70s Lockdown

From the BBC:

“Coronavirus: Isolation for over-70s 'within weeks'”

Every Briton over the age of 70 will be told "within the coming weeks" to stay at home for an extended period to shield them from coronavirus. When it happens, they will be asked to stay home for "a very long time", Health Secretary Matt Hancock said. The government is to release social distancing advice for the elderly on Monday - but they will not yet be asked to self-isolate for long periods. Fourteen more people have died from the virus, bringing deaths in the UK to 35. Mr Hancock told the BBC manufacturers were being asked to help produce medical equipment, such as ventilators, to help with an expected surge in demand by the NHS, and hotels could be turned into hospitals, Mr Hancock said. The number of confirmed UK cases of the virus has reached 1,372, with 40,279 people tested, according to the latest figures released by the Department of Health and Social Care. Earlier, 34 new cases were announced in Wales, 32 in Scotland and 11 in Northern Ireland.  The 14 patients whose deaths were announced on Sunday were aged between 59 and 94 and all had underlying health conditions, NHS England said. Among them was retired police officer Nick Matthews, 59, of Nailsea, near Bristol. His wife, Mary, paid tribute on Facebook, saying she had lost her "soul mate" and "best friend", following Mr Matthews' death at Bristol Royal Infirmary in the early hours of Saturday. She said she and her family were "currently in isolation" until they received their coronavirus test results back and urged people not to visit them until they got the all-clear. Mr and Mrs Matthews had recently returned from a holiday in Fuerteventura, in the Canary Islands, flying out on February 22 and returning on February 29. People self-isolating with mild symptoms of the virus are not being tested, with the government prioritising tests for those "most at risk of severe illness".

Tests will primarily be given:

To all patients in critical care for pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or a flu-like illnes

To all other patients requiring hospital admission for pneumonia, ARDS or flu-like illness

Where an outbreak has occurred in a residential or care setting, for example long-term care facilities or prisons

Earlier, Mr Hancock said the over-70s and people with certain health conditions would be told within weeks they needed to remain at home, with groceries and vital medication delivered - but he did not give details about how long this would be for or when it would start.  Mr Hancock told Andrew Marr people without symptoms would still be able to visit older relatives and friends so long as they stayed two metres - or six feet - apart from them.  All the UK deaths from the virus so far have been among people aged over 60 or with underlying health conditions.

The Scottish government set out its interpretation of the strategy, saying it had no plans to isolate the elderly, but would instead "ask them to reduce social contact". Jeane Freeman, Mr Hancock's counterpart in Scotland, said: "We don't want people who are elderly to be stuck in their homes alone not contacting anyone, with their families not able to be in touch with them and to help them. "What we're saying to them is, reduce your contact." The Scottish government has also published its guidance that gatherings of 500 people or more should not take place in Scotland. Although it does not have the power to call off events, it has urged organisers to "act responsibly" in cancelling large gatherings from Monday to help the efforts of emergency services. 

'Start making more ventilators':   Manufacturers including car makers, weapon makers and army suppliers are to be asked to switch their production lines to making ventilators for use in hospitals treating coronavirus - which can cause severe breathing problems.  Digger manufacturer JCB said it has been approached by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to see if it could help with the production of ventilators. The company chairman, Lord Bamford, said it was "unclear as yet" whether it could assist, but its research and engineering teams were "actively looking" at the request. The health service is to stop non-urgent surgery and implement a huge training programme to retrain medics from other specialisms to treat those who become seriously ill with the Covid-19 disease. Five ways hospitals will change to tackle virus Mr Hancock said there were 5,000 ventilators available at the moment, but that many times that number would be needed. Work is also under way to buy up thousands of private hospital beds to boost NHS capacity should it be needed and the possibility that empty hotels may be requisitioned has not been ruled out. Mr Hancock earlier used an article in the Sunday Telegraph to liken the coronavirus crisis to World War Two. He wrote that, despite the Blitz, the UK "pulled together in one gigantic national effort" and that the same must happen once more. It came as the government's strategy was criticised by some scientists, who wrote to ministers urging them to introduce tougher measures to tackle the spread of Covid-19. "Of course there is a scientific debate around scientific concepts but I want to be absolutely crystal clear, we will do what is necessary," Mr Hancock said. An emergency bill giving the government temporary powers to tackle the outbreak will be published next week. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said the government is "well behind the curve" in its management of the outbreak and urged No 10 to give "clearer guidance" and "much better support". He insisted the government had not acted "fast enough" to tackle the virus, citing concerns over the availability of NHS beds, ventilators and staff. He said he had written to Mr Johnson demanding a meeting and to ask what would be in the emergency legislation that is to be presented to Parliament next week. Shielding the vulnerable and elderly will be an essential part of the government's strategy when cases are rising rapidly - it was one of the decisions signed off at an emergency Cobra meeting on Thursday. Half of the overall cases are expected within a period of a few weeks, with 95% in a period of around 10 weeks. So officials will ask those at most risk of developing severe illness to stay at home. They believe if they get the timing right and people adhere to it the move could reduce the number of deaths by up to a third. But it of course carries its own risks - mentally and physically. They believe the longest they could ask people to do this for is around 12 weeks or so.  That's why it's essential people don't go too soon. At the moment the vulnerable groups should be protected to a degree by the fact that the small number of people with the virus should be self isolating.  But the officials recognise that individuals will make their own decisions about when to start.

^ I am very curious to see how this blanket lockdown on everyone over 70 years old will be handled. Will it be handled differently in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland or will it be the same nationwide? How will the officials enforce this lockdown? What will it mean for Queen Elizabeth II (who is in her 90s) or for Prince Charles (who is in his 70s?) Maybe Queen Elizabeth II should move to Canada – where she is separately the Queen of Canada. There are still a lot of unknowns with this proposal. I just hope that if it takes place it doesn’t turn the UK into a Police State hunting down everyone over 70. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-51895873