Coronavirus.

[Bletchleyite]

I think we may see reduced transport services next if Boris raises the threat level.

I think what we need to remember is that (a) measures will probably be upped over time, and (b) that isn't because they got it wrong, but because changing situations/evidence demands it.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Where I am there are now multiple drivers going sick with symptoms, and an emergency booking on point has had to be established. I don’t think that situation is going to be sustainable. Clearly it’s all starting to happen now.

Bear in mind it's also cold season. Not all of them will have it.

 

[Mogster]

As much as I hate Boris, this is one of those situations where he shines. He's focused and appears to be leaning heavily on expert advice. I voted Labour, but I think Corbyn's ability to dither and insist on 500 meetings before making a decision would have represented a woeful response to a crisis.

If you want to see how it's not done, watch US news (not Fox though), Trump apparently held up the supply of testing kits because he wanted to keep "numbers low" so he could boast about how well he handled the crisis and boost his re-election chances. Not being the smartest, he forgot that you can't bully a virus on Twitter. It doesn't care what the Republican party will say about it. This could finish him off, he's like a rabbit trapped in the headlights.

One other thing, a Harvard scientist was on MSNBC this morning and mentioned that the virus can be transmitted in the aerosol around us. He described "aerosol" as the dust and moisture you see in the air indoors behind direct sunlight. That's not something that's been mentioned in the UK, yet. Plans are in place for the shutting down of UK cities next week if need be, that's according to my contact at the Foreign Office, many companies in the City of London are having (often global) mandatory home-working days today to test systems, deep clean offices and be prepared for the worst.

I think we may see reduced transport services next if Boris raises the threat level.

If the virus was capable of remaining viable in a column of air for extended periods of time (like measles) we’d have many more random cases I’m sure. The WHO are saying droplets and close contact within 6ft, that makes sense with the number of cases we’re seeing. Most or being infected after close contact with people who are sick.

Smoking seems to be a significant risk factor.

 

[bramling]

Bear in mind it's also cold season. Not all of them will have it.

Quite possibly none may have it, but with people now being advised to isolate just with fairly vague symptoms like a cough then it's going to be hard for people to make decisions. It only takes one confirmed case in a depot to start the chain of shutting a railway down, likewise should a control facility become affected.

 

[Belperpete]

I think what we need to remember is that (a) measures will probably be upped over time, and (b) that isn't because they got it wrong, but because changing situations/evidence demands it.

Travel bans are likely to be imposed with fairly minimal notice, as per the Czech example, to avoid the kind of chaos in Italy when thousands of people tried to beat the Northern quarantine.

 

[Mogster]

Quite possibly none may have it, but with people now being advised to isolate just with fairly vague symptoms like a cough then it's going to be hard for people to make decisions. It only takes one confirmed case in a depot to start the chain of shutting a railway down, likewise should a control facility become affected.

The NHS is saying stay at home if you have a temperature of >37.9 and a new continuous cough. That rules out normal sniffles.

 

[Meerkat]

The NHS is saying stay at home if you have a temperature of >37.9 and a new continuous cough. That rules out normal sniffles.

Anybody got a spare thermometer? Any that don’t cost stupid money are sold out!

 

[squizzler]

Nail. Head.

Tbf yesterday the Salmond story was the only non-Coronavirus story in rotation on the BBC News channel, but those over 25 might remember a minor scandal about "burying bad news"... (the bad news being buried was railway related, by the way).

As if we needed any further cautionary tales at the moment to keep our hands to ourselves...

 

[RichT54]

Anybody got a spare thermometer? Any that don’t cost stupid money are sold out!

I have a Boots digital thermometer that I bought several years ago. It needs a new battery. The last time, the only place I could find that had any was Maplins... Oh, rats!

 

[Domh245]

It only takes one confirmed case in a depot to start the chain of shutting a railway down, likewise should a control facility become affected.

Confirmed case at North Greenwich, so it's already begun!

My uni has said it's stopping in-person lectures week after next, which means that in one module between that and the UCU strikes I'll have had 3 lectures all semester!

 

[3rd rail land]

Confirmed case at North Greenwich, so it's already begun!

My uni has said it's stopping in-person lectures week after next, which means that in one module between that and the UCU strikes I'll have had 3 lectures all semester!

I think everything will shut down soon. My employer has gone from business as usual but conduct internal meetings remotely to work from home wherever possible. They have not gone as far as to close offices yet.

 

[Esker-pades]

We don't know what Jeremy Corbyn would or would not be doing in such a situation. It's pointless discussing it.

 

[R G NOW.]

It is one thing for people to accept not being able to attend recreational events.

But what about the people and businesses who depend on these for a living? They cannot put their business or working hours "on hold".

Small businesses, such as catering companies, etc., and people who rely on casual/temporary work at sports matches, leisure events, etc. don't have anything to fall back on, so what are they supposed to do for income if such things are "put on hold"? Not to mention the actual recreational facilities, which cannot survive on no customers - whether that's sports clubs, restaurants, hotels, etc. etc.

The government is going to bail them out aren't they?. After something announced in the budget.

 

[Mogster]

Never seen Manchester Oxford Road so quiet at peak time. Might actually get a seat

 

[R G NOW.]

I think everything will shut down soon. My employer has gone from business as usual but conduct internal meetings remotely to work from home wherever possible. They have not gone as far as to close offices yet.

Hope not yet as I am moving on the 26th and hope my removal van still arrives.

 

[Mogster]

Anybody got a spare thermometer? Any that don’t cost stupid money are sold out!

I’m going to dig my digital one out when I get home in preparation. Pretty sure it was bought in preparation for swine flu in 2009... Guaranteed it’ll be dead now, hopefully I can change the battery.

 

[mmh]

Never seen Manchester Oxford Road so quiet at peak time. Might actually get a seat

The 3pm ish arrival into Llandudno from Manchester was nearly standing room only. The Grand Hotel bar was packed with people waiting to check-in. Other than a lack of paracetamol and eggs (really?) in Asda yesterday I've not seen any obvious reaction to Coronavirus here, other than the Wetherspoon toilets being plastered with schooldays reminiscent "now wash your hands" printouts.

 

[bramling]

Anybody got a spare thermometer? Any that don’t cost stupid money are sold out!

This is the thing. People are starting to worry at the slightest hint of a cough, either themselves or anyone near them. That may not be what the guidance says, but it's how people are interpreting it in practice. So we've had drivers being sent home for coughing all over the counter, and then concern that others will have come into contact with anything that person has been near or touched.

 

[bramling]

Confirmed case at North Greenwich, so it's already begun!

There's also been a scare on the Central Line, though I'm not sure what the finer details are. A train was taken out of service to depot for cleaning, presumably of a driving cab.

 

[RichT54]

I went to Oxford today. The number of passengers on the trains didn't seem much different to usual. However, there were noticeably less people in the city itself and in the Ashmolean Museum, no doubt due to the almost complete lack of Chinese tourists. It must be having a big impact on businesses there.

 

[R G NOW.]

Business seems to be as usual in Gloucester with the amount of traffic in the city. Our trains and busses still are running.

 

[Esker-pades]

My university is moving everything to remote learning from the 23rd. Anything that can't be done remotely is not going to happen. Exams are off, save for those in honours years. Those exams will be changed so that they can be done at home.

I'm on the committee for the university wind band. We don't know if we can do our concert on Sunday, or hold our AGM (which is vital), let alone the concert in April.

Everything is moving very quickly. It was only this morning that I was getting an e-mail about room changes because of strike occupation of buildings. The person who sent that e-mail had no idea about the announcement that the principal had just made on YouTube.

 

[krus_aragon]

By way of contrast, our local university has been slowly escalating its advice to staff and students, yesterday getting as far as advising no travel within the UK on university business, postponing all conferences and events, and rescheduling all meetings with external individuals. (Followed by an avalanche of cancellations from every student club, etc.)

Notably, there's no plan yet to cancel teaching, but some staff are starting to think ahead about how to deal with exam season if things change.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Would it not now be sensible now to thin out services rather than get into a situation of short term cancellations due to staff shortages and have more crews available in reserve.

 

[Mag_seven]

Would it not now be sensible now to thin out services rather than get into a situation of short term cancellations due to staff shortages and have more crews available in reserve.

I expect we will be seeing emergency timetables sooner rather than later.

 

[matt_world2004]

I reckon you will start to see TOCs failing. WFH and reduced leisure travel is going to depress passenger numbers comhoned with large levels of staff sickness resulting in performance fines

 

[Meerkat]

I reckon you will start to see TOCs failing. WFH and reduced leisure travel is going to depress passenger numbers comhoned with large levels of staff sickness resulting in performance fines

Or the DfT let’s them issue emergency timetables such that they can massively reduce costs

 

[westv]

I'm on the committee for the university wind band. .

Does that involve lots of baked beans and brussel sprouts?

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Or the DfT let’s them issue emergency timetables such that they can massively reduce costs

Will costs be reduced by thinning services? Same salaried staff costs, same train leasing costs, same overhead costs. Less fuel costs and track access charges but Network Rail will need to recoup that money lost somehow because they are still spending it.

 

[DarloRich]

Listening to Trump on the radio about Covid19. God he rambles and talks rubbish but he has declared a national emergency