love* in the time of plague (and by love* i mean brexit* and other dreary matters of uk politics)

It would absolutely "help the poor" but presumably with the covenient side-effect of helping some very rich lenders

it would obv be welcome but would only be a short term solution and without radical reforms to Universal Credit and UK employment rights it wouldn't take so long to be straight back to square one i.e. lots of struggling poor people on zero hour contracts being vulnerable to unscrupulous lenders and literal leg breakers in some cases and getting into unmanageable debt spirals. And I'm guessing the tories don't give a flying fuck anyway.

keep hope alive

Boris Johnson is still displaying coronavirus symptoms, meaning he may not be able to leave No 11 Downing Street on Friday, where he is self-isolating.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said Johnson was still symptomatic, six days after he first came down with signs of the illness. If he still has a temperature on Friday, he will not be able to leave quarantine as planned, despite having observed a recommended seven days in isolation.

The spokesman said: “What the guidelines say is that if you still have a high temperature, for example, you should keep self-isolating until your temperature returns to normal. The guidance is that you should stay at home for seven days or for longer if a high temperature persists.”

When asked if the prime minister had a temperature, the spokesman said only that he continued to have “mild symptoms”.

Not like someone who hid in a fridge would try & prolong this as long as possible to avoid press scrutiny

I've heard the slow Rona is a real fucker - it could be months!

We probably need a separate thread on the economic fallout/restructuring side but the government would need to be really barefaced to effectively demand the shutdown of most of the economy for months and then wash its hands of the consequences of that shutdown. Unfortunately the current government really is that barefaced.

the bitterest lol

You know it's time when a BBC news reader can't hide their shock when confronted with the fact that this government have failed the people of this country. Thirty, that's right thirty. We had the offer of 1000's of ventilators but chose to ignore. Get the F**K out Boris #borisout pic.twitter.com/JCqBo0DA33

— Jon Jones (@JonJonesSnr) April 2, 2020

xp I'm not sure if that'll save them though - the trick is to screw the poor but allow the natural class stratification to mean that most of 'your voters' never have to hear about this (or never hear about it in enough quantity that they can't brush it off as "probably just a lowlife/druggie/criminal"). That's not a trick you can do if you torpedo small and medium businesses willy-nilly.

"You know it's time" - I mean, it's well past time for this, but it's time for what exactly? It's time for nothing at all to happen because it's 4+ years until an election?

to be clear, I am pleased people are finally beginning to push back, and hope they carry on even though it feels slightly futile - it's newsworthy that we're fucked and being lied to, even if I can't see a route to anyone doing anything about it

help us keir starmer, you're our only hope

brb just making a noose

rlb just making a noose

Keir could our very own Bernie.. if he worked on his comedy routine and got a dog called Schnorbitz.

sad news for these headline-chasing corporate punks cunts

The independent brewer BrewDog is considering reformulating hand sanitiser made at its distillery in Aberdeenshire after it was turned down by a local hospital because it did not meet medical standards.

The firm said last month it would be giving away its “punk sanitiser” free to charities and to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, but a donation of thousands of bottles was turned down by the hospital.

While the sanitiser is 68% alcohol, well above the 60% minimum recommended by the Health and Safety Executive in the UK, it does not meet more stringent requirements for a medical environment, which requires more than 90% alcohol.

Who Will Run The Prog Hospital?

Looking at https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus showing deaths in the UK having doubled in three days. Fuck.

you absolutely do not love to see it

We are starting from a relatively low base, Italy is doubling every six days and that's absolutely terrifying.

When were the people currently dying over here likely to have been infected?

hatt mancock on the tv now giving off powerful nervous-supply-teacher energy as he addressed the nation

Errr also what the fuck is Matt Hancock doing taking a press conference right now? Wasn't he isolating with symptoms two or three days ago?

he said last week he’d be self-isolating until today

he still should have a permanent Twat sticker on his back

well, yeah

100,000 tests a day in the uk before the end of the month u say

mark your calendars

Germany were doing that a week ago.

yeah but we’re doing red white and blue tests

Who did the sums on this repeated no test > bad test claim?

no deal test is better than a bad

deal

fucking formatting, you get the idea

what an elegant joke

I don't really get the clapping thing when the people who are being applauded aren't here to hear it?

some of them might be? I mean I don't like it either, but plenty of NHS staff will be home at 8pm.

every time you clap your hands, an nhs worker gets a piece of ppe

So bang a pot in the hope and expectation an NHS worker lives in the neighbourhood?

And it's not a case of liking or not, it's just a bit strange.

I think it's basically fine in and of itself, just depressing in how it reminds me that the British public will choose sentimental gestures over real change 9 times out of 10.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/02/coronavirus-took-hold-in-uk-earlier-than-thought-data-reveals?CMP

yes i live three streets from one of london's big hospitals, and at least one medical professional definitely lives in my building

New "Stay Home" advert tonight, featuring a quick shot of some doorstep applause.

oh god was that the Jess Phillips advert as well?

lol i mentioned on my busiest friends-only whatsapp that CMO chris whitty is three aliens in a trenchcoat and two unconnected ppl said they knew him and had worked with him and he's lovely so i am shamed as a dick

obviously i blame you lot

Those two “unconnected people” are the two aliens on the bottom

chris whitty: three lovely aliens in a trenchcoat

> chris whitty is three aliens in a trenchcoat

"IT'S A TRAP!"

I was clapping the Labour membership earlier myself, for showing such great wisdom and forethought by voting for a jellyfish to replace Corbyn.

hope you were shouting "THIS CLAPPING IS SARCASTIC" to make sure the neighbours didn't misunderstand your intent

damn, I put up a "SARCASTIC CLAPPING" sign, probably no good in this context :(

signs aren't really good unless you make them fairly big and use fairly lights to illuminate them

Errr also what the fuck is Matt Hancock doing taking a press conference right now? Wasn't he isolating with symptoms two or three days ago?

The strain contracted by politicians, actors, newspaper columnists, and other assorted blue ticks is a completely unrelated virus that just happens to share the name. It is without symptoms and not contagious. The risk is that, unknowingly, carriers may also be carrying the more well know version which is contracted more generally by members of the public.

WHO say 14 days self-isolation is required, is the UK govt saying it knows better than them again?