Originally Posted by Red_Wine_Fairy

Wait, a couple of posts again, you were full of nostalgia for the measles parties and thinking parents must be longing for virus-parties. Now you're complaining that 2000 people stepped off a plague ship onto your turf. What's the problem - I thought you couldn't wait to get it over with, like Mark Twain.

You guys should come over to mine after all this dies down. I plan to have a great big celebratory polio-party - come along and build up some herd immunity! Bring your own iron lung, mind....

Originally Posted by uk_grenada

Its a strange period, every day is like a sunday, one can walk the beaches and countryside alone, theres no panic or shortages, and the lack of tourists means its actually pretty easy for restaurants and outdoor bars to do social distancing, so in a way these are civilised times.

However all the sensible predictions are 12 months - maybe longer - so dont believe in any restrictions unless they are sustainable, dont think of planning anything much, and watch as global winners and losers emerge. One thing - i think america is going to be shown profoundly wanting. The leader of singapore described a tripod of support - healthcare, economy/governmwnt and social capital or the will of the people, and without any of these, chaos. America has no social capital and as a country poor healthcare, and i fear the bug will explode there which may hve far reaching consequences for them.

Saudi Arabia is interesting - they use the virus as a weapon of war, immediately turning the screw on iran and the usa via their main weapon - oil prices.

Originally Posted by Gordon Barlow

Fair enough, Fairy, but 1) the situation is changing just about every day, and 2) we have to distinguish between the actual danger to life (not all that great, even now) and the hysterical panic (out of control). I myself assess the actual danger in "BD" terms. BD stands for the "Black Death" of 700 years ago, which itself warrants a BD-10 on my scale. The Corona Virus warrants about a BD-2, at the moment. That may rise to a BD-4, I would say, on present indication, but no higher. The panic I would rank as BD-9, which is absurd.

I have not trademarked my BD scale, so anybody posting on this thread is free to tell the rest of us his or her rank for the actual of ten days or so ago and the actual now, and the panic.

Originally Posted by Jamesy5008

I concur. I had a woman 'social distance' herself from me on SMB yesterday walking home from work. The beach was deserted! Calm doon!!!!

Originally Posted by Gordon Barlow

Let's face it: we none of us know quite how long this Virus will be pestering us, or quite how dangerous it is. My post #16above gave my opinion on the thing, and this link here helps to put the present situation in perspective. (Assuming its statistics are honest, of course!)
https://www.medindia.net/patients/ca...eath-clock.asp

Originally Posted by uk_grenada

Try this link for an interactive- believable set of numbers https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51235105

Originally Posted by Gordon Barlow

Well, not all that believable! Those figures are reported cases, not reported deaths.

Originally Posted by uk_grenada

Not reported cases, confirmed cases, deaths are there too, actually the graph that shows speed of growth is scarier - shows how fast the US is accelerating its cases

Originally Posted by uk_grenada

It’s about co-morbidity- if you aren’t suffering from other weakening heart lung or blood issues don’t fear it. Tons of people die if flu every winter but the flu was assisted in most cases by approaching death from other causes.

NHS stat -,you need most services in the last 2 years of life, or said differently, as you slowly fade out...