Virus

[pilgrim]

I hope VE day has given you some fun and reassurance.
The Queen was magnificent tonight at 9 PM live. I hope you could get the transmission in Tenerife there!
The time now is not great, but maybe a reflection of what our parents/grandparents had to contend with
maybe make us realise that Virus is going to pass and we have a lot to look forward. God bless us all, stay safe, and hopefully will be out again to enjoy the most amazing corner of Rock and people the world has to offer!!

[nophead]

Street parties, not much social distancing where we live!

[Dolly Diver]

I took this photo this morning at 10am.  We have beautilful clear skies and calm sea but no boats allowed out, all marinas are still closed, but hopefully that will change next week as it has been announced that we can enter phase 1 of the release from lockdown on Monday.  A step in the right direction.  We should be able to see family and friends, I believe in groups no bigger than 10 people. Some bars and small businesses can open again.   We can start to get our lives back again.

Our boat needs to be used to blow all the cobwebs off.  I'm desperate for a swim or better still a dive, my grandchildren would love to snorkel or play on their surfboards.  I will be packing a picnic and a few beers to celebrate.

[Georgie]

Excellent  enjoy your self

Bit jealous

[pilgrim]

Yes hope marina opens up for you Dolly, and think you should all be safe enough wearing your scuba equipment. That little fat twit of a Captinare won't be happy. I always feel he doesn't get it that a marina is for leisure!

[TimO]

Hi all. I managed to get back home to Cork in the ROI on the scheduled Aer Lingus flight that departed TFS at midday on Friday 20th March. When I boarded the flight I was informed that there would be no food or drink served on the flight plus the flight wasn't even half full! By the time I arrived home I was pretty hungry and thirsty.

As you probably well know the lock down actually began on Sunday 15th March not Monday 16th! It was just as well you could go out and do some shopping in the supermarkets after that otherwise things would've got a little 'hairy' if we hadn't been able to.

I spent 6 days in lock down in Puerto de Santiago before leaving Tenerife on 20th March and then I went through another 14 days of self isolation when I got home just to make absolutely sure and low and behold none of the members of my household have contracted Covid-19, so, there was some common sense shown by the Irish Government in how they've gone about implementing the lock down.

The UK government has made a complete and utter dog's dinner of things, so, it's just as well that you're all out there in Los Gigs and the surrounding areas. Bojo, Nick Hancock and Dominic Raab have failed the British people. The NHS and all of its staff have been magnificent, and some of those staff members have made the ultimate sacrifice because of those three members of the cabinet and the government as a whole.

[nophead]

Do you know that deaths in the NHS are exactly the same rate as in the population as a whole?

And the death rate in the UK per million is less than Spain and Italy despite us probably having the most unfit population second to the US.

Also I think the lock down rules here make a lot more sense than Spain. Why is it only recently that a couple can share their car? Made no sense and neither does no exercise for months.

And why are governments around the world relaxing lockdowns now? The virus is still in all the populations so nothing has changed. If we can have less restrictions now it means we could have had them all along. Months of pointless restrictions for nothing.

[unhappy]

Both of you may have valid points, but as someone who had 7 weeks of lockdown in Tenerife and witnessed the efforts to control the virus, the figures when I left were in the whole of the Canaries just over 2000 infected & 123 deaths, 40 in Tenerife mainly in the North.

I then returned to the UK & to be honest was dismayed to see how bad, I feel the situation has been handled I arrived at Luton Airport thanks to Wizz Air, and we had different Nationals on board. At the airport there were no checks whatsoever in fact a couple who sounded like Eastern Europeans & backpackers that were on our flight were outside before us and were asking us for money.

Seeing the lack of clear messaging from the Government unlike Spain and the rubbish way supermarkets,  Doctor surgeries & people in general are handling this in the UK, is again a course of concern, we can bandie populations & deaths per capita, But people are DYING it will take years to overcome this virus, and as far as I am concerned the UK acted too SLOW & to WEAKLY from the start, & I have voted blue all my life

[nophead]

I think the end result everywhere will be 80% of the population will get it and 1% will die. It is just a matter of how long it takes. And since 1% die every year it would just be a blip, hardly noticeable except to undertakers and healthcare workers. Just as seasonal flu is isn't noticeable to most of the population.

Lockdowns achieve nothing. If we went back to normal life now within a few days of doubling all countries would be back where they started, so what has lockdown achieved? It doesn't change anything except perhaps delay the inevitable.

[angiebabes]

I think the end result everywhere will be 80% of the population will get it and 1% will die. It is just a matter of how long it takes. And since 1% die every year it would just be a blip, hardly noticeable except to undertakers and healthcare workers. Just as seasonal flu is isn't noticeable to most of the population.

Lockdowns achieve nothing. If we went back to normal life now within a few days of doubling all countries would be back where they started, so what has lockdown achieved? It doesn't change anything except perhaps delay the inevitable.

Gosh at last, a solution! Forget furloughing, isolation, etc and follow this advice. Trouble is, if you’re not right, there won’t be many left.  And if you are right, why do we spend so much time, money and effort educating people to be scientists, medics, statisticians etc, when someone has the answer from his garden.

Perhaps the solution is slightly more complex than you would have us believe. I’m not prepared to risk your advice unless you can back it up with qualifications and proof.

[pilgrim]

The LockDown is a lever, to slow the transmission rates of the Virus. This was to enable the NHS to cope, along with the cemeteries. And it just about worked!
So the government have lifted there foot of the lever a little bit. And as long as the NHS has capacity, they will continue in phased segments.
On the subject of nursing homes. Many of those in hospitals with other problems were sent back to the homes to make space. The truth is that a lot of these elderly were in hospital bed blocking. And of course a lot of them took Covid 19 back with them!
The government are a lot less bothered about these elderly dying. It is an obvious sad truth.
Care homes are really - end of life homes. Sad I know, but the priority for the government has to be the younger people who drive the economy through work and procreation.

[nophead]

It is not my prediction it is the government's based on their modelling. You only get 80% of the population infected because of herd immunity. The R value starts to fall as each new person that gets it is surrounded by people that already have it or have had it so eventually they don't pass it on to more than one person.

The mortality rate is thought to be about 1%, so 66 million * 80% * 1% is about 500,000. As 600,000 die every year and they are mostly from the same group of aged and infirm the excess deaths would not even be that big over a year. A lot of people just dying a few months earlier. The other 99% could get on with their lives, go to bars, go on holiday, etc, or hide away at home for the rest of their lives if they are scared.

[VictorM]

From a 77 years old resident of LG, please stop all this hysterical messaging re Covid-19. It's here and nothing you write will improve the situation. STOP TRYING TO MAKE US ALL manically depressed!!!!

[Georgie]

If I have to work from home for the next 10 years and decide to go to los gigantes

What has the internet connection been like lately

[linda]

We have fibre into our apartment. And it's very good

[Georgie]

Thank you

[Georgie]

No one seems to be posting

Are you queuing at tesco xx

[nophead]

Not me, haven't needed to shop since lockdown. Wine and beer comes from the Wine Society, haven't needed food or toilet rolls yet due to our normal stocks. Have a Morisons food box arriving at the weekend.

[pilgrim]

Nophead you seem to be very well organised, are you preparing for a real pandemic?
Papers here saying Spain to reopen for tourism by end of June. Sounds to soon to me, don't think the flights will be available by then. Have yet to see how the airlines will prepare for individual isolation. And I guess they will have to be approved by some International Aviation Authority.

[angiebabes]

Mop head, are you seriously saying that for nine weeks you’ve not had to buy a single thing? You keep a cow? You grow all your veg, apples, oranges,bananas, slaughter all your meat, chickens lay your eggs, antibac and hand wash you make yourselves, so who does all this animal husbandry whilst you decamp to Tenerife?

[nophead]

Nop as in No Operation, a computer term. Although mop was more applicable because until a couple of days ago my hair hadn't been cut for 5 months. It was starting to look like Einstein's, wavy and sticking up. I never knew I had hair like that as never grown it long before. I bought barber's clippers from Amazon and my wife cut it.

We grow our own fruit and veg and harvest in the autumn, combine it with bought meat and fish and make frozen meals that we would normal consume over the winter. This year we spent 5 months in Tenerife, so most of the frozen stuff was still there when we got home in March. We also had a cupboard full of tinned food like fish and chicken and dried stuff like pasta, lentils and rice as well as tomatoes, beans and chickpeas, so we could make a lot of new meals. Even had three Frey Bentos pies but they are a bit naff nowadays.

We had butternut squash, which are winter squash, so they keep over winter on a windowsill.

We had some frozen milk as well but we have some young neighbours who drop off fresh stuff like milk and yogurt and a few bits and pieces. They also managed to get us bread yeast so we are able to make our own bread with a machine and flour that is 5 years past its use by date!

Currently harvesting lettuce on demand, radish, snow ball turnip, asparagus, chard, rhubarb, garlic and onions. Broad beans and mange tout should be ready soon. Strawberries will be ready by Wimbledon week, except that won't happen this year.

Also had plenty of toilet rolls as we have three toilets and only use one now guests are banned. We didn't know how many we had so we brought two from Tenerife in our hand luggage just in case!

We can get curry, Chinese and Thai delivered.

So the only things we miss are joints of meat and whole chickens, although I am actually the lightest I remember being in adult life now having lost about 12 lbs.

My wife had some antibacterial hand wash but I have all the chemicals to make some if I need to. So far we just use soap and water. When we do need to go to the shops we have surgical masks, 3D printed full face visors and nitrile gloves.

We weren't prepared for a pandemic but we were prepared for Brexit happening while we were away and were expecting food shortages.
 

[pilgrim]

I normally have a reasonable response! But just thinking, you may not be the most spontaneous person, should we bump into you in LG. Are you sure Tenerife being a holiday location, may be the correct place for you!!!!

[angiebabes]

Predictive text didn’t recognise NOP, I apologise. So you contradict yourself - yes you did need supplies brought to you by others, milk, yoghurt etc.  We too didn’t go to a shop for nine weeks here in Tenerife and were helped enormously by good neighbours and supportive friends.

[nophead]

Well yes I meant't shop as in going to a physical shop rather than just buying things. I buy things online all the time but it is almost impossible to get groceries delivered at the only time we have ever wanted groceries delivered. A few companies have started doing fixed content boxes as they can do that in much higher volumes. ASDA's is rubbish but Morrisons' is a good match to what we would want.

On the other hand we are not worried about going shopping but queuing would be a pain. Hopefully we can get large quantities in Costco and not need to go very often.

pilgrim, not sure what you are getting at. We love being in Tenerife in the winter for the weather, bars and restaurants. Not really a holiday, just a winter residence away from the dark and damp weather in the UK. We would normally have gone to the lakes with friends for a holiday in May and spent the summer having friends and family round for BBQs and going to beer festivals and gigs. Doesn't look like any of that will happen this year. Perhaps we will get to LG in November but I don't really want to if it is the new normal, not the old normal.

[unhappy]

Well with all this Coronavirus news & the 2 idiots at number 10, I did not realise WW3 had started. I will have to go to the shop & stock up like nophead, I used to have a Costco card once & only went once, it was like a cattle market.
Problem is we have down sized 3 times now, putting it somewhere safe, sod it I wished I had not knocked the air raid shelter down 50 years ago. 

[Georgie]

My view is you cannot blame the government it is a scientific issue

Thank god corbyn was not elected

Think about the problem we would now have

Sorry just my view

[unhappy]

Yes you can, they were voted in to govern not to kiss ass with their lying advisors, we were in Tenerife when they brought in the lock down, it was a lock down not the half hearted crap Boris & his mates brought in.

NO lock down, NO testing, NO PPE or any thought of ordering some extra, I would sack the whole lot of them, do you think Boris is a love child of that Idiot Trump, because he certainly is starting to act like him

We are now relaxing the lock down, 377 DIED YESTERDAY, he must be mad, My wife and I were in Tenerife for six weeks in their lock down and when we left only 40 had died there, and please spare me the comparison of populations, their was only 40 because it was a correct LOCK DOWN, not very nice when you are there, but it stopped people dying.

The truth is the Government have handled this virus very badly and being a true blue it is very sad to say so, but the buck stops there, they were inept and useless and are still making bad decisions.

I have said before we lost our son now 4 years ago we have been home 4 weeks and we have not seen our Granddaughter for over 5 months thanks to this virus and the airlines, it is here 8th birthday next week, we can now see here but we still make sure she is kept safe, In other words we wont be going for a ride in my new Jag to make sure it runs OK or the brakes work 

[nophead]

Only 337, should be about 1800 per day if we live to 100.

The lockdown in Spain didn't allow exercise, so I don't think it was very bright. I doubt anybody here caught it doing exercise.  It also didn't allow you to walk with your wife or share a taxi. All things that make no sense.

What was allowed in the UK, but not in Spain, that caused a problem?

Why are all these lockdowns being relaxed? Were they all unnecessarily strict? For example from Monday we can meet six friends instead of one. But as they have to be 2m distance what difference does the number make? We are allowed to meet any number of strangers at 2m distance all the time, for example if you went to a shop.

[unhappy]

nophead you should get your facts correct before you post them, but then you had already scuttled off home before the lock down in Tenerife.

1- Exercise if you used your head and we did not break the lock down rules we could almost go out every day, shopping we both went because of carrying 5/8 Lt water bottles, when we did not shop we took the rubbish & recycling out, Sunday we went to the pharmacy, also Lidl or Dino in PS because Mercadona was closed. We did see the police a couple of times & they realised what we were doing & were no problem.
I don't think lack of exercise for a couple of months is as deadly as the virus, and I think what you mean is you do not like being told what to do.

2- Taxis I asked 2 & used them but you had to use one of the 7 seaters & sit behind each other if there was 2 of you.

3- The news we watched in TF & when we got home of idiots bbq on the beach, crammed on trains, runners & cyclists having no care for anybody as long as they got their fix, picnics & sun bathing in parks, this was after we had seen in China,Italy & Spain how deadly this virus was.

As for your comment only 337 lets hope you never meet any of their relatives or the nearly 40.000 that have died, the worst in Europe & we had warnings from the other Countries & I repeat our Government were inept & useless.

I also watched the news this morning Dentists can not open because they can not get PPE equipment when is this Government going to get their finger out of you know where & sort this problem out along with the lack of testing & those they do get,  the waiting for results sorted out.

[nophead]

No we left after lockdown started, we flew on the Thursday and it started on the preceding Saturday evening at midnight. Even those few days made us less fit and heavier as we normally walk large distances up and down those steep roads every day.

We normally shop in Lidl but we would have had to go to Mercedona or Dino because they are much nearer. We didn't actually need anything for the last five days, so stayed in apart from putting out the rubbish.

I think by the time you left the taxis were more sensible and when we left it was full of people with just a gap behind the driver but in between they said a couple would need two taxis to the airport.

I don't count a virus that has the same chance of killing me as one year of life, if I catch it,  deadly. And the chances of catching it are still quite small as only about 1 in 400 have it.

We are not the worst in Europe yet, Belgium and Spain are per capita, why would you count it any other way? I think it is more a reflection of how unfit our population is than anything the government has done. We have the highest obesity in Europe. Look who needed hospital treatment amongst the cabinet. The others just had 7 days off.

If it is idiotic to have a BBQ, why is it now explicitly allowed as is sunbathing? As long as they were two metres away from other people BBQs and sunbathing were never a problem but people were outraged.

Lots of cyclists and runners have passed us on the road without problem.

As for PPE you can buy it from office suppliers, not sure why dentists can't get it. Anybody can have a test and most results come back next day. The number of people coming forward limits the number of tests per day, not the capacity. And less than 7% of tests are positive, not sure what that says about the people being tested. If they have symptoms and are negative they must have a cold and how do you catch anything during social distancing? They might be a lot of contacts of people who tested positive, in which case it doesn't look very contagious.