Coronavirus

[jeremyp]

 

Interesting. Personally I think we should care where they come from.

Only in the scientific sense that it helps us to better understand them. I'm not interested in blaming anybody.

[Nearly Sane]

Just because you are peeing your pants over this doesn't mean I have to.

This is the worst crisis that's hit our country in my life time. I'm going to see the funny side of it where I can whether you like it or not. If I don't, I'll go insane.

This was not our PM making a joke about people dying, it was just him being tone deaf. I think that's funny.

I think it's an odd sense of humour to find the incompetence of the PM funny in 'the worst crisis that's hit our country in our lifetime'

[SteveH]

It'd be a bit of a bummer if the EU provides grants or other help to its member countries to help them through the plague, which we won't get because we've just left.

[Roses]

It think leaving the EU is a mistake even the leavers might live to regret, now we are at war with the virus.

[ad_orientem]

Only in the scientific sense that it helps us to better understand them. I'm not interested in blaming anybody.

No, not blame but surely certain practices need to change in order to help prevent things like this happening, surely?

[Udayana]

No, not blame but surely certain practices need to change in order to help prevent things like this happening, surely?

I think this article really answers your question:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/18/tip-of-the-iceberg-is-our-destruction-of-nature-responsible-for-covid-19-aoe

In 2008, Jones and a team of researchers identified 335 diseases that emerged between 1960 and 2004, at least 60% of which came from animals.

Increasingly, says Jones, these zoonotic diseases are linked to environmental change and human behaviour. The disruption of pristine forests driven by logging, mining, road building through remote places, rapid urbanisation and population growth is bringing people into closer contact with animal species they may never have been near before, she says.

The resulting transmission of disease from wildlife to humans, she says, is now “a hidden cost of human economic development. There are just so many more of us, in every environment. We are going into largely undisturbed places and being exposed more and more. We are creating habitats where viruses are transmitted more easily, and then we are surprised that we have new ones.”

Humans have taken over the planet with little or no regard for the environment and its other inhabitants. There are not many alternative endings in this kind of story.

[Alan Burns]

As we approach total lockdown, we have the opportunity to reflect on what is really important in our lives - it is life itself.  One positive observation is that many people have turned away from indulging in self centred activity and channelled their energy and resources into looking after the needs of the most vulnerable.

[Roses]

One thing which is considered much less important now is religious worship. It is much more important to consider human physical needs at a time like this.

[Gordon]

Just been watching our FM's statement - our schools and nurseries will close at the end of this week and that there is no expectation that they will reopen after the Easter break or before the summer school holidays (which start at the end of June in Scotland)..

[Roses]

All schools here in Wales will close as from Friday. 

[Anchorman]

 On the bright side, they've just cancelled the Eurovision Song contest.
Every cloud.....

[Aruntraveller]

On the bright side, they've just cancelled the Eurovision Song contest.
Every cloud.....

Watch it.

Now if we could get rid of that ridiculous military tattoo nonsense that would be a bright side.

[Roses]

On the bright side, they've just cancelled the Eurovision Song contest.
Every cloud.....

I agree.

[Anchorman]

Watch it.

Now if we could get rid of that ridiculous military tattoo nonsense that would be a bright side.

   

Looking for an argument?
Hard cheese!
I'm with you all the way!

[SusanDoris]

   

Looking for an argument?
Hard cheese!
I'm with you all the way!

Any ideas for occupying the time, anchorman? My not-so-strong-as-it-used-to-be heart doesn't allow for brisk walking; can't manage rain; strong wind I can do, but do not enjoy;    strong sunlight ditto. Leisure centre closed, so no gym or swimming; dance studio closed. I do of course realise how lucky I am to be as well as I am at the moment, but …

I have printed off the Tuesday cryptic crossword and am working on that slowly. I have started a new braille book, 'Bird Sense' which I think will be interesting. I have a skipping rope which I used to use quite a lot, so I think I'll use that in the back area - paved and flat.

And, well, typing this has used up a bit of time, so thanks to anyone who has read it!!

[Roses]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-51949243

The border between Canada and the US is to be closed for all non-essential travel.

All UK schools are to close.

[Anchorman]

Any ideas for occupying the time, anchorman? My not-so-strong-as-it-used-to-be heart doesn't allow for brisk walking; can't manage rain; strong wind I can do, but do not enjoy;    strong sunlight ditto. Leisure centre closed, so no gym or swimming; dance studio closed. I do of course realise how lucky I am to be as well as I am at the moment, but … I have printed off the Tuesday cryptic crossword and am working on that slowly. I have started a new braille book, 'Bird Sense' which I think will be interesting. I have a skipping rope which I used to use quite a lot, so I think I'll use that in the back area - paved and flat. And, well, typing this has used up a bit of time, so thanks to anyone who has read it!!

Well, I know you're not into churchy type stuff - although we have suspended formal Sunday Worship, we'll still open the church on Sunday for prayer and reflections. You and i are relatively lucky, Susan, in that we can exercise to some extent, and have access to online stuff....but I know too many Visually impaired folk who have n such access, some of them doubly unfortunate in that they are also hearing impaired. An enforced isolation, whilst possibly helping keep them safe physically, will in all probabability damage them mentally. I'm genuinely concerned for that situation. As for me? I have farmland less than a hundred yards from my house, and plenty of places where I can swing the long cane in self-isolating bliss without breaking anyone's ankles. If I'm indoors, I can work on another E book to add to the one I wrote last year and which was out of date thanks to new discoveries, approximately ten minutes after I finished writing it.

[jeremyp]

I think it's an odd sense of humour to find the incompetence of the PM funny in 'the worst crisis that's hit our country in our lifetime'

It's a relatively minor piece of incompetence.

If you didn't laugh, you'd have to cry. I'll go with the former.

[jeremyp]

No, not blame but surely certain practices need to change in order to help prevent things like this happening, surely?

What practices?

[ad_orientem]

What practices?

Some eating habits and the illegal live animal trade.

[Nearly Sane]

It's a relatively minor piece of incompetence.

If you didn't laugh, you'd have to cry. I'll go with the former.

Nah, no crying just ffsing

[jeremyp]

I think this article really answers your question:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/18/tip-of-the-iceberg-is-our-destruction-of-nature-responsible-for-covid-19-aoe

Humans have taken over the planet with little or no regard for the environment and its other inhabitants. There are not many alternative endings in this kind of story.

It's bollocks.

Well there is an underlying truth. Diseases do transfer from animals with which we come in contact, but they have been doing this for millennia. What is newish is the mobility of humans. It's much easier for a new disease to become a pandemic thanks to the fact that people can travel almost anywhere on the  globe in under 24 hours.

The other thing that is new is that we - in developed countries - are not used to being confronted with diseases that we can't deal with. The R₀ value for measles is far higher than coronavirus (12 to 18 compared to about 2.5) but we don't panic about it because it rarely kills healthy westerners.

Back in the day there were epidemics that devastated populations. Spanish flu killed millions. The Black Death killed a third of the people in Europe.

Pretending that this is, in some sense new is nonsense.

[jeremyp]

Some eating habits and the illegal live animal trade.

Can you be a bit more specific on the eating practices?

Illegal live animal trade is already illegal. What else are you intending to do about it?

[ad_orientem]

Can you be a bit more specific on the eating practices?

Illegal live animal trade is already illegal. What else are you intending to do about it?

The illegal live animal trade, which happens quite openly in the markets, needs to be cracked down on more harshly. As for eating habits, eating things like live baby mice, bat soup, birds nest soup etc needs to end.

The thing is, do we actually start asking questions, or do we just wait until some bird flu variation manages to adapt so it can more efficiently spread from human to human before we do something? If that does happen then we really are all in the shit and coronavirus will seem like a walk in the park.

[Walter]

I was talking to the bloke in Timpsons earlier
He was trying to work out if he was a key worker 😆