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

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

Leaving aside the fact that Theresa May has ruined this sentence construction forever, it's probably true in this case. A bad test is more likely to throw up a false negative, convincing a load of people that they can go out and visit their relatives with impunity. It's actively dangerous.

how many of these bad tests did they buy? someone ought to warn them there are scammers in the area who can see an easy mark from 20 miles!

https://amp.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/02/philip-green-asks-for-taxpayer-support-to-prop-up-arcadia?

Lol

Like, how is that going to be policed?

It's unenforceable without a full police state and even suggesting it risks undermining all the measures in place. Once people have really started climbing the walls they will just take their chances and go out anyway.

my old friend from way back who lives in Berlin now was telling me you get fined for not carrying ID over there!

This isn't coronavirus related, most of continental Europe you need to have ID on you. Was quite surprised when a copper told me you don't in the UK, fancy the UK being easygoing on something like that.

Brown seemed weirdly desperate to introduce ID cards and it was scrapped by the coalition. Someone tries to float the idea every few years or so. TBH I think cost is the main reason they don't.

if there was compulsory ID for all then dirty voter suppression tactics would be out the window, unless they were a bit selective about who qualifies for it.

Jesus, it's Friday already.

ah nearly sad afternoon sesh time, in the kitchen!

if you have no ID and don't talk or cooperate what happens

We'll stand 'em up against the wall,
and Pop goes the Weasel!

if there was compulsory ID for all then dirty voter suppression tactics would be out the window, unless they were a bit selective about who qualifies for it.

this is the problem. unless you can guarantee simple, free, universal availability (and renewal) you just shift the problem onto the getting of the IDs. in the US this is exactly where Republicans focus like a laser, making people travel hundreds of miles to drivers’ license renewal centres where they’re inevitably told they lack a piece of paperwork etc.

You get fined? Frankly I've only ever witnessed ppl w/ no id being apologetic about it, and then cops tend to let you off as they would w/ a minor driving infraction (obvious caveats about the mood of the cop and the skin colour of the person asked apply).

And yeah UK elections are pretty insane when you've grown up w/ that too, couldn't believe I could just stroll up, give a postcode and they accept that!

xpost

if there was one tory you could say would definitely be in a apoplectic rage about the idea of compulsory ID it would be David Davis. For decades he's ranting about it happening in a "back door" fashion, his conviction levels on this one issue is pretty impressive!

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/03/coronavirus-britain-economy-government-blame-labour

"An open goal" for a left that has just elected Keir Starmer 😷

if there was one tory you could say would definitely be in a apoplectic rage about the idea of compulsory ID it would be David Davis. For decades he's ranting about it happening in a "back door" fashion, his conviction levels on this one issue is pretty impressive!

only a tory after all!

yesterday during hancock's half hour, one of the desperate, dubious sounding excuses he used that stuck in my mind was something like "Germany has a long tradition of having a diagnostics industry.. we've never really had that here"

really sad story:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/03/nhs-nurse-dies-coronavirus-hospital-where-she-worked-areema-nasreen-walsall

Oh, you want heartbreaking?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/03/siblings-of-13-year-old-uk-coronavirus-victim-ismail-mohamed-abdulwahab-develop-symptoms

fuck that’s devastating

What i don’t understand is how nobody else in the family apparently had it until now? Seems impossible. If I cark it surely my wife, who also has all the symptoms, would be admitted to my room?

For all the talk of "the virus doesn't discriminate", large families in small houses appear to be particularly at risk, especially multi-generational households. That means poorer families and in particular those containing first generation immigrants.

how do you fine someone if you don't know who they are and have no money on them? on the trains they ask you what address to send the fine too, which I find amazing

https://k39.kn3.net/taringa/1/7/6/2/1/8/73/schwarzbiercs/E67.jpg?2549

Exclusive:The full story of how a woman was wrongfully convicted under the Coronavirus Act and fined £660

Marie Dinou:
- did not enter a plea
- was ejected from court for not speaking name
- was not present when convicted
- was held in custody for 2 dayshttps://t.co/X4zJO8yX4Z

— Lizzie Dearden (@lizziedearden) April 2, 2020

dirty dirty pig scum.

But official guidance issued to officers by the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs’ Council states that “there is no power to ‘stop and account’” under the new laws.

Ms Dinou is not known to have undergone a mental health assessment, and a nurse was not present at court because of coronavirus.

The court made no formal effort to confirm that she spoke English

Cool, cool.

684 new deaths, thanks boris

It's ok though:

Queen records special coronavirus broadcast
The Queen has recorded a special broadcast on the coronavirus outbreak to be broadcast on Sunday, Buckingham Palace said.

exclusive sneak preview:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ab/3f/92/ab3f92d0c670a2b0b30d4df45e1be349.gif

"i've got it and i'm dying" or gtfo

We are heading towards a thousand people dying daily. And people still have these stupid fucking " Everything is going to be fine" rainbow pics on their front windows. I'm going to put a " Twee Denialism and happy clapping degeneracy Isn't going to get us out of this shit " poster up in my window

Not sure how 14 days isolation from the onset on symptoms makes any sense given that symptoms can last for more than 14 days. Anybody?

Depends whether you have ordinary COVID-19 or poltician's COVID-19.

Actually no, it’s just 7 days. And as soon as your fever goes away you can stop isolating. This seems like madness. First of all, the fever can go away for a couple of days at a time and then come back. Second of all, there are respected virologists saying you can “shed virus” for 3 weeks after getting better.

But no: symptoms appear, lock yourself away for 7 days and then as soon as your fever’s gone, go to the shops??

gonna miss u big man

John McDonnell has called for a wealth tax on the richest in society and a windfall levy on the banking industry to fund the government’s emergency response to the coronavirus crisis, as the social and economic costs of the outbreak rapidly mount.

In his final act as shadow chancellor before Labour elects a new leader on Saturday, McDonnell said the rebuilding job for Britain after Covid-19 should prioritise fully funded, publicly owned and democratically controlled public services.

Going to miss having an opposition party as well

This comment on a thread about care homes really hits home. In a lot of ways the NHS -- unable to test or take in this number of patients that are vulnerable/have underlying conditions already -- has already broken down.

this is what the arguments about "many of the COVID-19 cases will die anyway" mean in policy practice: it's a deliberate, state-directed decision to exclude a significant % of the population from the medical system altogether https://t.co/ELlYGP77cz

— Lafargue (@Lafargue) April 3, 2020

Dont give the tories any of that wet lefty babble about the sanctity of human life.

how dare you, the tories absolutely believe in the sanctity oh human life

they just don’t believe the sick, the poor, the elderly or the disabled are human

It's fine, we'll all be one or more of those four before too long. Literally everyone.

being rich supersedes all of those

idk at what point as you're being run over by a bus do you transition through sick before dead

We're all being metaphorically thrown under it anyway.

how do you fine someone if you don't know who they are and have no money on them? on the trains they ask you what address to send the fine too, which I find amazing

They can bring you back to the precinct if they want to.

This just made me think about the care home I used to work at and it's awful imagining what they'll be going thru at the moment

sure and take photos, fingerprint you but then how long can they keep you if you don't talk? I want to find out the easy way

"You can get a fine for not carrying your ID here but doubt it is being used in my area which is quite middle class"

bad grammar and all quote from my scouser in Berlin pal is probably quite telling!

barely even 24 hours since hatt mancock delivered his bold promise to the nation, enchanting john crace in the process, and already the fucking wheels are falling off

The UK government’s pledge to carry out 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of the month is unravelling, with NHS laboratory staff and scientists warning they do not have the test kits, chemicals and components they need to scale up.

Boris Johnson is personally calling the major companies that make test kits to try to secure the UK supply, it has emerged, in competition with prime ministers and presidents from around the world.