If the NHS is under strain, and people start asking tough questions about why the service has been allowed to degrade so much that it doesn't have capacity for this, I wonder if the government will take responsibility for it, or will they mock outrage at anybody trying to hold them accountable for "using the NHS as a political football" and "taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis".

I think some Government Ministers will be ecstatic at the thought of coronavirus spreading throughout the country.

With an estimated death rate of around three percent & a population of sixty odd million, that could be one hell of a cost saving.

The N.H.S. would be a major benefactor, imagine all the “creaking gates” taken out of the equation, those waiting list would take a hell of a dive.

Add to this the savings on pensions & pension credits, free bus passes, winter fuel allowances & T.V. licences that’s one almighty cost reduction.

Then, with some much new housing stock freed up, prices could come down to a reasonable level.

The future's bright, the future's COVID-19.

Those "creaking gates" are the Conservatives' core voters.

Abdu Sharkawy

I'm a doctor and an Infectious Diseases Specialist. I've been at this for more than 20 years seeing sick patients on a daily basis. I have worked in inner city hospitals and in the poorest slums of Africa. HIV-AIDS, Hepatitis,TB, SARS, Measles, Shingles, Whooping cough, Diphtheria...there is little I haven't been exposed to in my profession. And with notable exception of SARS, very little has left me feeling vulnerable, overwhelmed or downright scared.

I am not scared of Covid-19. I am concerned about the implications of a novel infectious agent that has spread the world over and continues to find new footholds in different soil. I am rightly concerned for the welfare of those who are elderly, in frail health or disenfranchised who stand to suffer mostly, and disproportionately, at the hands of this new scourge. But I am not scared of Covid-19.

What I am scared about is the loss of reason and wave of fear that has induced the masses of society into a spellbinding spiral of panic, stockpiling obscene quantities of anything that could fill a bomb shelter adequately in a post-apocalyptic world. I am scared of the N95 masks that are stolen from hospitals and urgent care clinics where they are actually needed for front line healthcare providers and instead are being donned in airports, malls, and coffee lounges, perpetuating even more fear and suspicion of others. I am scared that our hospitals will be overwhelmed with anyone who thinks they " probably don't have it but may as well get checked out no matter what because you just never know..." and those with heart failure, emphysema, pneumonia and strokes will pay the price for overfilled ER waiting rooms with only so many doctors and nurses to assess.

I am scared that travel restrictions will become so far reaching that weddings will be canceled, graduations missed and family reunions will not materialize. And well, even that big party called the Olympic Games...that could be kyboshed too. Can you even
imagine?

I'm scared those same epidemic fears will limit trade, harm partnerships in multiple sectors, business and otherwise and ultimately culminate in a global recession.

But mostly, I'm scared about what message we are telling our kids when faced with a threat. Instead of reason, rationality, openmindedness and altruism, we are telling them to panic, be fearful, suspicious, reactionary and self-interested.

Covid-19 is nowhere near over. It will be coming to a city, a hospital, a friend, even a family member near you at some point. Expect it. Stop waiting to be surprised further. The fact is the virus itself will not likely do much harm when it arrives. But our own behaviors and "fight for yourself above all else" attitude could prove disastrous.

I implore you all. Temper fear with reason, panic with patience and uncertainty with education. We have an opportunity to learn a great deal about health hygiene and limiting the spread of innumerable transmissible diseases in our society. Let's meet this challenge together in the best spirit of compassion for others, patience, and above all, an unfailing effort to seek truth, facts and knowledge as opposed to conjecture, speculation and catastrophizing.

Facts not fear. Clean hands. Open hearts.
Our children will thank us for it.

#washurhands #geturflushot #respect #patiencenotpanic

I wonder if those who are so keen to show a 'calm, reasoned approach' to the threat of a pandemic virus would be as measured had Labour won the election and Jeremy Corbyn become PM.

Or would they now be shouting about the need to "leave the country" because the "UK is finished".

Are you really trying to make this political, jeez, I knew you were a bit daft, didn't have you down as stupid.

A silver lining to the cloud may be that, if sporting events have to take place behind closed doors, there may be FTA viewing for many sports, that currently charge for their services.
Every cloud...…………….

On a serious note, with Italy now "quarantining" 15 million of their population, should there be absolute travel bans put in place for certain areas.
Also, with older people being the most likely to take a cruise and the 65+ age group being most vulnerable, is it time to stop these large scale "prison ships" leaving port, which have started to look like incubators for the virus.

So, you're advocating Abdu Sharkawy's speech, IR80? You're hilarious you wannabe libertarian types!

You're all "every man for himself" when it comes to society, but the minute it looks like you might get really ill, maybe even die, you're all "we've got to look out for one another".

It's just like those Billy big balls types in government who dismiss experts and want to do away with 'interfering' advisers. They're all "we're listening to, and acting on expert advice" now.

There's nothing like a good pandemic to show the whites of people's eyes.

Very true - Michael Gove's words seem very hollow now don't they; I'm imagining a lot 'experts' going, "Oh - not so sick of us now are you...?"

It' quite strange that only certain types of experts are to be trusted or in this case, scapegoated if things dont follow "the model".

See also the NHS and its staff.

The speed at which they went from "a flabby, wasteful organisation, bloated with middle managers pushing paper around a desk, which needs to get leaner" to "our NHS heroes working tirelessly on the frontline of healthcare" was astonishingly quick, especially when the people saying the former realised they would be relying on the latter if they got sick.

Didn’t take long for various posters on here to go down the political route. Ref experts, most of them are deeply divided except piers Morgan he obviously knows the solution to that and everything else. The Israel method is to prevent it reaching the country, successfull so far (tiny amount of cases) argument against that us That it will break out sometime and the general population won’t have any amunity against the virus. Some uk experts believe that stamping the virus out now is the answer.
The government seems to think that maintaining a level of cases will eventually overcome the problem. So let’s face the facts nobody knows what the outcome will be. One thing is for certain is scores of companies and individuals will go bust. The big question is how many companies can the government bail out. Looking at rugby league, should the game go into lock down clubs who are already in debt will fold. Regarding the eu, Italian banks have been virtually bankrupt for years the Germans and the ecb have been reluctant to help out in times past. So unlikely to help out when this is all over. Italy will be bankrupt when this is over.Without doubt this country will overcome the health problems. I would think the financial outcome will set back the country years.