Coronavirus

[Anastasius]

Was it on headed paper? Has she called the management to ascertain whether it came from them? Either way, not the way I would expect any responsible organisation to communicate with its stakeholders.

And how exactly are they intending to prevent this person from leaving their flat. To try and physically prevent them is assault which is a criminal offence.

[LHC]

Has anyone actually tried recently to order an online delivery ? If the supermarkets computers aren't down due to overload then they have no slots available. So much for asking the over-70's to stay at home. There's a lot of us who have no choice but to get in the car.

Indeed, Ocado aren’t allowing new registrations at the moment, and will only deliver to existing customers, so the instructions are completely impractical.

[LHC]

On a more positive note, the introduction of social distancing might mean that Building a Library twofers are no longer practical, and we can return to having a single reviewer presenting the BAL recommendation.

[burning dog]

Why are we supposed to "vary our daily commute"? - in the table lower down Summary of Advice

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults

PS it seems to mean "avoid rush hour".

[Serial_Apologist]

Well, in Italy, the police are fining people who are outdoors without reason.
My partner had to get a 'permission to travel' document from a policeman to be allowed to get from his rented apartment to the airport.
One might not think of Italians as a particularly compliant/obedient bunch, but in this case they are all taking the restrictions very seriously indeed.

I was speaking just now to one of the Italian tenants living here in the block. He reported to me that his father, in Milan, had been stopped by an armed guard or policeman on the way to a local shop to buy food provisions. On exiting the shop the same guard ordered him to empty his shopping bag to prove that this was the reason for his being out, and, having been assured that this was indeed the reason, further ordered him to fill in a form giving all his details - name, address, etc.

OT, the tenant also told me he and his wife had discovered her to be two months pregnant yesterday. What could I say, other than congratulate the happy couple and wish them well.

[Barbirollians]

An 80 year old acquaintance returned from Line Dancing (!) last evening to find a note shoved under her door. She lives in semi-sheletered accommodation, i.e. a flat with a warden. It's on the sea-front.

The message said:

You are confined to your flat for 3 months
Strictly no visitors
Your door is like a moat so no-one in and no-one out
The communal area is closed
The lift is out of bounds
Order food online or get a relative to bring it and leave it outside

Er, is this legal??? She is, by the way, not one to be trifled with, so I guess the management will get an earful.

No it is completely unlawful her landlords cannot control her social life nor seek to prevent her doing anything unless it is a breach of her lease .

[Barbirollians]

Putting the lift out of bounds is almost certainly going to be a breach of the Equality Act - the LL should make sure it is regularly cleaned.

[Bryn]

Indeed, Ocado aren’t allowing new registrations at the moment, and will only deliver to existing customers, so the instructions are completely impractical.

Just had a quick look at Amazon Groceries. I do not find their prices competitive enough to consider. Visits on foot (20 minutes) to either of the local Tescos at quiet times, plus slightly longer and more hilly walks to and from either of the two Poundland spores (and Waitrose) a better bet for me, I reckon. For bigger shopping trips I will have to use the car. Local bus service uses quite small buses, so not much distance between passengers.

In passing, I was chatting on the phone to a London bus-driving friend a couple of days ago. Both she and her husband work for Metroline (at different north-west London garages). She reported how drivers concerned that they may be at risk (including one just returned from Italy) had their concerns dismissed by managers and told to assume the were fit for work. She also mentioned she has a new way of stopping passengers from trying to talk to her while she is driving. She simply coughs loudly from within the marginal protection of her cab.

[Serial_Apologist]

Just had a quick look at Amazon Groceries. I do not find their prices competitive enough to consider. Visits on foot (20 minutes) to either of the local Tescos at quiet times, plus slightly longer and more hilly walks to and from either of the two Poundland spores (and Waitrose) a better bet for me, I reckon. For bigger shopping trips I will have to use the car. Local bus service uses quite small buses, so not much distance between passengers.

In passing, I was chatting on the phone to a London bus-driving friend a couple of days ago. Both she and her husband work for Metroline (at different north-west London garages). She reported how drivers concerned that they may be at risk (including one just returned from Italy) had their concerns dismissed by managers and told to assume the were fit for work. She also mentioned she has a new way of stopping passengers from trying to talk to her while she is driving. She simply coughs loudly from within the marginal protection of her cab.

[Dave2002]

@Dave2002
Not sure whether this is the same topic as your 364....?

Not quite. My 364 gave some mathematical justification for the spread of coronavirus and similar diseases. Anyone who wants to play with the models can do so - and I think the basic models have been known for a long while. There are several problems with the models:

1. they are based on assumptions which may not be valid.
2. they rely on the use of "measured" parameters, which in practice will have to be estimated. It is possible that a small change in the parameters will have a very big effect on the outcome - both good and bad - depending on the state.
3. the latest modelling on which the government is basing its advice doesn't just take into account direct account of adverse problems due to the illness, but also other factors. However, much of the basics are related to what is known about the illness.
4. at present, as discussed here, the evidence is that being older tends to lead to poorer outcomes. We have discussed whether a healthy 70 year old might be OK, but at present the evidence is that simply being older is not good. This might be modified in the future. However, the current assumption is that older people (such as like me) should remain largely isolated, firstly to protect themselves, secondly to prevent them spreading the disease, and thirdly so that they do not contribute to the load in the hospitals, fourthly so that if they do get the disease that will be later on, and maybe the equipment needed to treat them safely will have been created and made available.
5. the government modelling and advice is now based to quite a large extent on what has been learned from Italy. The Italian health service has been overwhelmed, which is having really bad effects. The UK government is trying to avoid that happening here.
6. Even though we don't know what the "correct" parameters are for the models, there is strong evidence that reducing contacts with other people can have a very beneficial effect - though the outcomes may not be good, they should still be better than they will otherwise have been.

[Dave2002]

Just had a quick look at Amazon Groceries. I do not find their prices competitive enough to consider. Visits on foot (20 minutes) to either of the local Tescos at quiet times, plus slightly longer and more hilly walks to and from either of the two Poundland spores (and Waitrose) a better bet for me, I reckon. For bigger shopping trips I will have to use the car. Local bus service uses quite small buses, so not much distance between passengers.

How will you get what you want out of the shop?

[Serial_Apologist]

I do ask myself just how quickly the domestic engineering industry can in fact turn its production lines over to making ventilators. Machinery is surely much more product-specific than back in the days when any tool could be applied for general manufacturing.

[Bryn]

I do ask myself just how quickly the domestic engineering industry can in fact turn its production lines over to making ventilators. Machinery is surely much more product-specific than back in the days when any tool could be applied for general manufacturing.

I suppose a lot of it is down to how quickly digitally controlled cutting, milling et al machinery can be suitably reprogrammed. Did I not hear that several UK manufacturers are already set up for the production of at least some parts of the equipment needed, Rolls Royce in particular.

[LMcD]

Has anyone actually tried recently to order an online delivery ? If the supermarkets computers aren't down due to overload then they have no slots available. So much for asking the over-70's to stay at home. There's a lot of us who have no choice but to get in the car.

Absent a car, as they say over the pond, it's a taxi, the bus or Shanks's pony. We don't want to burden anybody else with our shopping - what happens if certain items aren't available - we wouldn't expect anybody to try other shops or guess at suitable alternatives.
Some of the official advice they're spewing out is on a par with the (in) famous 'brush your teeth in the dark'.

[LMcD]

Why are we supposed to "vary our daily commute"? - in the table lower down Summary of Advice

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults

PS it seems to mean "avoid rush hour".

I would have thought it was perfectly obvious what it means - you must go to work somewhere different every day - an ideal chance to compare the performance of different train operators.