UK Government: Keep Calm & Carry On.
In fact the experts next to Boris Johnson claimed banning large events will have no effect at all on the spread of viruses. Quite astonishing these statements and I don't really believe them. They talk about wanting to reduce the number of cases but at the moment in reality are just leaving it up to people themselves to self isolate ("if they have a cough").
Bizarre considering actions from other countries.
Reasons they claim we shouldn't act now is we need to build herd immunity.
At what cost?
I don't buy it.
I'm not entirely sure this is the appropriate place to discuss this, but oh well...
The way viruses spread is a very complex science. When it boils down to it, the way this sort of virus (respiratory) spreads if when an infected person exhales some of the virus, and a healthy person breaths it in. But the amount of a virus a person exhales varies drastically, and the amount of a virus a person needs to inhale varies from person-to-person (for some people, inhaling just one tiny agent could cause them to be infected, for others, it could be more). And viruses can die.
With the, albeit limited, research we have about coronavirus, it appears that 1 infected person can infect a further 2 or 3 people. Those 2 or 3 new people cannot immediately infect new people straightaway, however. If, as the experts predict, there are in fact 100,000 people in the UK infected (many of whom will be fine and showing no symptoms), that means about 1 in 700 people in the UK has the virus. At a large event of, say, 10,000 people, that would mean there are 14 people who have the virus, and they could potentially infect a further 42 people.
The thing is, those 14 people who have the virus could easily come into contact with plenty of other people in their daily live. Equally, they could spread the virus onto surfaces, where it can linger for several hours, and someone else can pick it up. The way it works out is that the chances of those 14 people out of that 10,000 infecting a further 42 isn't much greater when you put them into a large event. It does sound rather implausible, but there's scientific evidence to back that up.
The big thing to take from what Boris Johnson and the experts were saying is the human reaction to all of this. This is a long haul thing. Short of locking everyone in their homes for 2-4 weeks, there's nothing the country can do to rid the UK of coronavirus. And even then, it'll still be around the rest of the world. It's all about timing. If you start cancelling events and closing schools now, it sounds good, but what happens if instead of having to do it for 2 weeks, you have to do it for 4 weeks? Or 6 weeks? Or you have to do it all again in 2 months' time? People will get tired of having it do it.
The big issue is trying to differentiate this from other, similar, illnesses, such as flu and even the common cold. That's why things like 'isolate if you have a cough' are happening. You may not have the coronavirus, but it takes pressure off the NHS in case you do, since most cases can be dealt with with good self care (like the flu). Then, the cases that need the help of doctors can have that attention.
I should say I'm no expert when it comes to viruses. And I'm not a conservative supporter. I have no idea if what the UK government and experts have decided to do is the best thing to do. There's things which were said which I don't like the sound of. However, if you listened to the statements from the experts (and not read what media are saying out of context), their action plan at the moment sounds somewhat reasonable.
