https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqCVB0tOSVQ

(Osaka flu!)

Maybe we should close the borders entirely. I can just imagine how pleased everyone'll be when the shelves are empty in their supermarket!

First British fatality today - someone from the Diamond Princess has died in Japan from the virus.

Terrible news. 

You should stop wittering on about the internal affairs of a continent you rejected being part of. This is our nation and we now look after ourselves - don't we?

This is not about Brexit. It’s about the well-being of the nation.

Maunder will keep on blaming poor people, foreigners and the LEFT for everything in the world that he thinks is wrong with anything. Probably thinks that taking back control of our borders will stop Covid-19.

Which is (wrt stopping CV) about close, mutual, international cooperation...

Thought I doubt it can be stopped now, or could have been, slowed maybe.

Yes and we could and should have taken stronger action on travel to and from Italy at the beginning of this week.

At least we are not in Schengen.

On the topic of Iran - obviously very transparent:

"Amid fears that Iran was attempting to cover up the full scale of the outbreak, reports on social media suggested that security forces had collected the phones of medical personnel in Kamkar Hospital of Qom - which is being used for coronavirus patients' treatment - and said they can only make emergency necessary calls with the security's permission."

First official death of a Briton from the coronavirus in Japan. He was one of the passengers stuck on the Diamond Princess.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51677846

At the moment. But with so many cases outside Europe, how long before we have a 2nd Italy?

The Italy outbreak must not be allowed to happen anywhere else in Europe.

Germany is looming:

Germany quarantines 1,000 as coronavirus cases push past 50

Around 1,000 people were in quarantine in Germany's most populous state Friday, as the number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in Europe's biggest economy rose above 50. The district of Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia said it had to take the step of keeping around 1,000 home as an infected couple had participated in carnival celebrations in mid-February. Schools and kindergartens were also shut in the district until Monday as the number of cases linked to the cluster reached 20. (Source: AFP)

https://berlinspectator.com/2020/02/28/germany-dramatic-increase-of-coronavirus-cases/

Is the NYSE closed today?

Nope. It opens at 2:30 our time.

https://www.ig.com/uk/indices/markets-indices/wall-street

(Futures show a 3% drop at the time of writing.)

Another sad development if you have not already noted it.
Coronavirus: British man dies from Covid-19 in Japan
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51677846

Roger

Of course it is going to happen and it will be dealt with it like in Italy and without the affected country coming to a standstill. 

Have you seen what it's like in Lombardy? Supermarkets empty, roadblock quarantines, mass panic (which you yourself seem to be the most concerned about). And that's with a few hundred cases, not several thousand which could easily happen.

I never said that there wouldn't be the need to quarantine certain areas but the whole country won't come to a standstill and life will carry on as normal for the vast majority of the population. 

Yeh if Aberdeen or Glamorgan is quarantined.

But what if the far more likely scenario that London ends up getting it?

If there is an epidemic in the UK things will get bad quickly because the healthservice will be overwhelmed and the economy will collapse.

We’re all doomed 😂😂😂

Here are the stark options according to The Times:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/what-price-will-we-pay-to-stall-coronavirus-6x0m2jvmx

"What would be worse for society: suspending normal life as we know it for months and suffering the social and economic consequences? Or letting thousands of people — mainly elderly — die from coronavirus?

This is the blunt choice that would face Britain if a pandemic hits. It is still an if, but it is now more likely than not and the probability rises with every day that outbreaks rage out of control in Italy and Iran.

..."

We are going to suffer the social and economic consequences anyway.

We need to go on the offensive and throw everything at this to delay a UK epidemic for as long as possible. In terms of economic impact we should do everything to alieviate the damage but accept that a recession is probably unavoidable.

Quieter than usual but it looks very calm to me.

https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/lombardia/milano/duomo-milano.html

https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/lombardia/milano/milano-stazione.html

https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/lombardia/brescia/sulzano.html