worth a read

[KinooOrKinog]

I'm actually more concerned for the actions of the morons, stripping supermarket shelves and leaving nothing for those who only get to the shops once a week. These morons will do more harm to the vulnerable than the virus would have done had we all been more selfless.

This is true. It's the most selfish, greedy, inconsiderate way someone can behave at a time like this.
I went out on Sunday & tried three different supermarkets before I got the one item I needed in m&s. Suddenly everyone had desperately needed sesame oil...
Interestingly, the shelves were fairly well stocked in m&s. Possibly says something about the kind of people who are stockpiling.

[Whorty]

this is nonsense.

it kills anyone in the percentage that need oxygen that dont get it.

it kills anyone in the percentage that need a ventilator but dont get it.

the vast majority if they get access to the ventilator will recover.

but there simply will not be enough kit, ventilators etc, and the medics will be forced to decide which half dozen people out of 50 that need the ventilator get to use one. that medic rationing decision determines who lives and dies far more than the underlying condition.

the reality in italy is any diabetic, anyone on blood pressure meds, anyone who is even slight previous medical history is put in the "do not treat" queue as there is simply not enough capacity.

this a a rant after reading a lot of what the italian docs have said, and what the bits of research say

"Most who have died have had significant underlying illnesses." is nonsense, its often fairly minor medical histories, and hey even perfectly healthy people are not getting the kit when there is simply not enough and are being left to die when they would have recovered if the kit had been there.

rant over. this is serious stuff people!

[Old Greg]

Stop talking Britain down! We’ll manage at least 1,000 with Boris on the job!

The great news is that the British economy is going to boom now that Brexit is done. Don't listen to those Project Fearmongers.

[Whorty]

So you’ve not stocked up on anything? An extra pint of bread, a few extra loo rolls...?

Nope, not stockpiled anything. But then, where I live, I've not seen the same empty shelves (well, not in Waitrose anyway).

Anyone who stockpiles is part of the problem. If we all bought normally there would be enough for everyone.

[unixman]

This is true. It's the most selfish, greedy, inconsiderate way someone can behave at a time like this.
I went out on Sunday & tried three different supermarkets before I got the one item I needed in m&s. Suddenly everyone had desperately needed sesame oil...
Interestingly, the shelves were fairly well stocked in m&s. Possibly says something about the kind of people who are stockpiling.

Agreed. Keeping a steady nerve is very important. Fear can easily make people irrational, even the coolest of us, and it is more contagious than any virus. The panic buyers must be stopped, because they will scare others into similar behaviour. I wish this had been addressed in the PM's daily update earlier this evening, but they had many other things to cover.

[dsc]

I don't understand why supermarkets can't simply introduce max-per-person limits, at least for stuff that is in high demand, this would definitely stop all the muppets clearing shelves in one go.

Then again, there's absolutely no other extra measures in place like max amount of people in store, queuing with at least 1m apart, distancing in public transport etc. Seems like the plan is to merely walk into oblivion.

I'm waiting for the government to announce that they now urge people to not get the virus, which would definitely bring numbers down.

[ladymuck]

I don't understand why supermarkets can't simply introduce max-per-person limits, at least for stuff that is in high demand, this would definitely stop all the muppets clearing shelves in one go.

Then again, there's absolutely no other extra measures in place like max amount of people in store, queuing with at least 1m apart, distancing in public transport etc. Seems like the plan is to merely walk into oblivion.

I'm waiting for the government to announce that they now urge people to not get the virus, which would definitely bring numbers down.

Surely that's hard to enforce? How could you make sure that a family with 5 kids gets the food they need vs someone who lives alone? What if someone was shopping for themselves and a couple of their neighbours who are in the at risk group and don't want to go out?

[BrilloPad]

Surely that's hard to enforce? How could you make sure that a family with 5 kids gets the food they need vs someone who lives alone? What if someone was shopping for themselves and a couple of their neighbours who are in the at risk group and don't want to go out?

Indeed. I heard of one family of 5 who went to their local supermarket with limit on toilet roll purchase. They got the maximum amount each....

[NickFitz]

Surely that's hard to enforce? How could you make sure that a family with 5 kids gets the food they need vs someone who lives alone? What if someone was shopping for themselves and a couple of their neighbours who are in the at risk group and don't want to go out?

Ration books, coming soon.

[BrilloPad]

Indeed. I heard of one family of 5 who went to their local supermarket with limit on toilet roll purchase. They got the maximum amount each....

And at my age I am totally incontinent and need much more toilet roll anyway...