Coronavirus: General discussion (see opening post for rules)

[Dos_Box]

Hang on!

 

On one hand there's talk of stopping the "exercise allowance" as people are spreading the virus, but on the other it's not bad to cram 30 kids and a handful of adults into a room together?

 

I like this part:

 

The UCL-led study concludes that the evidence to support the closure of schools to combat Covid-19 is “very weak”, and statistics from influenza outbreaks suggest school closures “could have relatively small effects on a virus with Covid-19’s high transmissibility and apparent low clinical effect on schoolchildren”.

 

No mention of teachers or other adult school staff in there. I think they are missing the point hugely.

[6Foot2]

Link:

[Picture Tweet]

 

These doctors have put their pictures on their PPE so that their patients can see who is looking after them, this is such a nice idea

 

 

[smurfomatic]

Went to the local "big" supermarket this morning, around 10.30 and there wasn't a queue! Stood at the front while the security guard spoke with a colleague for a few moments, then he let me in. He did say that I could start a queue if I wanted though...

[hardtailstar]

Link:

[Picture Tweet]

 

 

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]57545[/ATTACH]

 

 

Great idea! is it blue striped suits for males?

[FishCustard]

Probably to identify different types of staff or those with different specialisms. Or it's just happenstance from two different types of suit!

[Andrew_C]

Probably to identify different types of staff or those with different specialisms. Or it's just happenstance from two different types of suit!

One bunny suit from Argos, and the others from Halfrauds?

[6Foot2]

Link: Japanese university graduation uses robots wearing tablets to sit in for students amid lockdown [Metro.co.uk]

 

 

In most cases, graduates are getting their diploma through the mail which, if you’re opening the letter in your pyjamas at home, probably doesn’t feel all that special.

 

One university in Japan, however, is making sure their students get their fair share of the rite of passage.

 

The Business Breakthrough University (BBT) in Tokyo has found a genius way to make sure they still honour the students graduating from college – using technology.

 

Since students couldn’t attend their graduation ceremony, the university enlisted the help of robots. The robots, wearing tablets with some of the students’ faces on it (it would be too hard to show every student’s face), rotated around the room while wearing a graduation cap and gown.

 

They also had arms to accept their degrees and were remotely operated by a small number of students with experience in handling them...

[FishCustard]

Huh, that's really cool!

[MartinT]

I think I'd pass on the graduation ceremony.

[Garacesh]

I think I'd pass on the graduation ceremony.

 

And so you should, social distancing and all that

[LeMarchand]

Virgin Media are allowing you to pause your payments to Sky Sport and BT sport for the duration of the lack of live sport

 

Apparently you will still be able to watch the channels - you just don;t pay for them

 

Payment starts again automatically when sports start again

 

just search for virgin pause payment sky sports - then fill in a form - you will need you account number which you can find from "My Virgin Media"

 

It'll be interesting to see if I get this as a) It's part of my bundle and they've previously insisted it can't be "unbundled" - though it looks like it is now an extra that I didn't ask for and b) I've never used either.

 

Looks like they've rearranged their packages - I can feel a long call to VM trying to explain that no, I do not want the Sports or to stay on a package that will cost me more than just the bits I want.

[6Foot2]

 

Link: Goodsell Gallery: Coronavirus [PDB-101]

 

This painting depicts a coronavirus just entering the lungs, surrounded by mucus secreted by respiratory cells, secreted antibodies, and several small immune systems proteins. The virus is enclosed by a membrane that includes the S (spike) protein, which will mediate attachment and entry into cells, M (membrane) protein, which is involved in organization of the nucleoprotein inside, and E (envelope) protein, which is a membrane channel involved in budding of the virus and may be incorporated into the virion during that process. The nucleoprotein inside includes many copies of the N (nucleocapsid) protein bound to the genomic RNA...

[hardtailstar]

It'll be interesting to see if I get this as a) It's part of my bundle and they've previously insisted it can't be "unbundled" - though it looks like it is now an extra that I didn't ask for and b) I've never used either.

 

Looks like they've rearranged their packages - I can feel a long call to VM trying to explain that no, I do not want the Sports or to stay on a package that will cost me more than just the bits I want.

 

Good luck! It took me 30 minutes of telling them that Virgin were at fault when my internet went down, we went over the checks 3-4 times and every time I said I work in IT I have already done this otherwise I wouldn't be ringing and telling you this!

 

Back on topic.

 

Lots stories locally to me of young people helping the elderly and donating to care homes.

[Arthur]

COVID-19 twice as contagious as previously thought – CDC study

 

A person with COVID-19 could infect up to 6 others – not 2 or 3 as previously thought – making measures to control the pandemic ever more critical, according to a new CDC study.

 

Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, US studied data from Wuhan, China and estimated the basic reproductive number (R0) of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, to be 5.7[1].

 

This is double the previously estimated R0 of 2.2 to 2.7, meaning that the COVID-19 pandemic may be much more difficult to contain.

[6Foot2]

Link: https://twitter.com/ed_son/status/1248021250267656192 [Video Tweet]

 

Emily Maitlis with powerful words that needed saying tonight.

 

(Newsnight opening)

 

Click the link above for the video.

 

You do not survive the illness through fortitude and strength of character, whatever the prime minister’s colleagues will tell us...

[LeMarchand]

Farmer creates NHS rainbow in his field.

 

[6Foot2]

Found in the park, on my allowed exercise break/shopping trip today:

 

 

[mikeprice]

Apparently farmers in the UK are pouring loads and loads of milk down the drain as the demand has dried up

 

It is being blamed on coffee shops closing

 

$deity people must buy a lot of massively overpriced coffees!!!

 

(and put milk in coffee anyway - which is clearly just wrong - but that might me just me - and with most coffee shop coffee you probably should disguise the burnt taste a bit anyway!)

[3s-gtech]

...and yet, milk supply in the supermarkets round here this morning was poor.

 

What on earth is the supply chain playing at?

[Warwick_Tech]

...and yet, milk supply in the supermarkets round here this morning was poor.

 

What on earth is the supply chain playing at?

 

Same here, couldn't find any skimmed for a week, my theory was it took more time and money to produce skimmed so it was dropped in favour of whole and semi ?

[6Foot2]

Same here, couldn't find any skimmed for a week, my theory was it took more time and money to produce skimmed so it was dropped in favour of whole and semi ?

We are rationed for milk in the local supermarket. The biggest issue, according to Mrs P (I wasn't allowed in) is flour. Not one bag on the shelves. Similar in other local stores. We understand that there is plenty of flour, but they can't pack it as they have run out of the commercial-sized paper bags:

 

[LeMarchand]

...and yet, milk supply in the supermarkets round here this morning was poor.

 

Same here! I'd be happy with any other type, but the ladies of the house want skimmed and they drink the most of it. (I only have it on cereal).

We are rationed for milk in the local supermarket. The biggest issue, according to Mrs P (I wasn't allowed in) is flour. Not one bag on the shelves. Similar in other local stores.

 

That would make sense. Same here. but bread supplies almost back to normal.

[River]

Milk supplies here are fine - but then there are many farms around here and there is a local dairy so that might explain it. No flour and also no tinned tomatoes

[elsiegee40]

My local little coop is doing a stonking job of keeping stocked.

 

I went to the petrol station to get charcoal, filled up my car at the same time and they had plain flour so I bought a bag of that. I have baking powder so that’ll do [emoji4]

 

First world crisis: realising we are out of Pimm’s! [emoji33]

Edited April 9, 2020 by elsiegee40

[Andrew_C]

Iread a report this morning which said that flour packaging capacity, rather than the elves was the problem. If you want 15kg sacks, you're in luck.