Chat about Novel Coronavirus - 2019-nCoV - COVID-19

Why is it horseshit? The buildings will still be there. The players, the musicians, the actors will (mostly) still be around. I'm not underestimating the seriousness of the situation we're in, but doom and gloom miserablism isn't really going to help anything.

Round here it feels like the elderly are reclaiming the streets for one last hurrah before accepting the viral consequences

Because they are businesses that run on small margins that can't sustain zero income for 3-6 months.

ditto and likely going back home infected.

It's a weird one. Are they just trying to get supplies or do they not give a fuck? I live in a crummy neighborhood so most people already look a bit sickly anyway... Suspect the local funeral home is going to be the only place giving bonuses at the end of the year.

I think there's a genuine feeling amongst many older people that if it finishes them off then so be it, but that they're not going to completely alter their lives to prevent it. Quite a lot of people in their old age are fairly relaxed about the prospect of death. It's their children and grand children who often have the concern for them.

It will be the new ‘old mans friend’.

Not posting this out of self pity as I am perfectly aware of how privileged I am.

However, early this year I stumped up the lions share of my life savings to launch a business venture that I have been planning for over 5 years. Just felt like the right time to do it.

The arse has fallen out. Several of the suppliers I depend on are not going to exist soon. I have no income and will likely lose a very significant amount of money that will have a big impact on me for years to come.

I'll claw my way back to where I was before but this is a real hammer blow. I had my heart set on making a success of this.

My brother launched a new hotel and hospitality company in January. Dead in the water already.

Multiply our stories by several million business owners and that's where we are.

All I can do is hold out hope that I'll be able to save something back and give it another go when the dust settles. This is not good for my crippling anxiety.

Someone on hear asked how would they get to the job centre or look for work if lock down happens:

The Department for Work and Pensions is expected to announce later today that it is suspending welfare conditionality rules, including for universal credit, to ensure that benefit payments are not interrupted and to ease pressure on job centres.

All face-to-face jobcentre interviews with claimants will be suspended, as will the requirement that job-seekers demonstrate that they have spend up to 35 hours a week looking for work, as the DWP moves to adapt the benefit system to cope with the economic impact of coronavirus.

Tens of thousands of people will be expected to enter the benefit system over the next few days as businesses lay off workers because of virus-related shut downs in sectors such as hospitality and retail.

Under current rules claimants are required to sign up to a range of stringent requirements as a condition of receiving benefits. Failure to adhere to the rules results in financial sanctions, including having benefits withdrawn for at least four weeks and in some cases up to six months,

The measures, which come days after the DWP announced that face to face assessments for disability benefits were to be put on hold for three months, is to ensure claimants do not feel obliged to travel into job centres because they fear they will lose their benefits if they do not attend.

The Guardian has seen evidence that local job centres have already been abandoning benefit conditionality requirements ahead of a national announcement, possibly because of pressure on staffing at local job centres.

From the 13.14 comment on
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2020/mar/19/uk-coronavirus-live-boris-johnson-london-lockdown-williamson-refuses-to-rule-out-government-putting-london-in-lockdown-by-weekend

But yeah I get the problem if all of them get it at once it prevents, say, a 40 yr old dad from getting treatment for something else

It’s a good thing we could fuck everything up to prevent things from getting fucked up

Dont´t panic. ;)

If the moderators could just block anybody who deploys the L-word that would be great. Cheers.

Lockdown is much loved by lazy journalists. I should know. I was one of them.

Your government will just copy other European countries´ policy in ordering everything but supermarkets (and chippies if they go Belgian) to close. School closures: ditto, so schools will remain open for key workers, including food logistics.

Go for a ride in the countryside here in lockdown Flanders like we did yesterday and you´ll see fields full of every conceivable bit of agricultural machinery while lorry drivers enjoy low-congestion driving on the motorways on their way to deliver food to the hoarding masses. Container barges still chugging along as always.

Over here big-box supermarket staff simply struggle to restack shelves fast enough. Yesterday I saw some suits who´d obviously been ordered down from HQ stacking shelves and nightclub bouncers at the door of our local Delhaize.

As has been mentioned on here before, smaller shops have ample supplies.

Quite a lot of people in their old age are fairly relaxed about the prospect of death.

Thing is, dying of pneumonia alone is not my idea of a fairly relaxed death prospect. The stuff of nightmares, more like.

Interestingly it used to be referred to as the old man’s friend

Yeah this is the thing. Going out and being normal is objectively selfish.

nightclub bouncers at the door of our local Delhaize.

Local supermarket has bouncers and the Q8 petrol station Delhaize has lines like outside a nightclub but I was the only one shopping. Woman said they get a rush at 8am and one at 6pm and the rest of the day they're cleaning and restocking.

Didn't know the Belgians were allowed out except for essentials. Luxembourg is allowed out to exercise though; whatever that means in practice, it's just a catchall to avoid the 145e fine if the police stop you.

I suspect the panic buying is all in the larger supermarkets rather than the local shops.

That’s what we are seeing a mile or so away in Seven Sisters. Tesco’s and Sainsburys are low stock, the minimarts of West Green Road pretty well stocked still, though some gaps appearing.

This is hard to hear Stonehenge, I hope you can claw back to a comfortable position in the near to mid future.

It came with a morphine chaser.

Glad they've closed the schools for the teacher's same-day two in Edinburgh and kids all out playing together in local park again...🤦‍♂️ Seems loads of parents just dgaf

Thanks mate. Trying to stay positive and sane is my priority. Anything else can come with time.

As @HatBeard and @HairyChris no doubt noted a couple of weeks ago when we had a pint, I'm finding things a bit tough at the moment. I will prevail.

Echoing the "old people everywhere comments". But maybe it's just that none of us full-timers are normally out and about in the middle of the day?

Was out in Tooting area yesterday and today food shopping - Sainsbury's and Lidl are a joke, don't bother. Aldi seems to be getting to grips with it better but low on fresh meat and tinned stuff.

Small independent Indian shops are still pretty well stocked, though some of the obvious stuff (red lentils, tinned chickpeas) are getting harder to find

Froze stuff pretty much empty in most places, no toilet roll. Massive queue for Iceland this morning. managed to get some meat from the butchers in the market who seemed to have reasonable stock still

I remember the pressure I felt at the end of Microcosm. The deep sinking feeling, frankly... the depression.

I cannot imagine how it must feel to be where you are, where an event out of your control threatens to wipe things out.

I'd say if you want a pint let's, but even that is out of the question right now.

Had two things through my door this morning which said signed for on, there was no knock.