Coronavirus worries?

[LondonRain]

A 21-year-old woman who was reported as having died from coronavirus may not have had it after all.

The death of 21-year-old Chloe Middleton was given widespread media coverage earlier this week when she was reported to be the youngest British victim of Covid-19 with no known underlying health issues.

But it has since emerged that Miss Middleton may not have had coronavirus and that she may in fact have died of a heart attack.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/03/28/doubts-cast-on-tragic-tale-of-britains-youngest-coronavirus-victim/

[Lencoboy]

This virus is the only thing that might lose the election for him. I've been convinced totally that he wins in a landslide until recently. But, the Democrats appear to have chosen Biden at this point and he's is such a weak candidate. And now, he can't even go out campaigning, while Trump is on TV every day giving a press conference. So, assuming we're at least on the upswing by November, I think Trump does win. I had always said the only thing that would stop him from winning was a recession, but I don't think this recession will count.

Although I am going slightly off on a tangent here, whilst at the same time trying not to come across as a know-it-all, I really hate the way that the term 'recession' is misused by both the media and the general public as a whole!!

The definition of an economic 'recession' in absolute terms is actually two or more consecutive quarters (three-month periods) of zero and/or minus zero economic growth within a given country, so we haven't simply entered a 'recession' pretty much overnight. I just wish the media in particular would get the facts straight, rather than spewing out highly emotive lingo such as the word 'recession', when simply 'economic slowdown' would be more precise in the current short term, even though there is a distinct possibility that the global economy may slide into an out-and-out recession in due course, but again, that's something only time will tell.

[Lencoboy]

One hope I've had throughout this whole pandemic is that it will lead to a fundamental social/political shift for the better.
People showing immense gratitude for the work healthcare workers do - but also the work for example done by shopkeepers.
These workers are finally getting the recognition they always deserved.

Governments, even Conservative or Republican ones, are faced with a stark choice: use the power of government to step in and help people, or see even higher mortality rates and an even bigger economic hit.

Maybe working remotely for many people (for those fortunate to be able to do so) will make them re-assess their work/life balance.

Maybe when the quarantine is finally lifted, people will have a newfound sense of hope and optimism.

And who knows how that might shape politics or society moving forwards?

Same here, Dan.

Just like during the Global Financial Crisis I kind of hoped for the same things and it did initially seem like we were heading in the right directions from around 2012 onwards in many ways when said crisis had finally started to peter out, but sadly by around 2015-16 onwards we seemed to be back to many of our older ways once again with the likes of political indifference, violent crime rising rapidly once again following a bit of a lull since around 2007-08 or so, the political hard-right seemingly gaining momentum, of course coupled with (for better or worse) the vote for Brexit, and the sudden growth of Islamic State-related terrorism and associated threats, which also seemed to go through a bit of a lull between 2008 and 2013.

I know we cannot really compare the effects of both the GFC and the CV pandemic and their aftermaths like-for-like, but like you, I really do hope things do change for the better both in the short and long terms once this pandemic is finally declared over.

[Pamplemousse]

My apologies for continuing to bring politics into this thread, but this is unreal:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ient-Zero.html

[Lencoboy]

My apologies for continuing to bring politics into this thread, but this is unreal:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ient-Zero.html

Looks like BoJo has already started to play the proverbial 'blame game' and using Mr. Barnier as a 'scapegoat'!!

Nevertheless, I am now really starting to look forward to a possible 'brave new world' after all of this comes to an end.

[Lencoboy]

I wonder if TV broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV, etc may now be forced into programme 'rationing' due to the CV lockdown, especially as they are now unable to produce the regular weekly favourites such as Casualty, EastEnders, Corrie, Emmerdale, etc (even though I personally give all those and the like a wide berth anyway), and possibly return to the old-fashioned midnight 'closedown' thing once again that was the norm prior to the 90s?

And subsequently be forced into making dramas like Casualty, etc 'seasonal' once again rather than all-year-round, and cutting down the 'big' soaps to just once-weekly airings instead of multiple times per week?

If so, it could inadvertently lead to the return of quality over quantity, and people valuing what comes on the box even more so than before, which IMO has seemed to steadily decline since about the mid-90s or so, when the then-'brave new world' of multiple channel, 24-7 programming first started to take off.


Once again, it's the 'less is more' scenario.

[Pamplemousse]

Looks like BoJo has already started to play the proverbial 'blame game' and using Mr. Barnier as a 'scapegoat'!!

Nevertheless, I am now really starting to look forward to a possible 'brave new world' after all of this comes to an end.

Doubt it, Lencoboy: the Mail today also has the vile Iain Duncan Smith attacking China today, attacking over-zealous policing and Dan Hodges and Peter Hitchens bemoaning attacks on our liberty. It's not Johnson setting the Mail up to do this, but they are getting their "two minute hate" of foreigners in to divert blame for when the economy starts to tank and gets worse when a "no deal" Brexit happens at the end of the year. A recession was pretty much on the cards globally even before this all happened; it will now be much worse.

I can see the lockdown tightening soon, not loosening. Round my way the police are already stopping cars and asking drivers if they are out with 'good reason'.

[Pamplemousse]

When the UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the £350bn rescue package, along with the governments plans to attempt to pay 80% of the wages of certain workers ect - I absolutely applaud these efforts, but it made me wonder why there has never been an emergency cobra meeting to discuss the homeless epidemic - why was there never any money to help them?
Why was there apparently never any money to help the NHS, or mental health services?

Ideology, sadly. The homeless don't vote Tory - they're just for Bullingdon Club members to burn £50 notes in front of and quite a few others would love to dismantle the NHS.

[Brunamateus]

Guys I'm getting super worried, just read on the news a baby died from it, and here in Portugal a 14 yo also died from cv, I have a 2 yo daughter so naturally I'm more worried now

[Pamplemousse]

I wonder if TV broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV, etc may now be forced into programme 'rationing' due to the CV lockdown, especially as they are now unable to produce the regular weekly favourites such as Casualty, EastEnders, Corrie, Emmerdale, etc (even though I personally give all those and the like a wide berth anyway), and possibly return to the old-fashioned midnight 'closedown' thing once again that was the norm prior to the 90s?

And subsequently be forced into making dramas like Casualty, etc 'seasonal' once again rather than all-year-round, and cutting down the 'big' soaps to just once-weekly airings instead of multiple times per week?

It's already happening. Production on EastEnders and other continuing dramas like Holby ceased on the 18th March and EastEnders has now gone to two days a week of transmission - Neighbours (Aussie, but nonetheless) is doing the same from tomorrow: production has also stopped on their ITV equivalents.

'Closedown' is unnecessary these days when pre-recorded programming is automatically played out from servers.