The New World

This is what’ll happen in the absence of a cure of vaccine.
Most countries have acted far too slowly to contain Covid 19. People aren’t following social distancing guidelines and in any case are still going to work and mixing with many, many people. There are thousands of super spreaders who don’t even know they have the virus. All those contaminated take it home to their families and they all contract it too. It’s not going to be containable as a consequence.
Big business and the young don’t consider it their problem. Why should they alter their practices/ lifestyles when it’s not something they are going to even be ill from? The victims aren’t predominantly people at work, so why should they be concerned? I know that when I had my injury, ‘ the business ‘ had no emotional reaction. ‘ The business ‘ only worried about itself, not about me. It just made adjustments to carry on, with me as a casualty, and very dispensable.
The old and the sick ARE dispensable to modern society. People who aren’t old and sick themselves by and large don’t care about those that are, unless it’s immediate family ( and not even necessarily then )

This epidemic will kill millions over the next few months. Because people aren’t complying with social distancing, the infected numbers will far exceed the capacity of the health systems to cope. Therefore soon hospitals will have to start choosing who is ‘ worth treating’ and who isn’t. The doctors and nurses contract it through over exposure and die too, further reducing the health services ability to treat large numbers. So many will die, and soon.
As the fit, young and healthy will be unaffected, the world will soon just adjust to the ‘ new normal ‘ and accept death, as it does in war time.
Big Pharma drug companies will be absolutely besides themselves just now, scrabbling to find a vaccine, as if Covid kills off the sick, their ‘ market ‘ will be massively diminished. Big Pharma exists to sell drugs to keep the sick going ( not to cure them, but to keep them going – and dependant on their medications, on which they spend billions each year ) God forbid the virus kills off all the sick… the ‘ health’ businesses will go bankrupt.

Ironically of course, once this peak of infection kills millions, the hospitals will have far fewer patients in them than it did before all this started. Society will have been ‘ cleansed ‘ of the sick. Care homes and hospices will be virtually empty. The top layer of society ( age wise ) will have been sliced off. There’ll be an awful lot of middle aged people who suddenly find themselves inheriting their elderly parents assets, and there are many who will be quietly happy about that. When people see the potential upsides of death, mindsets alter.

So the world is about to go through MASSIVE changes.
Businesses will carry on.
Wealth will be redistributed from the old to the young.
Big Pharma will take a massive knock and it’ll become all about finding the Covid Cure, so that they can rebuild their businesses.
The Care Industry will go bust.
Hospitals will have far less patients.
The environment will benefit through there being less people who need energy and consumables.
Death will become normal.
Health will ( should ) improve, simply because society will realise that if you don’t take care of yourself and let your body become obese / hypertensive/ diabetic then the virus will kill you off.

Oh no?!

What occurs to me big style as a resident of West London is what will happen to all the blonde and beautiful yummy mummies over 45, who by social distancing from their hairdressers and Botox delivering doctors, will now transform before our eyes into grey haired wrinkly crones. Gawd… that’ll make em stay indoors and socially distance from people more than Corona will ! I mean, what if someone were to see them!? I see a run on balaclavas and large sunglasses next, never mind food. With doctors looking after sick people, rather than artificially beautifying millions of dyed blondes, West London will get a lot more real all of a sudden!

What a shame…!

The news from Italy.

We’re tracking the latest on the coronavirus outbreak and the global response. 

More than 99% of Italy’s coronavirus fatalities were people who suffered from previous medical conditions, according to a study by the country’s national health authority.

After deaths from the virus reached more than 2,500, with a 150% increase in the past week, health authorities have been combing through data to provide clues to help combat the spread of the disease.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government is evaluating whether to extend a nationwide lockdown beyond the beginning of April, daily La Stampa reported Wednesday. Italy has more than 31,500 confirmed cases of the illness.

The new study could provide insight into why Italy’s death rate, at about 8% of total infected people, is higher than in other countries.

The Rome-based institute has examined medical records of about 18% of the country’s coronavirus fatalities, finding that just three victims, or 0.8% of the total, had no previous pathology. Almost half of the victims suffered from at least three prior illnesses and about a fourth had either one or two previous conditions.

More than 75% had high blood pressure, about 35% had diabetes and a third suffered from heart disease.

The average age of those who’ve died from the virus in Italy is 79.5. As of March 17, 17 people under 50 had died from the disease. All of Italy’s victims under 40 have been males with serious existing medical conditions.

While data released Tuesday point to a slowdown in the increase of cases, with a 12.6% rise, a separate study shows Italy could be underestimating the real number of cases by testing only patients presenting symptoms.

According to the GIMBE Foundation, about 100,000 Italians have contracted the virus, daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported. That would bring back the country’s death rate closer to the global average of about 2%.

From mates around the world

From friends around the world. 

Qatar
Just came back from Qatar where I (and everyone) has to go a screening going in and out. I’m not socialising.  Ty

Spain 
Yea we are not allowed out at all. It’s crazy over here. You are not allowed out for a walk or to ride your bike. Or go anywhere

John and I in la seca but we were in madrid few days ago and now we can’t see my parents in case we are incubating the virus. We can only go out to the supermarket or pharmacy otherwise we get a find by the police!! Thankfully we have the excuse of working in the vineyards so we can get to the countryside and stretch our legs!!! It’s just surreal xxxxxlook after yourselves

South Africa 
SA stopping sale of alcohol after 6 pm in restaurants and bars from Friday that will stop anyone going out 🤣
a lot of my friends not on board .. still organising play dates .. people going to each other houses for dinner 😡so bloody irritated

Jaysus you said it . ..disappointed in some of my mates .. some who have gone into spend a fortune stockpiling  and others who are in denial thinking this weekend they will head on their term break holiday

Belgium
we are all five at home. my wife is getting crazy… I personally escape to work I’m the only one in the office all the others work from home… we are all supposed to stay at home but some exceptions… bars, restaurants are closed. there are few cars on the streets as if it was war period…we hope that this measure  will get results and get all of us free within two weeks…
Ireland 
Yup. You stay safe man. Calm before the storm here. A few patients in ICU; I think crunch time will start in 10 days. Social isolation is being pretty strictly observed though.All pubs shut here since Sunday. In fact very few people have gone to a pub in nearly 10 days. I mean they cancelled St Patrick’s Day !!!
I think the Londoners are being naive.

Wales
Yeh town is quiet not many people walking about but I popped to the bank yesterday and Wetherspoons was busy, for every two sensible people there seem to be ten idiots, in Port Talbot anyway 🙈

This is getting serious.

Here in West London the number of dead people doesn’t seem to be of great concern. However due to stockpiling, supermarkets are reporting a shortage of fennel and balsamic vinegar, with a pandemic of shrieking by thin Gucci clad women.
In addition, some yoga classes are reported to have been cancelled…

….will women now stop dressing in their Sweaty Betty pilates wear now that there aren’t any classes?

Sad times now and to come.

Well I can say that I don’t think Londoners are taking this pandemic seriously. It was pretty quiet 2 days ago as I wheeled down the streets, but yesterday the roads were busy, as were the pavements. What I don’t see evidence of ( at least in public ) is social distancing. What don’t Londoners understand about the advice ( that you hear a thousand times a day on the telly ) that tells us to NOT get close to other people? Yes that does include in the supermarket! What’s the logic in catching the virus in the supermarket, where you have gone to grab everything you can in order to limit the effects of the virus….? Give it 2 weeks and thousands having died from catching it at the supermarket ( probably ) and perhaps the stupid British may wise up…

In Italy thousands are dying now despite crowded supermarkets not being an issue there. The Italian population though are also apparently not doing as they are told ie they are mingling and spreading it. There’s a massive misconception here that this isn’t something that’s going to affect them and weyhey it’s time off work to socialise….

I met up with my buddy Russ yesterday. We met outside, didn’t get close to each other, and wiped down objects that had been in contact with other people before we touched them. It’s definitely not that either of us is frightened of getting it, it’s just a case of lessening your chances of contracting it, OR PASSING IT ON IF YOU ADE ALREADY INFECTED BUT DONT KNOW IT, isn’t that complicated.

On Christmas Day, a few months ago, I found myself at a loose end, but was invited by Chris Cats to spend the day with him, his lady, her son, and Chris’s dad. His dad had almost died a decade ago, but amazingly had pulled back from the very brink and made to all intents and purposes a full recovery. On Christmas Day he was engaging and full of life, and it was a massive pleasure to meet him.
It seems unbelievable that yesterday he died, his condition having worsened and taken him very quickly.

I dedicate this post to Chris and his lovely late Dad.