I keep going back and forth on whether I believe the English-speaking countries are overreacting or underreacting to coronavirus. Here in America, there’s a run on hand sanitizer, toilet paper, beans and paper towels. Sh-t is only starting to get canceled though, and most organizers of major events don’t know what to do, so everything is in a weird limbo. It’s made worse by the fact that the people in our government are utterly incompetent too. I feel like the UK is in the same situation – people are worried, people are panic-buying necessities and no one knows how bad it will get. But the Queen, you see, is just going to carry on. Unless the ‘rona is still happening in May, then she’ll cancel her garden parties.
The Queen has vowed to not let the coronavirus outbreak stop her from performing her duties – as Government officials discuss how best to protect senior Royals from the bug.
The Monarch, who is 93, [attended] the Commonwealth Day service in Westminster Abbey with eight other members of the Royal Family. A senior Palace source said last night that the Queen was determined to set an example by ‘keeping calm and carrying on’ until there was ‘compelling advice to the contrary’.
However, if the virus spreads, Whitehall experts have suggested the Queen should cancel her garden parties, which start in May, when the epidemic is predicted to be near its peak. In such a scenario, the Queen would also be likely to operate with a reduced retinue of staff and to relocate to either Sandringham or Balmoral to limit the risk of infection.
I… still wonder if we’re overreacting or underreacting. From everything I’ve read and heard, the coronavirus is particularly deadly for senior citizens… like most of the royal family. The Queen should absolutely be avoiding big public appearances as a safety precaution. But then again, if she doesn’t have the ‘rona, I can see why her “keep calm and carry on” motto is getting her through.
As for, you know, the British government, Boris Johnson was just at a big, public sporting event on Sunday (the Six Nations rugby match) with his pregnant girlfriend Carrie Symonds. BoJo is about to start taking the coronavirus more seriously though – he chaired his first “emergency Cobra meeting” about the ‘rona yesterday.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I am crying at the use of the word ” ‘rona “. I’m stealing that, lol.
And how about the wedding?
Poor Bea!
We are underreacting.
The coronavirus has the potential to kill 3.4% of the people infected with it.
You only need to look at Italy to see how quickly things can spread. Hell in the states I can see in two weeks it getting just as bad.
I read that at the current spread rate they anticipate hospitals to be overwhelmed by May
The 3.4 percent figure is high, as it is worked out from confirmed cases only. There will be many people (perhaps the majority) who have the virus and never even know it. The actual figure is estimated to be between 1 and 1.5 percent
That’s what makes it almost a perfect virus. Asymptomatic or nearly so in most people so it is spread further and harms already at-risk populations. If it was as deadly as MERS or Ebola, it would burn itself out quickly. I personally am on the side of caution but am nowhere near panic. That’s probably because I don’t watch the news on TV or have any social media to whip me up 🤷🏻♀️ One really bright spot is this and other coronaviruses don’t seem to affect children and babies, and no one knows why.
I like the print dress QEII is wearing in the top picture.
I think people are both overreacting and underreacting, if that makes sense.
Like, I’m not running out to buy all the bottled water and cases of toilet paper. I probably will start buying some extras gradually over the next few weeks, but i’m not in full on panic mode, and I’m not worried about it for myself or my kids, i’m worried about passing it on to someone for whom it would be deadly. I’m not wearing face masks or anything though.
But, I think the people who say this is NBD and we should just KOKO are probably underreacting.
Canceling the garden parties seems like a smart decision considering the queen’s age, Charles’s age, and the age of any other person there, but I also understand waiting to see how the next month or so goes.
I feel the same – there are some people not taking it seriously enough, and spreading false information, and then there are those who are going over the top in full on panicking.
I’m concerned for the elderly who may not have support networks or have the information they need to protect themselves or even the money they need to be able to stockpile food or stay home if they’re still working.
@hope – good point! The ability to be able to stockpile things is a privilege, and if you are someone who lives on a fixed income, maybe a pension and SS, or just SS, you might not be able to do that.
Thank you.
While extrem stockpiling is unnecessary, and potentially harmful, masks ans sanitizers should be left for medical personal and the old an sick, there are too many people who do not the the virus seriously. Here in Germany we don´t even manage to cancel soccer with thousands of spectators. At least here ist is too late for containment, now it is all about flattening the curve to keep the health system from collapsing.
My perception now after months with this pandemic (and it is one now) everything you can do to reduce the virus helps society and in the end is a social good.
1. Wash hands as much as poss
2. if you’re ill please stay home. And, in places that don’t allow that, (hate our countries who pit us against our welfare for profit) – vote well ppl!!
3. Wear soft gloves – you can invest in seven cool fashionforward colours, wash them often, it reminds you not to put hands around mouth/eyes. Sunglasses are your friend and easy, its all about reduction of risk. None of these things hurt ya but might help even 5 to 10%+ more?!
3. If you can, wear a mask. Try to NOT take them from medical staff but if you have them at home, wearing them may not stop coronavirus but can reduce chance of getting or spreading the flu. This softens need for medical system too – win, win.Or, it reminds you not to touch your face. IMO a scarf or something is not medically sound but it helps stops you putting your hand to mouth too!
4. Social distancing even if you just reduce events you go to, every little bit helps. It’s terrible for the economy but it’ll give time for smart minds to see what we’re up against.
5. Most importantly: Don’t panic or get paranoia, treat people with kindness; empathy. Get info from reputable sources backed up by multiple agencies. For example, most Chinese newspapers have spin & propaganda heavier then even Fox or Trump. Verify always. X
It’s probably not a bad idea to cancel or postpone unnecessary events, especially as she and probably most of her guests are elderly.
I have an exhibit that I’ve been trying to get into for YEARS in a few weeks, and I’m already prepping for the disappointment that it’s going to be canceled.
We’re in a small community and not traveling at present. Locally, I have little concern, but remain cautiously aware of CA, US and global reporting.
I don’t know why, but when you call it ‘rona virus it really bugs me. It feels disrespectful or irreverent or too cutesy-clever or ??. Idk, it’s early, and I’m only on my 1st cup of coffee so not explaining myself well.
Yeah, it’s not like the full word is complicated or difficult.
Do people shorten it when they’re talking about the beer? (Genuinely asking)
I agree with you.
@BB Fan, agree with you. It’s just…dumb. Like if you want to coin something, at least be witty/funny. And when it’s to do with something seriously, you’ve got to be even more thoughtful about it. Sheesh.
Agree. Not fun.
I’ve seen some of the healthcare worker tweets coming from Italy, and think this is very serious, and will have long-term healthcare & societal effects. 15% of people with Covid-19 need to be hospitalized. A significant number of them need to be on supportive breathing (from masks all the way to ventilators), and even young, healthy marathon-runners need that supportive breathing for a long period of time. This means there is simply not enough equipment to go around, and so based on general rules of triage, the people with longer life expectancy are getting more support, leaving people with complicating health factors or low life expectancy with less necessary treatment – which is increasing mortality.
Deciding “who lives or dies” with limited medical resources is NOT the burden I want to put on individual healthcare workers or our healthcare system as a whole (tho at least I’m in Canada).
And then there is the flow-on effects: no cancer treatments, no dialysis, no stroke interventions or heart surgeries. People who survive with scarred lungs lowering their life expectancy. We need the media to report on the real crisis heading our way, not toilet paper shortages.
Absolutely agree.
I watched a press conference with British Columbia’s Health Officer, and at one point she had to pause as she choked up. A reporter asked her why, and she said she had been through SARS, she had helped out with the Ebola pandemic, and she was thinking of what all the people in healthcare and families with vulnerable or ill members would have to deal with in the weeks to come. She was obviously very compassionate, but also carried a certain emotional burden, maybe even PTSD, from her past experiences. Infectious diseases are more than just their health burden, there is such an emotional toll too.
(Sometimes I think of the 30-50% of people in the Middle Ages who survived Bubonic plague outbreaks, and the PTSD they must have had to see half their families and communities dead in a matter of weeks; we’re only just starting to have an understanding of generational trauma, but these things become encoded in our DNA. It is human to react strongly to disease outbreaks; the challenge is to react appropriately.)
There’s a 50 year old attorney in New York in critical condition with the Covid virus. His wife and 14 year old and 20 year old children are positive but not sick. His wife says she thinks her husband was vulnerable because he worked hard to take care of everyone else.
This virus scares me because my husband is 50, I’m 53, and we are both worn out taking care of parents in their 80’s, whom we love. And we both have chronic health conditions from living modern stress filled lives on western diets and a lifetime of exposure to all the environmental toxins our government deemed acceptable exposure all these years.
Our elders are still vital parts of our lives and the community. My parents are even now helping countless stray and abandoned animals. Their deaths would mean the suffering of the animals they’re trying to feed and get vet care for. My mother-in-law left a huge hole in the lives of her grandchildren when she passed away last year. My father-in-law is still the glue that holds his family together. So I’m absolutely infuriated when some people try to make it out that the virus is not anything to worry about because it’s “mostly killing old and sick people”. As if the elderly and chronically ill have no meaning or value to our communities and families.
I’ve read that for some reason people who have diabetes are at elevated risk for a fatal outcome. At least half of my friends and family are at risk of being wiped out by this thing if that is the case. The problem is you just don’t know what’s going to happen. One thing is clear, it’s highly contagious.
I know the flu is also dangerous but most adults have some immunity built up. We can reasonably expect to survive and take care of our children. For this virus, there are enough unknowns that my husband and I are having to prep our 15 year old daughter to run the household in case we are both hospitalized simultaneously. It’s not hysteria but a matter of seeing what’s already happening in other countries. We have friends in China who prepared us. They warned us to take this very seriously.
I’m already struggling to breathe through seasonal allergies starting up. I really haven’t been the same since getting bronchitis with the flu a few years ago. I know others in their 40’s through 60’s in the same boat.
So, the Queen having to cancel garden parties is the least of my concerns.
Glad to know someone else calls it the “rona”. That’s what we’ve been referring to it as in my house. That and “The Corona”.
It hasn’t hit my province yet but it’s only a matter of time.
I am concerned because my parents and their siblings are all over 60 and most have chronic conditions. My Dad especially, in his 70s with a respiratory illness.
I’m also worried about my 36w pregnant sister and that there is going to be an infant with a new little immune system just as this is likely to hit.
However, I feel fairly confident that the Canadian health care system will handle this as well as possible.
Here, it’s the health care leaders who are speaking to the media and implementing the public planning. So far, politicians at every level seem to have enough sense to let the professionals do their jobs.
If it’s any consolation, babies and children are the least affected by this virus and, to my knowledge, none have died from this outbreak. It’s a mystery as to why, but I hope it brings some comfort that your new niece/nephew will almost certainly be okay 😊
Thank you 🙂
Luckily it doesn’t seem to have an impact on babies and young children. I keep thinking about all those little ones though that won’t be as protected and cared for as well as this one will be.
She should cancel herself, her pedo rapist son, and the whole BRF while she’s at it.
Her ‘duty’. Come ON. Paramedics and police officers go on duty. The Queen is a bloody joke.
Go home to Sandringham and enjoy what time you have left with your husband, sweetheart. Might want to spend a week or two isolated in a different wing to him first though, just in case.
Would anyone really hold it against her to take some time off right now to avoid infection, especially when her husband is near the end? Probably a good idea to avoid the weekly session with the PM too, now that it’s gotten into Westminster.