Covid-19 pandemic

[G-Man]

What is a necessity, exactly (I'm sure everyone on here will have varying ideas on this)?

We are asking the same question. Obviously milk, veg and bread etc. I suppose gluten-free products for celiacs or other specialised health food would be classifiable essential. But going out for a bag of crisps and a 2 litre Coke would probably be non-essential. And the cops check your bags if they stop you.

Some supermarkets let you order your shopping on-line. They pack your bags and deliver them to your car. Not a bad idea.

[ursus arctos]

Interesting map from the national statistics institute in France comparing deaths (from all causes) to those 12 months ago. The identity of "hot spots" is clear.

[Sean of the Shed]

The traffic here is a little bit quieter but most of the remaining drivers seem to be under the impression that speed limits no longer apply, so if anything I'm more careful when crossing the road now.

I've been delivering full time over the past couple of week because of the number of regular drivers who have self isolated for whatever reason (underlying health issues, living with elderly/vulnerable relatives or just fancied a couple of weeks of playstation and wanking), and the roads have been far quieter than usual. I have found myself exceeding the speed limit quite a few times without even realising it, which merely confirms what I have always thought, that normally the speed of traffic is invariably only regualted by the sheer volume of it.

[ursus arctos]

Good detail here on what governors are doing

[URL="https://twitter.com/costareports/status/1243882968839577600?s=21"]https://twitter.com/costareports/status/1243882968839577600[/URL]

[Erskine Bridges]

DCI Harry Batt

Yeah I might have inferred that because it was a lorry in a small lane.

I think EB was within rights to ask what the lorry was about if it was there at 11.00. We used to have an aggressive dickhead in my street who would park a huge truck anywhere he liked but would threaten you on your doorstep if you parked in front of his house.

It’s a private lane. He was blocking everyone in and was there for 2 hours. I’d have eventually gone out in normal circumstances.

my issue was how aggressive he was. Totally unnecessary.
But I won’t speak to the neighbour. As I said, I don’t know Herat all. Her house backs onto my lane but she doesn’t park there hence her not caring about blocking it for hours.

But it’s not really important in the greater scheme of things.

Hope everyone is OK. Got news of my first pal to get it this morning.

[Erskine Bridges]

I think if someone gets cross with you because you park on the road, then you've every reason to be annoyed by that. Certainly the guy threatening you on your doorstep for parking on the road was bang out of order. No-one owns the road outside their home.

I do actually own the road he was parked on.

winky thing.

[Diable Rouge]

Rather surprised at how many flights are still active over Europe now:

https://www.flightradar24.com/53.69,-7.72/3

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Yes, I pondered whether deaths from traffic accidents would drop on the "minor pluses of Covid-19" thread.

Well..... you have essentially homeopathic levels of road deaths compared to virtually every other country on earth, so it is very much a minor plus. So on the one hand the crumb of comfort you are clinging to is microscopically tiny, but on the other hand it is something to be genuinely proud of.

[Sporting]

Rather surprised at how many flights are still active over Europe now:

https://www.flightradar24.com/53.69,-7.72/3

Freight traffic?

[ursus arctos]

A lot of air freight is usually carried in the holds of passenger planes.

That is one income stream that has not been massively reduced by the pandemic.

[ursus arctos]

[Amor de Cosmos]

A lot of air freight is usually carried in the holds of passenger planes.

That is one income stream that has not been massively reduced by the pandemic.

The Canadian government is beginning to use empty seats in aircraft to ship vital medical supplies and equipment around the country.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Wise words from Margaret Atwood

[San Bernardhinault]

I've noticed on the few times I've driven since the Stay At Home order came in that generally drivers are more relaxed and stay close to the speed limit - because they don't have to deal with heavy traffic so don't feel a need to make up time and aren't stressed. That's probably 90% of the drivers. The other 10% seem to think that because there's not much traffic there are no rules and they can drive as fast as they like and not stop at stop signs and seem astonished when another car blocks their route.

I saw Balders mention the Philippines on the previous page, which made me wonder for our members. I know that Lobachevsky got back from Vietnam and I think Ooh Aah decided against leaving Malaysia. But did we hear if Jobi finally managed to get home from the Philippines amidst all his changing flights? I'm also, obviously, concerned for Rev and Scratchmonkey who seem to be our two members who have the virus, but they've given us relatively recent updates.

[Diable Rouge]

Big jump in UK deaths yesterday, from 759 to 1,019.

[jwdd27]

260 more dead in the UK, taking us past the 1,000 mark.
Getting steeper, that graph.

And god knows how many are infected or recovered because we don't test.
I notice they rowed back a couple of the younger Covid-19 deaths, because they died with it, not of it.

[Moonlight Shadow]

Rather surprised at how many flights are still active over Europe now:

https://www.flightradar24.com/53.69,-7.72/3

To note that educed air traffic also means reduced accuracy for weather forecast.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

If you're just talking about personal risk, that's fair. But many of my contemporaries aren't too worried about that. We've had our innings, back to the great pavillion in the sky we go. But we'd rather do it in the great out-doors than cringing in our living room with the telly on. If, OTOH, we're insisting, through selfishness or stupidity*, on taking our grandkids with us that's an entirely different matter. But, in either eventually, keeping us indoors just won't work.

*On the part of parents as much as grandparents.

yeah, but WOM's in-laws seem to be cosplaying as a pox infested blanket. They're not facing this crisis with denial that only affects them, they're trying to take everyone they know with them, and spread it to a variety of places right across the continent of North America. The selfishness comes from robbing other people of the choice or the chance of avoiding this. That they aren't the only pox infested blanket cosplay artists running around doesn't change the calculation. Preparing for death and facing it in a way of your own choosing is the ultimate expression of autonomy, however this is a bit closer to choosing to end it all, by flying a plane filled with everyone you know into the side of a hospital. Not all people's autonomy is being respected in this scenario.

I bet all these people would be quite upset, if having expressed these beliefs, you were to pin them to the ground and smother them with a pillow. And I say all this as someone who is essentially using a cattle prod to force my 77 year old mother out for a walk around our housing estate. Getting out and about within reason, like you were planning on doing, is great and the set up you describe is perfect, but you're not an eejit, or a menace to everyone around you, and you have consideration for others. These are not universal human traits.

[Auntie Beryl]

A lot of air freight is usually carried in the holds of passenger planes.

That is one income stream that has not been massively reduced by the pandemic.

Somebody I know here works as cabin crew on BA passenger journeys. He's being called back into work next week, as the holds *and* the cabins are going to be used for freight and his role is seen as being essential.

He's only just got back from being stranded somewhere himself.

[edit: to echo AdC.]

[Patrick Thistle]

Wales will top 1000 cases today. We had 900 and summat yesterday.
.

Wales stats are out

172 new cases have tested positive for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1093, although the true number of cases is likely to be higher.

4 further deaths have been reported to us of people who had tested positive for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), taking the number of deaths in Wales to 38.

[tracteurgarcon]

The traffic here is a little bit quieter but most of the remaining drivers seem to be under the impression that speed limits no longer apply, so if anything I'm more careful when crossing the road now.

True, there is that. I've noticed the usual suspects (ie. Audi and BMW drivers) are using it as an excuse to unleash their inner Lewis Hamiltons but you can, generally, hear them coming a mile off.

[DCI Harry Batt]

Other people are not the problem

[DCI Harry Batt]

Ooh, I've never used that feature before.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

And barely reported now is the fact that, in the week just before any lockdown measures were announced, millions of people and businesses coincidentally received notices from their insurance companies and banks telling them that their existing business, travel or health insurance didn't now cover them for new coronavirus related claims, and that overdraft facilities would now attract huge new rates. Funny that. It may come out in the wash once this is all done.

[ursus arctos]

https://twitter.com/AlbertoNardelli/status/1243902646160969728