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Coronavirus - how is it/has it affected you?

pauldj42 said:
https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-11966028
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The final sentence just leaves things open. "Policing by consent..." I could say you have my consent to stop everyone. And if anyone doesn't have a valid reason, fine 'em. Cuddly, cuddly chats don't work. How many us, especially going back a bit, were stopped for pushing it a bit in the car? A cuddly, cuddly word and we still just push the boundary a little, e.g. 75 on a motorway.

And if the ref says you're offside, you're offside. Its an attitude of mind. Foot stamping achieves nothing.

This morning I was out early, hoping to miss the potential roadblocks. Failed! The Police pulled me in a couple of km's north of the village, and then as a I came away from the town I was shopping in, it was the army. All very officious without being oppressive. A couple of weeks ago I would have said oppressive but you learn to live with it
 
Foxholer said:
My understanding is that anyone who has had chemo is considered 'highly vulnerable' as their immune system is likely to be very weak. The wife of one of the guys at my work is 'group isolating' with fellow leukemia survivors in that category.
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Leukemia is indeed a high risk cancer and so yes the letter and advice to isolate absolutely applies.

My wife is 3 yrs into the 'maintenance' phase post chemo/radio/operation for BC, and the guidance from the Breast Cancer experts (and she works with them) is that those at high risk are either in chemo - or in the first 3 months post-chemo. What my wife's team is finding (from calls to the helpline from women such as her) is that the NHS has quite sensibly taken a very broad-brush approach to catch as many women as possible - so some women who are 7-8yrs+ post chemo have got the letter.

The guidance being provided by BCN on an individual basis is that many women who got the letter have a risk not much higher - if higher at all - than the population risk. The guidance in the letter is that women such as my wife should just check their individual risk with their specialist nurse; with their oncologist, or if way past end of treatment with such as Breast Cancer Now.

My point is that if my wife panics (as she did) on receipt of the letter, even knowing what she knows, then many who will have received the letter will also panic - and that is absolutely understandable. But many getting the letter should be reassured to know of the approach the NHS has taken - and just check with their specialist support.
 
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An idle musing ...

Anyone else think it's a bit fortunate that lockdown didnt come until after the better weather came? A month or two earlier and we'd all have drowned in the queues outside the supermarkets.

And spare a thought for all those who did get their homes flooded - and who now have to contend with lockdown on top of it.
 
bluewolf said:
Ok, so on Saturday I left the house to walk the dogs and get my 1 daily exercise. As I was going to pass through the village, I decided to buy some milk, bread and paracetamol (as I have a broken tooth that can't currently be fixed as the Dentists are shut). I think we'd all agree that these are essentials yes?
Unfortunately, the shop was clean out of all 3, so whilst I was in there I picked up a nice bottle of Rioja for me, and some Ben and Jerry Phish Food for the kids. Not what anyone would call essential items I suppose..

Breaking the rules or not..
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Well, as the off licences are allowed to be open then the Rioja is obviously fine. The Ben & Jerry's however is a bit dodgy... :oops: ;)

If you've gone out with the genuine intention of essentials then where's the harm, you were out anyway. Has it had any further impact on the likely spread? No more than if you'd picked up the essentials you'd gone out for IMO.

Slightly different question; if off licences can remain open, why not garden centres? They will suffer greatly at this time of year & the feel good factor of gardening is great for people's mental health and gets them some fresh air. So what makes booze more important than plants (beyond the taxation levels, obviously)?
 
ger147 said:
Looks like my wife has it. Had a persistent cough for 2 days now and her temperature is up. We don't have a huge house so very difficult for her to totally self-isolate but we're doing our best. She's not great but has no breathing difficulties at the moment so fingers crossed she doesn't get any worse.
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Hi ger - look after yourselves best as can do - take care, my prayers and all that ...
 
Hobbit said:
The final sentence just leaves things open. "Policing by consent..." I could say you have my consent to stop everyone. And if anyone doesn't have a valid reason, fine 'em. Cuddly, cuddly chats don't work. How many us, especially going back a bit, were stopped for pushing it a bit in the car? A cuddly, cuddly word and we still just push the boundary a little, e.g. 75 on a motorway.

And if the ref says you're offside, you're offside. Its an attitude of mind. Foot stamping achieves nothing.

This morning I was out early, hoping to miss the potential roadblocks. Failed! The Police pulled me in a couple of km's north of the village, and then as a I came away from the town I was shopping in, it was the army. All very officious without being oppressive. A couple of weeks ago I would have said oppressive but you learn to live with it
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Still stuck with Los Gallardos? Or can you now get to a decent shop?
 
backwoodsman said:
Still stuck with Los Gallardos? Or can you now get to a decent shop?
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Vera Police and Traffico are saying its ok to travel to there. I went onto the motorway and off at the next junction, Valle Del Este, and was stopped at the roundabout just off the motorway. They were pulling everyone. Its less than a 15 min journey going the backway. Iceland and Dia are almost next to each other - sorted.

Police were pulling people at the Repsol garage just below the Pueblo yesterday, and saying shop locally not in Mojacar.
 
the news just said that the police use heavy handed tactics in using drones above a beauty spot. unless they are reaper drones what is heavy handed about that? said person needs to see the coverage in India. police are full on beating people with bamboo sticks.
 
Hobbit said:
The final sentence just leaves things open. "Policing by consent..." I could say you have my consent to stop everyone. And if anyone doesn't have a valid reason, fine 'em. Cuddly, cuddly chats don't work. How many us, especially going back a bit, were stopped for pushing it a bit in the car? A cuddly, cuddly word and we still just push the boundary a little, e.g. 75 on a motorway.

And if the ref says you're offside, you're offside. Its an attitude of mind. Foot stamping achieves nothing.

This morning I was out early, hoping to miss the potential roadblocks. Failed! The Police pulled me in a couple of km's north of the village, and then as a I came away from the town I was shopping in, it was the army. All very officious without being oppressive. A couple of weeks ago I would have said oppressive but you learn to live with it
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The Spanish approach is much more draconian than many other European countries, but is there any evidence that it's more successful?
Until we're sure it is, I'd rather that the police were not chasing people around every time Michael Gove makes something up in a press conference because he's out of his depth.
 
Orikoru said:
The rules say 'shopping for essentials' - you went shopping for essentials. Irrespective of the fact you didn't find any. :p
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We've got some food (not a vast amount) in our freezer. Is shopping for anything then essential? You could say it isn't.

However me and Mrs Hogie will likely go for a walk this evening (of one hour or less) and on our way back we'll go through town and pick up a couple of bits and pieces from a store. It will be very quiet - almost deserted. We are fortunate as we can walk from our house straight into parkland/countryside in about 3 minutes and the vast majority of folks out (few and far between the time we walk) adhere well to the 2m rule.
 
pendodave said:
The Spanish approach is much more draconian than many other European countries, but is there any evidence that it's more successful?
Until we're sure it is, I'd rather that the police were not chasing people around every time Michael Gove makes something up in a press conference because he's out of his depth.
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Playing Devil's Advocate, would you rather err on the side of caution, Spanish style, or catch it? How do you find out you're sure? When the infected and death rates are through the roof?

Bars and restaurants are closed, same as the UK. Essential journeys only, same as the UK. The differences, from what I can see, are only one person goes out shopping and no hour out for exercise. Is it that hard to do 30 mins in front of a YouTube vid jumping up and down?
 
Hobbit said:
The differences, from what I can see, are only one person goes out shopping and no hour out for exercise. Is it that hard to do 30 mins in front of a YouTube vid jumping up and down?
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No, it's not. But that isn't the rule. I think that the rules need to be made ultra clear, then enforced by the Police. What we don't need is people interpreting the rules differently and then the same rules being enforced differently by the Authorities.. It really isn't helping matters at all..
 
Mayor of Washington DC; break the lockdown and you face the possibility of a $5,000 fine and 90 days in jail.

How many times have we seen posts on here about all sort of things say the UK is too soft ------------- right until its impacting on people, and we now hear people saying its too harsh?
 
Hobbit said:
Mayor of Washington DC; break the lockdown and you face the possibility of a $5,000 fine and 90 days in jail.

How many times have we seen posts on here about all sort of things say the UK is too soft ------------- right until its impacting on people, and we now hear people saying its too harsh?
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I'm not saying it's too harsh.. I'm saying it's not a rule.. Toughen up the rules, then enforce them. But don't enforce made up rules just because you want to.
 
bluewolf said:
Ok, so on Saturday I left the house to walk the dogs and get my 1 daily exercise. As I was going to pass through the village, I decided to buy some milk, bread and paracetamol (as I have a broken tooth that can't currently be fixed as the Dentists are shut). I think we'd all agree that these are essentials yes?
Unfortunately, the shop was clean out of all 3, so whilst I was in there I picked up a nice bottle of Rioja for me, and some Ben and Jerry Phish Food for the kids. Not what anyone would call essential items I suppose..

Breaking the rules or not..
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No, there isn't anything in the legislation that defines what is essential, hence why they've had to step back from the whole stop selling Easter Eggs etc.
 
bluewolf said:
No, it's not. But that isn't the rule. I think that the rules need to be made ultra clear, then enforced by the Police. What we don't need is people interpreting the rules differently and then the same rules being enforced differently by the Authorities.. It really isn't helping matters at all..
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We're getting the same. Police in Mojacar are saying shop in the village. Police in the village are saying shop in the village. Police in the next town, Vera, are saying its ok to shop there.

We have the added confusion that Spain is made up of semi-autonomous regions. Huelva over near the Portuguese border is even harsher. And many areas have different levels of fines. Simple answer, just do as you're told.
 
Am I the only one who, when they see the police stopping people who are out unnecessarily, or the when they showed drones of people driving to the likes of the Peak District for a walk thought "prats!"? (I did put a worse word there but edited it). I didn't think the police were being over zealous. I thought the people in question were being selfish and inconsiderate. I think they should be named and shamed.
It's like the walker who gave @patricks148 abuse or the farmer who got beaten up by a walker who shouldn't have been there. Some people think they're above the law and then get angry if they're challenged on it. Or plead human rights, or over-policing.
Every one of those selfish idiots is putting someones loved one, or even their own, at risk. But they don't care, or won't till it impacts on them.
If I was being really extreme, I'd say put these selfish people in a building to fend for themselves with no medical assistance and then see how they get on. But of course I wouldn't say that. ;):devilish:
 
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Hobbit said:
Playing Devil's Advocate, would you rather err on the side of caution, Spanish style, or catch it? How do you find out you're sure? When the infected and death rates are through the roof?

Bars and restaurants are closed, same as the UK. Essential journeys only, same as the UK. The differences, from what I can see, are only one person goes out shopping and no hour out for exercise. Is it that hard to do 30 mins in front of a YouTube vid jumping up and down?
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As you say, similar enough. Whatever you read, I think British people are doing their bit. But without turning into a police state. I just find the desire to live under martial law for no obvious additional benefit and to wish it on everyone else is not for me.
 
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