 

 

Really dont know what to do... Thoughts on what you would do in my position would be appreciated. 

 

Personally, I wouldn't go as the risk is unnecessarily high, especially to your mother. Worst case scenario and she takes ill while she's over there, what do you do? What quality care would she receive? Could you afford to extend your stay for a number of weeks while she recovers? Can you afford to self-quarantine for two weeks after you return home?

Edited 11 March 2020 by Detroit Blues

[Alf Bentley]

16 minutes ago, Suzie the Fox said:

Booked to goto Egypt in 12 days and all the reports i am now seeing is that Egypt were evasive with the truth at the start and their low amount of people with the virus is a lot higher than originally reported. Not really sure what to do, as the trip was originally planned for last October and was cancelled due to the flight being with Thomas Cook. I will be so gutted if i have to cancel it again.

 

I've read through this whole thread for inspiration and information and am still none the wiser  I dont personally suffer with any ailments and not in the over 70 bracket so i'm verging towards 'sod it' and just going but then i am taking my mum who has had Nile cruise on her bucket list forever and she is 76... 

 

Really dont know what to do... Thoughts on what you would do in my position would be appreciated. 

 

I just clicked on the BBC News site - and first thing I saw was an entry about coronavirus in Egypt: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-51829559 (scroll to news item at 11.45)

 

Just in case that's of interest....

[Detroit Blues]

11 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

We have banned international travel, and our Madrid office has now advised WFH.  It's BCP city for office based people.  Our challenge though, like for example retailers and logistics companies is we have to keep our operations going or the supply chain will stop in not many days, so the messaging between "you lot stay and home" and "not you - you have to keep on working for the good of the world" is rather sensitive.

I'm in the same boat. We just got our first cases of the coronavirus here. I expect in the next few weeks that our company will shut down the headquarters, as it is open to the public. I can not believe, however, that we will shut down our plants. It will lead to a big issue because those who can work from home are generally white collar workers, while those in the plants are union laborers. We just got through a work stoppage during a labor dispute that cost us a lot in terms of production. I doubt we can afford to shut plants down for months on end. 

 

On a personal note, my wife is very pregnant and is in the last few weeks before she goes on maternity leave. Her job is very much public facing / working with customers and volunteers. My fingers are crossed that we can stay out of this mess until the baby is born. If this becomes an italy/china level pandemic here, I imagine going to the hospital for the delivery is going to be a nightmare. 

[yorkie1999]

22 minutes ago, nnfox said:

Approximately 0.007%.  If ALL of the Chinese cases were in Wuhan alone, then we're talking about 8 people out of every thousand. Obviously they shut the place down though which has really helped

 

Currently in the UK, approximately 0.0008% after about 2 weeks of no restrictions, but this will rise.  Still, I don't believe that now is the right time to make big changes.  It will come though.

 

Whilst talking about percentages, of the 26k people that were thought to potentially have it, 98.5% didn't.

It would help even more if they never opened the place up again or at least until they decide that a tad more care is required within their food chain.

[reynard]

1 hour ago, davieG said:

I don't think testing people coming from Italy before they return to their communities for example could be classed as drastic more like sensible and pragmatic and surely needed, re my post about Beaumont School

This has just come in on the Guardian website

A businessman from Kent says he and his son have been waiting nine days for a coronavirus test after getting a cough following a trip to northern Italy.

Phillip Meyer, 48, said he was told by the 111 service that he and his 12-year-old son needed to be tested on 2 March.

A clinician told him someone would contact them to arrange a test at his home in Westerham, near Sevenoaks or at drive-in centre at a local hospital. But he has heard nothing since, despite daily calls to the 111 service to check on the progress.

 

We're testing around 1000 people per day. Simply not enough one might think. We seem to be just about the only country in the world where there are connfirmed cases that doesn't seem bothered about large public events going ahead. So either most of the world is wrong or we are.

Our health system is pretty similar to that of Northern Italy and they have not been able to cope. Years of running down the NHS combined with a drastic shortage of nurses could well spell trouble.

 

Still I'm sure Boris will be able to come up with some latin/greek quip to entertain us.

Edited 11 March 2020 by reynard

[Darkon84]

I'd recommend having a good look at Joe Rogan's latest podcast from yesterday, featuring an expert in infectious diseases, rather than 'he said, shes said' or some daft post on FB.

 

Quote

Michael Osterholm is an internationally recognized expert in infectious disease epidemiology. He is Regents Professor, McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, a professor in the Technological Leadership Institute, College of Science and Engineering, and an adjunct professor in the Medical School, all at the University of Minnesota.

 

 

[bmt]

1 minute ago, reynard said:

This has just come in on the Guardian website

A businessman from Kent says he and his son have been waiting nine days for a coronavirus test after getting a cough following a trip to northern Italy.

Phillip Meyer, 48, said he was told by the 111 service that he and his 12-year-old son needed to be tested on 2 March.

A clinician told him someone would contact them to arrange a test at his home in Westerham, near Sevenoaks or at drive-in centre at a local hospital. But he has heard nothing since, despite daily calls to the 111 service to check on the progress.

 

We're testing around 1000 people per day. Simply not enough one might think. We seem to be just about the only country in the world where there are connfirmed cases that doesn't seem bothered about large public events going ahead. So either most of the world is wrong or we are.

Our health system is pretty similar to that of Northern Italy and they have not been able to cope. Years of running down the NHS combined with a drastic shortage of nurses could well spell trouble.

 

Still I'm sure Boris will be able to come up with some latin/greek quip to entertain us.

We are treating this so badly.

 

Mate of mine just home from Madrid with symptoms. Rang 111, they said they have no guidance on Madrid. Madrid region has more than double the total UK reported cases and my mate said is pretty much in lockdown.

 

So slow to respond to changing conditions. 

[Ollie93]

1 minute ago, bmt said:

We are treating this so badly.

 

Mate of mine just home from Madrid with symptoms. Rang 111, they said they have no guidance on Madrid. Madrid region has more than double the total UK reported cases and my mate said is pretty much in lockdown.

 

So slow to respond to changing conditions. 

It's a joke. It's not like we don't have the funds or capability to not do anything. 

[Guest Fktf]

7 minutes ago, Detroit Blues said:

On a personal note, my wife is very pregnant and is in the last few weeks before she goes on maternity leave. Her job is very much public facing / working with customers and volunteers. My fingers are crossed that we can stay out of this mess until the baby is born. If this becomes an italy/china level pandemic here, I imagine going to the hospital for the delivery is going to be a nightmare. 

A bit scary, isn't it. We're expecting our first at the moment, but are only about 20 weeks along. Something that might be of comfort to know is that a handful of very pregnant women in China contracted the virus before delivery, and it seems it isn't passed to baby, and nor does it seem to cause any complications. I know that doesn't speak to getting into the hospital, but hopefully somewhat reassuring to hear.

[Rain King]

Having been advised to use 111 a couple of times in the recent in the past I have absolutely no confidence that they are in any state to deal with this. Beyond useless both times.

[Innovindil]

That budget though. 

[Guest MattP]

Just now, Innovindil said:

That budget though. 

Sunak is seriously impressive at the box. Looks like he's been doing it for a decade.

[Suzie the Fox]

1 hour ago, Detroit Blues said:

 

Personally, I wouldn't go as the risk is unnecessarily high, especially to your mother. Worst case scenario and she takes ill while she's over there, what do you do? What quality care would she receive? Could you afford to extend your stay for a number of weeks while she recovers? Can you afford to self-quarantine for two weeks after you return home?

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I am still in two minds what to do after having spoke with her and she is prepared to take the risk. Self quarantine at home would not be an issue, we shop at Costco so have plenty of loo roll. Financially it would be fine.  

 

 

1 hour ago, Alf Bentley said:

 

I just clicked on the BBC News site - and first thing I saw was an entry about coronavirus in Egypt: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-51829559 (scroll to news item at 11.45)

 

Just in case that's of interest....

 

Thanks for the info Alf. So basically there are less confirmed cases in Egypt, with less deaths than the Uk? Or am i reading that as a positive, as i don't want to cancel the holiday AGAIN. 

[kyleolly]

3 minutes ago, Innovindil said:

That budget though. 

What a bloody relief, the tampon tax has been abolished!

[Nod.E]

3 hours ago, st albans fox said:

The point about China is that they effectively self isolated the whole frigging country for 2-4 weeks !!!!

 

it seems we aren’t prepared to do that in the west ....

Good.

[Fox in the North]

I found this link to be an interesting if not quite terrifying read. Makes me feel like more urgent action is required.

 

 

Edited 11 March 2020 by Fox in the North

[st albans fox]

6 hours ago, Sly said:

Cash flow is key ultimately. I’m in the same boat, debating how we operate. If larger customers don’t pay us, what do we do? 
 

You’re right and an interest rate cut isn’t really an answer. The government need to start acting now for overheads they control. 

 

I’m not convinced that businesses have robust disaster recovery processes. 

Looks like they have no clue 

 

we’re doomed !!!  I tel ya 

 

doomed !!

[reynard]

28 minutes ago, Suzie the Fox said:

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I am still in two minds what to do after having spoke with her and she is prepared to take the risk. Self quarantine at home would not be an issue, we shop at Costco so have plenty of loo roll. Financially it would be fine.  

 

 

 

Thanks for the info Alf. So basically there are less confirmed cases in Egypt, with less deaths than the Uk? Or am i reading that as a positive, as i don't want to cancel the holiday AGAIN. 

If you are going to go double check your travel insurance to make sure you are fully covered for all eventualites which may arise.

Oh and don't go on a cruise ship they are spaces where viruses can spread very easily.

[Craig]

1 hour ago, bmt said:

We are treating this so badly.

 

Mate of mine just home from Madrid with symptoms. Rang 111, they said they have no guidance on Madrid. Madrid region has more than double the total UK reported cases and my mate said is pretty much in lockdown.

 

So slow to respond to changing conditions. 

We've also got 3000 of them coming over to Liverpool tonight, and I doubt they've had any checks at all. it's madness.

[WigstonWanderer]

2 hours ago, Suzie the Fox said:

Booked to goto Egypt in 12 days and all the reports i am now seeing is that Egypt were evasive with the truth at the start and their low amount of people with the virus is a lot higher than originally reported. Not really sure what to do, as the trip was originally planned for last October and was cancelled due to the flight being with Thomas Cook. I will be so gutted if i have to cancel it again.

 

I've read through this whole thread for inspiration and information and am still none the wiser  I dont personally suffer with any ailments and not in the over 70 bracket so i'm verging towards 'sod it' and just going but then i am taking my mum who has had Nile cruise on her bucket list forever and she is 76... 

 

Really dont know what to do... Thoughts on what you would do in my position would be appreciated. 

If it were me I’d be asking myself whether I would actually enjoy the holiday if I went.

[Sly]

456 cases confirmed in the UK now