Sanity possibly starting at last. This is a long post but as we are going nowhere worth a read.
Professor Graham Medley, who sits on the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage),
told The Times that ministers must consider the potential social problems like unemployment and mental ill health caused by the lockdown when deciding its exit strategy.
It is nearly two weeks since Boris Johnson told the public to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary social contact in a bid to halt the spread of the virus.
However, Professor Medley, who chairs the SAGE committee that oversees mathematical models for the Government, said: “This disease is so nasty that we had to suppress it completely. Then we’ve kind of painted ourselves into a corner, because then the question will be what do we do now?
“We will have done three weeks of this lockdown so there’s a big decision coming up on 13 April. In broad terms are we going to continue to harm children to protect vulnerable people, or not?”
Related
Boris Johnson to remain self-isolated as he is still suffering from coronavirus symptoms
The professor of infectious disease modelling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
told The Times the social impact of the lockdown was “increasingly being considered” by advisers.
He said: "The measures to control [the disease] cause harm. The principal one is economic, and I don’t mean to the economy generally, I mean to the incomes of people who rely on a continuous stream of money and their children, particularly the school closure aspect .
"There will also be actual harms in terms of mental health, in terms of domestic violence and child abuse, and in terms of food poverty.”
And he warned: "If we carry on with lockdown it buys us more time, we can get more thought put into it, but it doesn’t resolve anything - it’s a placeholder.”
Professor Medley’s warnings about the social toll of the lockdown come after claims for welfare help soared, amid fears that the closure of vast swathes of the economy will plunge the UK into a deep recession.
I end quote
Out of interest, the Government has approved a million benefit claims in the last 2 weeks! Cost to nation???
Unemployment estimates at best are 15% FOLLOWING A RECESSION OF THIS MAGNITUDE (likely to be more)
More claims from self employed, claims for private sector wages etc etc we are looking at hundreds of billions of pounds if not more.
Of interest to the face mask brigade, a quote from the England chief medical officer Dr Van Tam MBE an expert in viral infections and in particular influenza spread
Quote
"Wearing face masks in public will do nothing to slow the spread of the coronavirus, a senior medical expert has declared.
Deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van Tam said there was "no evidence" that it prevented people from catching it".
He spoke out amid mounting calls for the Government to change its official advice to the public on wearing masks.
In the meantime we are mobilising 3.000 army reservists for what ever duties are needed. The MoD said it expects 3,000 to be needed for a six-month deployment, with tasks including backing up the NHS, providing specialist skills, reinforcing regional command posts and
“to support the implementation of contingency plans developed by other departments”.
I apologise for using the VW forum for political conversation but I think most of us who own campervans love our freedom, ability to roam, visit different locations and engage with nature. You are, therfore, a good source of individuals to look at the current lunacy before the country is in economic/social ruin.
If you value this freedom and you don't want to SORN your van for months, explore this subject further, it is all ther on the internet.
Note the experts above do NOT mention a vaccine because as I have said before there will be none.
The corona virus has to be lived with just like influenza group. Covid 2 was SARS, killed 3000, 5% death rate (60000 cases). Covid 12 was MERS 15% death rate (2500 cases) no intervention nationally/internationally self terminate like Ebola does. We now have Covid 19 very infectious, but no more than influenza death rate will be much, much, lower than previous coronas. Covid infects 3 people for evryone in contact , incubation period 6 days approx , influenza one individual infects one other but incubation period 2 days, guess wht? same exponential curve!
We have lived with viruses for millenia, they cannot live outside of an host for more than a few hours, kill the host and it dies! ideal situation, fit host carrier state for transmission. (95% of Covid 19 positive have mild or no (60%) symptoms. Look at Herpes group, hepatitis A,B,C etc etc. Even HIV doesn't kill you, it suppresses the immune system and you die of something else. The more virulent the virus the more self limiting it seems to be. There will be new Covids in the next 10 years, more mutated influenza beyong H1N1 H3N2 H5N1 etc. Do we react as we have done to this pandemic everytime one emerges?????
There is a balance in nature, we cannot live forever and viruses have a way of focussing on the people with medical issues/ageing not the young and fit in whom to cause mortality. I am just short of the 'at risk' age group!! I have seen many people die badly, of cancer, strokes after months,heart/lung failure (can't breathe), dementia (killing the relatives by degrees) I would welcome an infectious way out over a few days on a ventilator under sedation . Only a few drop dead with heart attacks and massive strokes.
www.telegraph.co.uk
