No more deaths than at any other time: the problem is that CoronaVirus tends to attack the respiratory system; the NHS just needs more concentration on stopping the spread of infection and the treatment of those symptoms. It is NOT a serious problem.

What is the source of this apparently altered piece?

Over 34,000 people dead.


And it's not a serious problem....

I'm alarmed by the fact that although our security services have been planning, and rehearsing, a strategy to react to germ warfare, when this virus happens they do, well, nowt. I guess that means the strategy, after decades of refinement, was only ever this: send out a few emails and a video, then get the VIPs in the sealed bunkers and leave the rest to suffer!

Yes, but if people were not in hospital requiring intensive treatment the death rate might be much higher, and if the system is blocked by virus patients there will be a lot of people killed by other things because they cant be treated.

So it isn't the viciousness of the illness that is the problem, just that we cant accommodate it yet.

Grow up Barney; Just under 2000 people a day die in England & Wales. These are Government statistics; Google them. CoronaVirus has merely caused some to die before they would have done and requires different equipment which the NHS does not have. It is NOT the plague you and others desire. In your sheeplike following of media and faithful belief in them you dare not see the obvious. The facts are there.

So we should ignore a completely new and unknown disease - which has killed 34,000 people, in 3 months - and infected hundreds of thousands?

What a completely stupid suggestion that we should ignore another highly infectious & unpleasant virus. Almost as stupid as going to the other extreme and considering it a plague. Balance is everything; you are clearly incapable of balanced thinking.

Honey wrote:
Yes, but if people were not in hospital requiring intensive treatment the death rate might be much higher, and if the system is blocked by virus patients there will be a lot of people killed by other things because they cant be treated.

So it isn't the viciousness of the illness that is the problem, just that we cant accommodate it yet.

Totally agree Honey.

The more I read about it the more I realise how political this is.

I thought initially this was politicans following media, but the heart of the problem is the NHS does not have capacity to cope with the virulence of the infection rate (not efficacy) of the disease. The Telegraph had a report other day Gov was specifically warned about this 4 years ago.

The problem is how to pay for massive state funded health services and not only this but fund for contingency planning? which our Gov has not done; and of course most others in the world.

Thus we have the pay off: media to politics; panic generated to shift sales and attention to an invisible "killer" that has come upon us as if from a sci-fi film...

Please don't suspect for a minute dear voters that you are having your lives ruined, jobs lost, relationships ended because of a failing of your leaders...

But we are; and this is why I can't go to the bloody pub tonight!

And the frightening thing is; when it's all over (in three weeks) Boris will claim "thanks to the wonderful NHS, the superb British public and, most of all, me, we have survived" and people may even believe him. Whereas the truth is - it was never worse than a trivial virus.

Oh yes JK I fully expect this will be over in a few weeks and they are managing expectations to get a political windfall as "saviours" when it doesn't in fact go on months.

Interestingly the world leader not playing the game well is the career-wise non politician Trump...who for once is worth listening to..

I was reading an interesting article on 'excess winter deaths'.

There were an estimated 23,200 excess winter deaths which occurred in England and Wales in the 2018 to 2019 winter, the lowest since the winter of 2013 to 2014.

Respiratory diseases continued to be the leading cause of excess winter deaths which occurred in 2018 to 2019.

So surely many of those listed as having died from coronavirus will be part of a 'normal' tally of excess winter deaths?

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommun...aland2017to2018final

Yes I deliberately chose that most recent list of figures; from three weeks ago, before the Government clamp down and "stay at home", when the 10,000 dead in a week was a third lower than in the second week of January at 14,000. The public are fools; they will swallow every media promoted tale.

Oh thou of little faith... Peter Hitchens no less, a renowned contrarian at the best of times, writing in The Daily Mail says he thinks that COVID-19 might turn out to be a trivial virus. You can read his article here

For the time being, the jury is out for me til' the predicted tsunami of cases becomes a reality. We'll know this for certain when the Nightingale Hospital gets filled up with hundreds of poor coronavirus sufferers on ventilators.

Thanks Havana just read that v interesting Hitchens piece. It made me angry and hopeful. Hopeful that the backlash can speed up the political step down before we collectively fuck ourselves even further on the eve of Brexit...

Angry that so many otherwise intelligent people are falling for this tripe

JK2006 wrote:
The public are fools; they will swallow every media promoted tale.

Essentially, the media is reporting the World Health Organisation's findings.

An Irishman - Michael Ryan - runs the WHO, for the United Nations.

You think that the WHO is making up all the facts and statistics regarding infections and deaths?

No I think the WHO is reporting accurate figures. As they do from Flu, colds, cancer etc.
But the media are not interested in the truth.
It's a plague!!!
Thousands dead.
OK a tiny amount of those infected. An even tinier amount compared to other deaths from other viruses.
But God forbid any member of the public (or this Forum) has the sense to spot the Emperor's New Suit is invisible.

Barney wrote:
So we should ignore a completely new and unknown disease - which has killed 34,000 people, in 3 months - and infected hundreds of thousands?



r
Viral infections are definitely highly problomatc and worrying for us all. HIV been one such viral infection.

"completely new and unknown disease" could be easily a description of each flu type viral infections annually. Just not normally described so dramatically as there are similarities to previous variations. And this current coronovirus is also within a group of similarly known viruses. I would agree where a virus heavily affects breathing makes it's destructive influence that much more devastating.

Viruses are a real problem for certain yet they are still a routine occurrance.

I also wonder when ao many infected patients end up in a ward of other patients if there is not a possibility of an extra large number of the virus around to make each patient have more of a struggle. I have no idea just trying to understand why more seem to die in some places than others.

I agree Barney in that nothing should be ignored in regards to our virus enemy at all.

As to the current approach I can not be sure as it does create other life threatening problems as well. Good news though the homeless suddenly can be all housed. And money can also be created both things I relised some time ago.