UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, health secretary Matt Hancock both test positive for COVID-19 coronavirus UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. With the PM having been appearing daily on live TV along with, among others, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, and the country's chief medical officer and chief scientific advisor, you have to hope Britain's leadership have been measuring out their Osmans. …
[[[Thank You PM] @BorisJohnson] for your] [#BorisBots]
examples:
** "You are doing an amazing job Boris"
** "People may knock this man"
** Boris Johnson "feel safe in your hands"
** Boris Johnson "actually feel sorry"
** Boris "absolutely shattered"
** Boris Johnson "great job well done"
** Boris "the weight of the world on his shoulders"
** "has done EVERYTHING you've asked for"
** Boris "a great leader"
** "prayers"/"praying for your good health"
** "Great Job"
As an Aspergeric mathematician with a bit time on my hands I started noticing such repeated text patterns appearing.
#CyborgManifestoHypothesis:
As with other previous complex text strings, accounts posting the above Twitter messages appear to be real people, but they might also be being amplified by other, automated bots.
Repeated exact string matches suggest hidden Command & Control channel(s), e.g. e-mail from CCHQ or affiliates.
The Trick is to search for Boris Johnson (without quotes), look for frequent, constantly repeated phrases, and then refine the search by adding the (quoted) phrase.
A further, wider, distributed group effort investigation (perhaps with automation) may uncover some more of the underlying structure, and the results of the findings collated.
Not if the deputy is Raaaaaaaaaaaaaab! It's like wanting to get rid of Trump only to realise that James Brain Mike Pence is waiting in the wings.
I don't understand all the downvotes on here. Surely the Dyson contract is an outrageously corrupt and idiotic act. Is BJ looking for a job in Singapore when he's finished ruining the UK? If the PM had shown leadership earlier when it was needed, and was behaving properly now instead of throwing money at cronies, then I might have more sympathy for his condition.
Commenters complaining that we're all not being humane enough to BJ et al have not been paying attention.
Only corrupt if as you suggest Johnson (or Hancock?) intend to secure a pad in Singapore on the backup, only idiotic if they are incapable of delivering anything and/or other more capable manufacturers have been locked out and/or this locks Dyson into the production process into the future shurely?
I think its perfectly safe to say its corrupt and idiotic. These machines are of a new design and wont have gone through normal legal testing procedures if they are going to be used. To do this when there are other manufacturers of validated machines available and waiting is a breach of procedures that at any other time would be in the courts on Monday morning.
You dont have to get a wedge to be corrupt.
It was my understanding that there aren't existing ventilator manufacturers lined up to deliver all the NHS needs. Vehicle manufacturers are switching over to producing what should be proven designs. Dyson's whole business is founded upon efficient ways to move air - they may have a new design, and it will need fast-track testing and approval, but I'd probably put as much trust in something produced in a Dyson plant as a car plant (even a high tech car plant).
Time will tell and, if the existing designs can be manufactured (and validated - just because it's an existing design doesn't mean the factory will produce it correctly) then Dyson's efforts will not be needed.
As a footnote, my opinion of James Dyson fell a lot when he backed Brexit and set to move his HQ out of the UK - but moving air (both sucking and blowing) is his forté.
If Dyson ventilators become de rigeur, then ear defenders will have to be added to the PPE list.
We don't really need a new design. There are already manual ventilators and a Pi, a touch screen, and a servo motor would go a long way towards turning such a thing into a basic automatic ventilator.
Pretty much, some pulmonologist input and general clinical sanity and it should be good. With testing, doesn't have to be full fat certification but a lot of these "open" ventilator designs (which are open in name only) have no published test data, or even a statement to say what is going to be tested.
You might not like it but it would appear to be necessary given the circumstances. Or do you think that now is a great time for bureaucratic shenanigans to gum up the works? You could get up to speed on the changes to the regulations (gov link) but perhaps that might not help your argument.
Surely the Dyson would only be used when they are no normal ventilators available?
"You can try the Dyson or having nothing,your choice"
How many of the nay-sayers would say no?
"Give me the Dyson I will try it!!"
"Are you sure because you said we should not have these, perhaps we should not give it to you?"
"Gimme now, I want it.....pleeeeeeease"
"Weeeell....ok...if you are sure"
Also, who said if they have to use the untested Dyson ones they could not phase them out again as they ramp up the normal ones?
In this time of National Crisis, perhaps it's time for HM the Q to dissolve Parliament, which clearly isn't up to the job, and declare a Government of National Emergency, that is, her. While Parliament is quarantined, using the Army if necessary, and quite possibly in the Tower of London just to drive home who is and isn't In Charge, HM the Q can right the Ship of State and Restore Britannia To Glory.
It's not as if she could be _worse_ than BoJo and his three immediate predecessors, after all.
Can I have a hearty chorus of "Rule, Britannia"?
The thickness of a Durex would have been sufficient. But having met some of those hard eyed Tory women when I was briefly involved in politics, I have to say that's probably also about the moral distance between them and him. They really are a different race, ethnicity or even species from the rest of us. Or at least, they think they are.
Ministers say so.
This is the kind of thing that worries me.
Drastic measures should be time limited and put to cross-party consultation before renewal.
Really, what is needed is neutral observers watching Ministers during business at all times and reporting worrying behaviour.
As to drones following people walking in the countryside (presumably where there are far fewer people), it just sounds ridiculous, if it weren't such a waste of funds,
It all serves as a convenient dry run for future, more political crack-downs. Both bobby and the public will have become de-sensitised with the small ambiguous moral step on health grounds.
"drones following people walking in the countryside (presumably where there are far fewer people"
You'd have thought, but given some people's behaviour ... there was a report on BBC News of a Lake District farmer who had "several hundred people" walk through his fields over the weekend, and was assaulted by a walker (effectively) for disinfecting the gate.
Now people should stay off busy paths even if they are public footpaths but this farmer was not assaulted for disinfecting gate handles. His story is that 1) he told the walker to go home; 2) the walker gave him a funny look and then 3) the walker punched him several times giving him bruises and shaking him up but not seriously injuring him.
Do some people give others funny looks then launch into a full physical assault? Or did something happen between 2 & 3? Did he give the walker a funny look back? Did he repeat the order to go home? Both of those would have been absolutely no provocation. But did he threaten to get physical? Did he throw a punch? Did he threaten to go and get his shotgun?
We don't know what started the fight, and if there were no other witnesses, was the footpath really too busy at that particular moment?
" is neutral observers watching Ministers during business at all times and reporting worrying behaviour."
In a constitutional republic like the USA, that obligation is expressly conferred on a free press via the Constitution. In other western countries, less directly so, but expected in any case.
However, since the "free" press is basically the extended arm of the Democrats in the USA (Labor, Social Democrats or whatever your version of progressivism is), their interest is not in enlightened reporting and analysis, but petty partisanship and outright fake news. There are pockets of enlightened resistance in the press, but they are drowned out by the entrenched MSM. The internet is home to a lot of well reasoned reporting, but Twitter, Google and FB seem intent on removing that as fast as possible though de-platforming.
Every country's experience is probably similar to a greater or lesser extent. The demise of anything even remotely resembling objective and informative reporting, which can be traced directly to the day the "News" became a profit centre in TV, is one of the least promising aspects of our future. We see it daily on news conferences from around the globe, where intelligent questioning is replaced by "gotcha" questions aimed at decredentialising the speaker in question, rather than an opening for a reasoned and informative response.
The USA seems worse than most, because there is little or no recourse in law against the press, so they feel neither shame nor fear.
YMMV
The media response to the Covid19 epidemic is the "hoax", not the virus and subsequent epidemic.
Why tangentially spread a misquote that is clearly a falsehood spread by the US MSM?
What purpose does it serve other than to reinforce your own wokeness and TDS?
What kind of idiot are you?(Sorry El Reg. for a personal attack) The media was sounding the alarm while our LSoT (Lying sack of Trump) played politics and ignored the problem, fixating on how this could be an attack on him rather than being a real crisis. Trump wasted time and lied repeatedly to the public when he knew better, talking up the market and giving his buddies time to bail out.
>>>
National Police Chiefs' Council, a semi-official police body that decides which laws are enforced and how, this morning endorsed Derbyshire Police checking on people going for walks in empty stretches of the countryside via drone.
<<<
What could possibly go wrong?
Why not add some facial recognition.
The essential part is to have "Sunset clauses"
(and I don't mean spotting people engaged in evening outdoor bonking - with possible arse recognition)
As usual - one law for them, another for the plebs
- Flying a drone near people
- Getting tested, when NHS staff and the general population can't
- Encryption
And don't expect any "emergency" powers or increased surveillance to be rescinded. Remember, Income Tax was an emergency measure to fight the Napoleonic Wars...
I stupidly watched a clip of him announcing it. Like it's some kind of reality TV gameshow with him smirking and thinking that we'd actually care. Wrong.
Perhaps if his* government hadn't lurched from yet one disaster to another, lying and bluffing and waffling from one day to the next the country would be in a slightly less serious mess than it is now. Maybe if he hadn't chosen to ignore the EU's plan to purchase ventilators in bulk there would be more on their way now. However his government clearly stated that they chose not to. Subsequently his government claimed that they "didn't know about it" or "didn't get the email"... in relation to an invite to cooperate that was publicly broadcast in the open for all to see. It's either gross incompetence or belligerent lies or, given the track record, almost certainly both.
Others are starting to use rather stronger words and are calling it a starting point for manslaughter charges. I don't know myself if that's accurate but I understand the sentiment. If somebody actively chooses to not do something that would help, for whatever reason, are they culpable?
* He is the prime minister. The buck stops with him. He will of course lie his way out of this one, it's his only skill in life.
@AC - Bollocks, Corbyn's skill lies in his ability to hold his seat and the leadership of the labour party whilst being unelectable due to a combination of how he is portrayed, how he reacts to that, and who he actually is.
He would rather be in charge of labour and them never be in government than step back and let someone more palatable run.
I mean, I agree with him on many areas politically, but even I have so many doubts. Same deal with Hillary Clinton. The debate has been poisoned before it began, it sucks, but a decade of slowly dripping poison will kill a politician's mass appeal.
That Cummings exit is magnificent. Totally made my day. Had the Benny Hill music playing over it in my head.
At the start of the daily briefings my heart soared a little. Apparently the policy was evidence based - and we don't see that often. As the crisis progresses I think Boris may be depreciating the science because he is a politician.
Whatever else he is Boris is not thick, for all that he assumes the demeanour of the fool. Like him or loath him, he was a King's Scholar after all.
I wish him a speedy recovery.
I saw it too and he didn’t seem ill to me, considering he allegedly had “a high temperature and persistent cough”.
He talked 2 minutes in a strong voice without so much as a pause for breath let alone cough.
He’s a a terrible actor for Cummings’ apparent scheme to show the PM as being ill yet leading the country, after all the flack he got for being on holidays for weeks.
So for the past weeks, we have been told that testing is confined to seriously ill people, who have been admitted to hospital, and there are no tests for the general population. There aren't even tests for front-line NHS staff, who should get them for pragmatic reasons alone (not infecting many others) even if they don't "deserve" the tests due to their roles.
Now both BigEars and BoJo have been tested after displaying "mild symptoms". Yes, they are important people, but "we're all in this together"? I think not.
AC because I'll probably get torn to pieces for daring to post this.
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Regrettably, BoJo has bugger all humanity. I'd probably find some sympathy for the worthless liar if he did. His government chose to do nothing, and when finally shamed into doing something it was rather too late (although not as bad as the US). All this despite all the evidence from successful countries on how to slow the virus down and to prevent many needless deaths. His actions therefore have caused more deaths than there would be have been otherwise, for this we are meant to be thankful?
He is not stupid, and I've never accused him of such, however he cares for absolutely nobody other than himself, they just don't come into his mindset at all. The reality-TV appearance like video of him spaffing on about himself having got covid-19 pretty neatly demonstrates his self-serving focus.
His government chose to do nothing
The government chose to do what scientific advice recommended, instead of responding to the panic on social media. It has a responsibilty to contain a crisis while not destroying the economy.
Out of curiosity, what's your reaction to the Swedish response? Is it wrong, or are you just opposed to anything Boris suggests?
How is it being a "heartless arsehole" to point out that if anything happened to Johnson Corbyn would not be PM, contrary to your post, because (a) Labour would not have the votes to form a government and (b) Corbyn is no longer the Party leader? And you are the over-the-top exaggerating idiot who labelled Corbyn, whose politics are about as left wing as Heath's or Macmillan's, "Bolsonaro"!
You attribute to me things I didn't write, you attack me. Projecting your insecurities?
Take a look at this Getty Images photo that has been used by the BBC and many other sites to show "crowded" Clapham Common:
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/5FB2/production/_111389442_hi060759960.jpg
Pretty typical of the sorts of photos that were all over the front pages at the start of the week.
Count the number of small groups of people (families/couples/individuals) you can see walking along that path. What, a dozen or so?
Now consider that the distance between the nearest and farthest lamp posts you can see in that photo is 270 metres.
Imagine looking at that scene from the side, with those dozen or so small groups spread out over 270m. Does it still look like the "crowd" that the picture purports to show?
Perspective certainly does matter.
The budget for the NHS has very definitely not gone up by £250million a week. This would have been headline front page news if it did. Many lies were told by the convervative party during the election (why are manifesto "promises" not legally binding?) and have been variably repeated and repealed afterwards, but that's very different to doing anything. Which they haven't.
The amount pissed against the wall on brexit and "getting it done" has already exceeded all the money that we have ever contributed to the EU in our 40 years of membership. We are still no closer to the unicorn fart of brexit with a deal, but that doesn't matter to the disaster capitalists or those behind brexit who don't want a deal and just want the dream of their childhood "empire annuals".
Front page headlines like this, you mean?
Here is a more measured treatment of the same topic. Bottom line, yes, funding really has gone up by about that much.
Sadly, since the pound crashed after the referendum and has never really recovered (until just now, indeed, but who knows how long that will last), all this money doesn't actually buy very much of anything.
It'll still be down in equal number terms compared to before the conservative party started slashing the budget.
The £6bn being added back into the NHS is still considerably less than has already been cut.
The £6bm is "over the next parliamentary term", which is five years. Even if you are naive and think that this will be over a single year, that's still only £115m per week. Over the five years (mostly likely four as they'll not contribute the money for a year as this gives them the opportunity to annouce it as something new in a year's time) this is only an increase of £23m per week (£28m per week over four years). Taking into account inflation and the collapsing exchange rate this has sum somewhat less purchasing power than previously as well.
There are a lot of well written analyses of the budget at the independent Kings Fund. It pays to see what has happened rather than the rosy promises of "new" spend which is usually just restating previous spending commitments as if they were new.
To increase the NHS budget by £250m per week the government would have to commit to spending an additional £13 billion a year. Immediately, and as a permanent increase, increased annually in line with the real inflation figure. Not a "plan over the next parliamentary session", which is 5 years.
UK NHS budget:
2015/16 - £122bn
2016/17 - £122.8bn
2017/18 - £124.8bn
2018/19 - £126.7bn
2019/20 - £133.3bn
2020/21 - £137.1bn
In order to go up by your claimed £250/m a week the budget would have had to increase by £13bn in between the 2015/16 years and 2016/17 years (or, being more fogriving due to the vagaries of the differening reporting periods and other arbitrary dates, 2017/18). The difference between 2017/18 and 2015/16 is £2.8bn. That is often a below inflationary increase, let alone the £13bn that would be required to match your claimed "£250m/week since the referendum".
The Consumer Price Index has risen from 100 in 2015 to 107.8 in 2019, which is a 7.8% increase from 2015 compared to 2019. Taking the £122bn budget from 2015 and increasing it in line with this we get £131.5bn, compared to the £133.3bn for 2019/20 - therefore an increase beyond inflation over the five years of just £1.8bn which averages out over the whole period to £7m a week.
Please explain where your claim of "£250m/week since the referendum", requiring an instant uplift of £13bn in a single year and maintained from that year on, are represented in these numbers. Only by comparing the 2020/21 budget of £137.1bn with the 2015/16 budget of £122bn do we see an increase of higher than the required £13bn (£15.1bn increase over the period) but when inflation is factored in this is reduced to a mere £1.8bn increase over the period. Are you trying to claim that inflation based increases in expenditure, that should happen every year, are in fact "additional"?
I did not claim a single year increase and my statements do not require "an instant uplift of £13bn in a single year". I used Government figures that do indeed show a £13bn increase between 2016 and the 2019/2020 budget, and stand by those figures.
I will not be replying further to you. Seek guidance from an English teacher if you need further help in understanding basic written sentences.
I did not claim a single year increase and my statements do not require "an instant uplift of £13bn in a single year". I used Government figures that do indeed show a £13bn increase between 2016 and the 2019/2020 budget, and stand by those figures.I will not be replying further to you. Seek guidance from an English teacher if you need further help in understanding basic written sentences.
You have failed to show any comprehension of basic mathematics and failed to show any evidence of anything other than blind ignorance. Your response, in the light of your total failure to show any evidence or understanding whatsoever is to state that you will no longer reply.
Congratulations. May I suggest reading horoscopes in the future as they are more your level.
/sigh.
If you are having trouble with horoscopes and have come back here... if you read what I wrote, I pointedly stated that there was in inflationary increase in the budget year on year. This is not "new spend", this is nothing more than inflationary increases so the NHS budget is not slashed further. Claiming that a regular inflationary increase is "new spend" or something that counters the abject lies of the Brexit bus shows a total gullibility and failure to understand the maths. Are you even trying to suggest that only because of Brexit that the government are increasing the NHS budget in line with inflation, and that without this they would not be and therefore effectively reducing the NHS budget even more every year?
Of course we can control it. Maybe we need to optimise our social distancing, though.
Land area of UK = 240,000 square kilometres
Population of UK = 67,000,000
Which means we each get... scribble ... scribble ... carry the ... scribble ... about half a football pitch each.
I bags the local Tescos. The rest of you can split the remainder of the country between you. Quickly now.
I pity the poor sod who ends up with the Old Man of Hoy.
I hope he is OK despite being useless.
He is a bit of an idiot but better than the twat the US are lumbered with.
But more importantly his stand in is a moron.
There are a few, Grayling, Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaab.
We don't want Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaab in charge.
This is one thing that should definitely continue after the crisis is over.
Video Conference to all the Cabinet, all isolated in each their own ward, and to actors playing the parts of Permanent Secretaries and the like... No input or output to anyone else... And let the civil servants run the country by ear.
"... while the National Police Chiefs' Council, a semi-official police body that decides which laws are enforced and how, ..."
I'm old enough to still believe in the quaint idea of policing by consent:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/policing-by-consent/definition-of-policing-by-consent
Principle 2 states: 'To recognise always that the power of the police to fulfil their functions and duties is dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behaviour and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.' Most of the other principles are very similar.
So where does the NPCC fit into that? I rather thought that deciding which laws are to be enforced (by passing and withdrawing them) was the job of Parliament, not some unelected bureaucrats.
"... this morning endorsed Derbyshire Police checking on people going for walks in empty stretches of the countryside via drone."
If you need a drone to spot them they're likely to be more than 2 m away from others - in line with government advice. So what is the point of this, apart from giving the public the impression you're a police force which is totally clueless?
Is it beer o'clock yet?
the public are clueless, so the police can do whatever that will please the clueless. The public has heard about drones, and about policing, and that the drones are at a cutting, bleeding edge of policing, right? This sends a very strong message to the clueless public the police are DOING THE RIGHT THING. Never mind FUD, clueless public don't know and don't care.
"If you need a drone to spot them they're likely to be more than 2 m away from others - in line with government advice. So what is the point of this, apart from giving the public the impression you're a police force which is totally clueless?"
Just answering this bit specifically - the problem is that the further away from your home you are, the more likely you are to require assistance from emergency services if something goes wrong (a trip/fall, getting lost, your car breaking down, etc etc). This is particularly the case given the closest many of these people got to going for a walk before was staggering back home after they miss the last bus home on a night out.
Just answering this bit specifically - the problem is that the further away from your home you are, the more likely you are to require assistance from emergency services if something goes wrong (a trip/fall, getting lost, your car breaking down, etc etc).
Mayhap in no far distant time the police forces of this country can detail each of us a drone of our own to always follow us wheresoever we may be, in country or town, in my lady's chamber, or round and round the garden like a teddy bear.
Just answering this bit specifically - the problem is that the further away from your home you are, the more likely you are to require assistance from emergency services if something goes wrong
This is a logical fallacy as the long catalogue of household accidents demonstrates. You probably meant to say that people who drive to places like the peak district, Dartmoor, Snowdon, the Cairngorms, etc. often need the emergency services because they are unprepared for the conditions. But this is not a general rule.
Almost all crime is down. No nasty pub or football match brawls to sort out. Housebreaking opportunities have dried up with working from home. Less cars on the road so very little road traffic offences to deal with. No big public demonstrations to disperse. The police are getting very bored and want to do "something" till the domestic violence and murder rate soars due to families having to self isolate together.
"... The police are getting very bored ..."
Especially those doing the facial recognition trials ...
"And why, Constable Savage, are we holding Mr Cudogo this time?"
"He's a villain Ma'am. I arrested him for wearing a mask in a public place, and moving in a suspicious manner."
"A suspicious manner, Savage?"
"Yes Ma'am, as though he was trying to avoid people."
"I'm taking you off 'face recognition' and transferring you to 'drones', Savage."
"Thank you, Ma'am."
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@Hague - The point is that you're supposed to stay at home.
The provision to "do exercise" means you can leave your home for a walk/run/bike, for health and all that. It doesn't mean "go for a walk" a la the middle classes, where you drive to the Walking Place and go for a stroll.
Either you're getting essentials or going to work. Other than that, stay home, go outside in a private area if you have one, so the poor buggers who don't can use the nearby public areas.
I'm a climber. It's perfect climbing weather. I could get into my local gym for a sneaky climb. But I don't go and do it, because STAY THE FUCK AT HOME.
I wish I could upvote this a thousand times. The reason the Derbyshire Police are doing this, is because literally thousands of people are STILL driving out from Sheffield into the Peak District, parking next to each other and wandering off across the various beauty spots.
I had to drive over Curbar Edge this morning, and the road was crammed with cars wherever they could abandon them.
Fucking imbeciles, STAY AT HOME!
I did a circular walk from home today along the local footpaths and met far too many people on narrow footpaths where it was challenging to pass with an Osman clearance. On Monday however I drove 5 miles (4000 Osman's) to the forrest and walked for an hour only seeing one other couple who we passed at a very safe distance.
I initially thought the government 'herd immunity' plan was a cynical folly, but they are really committing to it now.
Self isolation with my family has given me time to code, learn basic biology and play Monopoly, but not sleeping so it's all mixed up.
If Ro > 1, go directly to quarantine, do not pass go, do not collect £94 for 5 weeks.
Covid19 ≠ SARS-CoV-2
The former is the disease, the latter is the virus.
https://xkcd.com/2275/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/3-charts-that-changed-coronavirus-policy-in-the-uk-and-us/
Scottish bairns have been painting rainbows in windows supposedly to cheer us up, but they are just depressingly bad art, often even getting the colours in the wrong order. The next generation is really letting us all down.
On my officially-mandated exercise session, I was walking along the canal towpath when I passed two dubious-looking individuals sitting on one of the benches. This is what I overheard:
First yokel: "Do you know why that Boris Johnson has caught Covid-19? "
Second yokel: "No, why? "
First yokel: "It's because he shut down all the pubs. It's karma! "
The most worrying thing about Liar Johnson's statement was that he intended to continue to lead the government in the fight against coronavirus.
Really, he should go to bed, rest, relax, and do nothing. Let someone else do the "leading".
He'd be doing himself a favour.
And the country.
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Here in Portugal there has been declared state of emergency; this was approved by parliament and has to be renewed after 14 days (don't know if it is every 14 days).
State of emergency does not change or suspend any laws directly, it gives the government the possibility of restricting rights that it otherwise can't. But with strict time limits.
Coronavirus test kits withdrawn in Spain over poor accuracy rate
It has been announced in Australia that UK is (present tense), literally, throwing all recently acquired "fast" testing kits (sourced from China) due to a 70% error rate.
The only thing that seems to "work as advertised" is the coronavirus.
Out of interest where is it announced that they are being chucked (in the UK)
ABC (Australia).
I hope this information is incorrect.
Spain's national COVID-19 death toll second only to Italy as country turns to China for help
To address the shortages, Health Minister Salvador Illa said the government had inked a major deal with China.
Worth some 432 million euros (nearly A$800 million), the deal will cover 550 million masks, 5.5 million rapid test kits, 950 respirators and 11 million pairs of gloves, he told a televised news conference.
"We have secured entire production chains (in China) which will be working solely for the Spanish government," he said.
Was this before or after Spain discovered that 70% of the half million test kits it'd bought from a Shenzhen company were giving false an useless results
I am suspecting some EU countries are "pooling" with Spain with UK being one of them.
A bit "coincidental" (if UK did throw away Chinese-made "fast" test kit due to 70% error rate) if both UK and Spain bought the same "fast" test kit and both of them have 70% error rate.
Airbus plane delivers face masks from China to coronavirus-hit Spain
Chinese company shipped out millions of Australia’s masks, hand sanitiser, glove supplies
Three million surgical masks, 500,000 pairs of gloves and bulk supplies of sanitiser and wipes were bought up in Australia and other countries where Greenland operates.
Pallet loads of items including thermometers and 700,000 hazmat suits were sent to China, the Herald reported.
They were accumulated at Greenland’s Sydney headquarters and sent to China over weeks in January and February.
China Supplied Faulty Coronavirus Test Kits to Spain, Czech Republic
Chinese firm to replace ‘unreliable’ Covid-19 rapid test kits sent to Spain
Netherlands recalls 600,000 face masks from China due to low quality
So here's some update regarding those faulty "fast" test kits Spain has "discarded":
1. The test kits were from Bioeasy Biotechnology from the province of Shenzhen, China. The company is not authorized by the Chinese government.
2. Spain got their test kit from a local importer (translation: Someone "peddled" the test kit to the Spanish government without approval from Chinese government.)
3. After Spain got the test kits, the Chinese government sent the Spanish government a list of recommended brand/manufacturer and the list does not include Bioeasy Biotechnology.
4. The Czech government also got the same test kit from Bioeasy but it is not determined how they got hold of the faulty test kit.
5. The Turkish government were provided and rejected the sample test kits from Bioeasy Biotechnology.
Hope this helps.
Replicating the voting side of it would be simple enough. But could the debating chamber be replicated, to include behavioural aspects? In these days of virtual reality games, I'd say yes. Wonder if some VR studio could rush something out à la Dyson.
Answers here:
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2020/03/more-bits-on-the-corona-crisis.html
'...When one checks the original reports from Spain and from the Czech Republic one learns that these countries bought anti-body tests which only react when a person has had the virus for some time and developed anti-bodies against it. These tests can obviously not be used to find persons who are infected but have not yet developed anti-bodies...'
"Derbyshire Police checking on people going for walks in empty stretches of the countryside via drone."
I suppose in ol' blighty, one shouldn't expect less. Officious and power crazed coppers using laws on the edge cases to bolster their own self-esteem seems normal.
The probability of a solitary walk in the park, possibly canine accompanied, is in fact ZERO without close interaction with an infected human. Policing this is a waste of resources and nothing more than a grab for more surveillance power in what has already become a police state.
F*ing glad I am shot of the place!
Some of the comments here are very puerile and hateful. They have a whiff of lefty Guardian readership for sure.
Even if you are no fan of Boris, at least understand that he is far better than the alternatives at presiding over this pandemic. Can you imagine how Corbyn would've handled this crisis? Can you imagine anyone really taking him and a Labour government seriously? Whilst there are some flaws in the action thus far taken, I really don't envy Boris Johnson's position in making some extremely difficult decisions. But I am more comfortable with him at the helm that just about any other politician.
I wish him a speedy recovery.
Looks like Dominic Cummings failed to out-run the virus...
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