Here in the UK only a tiny fraction of infected people are being tested,
I am not sure that is so, because at least 5% of people who get it need hospital care, and this is independent of age (see posts above). So even if everybody suffers in silence (unlikely in the UK 
) you have 5% which you cannot possibly miss, and it would beggar belief that those 5% were not being tested.
I don’t think young people quite appreciate that there is a 5% chance of ending up in hospital, seriously ill.
HOWEVER it has just been pointed out to me that this says that 5% of hospitalised people e.g 5% of 0.1% of cases for 0 to 9 yrs. That is a lot less serious.
I think there are factors which are not yet known, and one of them could be genetic.
Just seen this. It is not unexpected
Italy would decide to forbid any leisure outside, even walking around the block. Apparently, people are getting fed up with the lock down.
In brittany, where many parisians went in « exile », all beaches and coastal trails are closed, in addition to boating and water sports.
And the lock down is likely to be extended.
I can’t see the medical reason for closing beaches and country paths.
Peter wrote:
with pubs and bars still crowded.
This is not what I’ve heard. A friend came back to the village last night from working in London and told me all the bars there are shut.
I don’t think they know the fatality rates because they don’t know the infection rates. Without testing the whole population, you simply cannot. I believe there are large numbers of people infected with no symptoms or very mild symptoms – so mild they don’t think they’ve got it.
My uncle who is at his winter place in Murcia just sent a report back via my dad. They are not allowed to go out other than for essential things, which includes walking a dog but you cannot just go out for a walk for yourself. So people are borrowing dogs in order to be able to go for a walk, and some dogs are being passed around a street all day so everyone gets a walk and the dogs are exhausted. :-)
Peter wrote:
I can’t see the medical reason for closing beaches and country paths.
Looking at how totally irresponsible people act to the current attempt to appeal to “reason”, I will not be surprised if we need to see military deployed on all major streets and landmarks to chase the idiots away who still think this is someone else’s problem!!!!
We are now at a watershed moment for our society. People seem to think that living in a democratic country means that they can act irresponsible as they wish in times where such irresponsibility will hurt others. Democracy does not imply anarchy. Democracy means that the population is free to elect their governments and in some cases are involved in approving legislation. Once that is in place however, it is binding for everyone.
It is totally unacceptable that in a case like this people will not follow the top urgent advice (as it is in Switzerland) to stay home. Neither will they accept the doctor’s pleas to stop socializing, neither will they listen to friends and family who tell them to stay in, nor to the tons of people who try to influence their “friends” via social media.
That is why we see lockdowns in more and more places. And what happens? It says “STAY HOME, it is PROHIBITED to leave your flat unless for clearly defined circumstances.” WHICH PART DON’T THEY UNDERSTAND? Do we really need armed forces in the streets and draconic punishments before people sit back at home and start using all the stuff they bought last week? Do we really need a Darwinian selection of the mentally fittest?
The longer people start asking stupid questions and not comply to what the doctors, who in fact run this thing, tell them, the longer this will take. The longer this will take, the more horriffic the fallout will be.
And make no mistake, any future time (if there is any) that something alike will turn up even with much less consequences, the mental threshold to impose lockdowns will be WAY lower than it is now, as mankind has once again proven that the word sapiens in describing the human race is fake news.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
Democracy means that the population is free to elect their governments and in some cases are involved in approving legislation. Once that is in place however, it is binding for everyone.
That particular paradigm caused some 20th century problems in Central Europe. 400,000 of my non-European countrymen died helping to fix the situation
Democracy in my world means the right to elect a government that must operate within a constitution, the existence of three branches of government to control totalitarian impulses, and ultimately the responsibility to remove (by force if necessary) a government that violates the constitution.
Totalitarian impulses in Europe are never far below the surface.
Silvaire wrote:
and ultimately the responsibility to remove (by force if necessary) a government that violates the constitution.
That’s the bizarre argument that the gun lobby in the US uses. I’m quite curious as to how they think attempting to overthrow their (modern, present day) government would pan out.
Constitutions can be amended. I believe there’s a particular amendment some are keen on, but the clue is in the word – amendment. It might not always be like that.
This aside, is there ever a subject which you won’t turn into an opportunity to voice your passionate belief in the superiority of the US political system? I agree with you on many points and even many aspects of the political debate, but it does become tiresome after a while.
I’m not going to comment greatly on the excess respect for authority that exists in Europe, nor on US constitutional obligations that to me make great deal more sense, and are largely why my family is happy to have left Europe. Enjoy your flying.
Jefferson was a smart guy
…and in these intertwined times I expect the Chinese politburo will be hoping their devotion to historical determinism is not misplaced.
Two of the largest human organisations (by a significant margin), the PLA and the NHS both on the front line.
