OT : The Coronavirus. Has it reached you yet? How are you?

Our world has been turned upside down lads.

Faster, and unimaginably more so than we could have thought just a few short weeks ago.

There's a poll on the Politics board about Boris Johnson you may want to respond to. 

Johnson reminds me of Yeltsin. Bit of an oaf who looks drunk all the time.

This is getting beyond belief now. If the number of cases rise above the capacity of any country then probably this will happen in other countries too.

www.jpost.com/International/Israeli-doctor-in-Italy-We-no-longer-help-those-over-60-621856

  I am not talking about survival rate or infection rate. I am saying that if more people become infected in any country than the capacity of that country's hospital beds or respiratory facilities then some of those countries may switch to doing the same thing as Italy is doing as reported in newspapers. That is diverting most of their resources to saving younger people and putting older people at disadvantage. 

Coronavirus: Tube drivers 'furious' at crowded carriages

Today on the London Underground:




London Underground passengers have been crowding onto packed Tube trains, despite warnings to minimise travel.

Pictures from Monday's rush hour show busy carriages, which unions say have left staff "furious" and make social distancing impossible.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has urged workers to stay at home and said public transport should be used only by key workers otherwise "people will die".

Some passengers have said a reduced service means trains are busier.

Aslef union's district organiser Finn Brennan tweeted: "Still heavy loading on some Tube lines this morning making social distancing impossible.

"This is endangering the health of the vital workers who have to use the system."

He called on the government to act, adding: "I'm being sent pictures of crush loaded platforms at some Jubilee line platforms this morning.

"Drivers and other frontline staff are furious."

TfL said there had been a 70% fall in the number of passengers on the Tube network during the week and a 40% fall in bus use across its network.

However, some commuters have complained trains have become busier.

One key worker, a nurse who asked to remain anonymous, said it was "a lot busier" during her journey on the District Line compared to in the past week.

She said she felt "more concerned" travelling because fewer services meant there were "more people in a confined space".

Mick Cash, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: "There is still enormous personal pressure on the Tube workforce who are exposed to levels of social contact that the government say are unacceptable for the wider public.

"The only people using our transport services should be essential workers who have to travel."

Last week 40 Tube stations were closed for the foreseeable future in an attempt to reduce the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.

There is no night Tube and bus services have also been reduced.

The Waterloo and City line is shut and TfL said it would gradually reduce other parts of its network.

These include the London Overground, TfL Rail, the DLR and the tram network in south London.

Absolute madness.