spouse of scouse

Fingers crossed, although it's not at all certain that this coronavirus is seasonal. For example, Australia and Canada are roughly the same size, Australia's population is around 23 million while Canada's is around 35 million. The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Australia is higher than that of Canada, and Australia has just been through a searingly hot summer. Still warm here now, yesterday was 35C in Perth.

Thairetired2016

If heat would be beneficial why do hot countries have a problem? See Singapore, Thailand.
Just heard on Austrian ORF tonight that the corona family generally doesn't like heat, this present one hasn't been tested for its dislike of heat. Keep fingers crossed.

Pulaski

It's been reported in the UK that the virus doesn't appear to spread over 25º-26ºC. The theory is that the cases in Singapore and other SE Asian countries are people who caught it is China.

I am not saying that I am convinced about either assertion, but that is what has been reported in the UK.

Certainly India is under-achieving will fewer than 100 cases reported as of yesterday but with a population of 1.3 Bn and having three of the worlds largest and most densely populated cities in the world - of course numbers may be significantly under-reported.
But are the Australian cases people who contracted the disease in Australia, or who arrived in the country already infected?

Jake.White

I can't help but wonder at the wisdom or lack of it on display here. They call it total lockdown yet having had a look at some of the various autostrada webcams around the country yesterday I can see that much of the network is in some places still nose to tail with trucks ( although only a very few cars).
There was a long queue of trucks on the A22 northbound yesterday near Vipiteno.
So what we have is essentially an almost total lockdown for the average Joe : a friend of mine in a village near Turin tells me they can't leave the village and are pretty much completely confined to the house, but according to the live autostrada webcams, commercial traffic is moving quite freely and pretty much without restriction across the entire country.
We also have international flights still coming and going at least until Saturday.
All economic concerns at such a radical and unprecedented move notwithstanding, we have to ask ourselves if all of these stringent measures and restrictions applied to normal people but not to commerce is actually anything more than a political face saving exercise for certain cynical people who want to be seen to be doing something, and who don't want their glittering governmental careers damaged, rather than out of any real concern for ordinary folk on the ground, and whether any of it will make any difference at all with all these international trucks and planes moving around freely, and potentially still just spreading the disease around further from country to country with glee to the same extent as before the lockdown..?

It all still seems like a media driven mass hysterical overreaction to me which will likely be as ineffective as if the whole business had been left to run its course. I do not see the point of it.


A quote from the Guardian live coronavirus blog today :

Why is the UK not doing the same as Italy?

Johnson suggested the decisions had come about because politicians and governments around the world are under a lot of pressure to be seen to act, so they may do things that are not necessarily dictated by the science.

Geordieborn

I would have a look at the 1918 flu details on Wiki. Governments do what they think best based on the advice they are giving by so called experts. Trucks are still moving as people still need food. Your reaction to let it happen I'm sure has been considered as it would likely be a quick way to vaccinate a mass of the population. The fact it may wipe out a few thousand (100s millions) of old useless, weak people will save a fortune in NHS time and money. The economy would thrive and the smaller number of people help the planet. I’m just glad someone else is running the country, aren’t you?

Jake.White

The point I'm trying to make Geordie is that it isn't a complete lockdown, and as such will be relatively ineffective as the disease is still more or less completely free to move around and doing this simply gives politicians a cynical chance to save their own skins as they are seen to be making an attempt, as useless or pointless as it may be... None of us are supposed to live forever despite liberal outrage to the contrary, knee jerk reactions, and/or virtue signalling, and there is already way too much of that nonsense whipping everyone up in to a frenzy via the news media.

Geordieborn

Yep Jake, I understood your point only too well. However, people need food to live and some of them have to travel around to get to work, else those in need go without their help.

philat98

A danger for Italy is the illness taking hold in the south. Hospitals there struggle on a normal day. Just the virus test itself is quite costly. Italy isnt keen to spend money in the south and he mafia will be busy calculating how to profit from the situation.

Thairetired2016

I'm not in Italy but watch from the Austrian side. Austria set up border and health checks on several road borders to Italy. Flights from here have ceased, train service apparently was stopped. But why do Italians still ferry people to the Brenner where the journey ends for them?
Slovenia apparently closed the border because Italians hopped across to do their shopping despite a country in lockdown".
One wonders.

philat98

Ansa says they are closing the Brenner tonight.
Trump stopped all flights from Europe but still allowed flights from UK!

Thairetired2016

All crossings should be closed. Nearly all infections in Austria have their origin in Italy/Suedtirol. Plus a few sick Brits.

jonwel

Perhaps he's thinking of a common area with the UK, where the virus can run free and exhaust itself like the plague in old times.
Honestly Trump and Johnson make a fine pair, completely irresponsible and blinkered. Johnson still thinks of nothing but Brexit.

Accetturese

I like the comment from an english medical guy: " Don't act like you don't want to get it, act like you have it and don't want to pass it on" great advice. Our neighbours are an old couple and their two daughters and grandkids are in and out all day!

Pulaski

If you shut down truck transport, shops are going to run out of food in as little as 7 days, even for processed food in tins and packets - I used to work for a major UK food company and their massive warehouse in Gloucester only actually held food supplies for about one week, and deliveries to supermarkets were twice weekly, so if deliveries stopped the shelves would be bare of most common foods in around 4 days. Obviously fresh food is going to start running out much sooner - probably noticeably so to supermarkets within 48 hours.

Therefore when facing a disease with an incubation period of 14 days, you'd generate a food supply panic long before locking down all transportation had enough time to impact the spread of the disease.

philat98

At least Trump has finally grasped that something might not be quite right. Johnson is relying on the goldilocks strategy of herd immunity.