The Lancet ( nothing more to say really)

This is one of the most respected medical publications in the U.K.

That says it all. Led by donkeys.

You would think that testing would be the first priority response of a government along with of course proper PPE and equipment for our NHS

Pikachu You are right.For years the donkeys have lead the pack when the haven't even been qualified enough to give rides along the beach, hopefully when this pandemic is over they are all sent to the glue factory put out to grass.

Worldwide demand for PPE is outstripping supply, it’s a global economy now and by the time Europe realised what was coming it was already on us. It’s tempting to blame our own government, but in reality the whole world has been found wanting.

There’s more to hold the government to account for than the lack of PPE. Remember the ‘herd immunity’ theory they trotted out at first?

Yet it was known about 3 months ago Casdon. PPE demand may have outstripped supply and yes, to an extent, it has not just been the UK government under prepared other countries have too. Governments of all stripes never heed the scout's motto. There was, however, time to prepare.

Casdon we make and manufacture PPE equipment in the UK. And the whole world has NOT been found wanting.

South Korea contained the, quick substantial, outbreak exceedingly well. China, the most populous country in the world has less than 4,000 deaths. Our little island looks to be lucky if less than 20,000 die.

Don’t blame our government? Are we sheep?

I’m seeing 2 hashtags. One says #BooForBoris

And the other one says #ClapForBoris

Apparently they’re both happening at 8pm on Sunday.

Boo him if you like, but wishing Gonorrhoea on him - particularly while he’s battling #COVID19 - is a bit harsh.

It is yet another example of how the narrow money defined value of everything has let the country down.

The main criteria for everything for the last 40 years has been to drive everything down to the lowest price, to drive the 'fat' out of the system on the grounds of making the economy more efficient and prices lower.

It is what is behind the now discredited 'Just in time' methods of supplying goods and parts, whether car manufacturing components or food to supermarkets: no warehousing, no stocks, just goods arriving at their destination just as they are needed whether widgets when making cars or food in shops, the policy is the same.

Nor are we, as consumers, devoid of blame. In the past we shopped weekly and had a weeks supply of food and a bit more at the beginning of the week, but in recent years, especially with the increased use of ready meals, consumers have got into the habit of buying the day's food on the day and carrying no stocks at home.

While there undoubtedly was panic buying and hoarding since Covid-19 reached Britain, much of it was also people who normally shop day to day, realising that they could be in total social seclusion at any moment and suddenly trying to buy a fortnights supply of food. The supermarkets so used to day by day just in time shopping and using the same methods themselves, found that when consumer demand grew suddenly. They had no buffer stocks to imediately.call on to fill the shelves and the sight of empty shelves, led worried consumers to buy more in case the shops ran out.

When DS and family were told they had to go into seclusion for a week because a contact was suspected of having Covid-19. The first thing DS had to do was dash to the supermarket to buy a weeks supply of food.

Changing from this monetary basis that has enabled food prices in the UK to be cheaper than all other comparable countries has got to change. We have got to accept that supply chain resilience, whether food, PPE, ventilators or Mars bars has got to be improved, with more not less stocks available.

This is going to cost money. Perhaps we must learn to question the policy of cheap food and replace it with a policy of security of supply, even if it costs more.

Someone representing a company that had testing kit was interviewed by radio 4 today. Said they were in negotiations with the government. However they are already exporting! Seems incredible, this test is cheap and quick.

The Scottish government has tests on order from Korea ,due this week,we have 50+ dedicated CV assessment clinics with more being added Newly qualified nurses are being asked to volunteer to start work now instead of after the summer and are being started on Band D wages,just over £22,000 as an incentive .The nearest assessment clinic to me will be just a mile and a half away and opens on Monday ,its by appointment only after a telephone assessment but should mean CV patients can be kept seperate from the rest of the GP's list .

The thing that puzzles me is the absence of contact tracing. If this had been done from Day One we would be in a much better position now. This is how Singapore got through it. They set up whole teams of people who did the tracing, which itself followed testing.

Exactly Lucky this is how South Korea nipped this in the bud. Too late now.

When DS and family were told they had to go into seclusion for a week because a contact was suspected of having Covid-19. The first thing DS had to do was dash to the supermarket to buy a weeks supply of food.

Because that’s not irresponsible at all. Imagine if positive how many people he could have affected!

Luckygirl the thing that puzzles me is this: DH and I are, hopefully, travelling back to the U.K. tonight on a Qatar flight.
We have been in lockdown in Perth for a week and are fit and well.
We will be allowed back into the U.K. with , from what I have heard from others who have just returned, with little , if any, checks on our health.
So, after leaving isolation we will be sitting with many people who haven’t been as cocooned as us and may be infected.

If there is a simple test and there are enough of them why don’t they put us in hotels and not let us out until we are cleared as they are doing over here.
Although we have been in Australia for 2 months we flew from Adelaide to Perth at the beginning of last week, hence the lockdown. They have introduced quite draconian measures here to help keep people safe.

In the early days they were contact tracing, but once the virus gets into the population and people are getting it, who either have no symptoms or very mild symptoms, then you do not have a cats chance in hell of picking up all the cases or contact chasing because the cases are so numerous and not all are coming to official attention.

Testing everybody to find out if they're infected would certainly give useful numbers. But then you'd have to do it again to all the people who tested negative. And then again. And again. And again. This doesn't seem terribly efficient.

On the other hand finding out, by testing for covid antibodies, how many people have acquired immunity because they've been infected, possibly unknown to themselves or anyone else, would be very useful with regard to herd immunity, which really is a thing and a useful thing at that.

Antibody tests are being devised as we speak.

I guess that'd have to be done again too.

Neither of these options are simple.

If there is a simple test and there are enough of them why don’t they put us in hotels and not let us out until we are cleared

If there were a simple test and there were enough of them I strongly suspect that this, or something like it, would be happening.

Could it be that there isn't a simple test?

How long does it take for the results of current tests to be known? How are the tests done? Using blood samples? Something else?

Summerlove I agree. Fortunately they are now out of seclusion and no-one developed the disease.

They have also now set up home delivery orders with several local stores and got themselves organised and are following the rules meticulously.

M0nica, I read this the other day, and it certainly gave me food for thought

novaramedia.com/2020/03/23/when-logistics-run-out-of-time/

And Summerlove, wouldn’t continuing to shop everyday have infected more people than one trip to buy for a week?

My teenage granddaughter is shut away in her bedroom with possible corona virus. The others in the house had not shown symptoms when I last spoke them. When she emerges early next week they will not know whether she really did have the virus or not. I suppose if her family start getting symptoms it might be the virus. Without tests how can you tell?

Baggs says it all.

I've just remembered throat and nose swab tests. But I doubt these are quick, simple, results on the spot tests.