Day of Chaos 2: a.Covid-19 thread.

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

Missus is waiting on the results of a Covid test.

Front line health worker, waiting to hear so she knows if she can work.

Results delayed by the bank holiday.

I actually asked for this post to be deleted by a mod. I was irritated when I posted it, which was caused by a recording on the phone line when we called to chase the results. Then, about 30 minutes after posting, we got the results (positive). I am really annoyed at myself for venting in a public forum and would like to apologies to all.

[TordelBack]

That's shit news Dr X, but don't worry about the venting - totally understandable, stressful times. Sincerely hope your missus gets better quickly, and the bug spreads no further.

[paddykafka]

Heck, no need to apologise as far as I can see, Dr X. So sorry to hear of the bad news. Hope you and Mrs X will get through this okay. Sincere best wishes to you both.

[shaolin_monkey]

Oh no, I imagine you must both be very worried! That is not news you want to hear. Hang in there!

[Tiplodocus]

Yeah - hope you all make it through fine and dandy.

[von Boom]

Awful news, Dr. X. I hope your wife recovers quickly.

[Bolt-01]

Argh, Dr X - that's rough. Hope all goes well and you have folks who can help with support nearby.

Don't feel bad about venting - it is what we are here for.

[Professor Bear]

Sales have plummeted, advertising rates are nonexistent, and many newspapers face liquidation.  Anyway, it's a real mystery why so many of them are currently pushing out stories about the lockdown being eased this Monday when even the government aren't saying such a thing.  I wonder what their motivation is?

[IndigoPrime]

TBF, they were clearly briefed on this.

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

I doubt the shops and supermarkets will restrict their social distancing and numbers allowed entry rules, so queueing will still be the norm for a while. Schools and Libraries are unlikely to reopen, but maybe you can go out for a walk a little more than once a day.     

[shaolin_monkey]

I went for a cycle last night. It was nightmarish. 

I go out later when there are fewer pedestrians and cyclists, and usually manage a cycle once every couple of days. The roads are a lot quieter at dusk, and there's hardly anyone about. Usually.

This time, I cycled past, and on one occasion through, shitloads of parties. People partying in their front gardens, spilling out onto the pavement, people with chairs and tables laid out with food and drinks in front of their terraced house surrounded by fellow party-goers, AN ENTIRE STREET covered in bunting and rammed with people!!

It was insane.

I get the impression from Twitter that Cardiff wasn't alone in this idiocy.

I'm calling it now - within the next 1 - 2 weeks we will see our second spike.

[Professor Bear]

You're assuming the second spike will be allowed to register (although if it does, I will put good money on immigrants being blamed, as we're already seeing lots of stories about how "18 million people have crossed our borders since lockdown began").  Massaging of figures by the likes of the BBC and Sky News has already been noted elsewhere, and Twitter is currently flooded with low-follower accounts keen to jump into threads to point out that people die "with" Covid 19, not "of", and that more people died in other flu seasons, and that they were "economically inactive" anyway, etc.  The level of gaslighting going on arguably qualifies as a pandemic in itself.
Someone described the media's role as waging psychological warfare on the public in order to end lockdown measures, and it's hard to disagree.  The big hurdle for them at the moment is that there's been a paradigm shift in the public's thinking - specifically that thousands dying in a flu season should not be considered "normal", which is one good thing to come of all this.  Naturally, it has to be undone as quickly as possible.

[Funt Solo]

I have noticed "the media" peddling quite a lot of "when will lock-down end?" rhetoric. Are they echoing the thoughts of the public or trying to generate a story?

Here in the US the lock-down is definitely beginning to fail on a social level to an obvious degree: the roads are busier - the few shops that are open are packed to the gills unless you choose a seriously off-peak time, when they're then just busier than I've ever seen them.

With the populace just beginning to vote with their feet - I start to ask questions about who's suffering (beyond the obvious older people in care homes and medics), and find that's it's people who are out of a job or stuck in a dangerous job (meat-packing).

Perhaps the long-term way forward is to open things up more but bring in more stringent behavioral modifications and cleanliness routines. (Although, managing folk is proving to be as difficult as one might imagine - for everyone who dons a mask for the greater good there's some Scunthorpe that refuses - like, y'know, Trump.)

As ever: best of luck to all.

[IndigoPrime]

Mrs IP just received a string of frankly terrifying texts, including a demand to isolate in the home AND from everyone else in the house. We have no idea what the reason is — that is not provided. Also, if she's so at risk, why the fuck did it take until now to be told? Argh. (And, yes, these are genuine NHS messages.)

[Pyroxian]

Mrs IP just received a string of frankly terrifying texts, including a demand to isolate in the home AND from everyone else in the house. We have no idea what the reason is — that is not provided. Also, if she's so at risk, why the fuck did it take until now to be told? Argh. (And, yes, these are genuine NHS messages.)

My (very healthy) sister got that the other weekend - when she phoned up on the Monday to check, she was told it was a mistake and that she should ignore the messages.