Coronavirus

[Josef Svejk]

3 minutes ago, Anubis said:

Hope it’s better than you fear Josef, and all come out well.

Cheers.

 

I'm not going to pretend we were very close, and she has other health issues, but it's just representative of what's going on. Nursing homes are nightmarish. And there's absolutely nothing my family can do...

[Scott_M]

 

Millie keeping himself busy.

[littletedwest]

20 hours ago, ZonkoVille77 said:

My uncle just died. He had lung cancer and caught the virus. In a way it is probably better for him rather than a few more years of treatment dragging out the inevitable. 

 

It's going to be tough not being able to give him a send off though.

Sounds wrong in a way but you're right. My dad died last year, six months previously he had sepsis but pulled around. He had maybe three months of being ok before suffering for six months but to be honest for him maybe it would be better if he'd have gone then.

Condolences mate

[Bjornebye]

1 hour ago, Josef Svejk said:

My elderly aunt is seriously ill and was tested in a care home in Dublin yesterday. Doesn't look good, from the little information we have. And if it's not good for her, it won't be good for the other 40+ residents or the staff...

Best wishes mate 

[Nunavut Patrick]

3 hours ago, polymerpunkah said:

Care homes are turning out some horror stories here in Canada as well.

 

Multiple deaths, sky-rocketing infection rates, even virtual abandonment of those in care in some cases.

 

There will be a reckoning.

 

 

31 deaths in one care home in Montreal

I think it was 12-15 in Bobcaygeon.

 

 

[Captain Turdseye]

2 minutes ago, Nunavut Patrick said:

31 deaths in one care home in Montreal

I think it was 12-15 in Bobcaygeon.

 

 

What’s the overall picture in Canada? 

[Red Phoenix]

Looks like we're finally getting there with masks :

 

 

From here : https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/apr/13/coronavirus-live-news-global-cases-italy-new-york-death-tolls-slow-latest-updates?page=with:block-5e94c2908f081a236f192b5e#block-5e94c2908f081a236f192b5e

[Red Phoenix]

3 hours ago, Josef Svejk said:

My elderly aunt is seriously ill and was tested in a care home in Dublin yesterday. Doesn't look good, from the little information we have. And if it's not good for her, it won't be good for the other 40+ residents or the staff...

 

Sorry to read that and am hoping it isn't as bad as feared.

[Guest]

https://www.standard.co.uk/business/business-news/exclusive-private-schools-furlough-staff-at-tapayers-expense-a4411321.html

 

Private schools are furloughing staff under the taxpayer funded Covid-19 scheme even as they demand parents pay 90% of their fees for next term despite lockdown.

 

News that taxpayer largesse is helping some of the wealthiest schools in the country pay their wage bills may raise further concerns following the row over Premier League football clubs.

 

Parents contacted the Evening Standard to complain that the UK’s biggest private girls schools group, the Girls’ Day School Trust, was only giving a 10% discount for next term even though schools will probably be closed and staff on furlough.

 

GDST, which runs 25 private schools including Putney High and Wimbledon High, confirmed it is furloughing staff, largely in transport, catering and “estates management”.

 

A spokeswoman said: “Like many companies GDST is going to be furloughing staff to ensure our longevity long term.”

 

However, GDST is not a company in the sense most people would understand.

It is actually a charity, and a wealthy one, with income last year of £258.7 million and luxurious offices in the landmark Bressenden Place office development by Victoria Station.

 

Like most other private schools, its charitable status means it need pay no corporation tax and qualifies for reduced business rates.

 

Despite that, it is still eligible for taxpayer-funded furlough cash.

 

The spokeswoman said some parents were getting more than 10% off fees next term and said operational savings it was making from Covid-19 would go into its hardship fund to help parents pay fees.

 

Teachers at other charity-status school groups reported having been furloughed for three weeks, allowing schools to get taxpayer funding for their payroll over the easter holidays.

 

One said the school would review his furlough in a fortnight when the school knew how many parents had cancelled for the summer term.

Wealthy football clubs such as Liverpool FC were vilified for leaning on the furlough scheme, but private schools say they should not be put in the same bracket.

 

Neil Roskilly of the Independent Schools Association said many schools were expecting a tough time as parents hit by the economic impact of coronavirus pull their children out.

 

“There’s this image of private schools being these very well-funded organisations like Eton and Harrow, but the vast majority are nothing like that.

 

They are having to look hard at their teaching staff and think about such things as furloughing,” he said.

 

Many are braced for falling fees in the summer term at the same time as having to invest in IT for home learning.

 

“Schools are doing whatever they can to keep fees down for parents while at the same time costs have not come down at all,” he said.

 

The impact on private schools is highlighted by the for-profit upmarket Alpha Plus group of schools, which include Prince Harry and William’s £7,700 a term prep school Weatherby.

 

It has bonds listed on the London Stock Exchange whose value has plummeted from £102 before the covid outbreak to just £61 last month – implying a rising risk of default. They have partially recovered to £77.90.

 

Alpha Plus, backed by property tycoon John Ritblat, said it was planning to keep teachers on the payroll but added that it may furlough "a limited number". It said: "We are considering and working through this now."

 

He said fees for summer term had  been dropped 20%. Those parents who could afford the full 100% were being asked to pay it so the 20% could go towards the fees of those who cannot.

 

Alpha Plus lost £9.7 million last year after investing heavily in its schools. It brought in £111 million in revenues, largely from fees and accommodation, and got a £650,000 tax credit.

 

Even before Coronavirus, it had to cut fees at its Falcons School for Boys pre-prep school by 12% and admitted pupil numbers had not grown as much as expected at Falcons School for Girls.

[Pureblood]

13 minutes ago, Red Phoenix said:

Looks like we're finally getting there with masks :

 

 

From here : https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/apr/13/coronavirus-live-news-global-cases-italy-new-york-death-tolls-slow-latest-updates?page=with:block-5e94c2908f081a236f192b5e#block-5e94c2908f081a236f192b5e

Hopefully the general public in this country see sense and take matters into their own hands.  A lot of people in busy working environments want masks, e.g. supermarket staff.  It really should be compulsory now but Patrick Vallance and Matt Hancock have a hard on for herd immunity. 

[redinblack62]

The BBC news is just nauseating tonight, What a fabulous job our gallant government have done in the face of a problem that they were in no way warned about and couldnt do anything about.

 

But I guess theres a couple on here would go along with that.

 

 

[Pureblood]

Even Nige is up for some mask action. 

 

https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/nigel-farage/nigel-farage-believes-wearing-face-masks-to-stop-c/

 

 

[redinblack62]

2 minutes ago, TK421 said:

Even Nige is up for some mask action. 

 

https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/nigel-farage/nigel-farage-believes-wearing-face-masks-to-stop-c/

 

 

Some interesting comments on that link...interesting as in "horrible cunts"

[littletedwest]

12 minutes ago, TK421 said:

Even Nige is up for some mask action. 

 

https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/nigel-farage/nigel-farage-believes-wearing-face-masks-to-stop-c/

 

 

 

[Nunavut Patrick]

1 hour ago, Captain Turdseye said:

What’s the overall picture in Canada? 

Nothing like America.

 

Quebec and Ontario are seeing some bad numbers and their nursing homes are getting hit hard.

 

BC is seeing a downward trend, and where I am in Manitoba we only have 4 deaths and 230 positive cases (but not at lot of testing). About 1.4million people in Manitoba.

 

Nunavut has been sealed off and 0 cases, Yukon and NWT have only a handful. 
 

Overall it’s been as best to be expected, think the death toll is around 750 now.

 

The federal government stepped up massively and most provincial governments are doing a good job.

 

In Canada now the new sex symbols are the chief nursing officers. 
 

 

[Vector Sigma]

I've ordered one of these to use as a face mask, should keep people away I reckon.

[SasaS]

Nice looking bison.

[Nelly-Szoboszlai]

This is entirely normal. 

 

 

[Vector Sigma]

Say one thing about Trump though, he's not hidden from the spotlight, even if he is an absolute mentalist with his views.

 

We've had to suffer a succession of inept cabinet members leading the briefings since Johnson has been out of the picture, which I'm sure is planned so that none of them are overly-exposed as the utter charlatans that they're proving to be.

 

In any case I'm sick of the same nonsensical answers being given to the media's questions. They're just blatantly not even attempting to answer the specifics of the question. It's shocking what they're getting away with but any post-Covid inquiries will inevitably absolve those culpable of such atrocious planning and subsequent poor reactions from blame, save perhaps for a few fall guys.

[Megadrive Man]

So Trump is trying to blame Fox News? I'm confused, I thought they were in the same side?

[Bjornebye]

9 minutes ago, Barry McBumsniffer said:

Say one thing about Trump though, he's not hidden from the spotlight, even if he is an absolute mentalist with his views.

 

We've had to suffer a succession of inept cabinet members leading the briefings since Johnson has been out of the picture, which I'm sure is planned so that none of them are overly-exposed as the utter charlatans that they're proving to be.

 

In any case I'm sick of the same nonsensical answers being given to the media's questions. They're just blatantly not even attempting to answer the specifics of the question. It's shocking what they're getting away with but any post-Covid inquiries will inevitably absolve those culpable of such atrocious planning and subsequent poor reactions from blame, save perhaps for a few fall guys.

Because he is a narcissist 

[Megadrive Man]

8 minutes ago, Barry McBumsniffer said:

Say one thing about Trump though, he's not hidden from the spotlight, even if he is an absolute mentalist with his views.

Yeah but Johnson foreshadowed his hiding in the election campaign by hiding in Fridges and from Andrew Neal. 

[Vector Sigma]

4 minutes ago, Bjornebye said:

Because he is a narcissist.

He is indeed, along with one or two other words ending in 'ist' and 'unt'.

[Vector Sigma]

6 minutes ago, MegadriveMan said:

Yeah but Johnson foreshadowed his hiding in the election campaign by hiding in Fridges and from Andrew Neal. 

Yeah that wasn't such a good look, although the BBC chief cheerleader Kuennsberg gave him a proper roasting...

[Section_31]

Trump can't do his conferences in the runnup to the election so he's doing these instead because it's the only chance he's got to get on telly. He will just make more and more strange and 'newsworthy' claims the closer they get to the election, even if disinformation risks lives. He's a firm believer in all publicity is good publicity, and to be fair he's been proven right. Looks like he's already angling to get rid of his medical advisor.

 

Sometimes I wonder how the people around him can work with him or let him get away with what he does, but then I think of all the company meetings I've sat in over the years where people have said black was white or up was down and received lots of nodding smiling heads in return. People will do pretty much anything for a job.