Coronavirus

[pauld]

What i don't get is why do they have to be asked, why can't they be proactive, they must know it's needed.

They have stocks apparently, not sure what you want them to do? Throw them over the wall of 10 Downing St?

[Leggett]

Royal Mail bosses more interested in profits than the welfare of their own staff. Our CEO, Swiss-domiciled German Rico Back couldn't be bothered to be involved with a meeting with the Union today to discuss the serious issues facing the business. There's no social distancing in mail centres and delivery offices, nowhere near enough PPE made available for staff, gloves and hand sanitizer aren't available in most places. Junk mail still being delivered, one company asked RM to *not* deliver their advertising and were told they'd face a 100% cancellation penalty on top of the original fee being taken regardless. Stupid, stupid decisions from top to bottom that is risking the health and wellbeing of not only the staff, but also the general public. One manager in the meeting with the union described the situation as 'not as bleak' as was being suggested. I'd say this virus is pretty fucking bleak, to be fair... profits before people, they're a bunch of cunts.

[@mwooly63]

Royal Mail bosses more interested in profits than the welfare of their own staff. Our CEO, Swiss-domiciled German Rico Back couldn't be bothered to be involved with a meeting with the Union today to discuss the serious issues facing the business. There's no social distancing in mail centres and delivery offices, nowhere near enough PPE made available for staff, gloves and hand sanitizer aren't available in most places. Junk mail still being delivered, one company asked RM to *not* deliver their advertising and were told they'd face a 100% cancellation penalty on top of the original fee being taken regardless. Stupid, stupid decisions from top to bottom that is risking the health and wellbeing of not only the staff, but also the general public. One manager in the meeting with the union described the situation as 'not as bleak' as was being suggested. I'd say this virus is pretty fucking bleak, to be fair... profits before people, they're a bunch of cunts.

Yeah saw a CWU post earlier, hand washing is sufficient.

Today, without even considering our offer Royal Mail have stated they will no longer engage with the CWU on working through the pandemic, they consider washing hands to be enough of a safety provision and say we are overstating our concerns.

Am sure the posties will get plenty of opportunity to practice that with most places closed.  
And RM now handling the covid 19 blood tests.
What could go wrong.

[Leggett]

They won't even confirm whether those vulnerable workers who are currently off work will still get paid once they've used all their sick pay period...

[Pax Romana]

Revealing interview on radio with some guy from The Crick Institute who are one of a number of additional facilities that are now gearing up to take on additional testing.  Testing that they can turn around in 24 hours!

He came up with one of the better wartime metaphors that we are now being inundated with,  comparing all of these small semi-official bodies  to the flotilla of private boats that rescued the army at Dunkirk in the absence of sufficient suitable naval vessels.

The other telling thing was that he kept on refusing to answer the interviewer’s repeated questions as to why they hadn’t been asked weeks ago to get involved.  Eventually the rather surprised interviewer said “It seems like you’re saying ‘forget about blame for the moment, we need to focus on getting things done’ is that right?“.  The answer, of course, was that yes there needed to be a rigorous review of where we got things wrong (and right) but now isn’t the time except where that review will aid the situation going forward.

The government have clearly got a number of things very badly wrong.  I suspect that the Civil Service are also culpable.  In my experience when civil servants can’t do something that is needed their initial reaction is to focus their efforts on ingeniously administering that failure rather than coming up with an ingenious alternative, particularly if the solution is outside their normal remit.  The ability is there but it’s misdirected.

One of the depressing things about the daily Downing St briefings is how many of the questions are all about acknowledging past guilt rather than confirming future actions.  This country has bred politicians who believe that their primary attribute for success needs to be their ability to deny or deflect blame rather than their ability to get things right more often.

[Ardiles]

Very worrying, isn't it.

You know things are not right when the Telegraph has started asking awkward questions.  Just weeks ago, it was little more than a Johnson/Brexit fanzine.  But read the front page this morning.  Looks like the inquest is already underway.

[Flashheart]

Very worrying, isn't it.

You know things are not right when the Telegraph has started asking awkward questions.  Just weeks ago, it was little more than a Johnson/Brexit fanzine.  But read the front page this morning.  Looks like the inquest is already underway.

Probably because there's too many of their business interests under threat.

Sorry, I meant other peoples' lives, not business interests. Only a terrible cynic would think such a thing.

[suttonred]

Been waiting to see what the banks did, and knew it would be fuck all unless made to.

my one hope form all this, and it's a big hope, is that the power of the banks and shady financial institutes  and systems are broken, and have to be restarted ethically

[Banker]

Very worrying, isn't it.

You know things are not right when the Telegraph has started asking awkward questions.  Just weeks ago, it was little more than a Johnson/Brexit fanzine.  But read the front page this morning.  Looks like the inquest is already underway.

"But... the Emperor has no clothes !"

Finally, it appears to be dawning.

[4D]

I'm a bit confused over the isolation period if you get covid 19 or the symptoms. PHE say 7 days from showing first symptoms, or 14 days if you share a house. There are some news reports I've read where WHO have said you could still be contagious after 2 weeks from the symptoms ending 

[Arriba]

With only 2000 frontline staff having had a test, it shows how utterly inept and unprepared we are.

[suttonred]

I'm a bit confused over the isolation period if you get covid 19 or the symptoms. PHE say 7 days from showing first symptoms, or 14 days if you share a house. There are some news reports I've read where WHO have said you could still be contagious after 2 weeks from the symptoms ending 

I'm with you, two of my engineers were isolated for 14 days, yet Prince charles is out possibly infecting old ladies a week later. I've no clue which is right

[Peter Venkman]

Every txt I have had from the NHS says 14 days from contact to symptoms, they say nothing about how long you may be infected though, but from watching TV things they are saying between 7 and 12 days of actually having the infection.

[pauld]

I'm a bit confused over the isolation period if you get covid 19 or the symptoms. PHE say 7 days from showing first symptoms, or 14 days if you share a house. There are some news reports I've read where WHO have said you could still be contagious after 2 weeks from the symptoms ending  

WHO advice is you can still be contagious 14 days after *end* of symptoms; PHE say you're fine from 7 days after first signs (unless you're still ill). It's one of many areas where we seem to have chosen a different track from WHO, the most glaring being the decision not to follow Test, Trace, Isolate, Contain which has worked well so far in South Korea, for example.

[4D]

Best option I guess would be to allow 2 more weeks?