If you've seen news stating the NHS has declared coronavirus a ‘level four incident’ — we’d like to clarify this happened in January, and is not a new update. Declaring a level four incident is a tried and tested approach to managing major national incidents, and does not mean the risk to the public is any greater — but is about ensuring the NHS is as prepared as possible to respond.

What about pinching a lady's bottom?

A court in Rome did rule in January of 2001 that it was not a crime for a man to pinch or touch a woman's bottom provided it was “a sudden or isolated action.”.

When are you moving to Rome?

What would help the NHS if this thing does get out of hand is the government sequestering private hospitals.

Bank notes 'may spread virus'

The World Health Organization has warned that banknotes may be spreading coronavirus.

A spokesman has advised consumers to use contactless payments to minimise any risks.

“We know that money changes hands frequently and can pick up all sorts of bacteria and viruses,” a WHO spokesman said.

“We would advise people to wash their hands after handling banknotes, and avoid touching their face.”

Last month banks in China and Korea began disinfecting and isolating used banknotes as part of efforts to stem the spread of the deadly virus.

However, a Bank of England spokesman told the Telegraph it had no plans to follow suit, adding "the risk posed by handling a polymer note is no greater than touching any other common surface, such as handrails, doorknobs or credit cards”.

It is not known how long the virus can survive outside the body, but experts believe the odds of contracting the virus via inanimate objects are low.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-51734185

I'm going to be selfless here. I'm volunteering to go house-to-house to collect all the banknotes that are inevitably contaminated with Coronvirus, then dispose of them accordingly.

Such is the benevolent chap I am, I won't be making a charge for this service.

Further on this, the Guardian has reported that the majority of retired/left NHS workers are against returning to help on this

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/04/majority-of-retired-nhs-staff-dont-want-to-return-to-tackle-covid-19-crisis

IMO, if the NHS needs additional staff to cope with an emergency, then there should be a suspension of all private hospital procedures, and the doctors & nurses employed by private health companies be temporarily co-opted into the NHS, using the sequestered private hospitals.

That smells like scaremongering to me. Generics are made en masse around the world, including here in the UK (by companies such as Aesica). There's not much to worry about IMO.

I commented on this earlier this morning.  It's just another example of why outsourcing and assuming open trade with far flung countries is fraught with potential risks.  It links perfectly with the report at the weekend about the UK not needing a farming sector: this is exactly what happens in a time of crisis - countries quite rightly put the needs of their people first.

Add to that the obvious folly of relying on trade with far-flung countries instead of those with our nearest trading partners and it's another example of the folly of falling out with our EU partners.

Possibly but it does flag up a very important point.

The book 'Collapse' identifies over-reliance on trading partners for essentials as one of the key causes of collapse of local civilisations.  Limited access to medicines may not tick the box but it's clearly indicative of our reliance on a complex global economic system - as is the likely shortage of goods from China whilst this Covid-19 crisis continues.

Extreme measures...

That'll get tongues wagging.

The source where I read about India restricting exports was not specifically referring to the UK as an importer - the issue is likely to affect countries which a more reliant on sourcing drugs from India than we are. It is quite likely that some countries in Africa are dependent on supplies from India.

What f***ing morons

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-51736755

They'll just have to 'elbow bump' or 'foot touch' like Wuhan.

Where do the EU get the same drugs from?

Believe it or not, there are people who think that it was politically correct to name the disease Covid-19 and it should have been called The Chinese Flu.

Human stupidity is unstoppable, a vaccine against it will never be found.

Complete morons every which way. But judging from the pictures, the perpetrators are not English.

Just read on the BBC that Italy are going to close all schools for 2 weeks.

BreakingItalian government 'to close schools'

The Italian government is to close all schools and universities around the country until mid March because of the coronavirus outbreak, Ansa news agency reports.

Earlier officials reported a jump in cases and deaths from the virus.

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So how will parents be able to work?

Only 2 new cases in the UK today. Boycott and Tavare at the crease again

BORING

Where is the zombie apocalypse I was promised?

Italian porn is widely considered to be the best in the world, from the early days in the 70s to the modern era where its a huge export industry. Italian women are stunning and happy to do anything

Lucky kids and lucky teachers!

Finally an expert opinion here!

Sorry if this has been covered already, but why did Italy become such a hotspot in the first place and did they find patient zero?

For those doing national qualifications it would be a nightmare both for them and their teachers.