UK Politics: Drawing Priti Patterns

[Spockydog]

 

 

[ants]

31 minutes ago, Which Tyler said:

 

Thanks. Really informative and interesting. 

[Heartofice]

51 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

 

 

What a dumb meme.

[DanteGabriel]

4 hours ago, Heartofice said:

What a dumb meme.

What is inaccurate?

[BigFatCoward]

That is a big chunk of money, anyone with an better understanding tell me if its enough?

[Heartofice]

15 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

What is inaccurate?

It's a dumb misrepresentation of Britain's Brexit position (for instance never wanting closed borders)
It's a dumb misrepresentation of Britain's pandemic position 
It's a dumb misrepresentation of a Pingu, a childhood institution and floor peeing icon.

More than anything else, it's a cheap political point scoring exercise during a time of crisis, which I find kinda depressing.

[Werthead]

Politico reporting that Boris Johnson, on a conference call with medical suppliers about stepping up ventilator production suggested calling it "Operation Last Gasp."

I previously noted that I don't think Johnson is a psychopath, but his actions and words are highly consistent with those of a sociopath.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Operation last Gasps.

I think he should've done stand up comedy. Yes, I have a very dark sense of humour, shoot me.

[Heartofice]

52 minutes ago, BigFatCoward said:

That is a big chunk of money, anyone with an better understanding tell me if its enough?

It’s a big chunk of money definitely. I’m mostly concerned about those people who won’t get paid when sent on sick leave. Like Virgin staff told to take , what is it, 8 weeks off? Unpaid?

Plus I’m glad I’m not a freelancer as that could be a serious problem 

[Werthead]

Front-line A&E report in the north of England, where they're being swamped by suspected cases but do not have have sufficient protective gear to deal with them. Emotive language, understandably.

Jeremy Hunt earlier on pointing out that as part of no-deal planning, Britain should have built up some significant medical equipment and supply reserves before the end of last year, some of which is applicable to coronavirus. He wanted to know where it was and if it had been deployed. If it's still sitting in a bunch of warehouses waiting for Brexit, that'd be pretty stupid.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

50 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Jeremy Hunt earlier on pointing out that as part of no-deal planning, Britain should have built up some significant medical equipment and supply reserves before the end of last year, some of which is applicable to coronavirus.

Should have might be the key words there. The way the UK staggered thru the whole Brexit process, I think there's a 50% chance, those reserves simply were never built up.

[Which Tyler]

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/coronavirus-a-temporary-universal-basic-income-for-everyone?

 

To: Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak

Coronavirus: A temporary universal basic income for everyone

 

 

In light of COVID-19 everyone should receive a temporary universal basic income, including freelancers and the self-employed.

Why is this important?

In light of Government advice to minimise the scale and spread of coronavirus many people, especially freelancers, self-employed people and people on lower incomes will be left with little to no money for the foreseeable future.

The Government must adopt emergency measures right now to support people across the country, by providing temporary universal basic income so we all have enough money to survive. Universal basic income is a sum of money given to everyone to help pay for essentials like food and bills. Already Labour and Conservative MPs are calling on the Government to do it, and politicians in the USA and other countries are also calling on their Governments to do the same.

There is a lot more that needs to be done to mitigate the impact of coronavirus - from helping people get support from their workplace when they are sick, to making sure tenants don’t face eviction. But ensuring everyone across the country has a set sum to get by could save lives. If you think everyone should be guaranteed enough money to pay for basic essentials at a time like this, will you add your name to the petition now?

[Which Tyler]

Another petition if anyone wants to sign: https://www.change.org/p/test-frontline-nhs-staff-for-covid-19-as-a-priority-coronavirusoutbreak

 

Test frontline NHS staff for COVID-19 as a priority.

 

I have a dilemma. 
I have a cough. 

I’m a junior doctor, currently working in an emergency assessment unit. My cough is minor, and it’s March, so quite common to get a cough... but how do I know it’s not COVID-19? The truth is I don’t. 

So now I have to ask... do I stay off work for 7 days, leaving a shortfall of staff and putting further strain on the already strained NHS, when the likelihood is that I don’t actually have COVID-19?

OR, do I go to work with my minor cough (as I would normally) and risk potentially spreading COVID-19 to all of the sicker patients I see on a daily basis? 

This same dilemma is being faced by ALL NHS workers, including the cleaners (who are the unsung heroes in all of this!) Currently, tests are only being done on patients who require hospital admission. This virus will cause minor symptoms for most people, and relatively young and healthy staff are most likely to fall into that category. The issue is the patients we treat are not healthy, they are frail and vulnerable. Ask yourself this- if your loved one needs hospital care for a condition not related to Covid-19, would you want them to be treated by staff who are likely infected with it? If not, please help us out here. 

We WANT to stay in work. We are YOUR National Health Service. We are proud to serve but we need some common sense here...

I am petitioning for prioritisation of testing for NHS staff... so that those who need to stay away do so, with a clear conscience, and those who can work can do so, with a clear conscience. 

[Heartofice]

Think there are going to be measures announced today around wages and rent. Doubt they will go full UBI though 

[BigFatCoward]

24 minutes ago, Heartofice said:

Think there are going to be measures announced today around wages and rent. Doubt they will go full UBI though 

As someone who has moaned my tits off about police pay and conditions over last decade, its amazing how reassuring having a job for life is in the current climate. I cant imagine the stress people are going through. 

26 minutes ago, Which Tyler said:

Another petition if anyone wants to sign: https://www.change.org/p/test-frontline-nhs-staff-for-covid-19-as-a-priority-coronavirusoutbreak

 

Test frontline NHS staff for COVID-19 as a priority.

 

I have a dilemma. 
I have a cough. 

I’m a junior doctor, currently working in an emergency assessment unit. My cough is minor, and it’s March, so quite common to get a cough... but how do I know it’s not COVID-19? The truth is I don’t. 

So now I have to ask... do I stay off work for 7 days, leaving a shortfall of staff and putting further strain on the already strained NHS, when the likelihood is that I don’t actually have COVID-19?

OR, do I go to work with my minor cough (as I would normally) and risk potentially spreading COVID-19 to all of the sicker patients I see on a daily basis? 

This same dilemma is being faced by ALL NHS workers, including the cleaners (who are the unsung heroes in all of this!) Currently, tests are only being done on patients who require hospital admission. This virus will cause minor symptoms for most people, and relatively young and healthy staff are most likely to fall into that category. The issue is the patients we treat are not healthy, they are frail and vulnerable. Ask yourself this- if your loved one needs hospital care for a condition not related to Covid-19, would you want them to be treated by staff who are likely infected with it? If not, please help us out here. 

We WANT to stay in work. We are YOUR National Health Service. We are proud to serve but we need some common sense here...

I am petitioning for prioritisation of testing for NHS staff... so that those who need to stay away do so, with a clear conscience, and those who can work can do so, with a clear conscience. 

Yeah, we have similar problem at work. I have an increasing number of staff going off with minor ailments, saying 'I dont think its covid, what should I do'? We havent reached the point where we cant provide minimum strength. The problem is we will have people that have 3 cold over coming months, and stay home for 2 weeks each time.  If they could get tested and confirm the first time that it was corona, they could ignore the subsequent incidents. 

[Werthead]

It's a really tough one because the ordinary seasonal flu hasn't gone away and it's still infecting people right now, and if you have a really bad case of the flu it'll probably feel indistinguishable from a moderate case of C19. If those people then take the view of "Well, I've had it, I'm immune now" they could expose themselves to the real deal a few days or weeks later.

This is why testing everyone is vitally important.

[Derfel Cadarn]

3 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

As someone who has moaned my tits off about police pay and conditions over last decade, its amazing how reassuring having a job for life is in the current climate. I cant imagine the stress people are going through. 

Yeah, we have similar problem at work. I have an increasing number of staff going off with minor ailments, saying 'I dont think its covid, what should I do'? We havent reached the point where we cant provide minimum strength. The problem is we will have people that have 3 cold over coming months, and stay home for 2 weeks each time.  If they could get tested and confirm the first time that it was corona, they could ignore the subsequent incidents. 

Same. I’m police staff, my wife’s a nurse. It must be awful for the self-employed, under-employed, zero-hour contractors, or those like Virgin staff being told to take weeks of unpaid leave.

I’m immune-compromised and asthmatic, so I’ve to stay off work as of Monday with no penalty (been AL past two weeks). I’ve offered to work from home, which depends on them getting me a work laptop, due to sensitivity of the data I handle (I’m currently an analyst). Regardless, I get paid. And if they’re unable to facilitate me working from home, I’m happy to spend 12 weeks on my novels and catching up on video games I’ve not played in 18 months.

Though if my nursery shuts, will be hard to home-work will attending to my daughter’s every whim.

Edit: Shortages an issue. Gave my elderly neighbour one of our soap bottles on learning she’d been reduced to TCP!

[Derfel Cadarn]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51928400

Schools in scotland and wales ro shut on Friday. Possibly until end of summer holiday! England still to be officially announced, but guessing will follow suit.

 

[Werthead]

A whole bunch of local venues in Colchester just voluntarily closed down for the duration.

All of the local supermarkets have put a 2-item limit to stop the panic buying (and sensibly removed all of the 4 for £3 offers).

The roads, which are usually completely clear on a work day, are now pretty packed. Not quite as much as at night or on a weekend, but getting there.

Looks like the messages are finally getting home.

[ljkeane]

I'm refusing to panic buy, there's still plenty of food in most stores even if it's not quite what you want. Going into shops near me over the last couple of days though what's with people buying up all the milk and bread? What would you do with more than you'd normally buy anyway?