COVID19

[Jon MW]

Lol, now we are only allowed the infection data once a week, and no specifics about locations will be given.

https://twitter.com/DHSCgovuk/status/1235207174407802880

"As of today, due to the number of new cases, we will no longer be tweeting information on the location of each new case.

Instead, this information will be released centrally in a consolidated format online, once a week. We are working on this now and plan to share on Friday."

Oh gawd, see all the replies from people pulling their kids from school.  They are going to keep them in a sealed bubble for 6 months?  I have some sympathy for those with underlying health conditions; but cranks and underlying health conditions are not a perfect fit on venn diagrams.

Giving people no inoformation is clearly going to lead to a whole bunch of nutters filling the gap.  The school facebook page was already full of people pushing crazy theories on each side (it is not correct to extrapolate from last week's low infection figures to assume that you have more chance of winning the lottery; 300 cases in Italy doesn't mean that every person who has been there is gong to have contracted Coronavirus and so on). 

FWIW The chinese lab theory has been pretty well debunked too.

Agreed, I am not even sure what the statement means exactly with regards to information.  It can be interpreted a number of ways.  Are we still going to get daily numbers just no location info?  But we will get location info on Fridays?

I agree the statement is kind of ambiguous but if they 'mean' the exact words they state then doesn't it just mean they're going to release a weekly file of exactly the same information that they were already doing?

[Doobs]

Looks like there is going to be a fun 3 weeks at some indeterminate date in the future. 

https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1235501769007992832

[SuperJez]

Rumours house of lords to be closed for 5 months.  Otherwise they would all probably be turning up in full hazmat suits.

[SuperJez]

Regarding banning large gatherings and the possible effect on Cheltenham, Boris Johnson himself appeared on This Morning and said the following

"Prime Minister Boris Johnson said measures such as closing schools and banning big events "don't work as well perhaps as people think".

He told ITV's This Morning programme another way of responding to the virus would be to "take it on the chin" and allow it to "move through the population without really taking as many draconian measures"."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51749352

Ok if they are not going to take measures at the moment then that's up to them but the way he phrased it is really quite rough and heartless towards the elderly and vulnerable imo.

[Doobs]

The Government is moving to phase 2 of the the virus plan.  This could include some restrictions on mass gatherings. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51749352

I have taken half my bets off the table for Cheltnham, though it seems really late to cancel. 

[SuperJez]

Wow the quote I lifted is from the same article, there is so much conflicting info and statements from people with authority out there regarding what is going to happen in the UK.

Edit : And now the BBC have changed the quote slightly in the article.  What I pasted before was word for word as it was 30 mins ago.

[tikay]

Why do we think there are (relatively) so few cases in North America, South America, & in particular, Africa?

I get that healthcare & reliable government data in large parts of Africa is somewhat rudimentary, but South Africa, with a population not much smaller than the UK, has zero reported cases.  

Australia, which has strong links with Asia, seems under-represented too.

[Doobs]

Why do we think there are (relatively) so few cases in North America, South America, & in particular, Africa?

I get that healthcare & reliable government data in large parts of Africa is somewhat rudimentary, but South Africa, with a population not much smaller than the UK, has zero reported cases.  

Australia, which has strong links with Asia, seems under-represented too.

I have read some horror stories from the States.  Even people who want testing don't seem to be able to get tested.  Given the lack of universal health care, cost of healthcare, low rates of sick pay/employment protection and a buffoon running the show at the top, then it will be no surprise if the cases explode there.

There is likely to be less direct routes to South America, so it is just going to be slower to get there.

On Africa, it is a mix of poor health care, so cases are not recognised and lower rates of international travel amongst the population than we experience.  It has been speculated that the virus might not do so well in warm weather, like flu, so transmission rates are going to be lower in warm weather countries all other things been equal.  This is part of the reason that people are hoping that much of the spread can be delayed until summer.

[Marky147]

Bet it doesn't thrive in 100 degree heat

Viva Las Vegas!

[Doobs]

Bet it doesn't thrive in 100 degree heat

Viva Las Vegas!

Ah, but think how well it will spread in the amazon room at 40 degrees 

[Marky147]

Bet it doesn't thrive in 100 degree heat

Viva Las Vegas!

Ah, but think how well it will spread in the amazon room at 40 degrees 

I'm never normally there very long

[SuperJez]

Did they release numbers today?

[Doobs]

Did they release numbers today?

I don't know, but they have reversed their earlier stance and are planning to release daily updates again.

FWIW There was a case reported in South Africa earlier Tikay

[SuperJez]

Did they release numbers today?

I don't know, but they have reversed their earlier stance and are planning to release daily updates again.

FWIW There was a case reported in South Africa earlier Tikay

That is really good, where did you see they had reversed it?

Nice and hot in South Africa, interesting to see if it spreads quickly there.  India imported a load from Italy so data there seems skewed to start with but should watch both these countries now.

[StuartHopkin]

Did they release numbers today?

They have been delayed apparently....