Topic: Corona Virus Panic/Discussion Thread

@MightyDemon82 or maybe he’s gunna show off the PS5? Maybe? ...Maybe?

Would be so cool if this coronavirus thing was all just a big marketing scheme for PS5 actually. Fair play Sony, fair play.

@kyleforrester87
Now you mention it, the odds of that happening are probably around 100%. It just makes too much sense. Best marketing strategy ever. And everyone would be so happy, definitely not angry.

@RogerRoger Thanks, means a lot. Should manage fine.
@kyleforrester87 it'll probably come to that. Thanks for the laugh, would be a hell of a marketing gimmick!

First week of lockdown behind us here in Belgium, working from home until the end of this week and then the company filed for technical unemployment starting next week. Not complaining though: me and my family will manage just fine. My partner works in healthcare and I will receive full paycheck for this month and an advance on our ‘double vacation check’ next month.

My thoughts are with vulnerable young people: no laptop (or sharing one with 4 other siblings) for homework/self study , no garden, family violence, appartement buildings that are troubled with the consequences of a lot of different people living together (waste management problems, alcohol/drug abuse, violence,...) and no contact with friends, youth workers, classmates, teachers,...

So yeah, the government is telling us to ‘#stayathome’ and make the best of it. Which is good, and I will have a great time with my family, videogames, netflix, my record collection and my little garden but for these youngsters this is going to suck. Big time.

Well that’s the UK in lockdown. I’m lucky in the sense I probably won’t go insane being stuck in the house but it won’t be that easy for many people.

So my bikes in the shop, reckon they will be open so I can go get it tomorrow? My bikey wikey wike?

Lockdown for three weeks, hmm. What are the odds of that not being extended?

@LieutenantFatman 3 weeks, we're gunna be knee deep in it by then. Add another 2, at least. And then some.

I would be surprised if it weren't extended.

@kyleforrester87
Yes, I'd be expecting 6 weeks minimum.

@LieutenantFatman The Netherlands has just extended its lockdown until June, so prepare for the worst.

I would be surprised if this isn't for at least three months. Something about Boris Johnson being serious makes national address look like a black mirror episode.

I hope the coming days don't get any harder for you @mookysam and getting a delivery due to the lockdown

For everyone here In fact I hope everything goes well on your respective ends!

@Arugula I guess we’ll see if blows up in China again

Going to be working from home for the rest of the week, possibly longer.

Even today they had the office closed to non-employees, so other than my cab ride to work I haven't had any contact with anyone other than a few co-workers who mostly kept to themselves.

We have to really REALLY decide / be informed what track we are taking in the fight against Coronavirus. I doubt it will somehow fade away in the summer, the evidence seems flaky at best with the whole world getting regular cases.

Purposeful infection is a dead dog politically. Covid 19 is too dangerous for our health services. They will be overwhelmed with dead people everywhere.

Flattening the curve, is a good idea for now - but how long and fat is this ongoing curve? If we are all back in work in 3-4 weeks we would have suppressed cases but be back in the exact same situation a few weeks later, with a negligible amount of immunity. I doubt most business would ever recover.

Total suppression, the only true way to deal with this is close up life for 12-15 weeks. Complete closure. No traffic, no nothing allowed anywhere. But is it even possible to get this buy in from every country on the planet? No, probably not.

Grim.

Locking down countries is the ideal plan cos the virus can't survive long out in the wild so it's best everyone limits social interactions to halt the spread. China seem to be close to reaching a recovery phase and while things in Italy are grim the number of daily cases actually went down today. It's unprecedented this happening but it's necessary to halt the spread and the sooner we all cooperate with government and scientific advice the sooner regular life will be restored.

@themcnoisy I think it's really gunna be a case of lock down/partial relief/lock down/partial relief for 12-18 months just to keep things ticking over. Every time the case numbers rise there will be limits imposed, but it'll get a bit easier and the NHS will be more and more prepaired with equipment and less ill people coming through, but it's looking like it'll be a long haul. I guess looking at how China does in the next couple of weeks will be a good indicator.

Generally I think we'll all learn to sort of live with the idea of it before it's actually dealt with.

I'm no economist, but you have to think the potential long term economic damage is a whole other issue.

@AdamNovice you called it early in the thread Ad, the elderly and infirm are in a predicament. I just want it over and done with, get some kind of immunity amongst the young and fit.

But that's asking to out people in harms way so never going to happen in this climate.

@LaJettatura the police have additional powers. You can be dispersed at least or fined / arrested in the worst cases. The uk has gone all in here, we cant have more than 2 people at a time together outside and can only exercise once a day.

To be Frank the pictures of throngs of humans in parks and seasides are huge red flags that the message failed to get through over the weekend. It was mad.

But then again the situation is so surreal and makes no sense living 39 years and never giving high fiving or a quick cuddle a second thought. Watching a footy match from earlier this season they were all over each other and felt bizarre with how we have to behave now. Super reluctant to even pick up a plate off my son.

@kyleforrester87 stopping and starting will have a huge effect. Where as now, I'm getting paid up and held onto thanks to the government scheme. Getting good money to sit in the house from next month. What are the actual ramifications in real world terms?

People have been sacked and cash in hand jobs gone. So our economy has already contracted. The money won't rotate all over the place which means less people benefit. Going into the future if we have closures every 6 weeks then confidence will be thin on the ground, people just won't buy a nice car if they can't use it - public transport money will disappear. Toll money goes down, parking charges are infrequent, valeting jobs go as you do it yourself, no need for parking attendants if no ones there, impulse purchases in shops are gone, you buy less clothes, you wear out less trainers, you don't go the restaurant. Your decoratings done so no need for the tradesman etc etc.

What's less obvious is we will be more weary for the 2nd and 3rd waves. Staying in all the time, worried to go out and join the 200,000 people who have already died. This is where the plan falls down, there is no bottomless pit. At some point we need to make that money back. We won't be in a good position for years and the country will go bust.