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UK Health Minister tests positive for coronavirus

130 points by finphil 7y ago

tigershark 7y ago
This inspires a lot of confidence...
- TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
  It won't surprise anyone who knows anything about recent British politics.
- johannes1234321 7y ago
  As said elsewhere: A key part of being a Politician is meeting tons and tons of different people while travelling around. This makes them prime target for such a virus. Independently from political views and parties.
atoav 7y ago
Edit: Treat this as unbased hearsay, I have no way to prove it (and neither has she). In my judgement she didn't make it up. On the minister: At least he could get tested. I personally know a person who has the symptoms, has been to Rome and has been denied a test because they were no registered citizen in the Netherlands (Stundent from another EU nation). Edit: maybe she fell victim to a overworked callcenter operator, who told her the wrong reason why she wouldn't get tested.
- Angostura 7y ago
  She - just FYI
- cjr 7y ago
  she
- toong 7y ago
  Why does it even matter which country she's from ? Do you have a link ?
  - atoav 7y ago
    A link? To what? That person told me that more or less personally and I know her for a while now (and I am not going to disclose her on here, so treat the whole thing as unbased hearsay if you like). Happened two days ago. She was given a corona virus hotline number by some university official, and after a day they called her back. When she explained her background (having been back from Rome, Student, etc) thr lady on the other end asked whether she is registered in the Netherlands, she denied and the woman said: then we will not test you and hung up without further words. Of course that is how she told the story, and she was quite angry and cynical about the whole thing, but in my judgement she didn't invent it or anything.
    - TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
      Some people are bureaucratic idiots and a few are outright racists. I suggest she calls the health service hotline and explains the situation again.
      - droithomme 7y ago
        Situations like this is how people go crazy enough they start intentionally spitting on elevator buttons and door handles. Society treats people inhumanely and some as a result decide to fulfill that prophecy and act inhumanely. When I saw the videos of Chinese people spitting out their windows and licking doorknobs I thought they were evil people. Now I realize they were driven insane by uncaring sterile hypocritical dead bureaucracy. I no longer judge them as I understand what led to their madness.
- the-dude 7y ago
  Although a lot can be said about the approach of the Dutch government regarding the Corona outbreak, this sounds hard to believe. Those responsible for deciding wether to test or not have a set of requirements, we can not test everybody.
  - atoav 7y ago
    It sounded baffling to me, but she is not getting tested and she is at home with the symptoms. Of course she could make the whole thing up, but I don't see any reason for her to do that I and it doesn't fit her character. Edit: I want to add, I totally understand not anybody who believes they have the virus can be tested and there has to be some measure that they have to apply. For me the most likely explaination is that the lady on the phone was telling her shit that is not part of the offical line.
    - the-dude 7y ago
      I am not saying she makes anything up, it could be a misunderstanding.
      - atoav 7y ago
        Very likely. Or a overworked callcenter operator
        the-dude 7y ago
        Then you probably should persuade her to try again.
    - wbl 7y ago
      Meanwhile South Korea can test everybody. The failure of the response is stunning.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- wdb 7y ago
  I hope this student friend of yours hasn’t lived longer than four months in the Netherlands otherwise he or she is breaking the law
  - icebraining 7y ago
    How is that relevant?
    - wdb 7y ago
      Because of “ I personally know a person who has the symptoms, has been to Rome and has been denied a test because they were no registered citizen in the Netherlands (Stundent from another EU nation).” just notifying
      - the-dude 7y ago
        That is not much clearer. Why do you think she is breaking which law?
        TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
        The EU has freedom of movement, but you're required to register as a resident if you stay in any country for more than three months - although if you're studying you usually have a separate student visa. In most countries residency gives you access to the local healthcare system, although to access this you usually need to register separately with a doctor/health centre.
        roel_v 7y ago
        She would be violating art 2.38 of the "Wet Basisregistratie Personen", roughly "act on the central registration of natural persons" by not registering.
      - droithomme 7y ago
        FWIW, in the past I financially subsidized all of the costs of a clinic that served undocumented migrants (aka illegal aliens). They caught and treated countless cases of Tuberculosis and even Cholera, which stopped epidemics in the community. It's complete and totally psychotic madness, counterproductive, and will lead to the fall of society, to deny basic medical care particularly for epidemiological conditions to "illegal aliens". Societies that do so rightly fall. I'm totally willing to accept and concede this woman is an "illegal alien", has no right to be in the Netherlands, is a criminal, etc. Maybe she is maybe not but let's get the bullshit out of the way and say she is for the sake of argument. Should people like this be treated and tested for virulent plagues they reasonably might have or not? What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing so? The advantages of treating plague victims seem clear, let's tighten this up and you explain to me how citizens of the Netherlands benefit by denying simple and basic treatment of plague illnesses to people because of their status as an alleged criminal or not.
- wdb 7y ago
  Maybe she didn’t meet all the requirements of the RIVM when she called? Did she call the GGD? I didn’t get tested by the UK/NHS either when I came back from both Asia and Milan. UK is even worse in responding than the Netherlands
  - atoav 7y ago
    She probably didn't, yet as she phrased it the lady on the phone asked her whether she was registered and after she denied thr lady said she couldn't be tested then and hung up. Very likely that was unhappy phrasing on the side of the person in the call center — worked in one myself and this can be quite exhausting.
  - cameronh90 7y ago
    The UK and the Netherlands are have performed approximately the same number of tests per capita. The response seems pretty similar in both countries in that until a few weeks ago, you didn't get tested unless you had BOTH symptoms AND relevant history (travel or contact with known cases). In the UK, there is additionally a system of surveillance testing that is being used to ensure our model of infections is in line with reality. Due to the increasing size of the outbreak, the UK switched a week ago to testing all ICU patients with symptoms irrespective of history. That is again soon to be ramped up to all ICU patients and any hospital patients with symptoms. To handle the increased testing, some NHS labs are going to be running covid tests, which means the waiting time for other testing is inevitably going to increase. This is why it's important to only test as scientifically appropriate. This optimal response may differ between countries, depending on their particulars. All that said, the UK response so far seems fairly appropriate. We've tested in line or more than any other country with a similar level of outbreak. There is, however, a general acceptance here that widespread infection is now inevitable, and the reason you don't want to impose quarantines just yet is you want to do it when they're going to be most effective at smoothing the peak. Imposing quarantine controls now just means that people are going to start breaking quarantine later on when it's more widespread and compliance is most critical. The reality is, containment is just a delaying strategy now. This is inevitably going to spread widely, and the governments are just trying to time when best to deploy their limited arsenal of weapons.
- roel_v 7y ago
  The Dutch criteria, at the moment, include that you have to have a fever (38 or up), or respiratory complaints, and having been to any one of the Northern Italian provinces. Rome is not one of them. Your friend being denied a test has nothing to do with whether or not she's registered. She doesn't fit the criteria for getting tested. edit I also think you should explain this to her. I understand and recognize that not all bureaucratic procedures are equally sane or understandable, but in this specific case, she's being treated as she should be ('should' as in 'what is decided is the best', not as in 'what in a few years time we will determine would have been the best'). There is no reason for her to be jaded or put off by anything health related - people have reasons to become cynical about government services, but this is not one of them. Unfortunately circumstances like this turn people off from central measures, which then undermines future global population health, much like anti-vaxxers. Consider this your opportunity to make a tiny contribution to a well-informed citizenry :)
  - atoav 7y ago
    I told her that (reasons why not everone can be tested) as well, but the thing that baffled her was that the lady on the phone said (or implied?) the reason she cannot be tested was that she wasn't registered. I once worked in a callcenter myself and auch things can happen quickly especially if you are overworked an in brain-melt territory.
  - droithomme 7y ago
    They should test her. She might have it. They have the testing capacity. Your opinion on this is incorrect. If Netherlands continues with this policy they are following in the horrific missteps of the US in restricting testing. Some homebody with symptoms that don't match? Put them at the bottom of the queue for testing if there is limited testing capacity. In the meantime, grow testing capacity as fast as you can which is 100% of political issue and not a scientific or economic one, and make as many n95 masks as possible domestically. > "she's being treated as she should be" That is a completely unmerited claim and one which causes harm.
    - roel_v 7y ago
twic 7y ago
Last wednesday, having spoken in a debate, she was packed into a division lobby with 318 other Conservative MPs: https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2020-03-04b.903.0 https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2020-03-04b.903.0 With grim irony, voting against a motion on increasing equal access to healthcare.
- makomk 7y ago
  Against a motion blaming the current government for inequality in health outcomes. The vote itself is a minor and uninteresting bit of political theater; all the actual substance is in the debate. It's also worth noting that this isn't simply about access to healthcare - as several MPs from both sides of the aisle point out, it's about broader social and economic issues and their impact on people's health. That seems like something to bear in mind when considering how much economic damage is worth it to try and stop this coronavirus.
  - KaoruAoiShiho 7y ago
    So you're advocating giving up on containment? If you do it renders the efforts of everyone else in the world also useless.
    - mygo 7y ago
      We are way past containment. Obviously containment has failed. It is not contained. We need to be focusing on mitigation. Containment and mitigation are two entirely different strategies.
      - KaoruAoiShiho 7y ago
        It worked in all the asian countries.
- PeterisP 7y ago
  It's claimed that she's self-quarantining now. However, shouldn't everyone she had contact with be self-quarantining for 14 days now, to verify if they caught it from her or not? Is NHS recommending that? Are all her recent contacts (including these MPs) being traced and tested or quarantined?
Camas 7y ago
>Ms Dorries, 62, met hundreds of people last week, including a large number of MPs, and attended a conference outside Westminster. On Thursday she attended a Downing Street event hosted by Mr Johnson to mark International Women’s Day. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-infected-minster-nadine-dorries-had-been-in-no-10-c3sjs5kmp https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-infected-mins... Might end up closing parliament over this.
- tanilama 7y ago
  Virus is truly the most impactful weapon you could think of to disrupt a society...
  - goatlover 7y ago
    Not nukes?
    - fendy3002 7y ago
      It's to distrupt society, not to destroy humanity.
      - zajd 7y ago
        Destroying humanity would probably also disrupt society, just a thought
      - dzhiurgis 7y ago
        There ain't enough nukes to destroy humanity...
        TeMPOraL 7y ago
        There's about enough, if you don't forget to nuke the Sentinelese.
    - tanilama 7y ago
      Unless you nuke the whole country, for country like US it is almost impossible. Yet virus can reach to everybody, and destroy people's sense of security
paxys 7y ago
I feel like politicians are generally more at risk, just because of the number of people they have to meet everyday, and large gatherings they have to attend.
- malandrew 7y ago
  And their median age.
- gpm 7y ago
  I have to wonder how coronavirus and health in general is going to effect American politics. The democratic primaries are currently under way, both the candidates are well into their seventies. After that the presidential election starts, where the winner of the primaries faces off against the younger Donald Trump. Younger at 74 years of age (at the time of the election, now 73). Whoever wins this election is going to be the oldest person ever to win an election for president. What happens if they catch Coronavirus and die at an inopportune time? What happens if they just die of old age? Maybe it won't be an issue, so far they all seem to be in reasonably good health for their age, and they all undoubtedly have access to the best medical care in the world. On the other hand they are exposed to all sorts of viruses, and they all have very high stress jobs.
  - Izkata 7y ago
    > both the candidates are well into their seventies Tulsi Gabbard hasn't dropped out yet, and is only 38. ...it would certainly be an interesting development if they had to go with her by default.
    - true_religion 7y ago
      By default, Buttigeg would win if everyone who was older than 60 died. A concession made when your opponent is alive, can easily be taken back if circumstances change drastically.
    - paxys 7y ago
      They don't have to do that. The moment Biden or Bernie are unfit to continue their campaign the other candidates (Warren, Buttigieg etc.) will step back in.
coconut_crab 7y ago
The 32nd patient here caught ncovid-19 and started showing symptoms on the the 2nd of March whole staying in the UK. But the hospital refused to test her and told her to self quarantine at home instead. Six days later her condition got worse and her family which is very rich rented an airplane to fly her back to our third world country for treatment. The girl now has damaged lung and is in serious condition. I just don't know what is wrong with the hospitals over there, why did they refuse to test her? It's very irresponsible and the situation seems much worse than it seems in the UK. Oh and nearly half a dozen new cases here recently are all Britons too. (Google for 32nd covid-19 patient in Vietnam if you want to know more)
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- arethuza 7y ago
  NHS advice is not to go to hospital or a GP's surgery if you suspect you have it but to self isolate, get in touch with them and take it from there: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ Edit: It also occurs to me that if she is from a wealthy family perhaps she tried to use private healthcare - which would be definitely be the wrong thing to do in an emergency situation.
  - makomk 7y ago
    The NHS's approach to testing definitely isn't perfect, but it seems to be fairly well thought out and relatively aggressive. They don't want people going to hospitals or GP surgeries because that can spread the infection to more vulnerable people. Also, if I'm understanding the news coverage correctly, all the cases of Covid-19 exported to Vietnam from the UK are related. More specifically, they're tied to one traveller who'd recently visited Lombardy in Italy, either by flying on the same plane as her back to Vietnam whilst she had symptoms or in the case of patient 32 by having met up with her in London. Having symptoms and having met someone confirmed to have the virus would definitely qualify for testing here or most places.
- oliwarner 7y ago
jpxw 7y ago
Maybe the government will actually do something now. We are going to see more and more political leaders catch this.
oilrefinery 7y ago
The Coronavirus was synthesised and released by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) scientists to distract the media and cover up their atrocities in Hong Kong.
jariel 7y ago
If someone with no contact with infected people is getting infected, then the cat is out of the bag. This is a big deal. I suppose the UK has to lock down now before it's too late and the hospitals start overflowing.
- mantap 7y ago
  The lockdown will happen when Conservative MPs (especially ministers) start getting hospitalised. Also I'm worried about the Queen, I don't know what the COVID-19 death rate for 93 year olds is but it's surely supremely high.
amiga_500 7y ago
Boris Johnson's "strategy" is to put on a brave face, in lieu of doing some hard work, taking unpopular decisions and generally leading. Because of this his cabinet also have to put on a brave face. Out meeting and greeting. Nothing wrong here. Carry on! This is the result. We need leaders and we need them to stay above ground to execute the necessary steps to prevent what could become a very nasty situation. I might also add that at 62, given she fell ill on Friday, to say the next Tuesday: > "It’s been pretty rubbish but I hope I’m over the worst of it now," They should take her blood and find out what is in it!
- stuaxo 7y ago
  Isn't one characteristic that gets better before it gets worse than the first time ?
- allovernow 7y ago
  Look, the bottom line is that given the obvious unpopularity of right wing leadership on most popular online outlets (most news media, especially online, Reddit, Twitter, etc) literally anything that they do is going to be criticized. Probably better to avoid posting about them on HN. You're going to hear about everything negative that they do, but you are unlikely to hear much about the positive steps that they take. 2 examples: 1. Trump ordered millions of masks from 3M weeks ago. Did you hear about that? [0] 2. Trump is proposing payroll tax cuts until the end of the year [1]. Did you hear about that? My point isn't to defend anyone, just to emphasize that any news you hear about what politicians are doing is likely to be heavily skewed towards negativity, even when undeserved, so take your propaganda of choice (left and right) with a hefty grain of salt. 0. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/trump-3m-coronavirus-pandemic-mask-order-billion-sales-boost-profit-2020-3-1028956217 https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/trump-3m-cor... 1. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/09/trump-says-hes-working-on-a-payroll-tax-cut-to-help-us-workers-amid-coronavirus-outbreak.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/09/trump-says-hes-working-on-a-...
  - pbourke 7y ago
    1. This is a required response to the crisis, not something noteworthy. They're ordering masks because they didn't have enough and as we see now they're already running low. 2. How in the hell is yet another tax cut a positive development? How will that affect the course of the crisis? Even as an economic measure, it will help no one who loses their job. Just asinine.
Non24Throw 7y ago
I guess he better lay down, drink plenty of fluids, and have some chicken noodle soup? This whole story has become so over-the-top it’s almost comical. Every tech company falling over themselves to see who can have the “stronger response”, because they don’t want to risk the brand damage that would come from media companies singling them out as the company that let one of their people get the sniffles... This is such blatant sensationalist fear-mongering nonsense from the media companies. It’s unfortunate that we (apparently) still give them so much power.
- asenna 7y ago
  Are you saying that suggesting employees to work from home is a sensational, over-the-top move by the tech companies? There's so many things wrong with what you just said. It's not just the "sniffles". Even if someone young and healthy gets it, they will survive but there's a chance they'll spread to someone who's at a much higher risk. This is the stage to NOT give up and just let it spread all over. Being overly cautious is still much better than what could happen if this spills over to an uncontrollable level (which I fear is already the case in some areas).
  - Non24Throw 7y ago
    So you’re saying that all companies should have everyone work from home from October to February. That’s flu season. The flu is more transmissible, has a higher fatality rate than COVID-19, and is more dangerous for the same immunocompromised demographic (young, elderly, and those with preexisting conditions). And you think I’m being irrational. I have mild respiratory symptoms right now (mucus in nasal cavity, post-nasal drip, fever, aches, cough) in a region where coronavirus is prevalent. There’s a good chance that I have coronavirus right now. It’s not nearly bad enough to prevent me from working, which is often the case with coronavirus because the symptoms are usually mild. Many people with coronavirus are completely asymptomatic, recover fully and don’t even realize they had it. You are watching the news too much, and not being appropriately skeptical of it.
    - asenna 7y ago

130 points by finphil 7y ago

tigershark 7y ago

This inspires a lot of confidence...

TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
It won't surprise anyone who knows anything about recent British politics.
johannes1234321 7y ago
As said elsewhere: A key part of being a Politician is meeting tons and tons of different people while travelling around. This makes them prime target for such a virus. Independently from political views and parties.

atoav 7y ago

Edit: Treat this as unbased hearsay, I have no way to prove it (and neither has she). In my judgement she didn't make it up. On the minister: At least he could get tested. I personally know a person who has the symptoms, has been to Rome and has been denied a test because they were no registered citizen in the Netherlands (Stundent from another EU nation). Edit: maybe she fell victim to a overworked callcenter operator, who told her the wrong reason why she wouldn't get tested.

Angostura 7y ago
She - just FYI
cjr 7y ago
she
toong 7y ago
Why does it even matter which country she's from ? Do you have a link ?
- atoav 7y ago
  A link? To what? That person told me that more or less personally and I know her for a while now (and I am not going to disclose her on here, so treat the whole thing as unbased hearsay if you like). Happened two days ago. She was given a corona virus hotline number by some university official, and after a day they called her back. When she explained her background (having been back from Rome, Student, etc) thr lady on the other end asked whether she is registered in the Netherlands, she denied and the woman said: then we will not test you and hung up without further words. Of course that is how she told the story, and she was quite angry and cynical about the whole thing, but in my judgement she didn't invent it or anything.
  - TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
    Some people are bureaucratic idiots and a few are outright racists. I suggest she calls the health service hotline and explains the situation again.
    - droithomme 7y ago
      Situations like this is how people go crazy enough they start intentionally spitting on elevator buttons and door handles. Society treats people inhumanely and some as a result decide to fulfill that prophecy and act inhumanely. When I saw the videos of Chinese people spitting out their windows and licking doorknobs I thought they were evil people. Now I realize they were driven insane by uncaring sterile hypocritical dead bureaucracy. I no longer judge them as I understand what led to their madness.
the-dude 7y ago
Although a lot can be said about the approach of the Dutch government regarding the Corona outbreak, this sounds hard to believe. Those responsible for deciding wether to test or not have a set of requirements, we can not test everybody.
- atoav 7y ago
  It sounded baffling to me, but she is not getting tested and she is at home with the symptoms. Of course she could make the whole thing up, but I don't see any reason for her to do that I and it doesn't fit her character. Edit: I want to add, I totally understand not anybody who believes they have the virus can be tested and there has to be some measure that they have to apply. For me the most likely explaination is that the lady on the phone was telling her shit that is not part of the offical line.
  - the-dude 7y ago
    I am not saying she makes anything up, it could be a misunderstanding.
    - atoav 7y ago
      Very likely. Or a overworked callcenter operator
      - the-dude 7y ago
        Then you probably should persuade her to try again.
  - wbl 7y ago
    Meanwhile South Korea can test everybody. The failure of the response is stunning.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
wdb 7y ago
I hope this student friend of yours hasn’t lived longer than four months in the Netherlands otherwise he or she is breaking the law
- icebraining 7y ago
  How is that relevant?
  - wdb 7y ago
    Because of “ I personally know a person who has the symptoms, has been to Rome and has been denied a test because they were no registered citizen in the Netherlands (Stundent from another EU nation).” just notifying
    - the-dude 7y ago
      That is not much clearer. Why do you think she is breaking which law?
      - TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
        The EU has freedom of movement, but you're required to register as a resident if you stay in any country for more than three months - although if you're studying you usually have a separate student visa. In most countries residency gives you access to the local healthcare system, although to access this you usually need to register separately with a doctor/health centre.
      - roel_v 7y ago
        She would be violating art 2.38 of the "Wet Basisregistratie Personen", roughly "act on the central registration of natural persons" by not registering.
    - droithomme 7y ago
      FWIW, in the past I financially subsidized all of the costs of a clinic that served undocumented migrants (aka illegal aliens). They caught and treated countless cases of Tuberculosis and even Cholera, which stopped epidemics in the community. It's complete and totally psychotic madness, counterproductive, and will lead to the fall of society, to deny basic medical care particularly for epidemiological conditions to "illegal aliens". Societies that do so rightly fall. I'm totally willing to accept and concede this woman is an "illegal alien", has no right to be in the Netherlands, is a criminal, etc. Maybe she is maybe not but let's get the bullshit out of the way and say she is for the sake of argument. Should people like this be treated and tested for virulent plagues they reasonably might have or not? What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing so? The advantages of treating plague victims seem clear, let's tighten this up and you explain to me how citizens of the Netherlands benefit by denying simple and basic treatment of plague illnesses to people because of their status as an alleged criminal or not.
wdb 7y ago
Maybe she didn’t meet all the requirements of the RIVM when she called? Did she call the GGD? I didn’t get tested by the UK/NHS either when I came back from both Asia and Milan. UK is even worse in responding than the Netherlands
- atoav 7y ago
  She probably didn't, yet as she phrased it the lady on the phone asked her whether she was registered and after she denied thr lady said she couldn't be tested then and hung up. Very likely that was unhappy phrasing on the side of the person in the call center — worked in one myself and this can be quite exhausting.
- cameronh90 7y ago
  The UK and the Netherlands are have performed approximately the same number of tests per capita. The response seems pretty similar in both countries in that until a few weeks ago, you didn't get tested unless you had BOTH symptoms AND relevant history (travel or contact with known cases). In the UK, there is additionally a system of surveillance testing that is being used to ensure our model of infections is in line with reality. Due to the increasing size of the outbreak, the UK switched a week ago to testing all ICU patients with symptoms irrespective of history. That is again soon to be ramped up to all ICU patients and any hospital patients with symptoms. To handle the increased testing, some NHS labs are going to be running covid tests, which means the waiting time for other testing is inevitably going to increase. This is why it's important to only test as scientifically appropriate. This optimal response may differ between countries, depending on their particulars. All that said, the UK response so far seems fairly appropriate. We've tested in line or more than any other country with a similar level of outbreak. There is, however, a general acceptance here that widespread infection is now inevitable, and the reason you don't want to impose quarantines just yet is you want to do it when they're going to be most effective at smoothing the peak. Imposing quarantine controls now just means that people are going to start breaking quarantine later on when it's more widespread and compliance is most critical. The reality is, containment is just a delaying strategy now. This is inevitably going to spread widely, and the governments are just trying to time when best to deploy their limited arsenal of weapons.
roel_v 7y ago
The Dutch criteria, at the moment, include that you have to have a fever (38 or up), or respiratory complaints, and having been to any one of the Northern Italian provinces. Rome is not one of them. Your friend being denied a test has nothing to do with whether or not she's registered. She doesn't fit the criteria for getting tested. edit I also think you should explain this to her. I understand and recognize that not all bureaucratic procedures are equally sane or understandable, but in this specific case, she's being treated as she should be ('should' as in 'what is decided is the best', not as in 'what in a few years time we will determine would have been the best'). There is no reason for her to be jaded or put off by anything health related - people have reasons to become cynical about government services, but this is not one of them. Unfortunately circumstances like this turn people off from central measures, which then undermines future global population health, much like anti-vaxxers. Consider this your opportunity to make a tiny contribution to a well-informed citizenry :)
- atoav 7y ago
  I told her that (reasons why not everone can be tested) as well, but the thing that baffled her was that the lady on the phone said (or implied?) the reason she cannot be tested was that she wasn't registered. I once worked in a callcenter myself and auch things can happen quickly especially if you are overworked an in brain-melt territory.
- droithomme 7y ago
  They should test her. She might have it. They have the testing capacity. Your opinion on this is incorrect. If Netherlands continues with this policy they are following in the horrific missteps of the US in restricting testing. Some homebody with symptoms that don't match? Put them at the bottom of the queue for testing if there is limited testing capacity. In the meantime, grow testing capacity as fast as you can which is 100% of political issue and not a scientific or economic one, and make as many n95 masks as possible domestically. > "she's being treated as she should be" That is a completely unmerited claim and one which causes harm.
  - roel_v 7y ago

twic 7y ago

Last wednesday, having spoken in a debate, she was packed into a division lobby with 318 other Conservative MPs: https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2020-03-04b.903.0 https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2020-03-04b.903.0 With grim irony, voting against a motion on increasing equal access to healthcare.

makomk 7y ago
Against a motion blaming the current government for inequality in health outcomes. The vote itself is a minor and uninteresting bit of political theater; all the actual substance is in the debate. It's also worth noting that this isn't simply about access to healthcare - as several MPs from both sides of the aisle point out, it's about broader social and economic issues and their impact on people's health. That seems like something to bear in mind when considering how much economic damage is worth it to try and stop this coronavirus.
- KaoruAoiShiho 7y ago
  So you're advocating giving up on containment? If you do it renders the efforts of everyone else in the world also useless.
  - mygo 7y ago
    We are way past containment. Obviously containment has failed. It is not contained. We need to be focusing on mitigation. Containment and mitigation are two entirely different strategies.
    - KaoruAoiShiho 7y ago
      It worked in all the asian countries.
PeterisP 7y ago
It's claimed that she's self-quarantining now. However, shouldn't everyone she had contact with be self-quarantining for 14 days now, to verify if they caught it from her or not? Is NHS recommending that? Are all her recent contacts (including these MPs) being traced and tested or quarantined?

Camas 7y ago

>Ms Dorries, 62, met hundreds of people last week, including a large number of MPs, and attended a conference outside Westminster. On Thursday she attended a Downing Street event hosted by Mr Johnson to mark International Women’s Day. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-infected-minster-nadine-dorries-had-been-in-no-10-c3sjs5kmp https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-infected-mins... Might end up closing parliament over this.

tanilama 7y ago
Virus is truly the most impactful weapon you could think of to disrupt a society...
- goatlover 7y ago
  Not nukes?
  - fendy3002 7y ago
    It's to distrupt society, not to destroy humanity.
    - zajd 7y ago
      Destroying humanity would probably also disrupt society, just a thought
    - dzhiurgis 7y ago
      There ain't enough nukes to destroy humanity...
      - TeMPOraL 7y ago
        There's about enough, if you don't forget to nuke the Sentinelese.
  - tanilama 7y ago
    Unless you nuke the whole country, for country like US it is almost impossible. Yet virus can reach to everybody, and destroy people's sense of security

paxys 7y ago

I feel like politicians are generally more at risk, just because of the number of people they have to meet everyday, and large gatherings they have to attend.

malandrew 7y ago
And their median age.
gpm 7y ago
I have to wonder how coronavirus and health in general is going to effect American politics. The democratic primaries are currently under way, both the candidates are well into their seventies. After that the presidential election starts, where the winner of the primaries faces off against the younger Donald Trump. Younger at 74 years of age (at the time of the election, now 73). Whoever wins this election is going to be the oldest person ever to win an election for president. What happens if they catch Coronavirus and die at an inopportune time? What happens if they just die of old age? Maybe it won't be an issue, so far they all seem to be in reasonably good health for their age, and they all undoubtedly have access to the best medical care in the world. On the other hand they are exposed to all sorts of viruses, and they all have very high stress jobs.
- Izkata 7y ago
  > both the candidates are well into their seventies Tulsi Gabbard hasn't dropped out yet, and is only 38. ...it would certainly be an interesting development if they had to go with her by default.
  - true_religion 7y ago
    By default, Buttigeg would win if everyone who was older than 60 died. A concession made when your opponent is alive, can easily be taken back if circumstances change drastically.
  - paxys 7y ago
    They don't have to do that. The moment Biden or Bernie are unfit to continue their campaign the other candidates (Warren, Buttigieg etc.) will step back in.

coconut_crab 7y ago

The 32nd patient here caught ncovid-19 and started showing symptoms on the the 2nd of March whole staying in the UK. But the hospital refused to test her and told her to self quarantine at home instead. Six days later her condition got worse and her family which is very rich rented an airplane to fly her back to our third world country for treatment. The girl now has damaged lung and is in serious condition. I just don't know what is wrong with the hospitals over there, why did they refuse to test her? It's very irresponsible and the situation seems much worse than it seems in the UK. Oh and nearly half a dozen new cases here recently are all Britons too. (Google for 32nd covid-19 patient in Vietnam if you want to know more)

deleted 7y ago
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arethuza 7y ago
NHS advice is not to go to hospital or a GP's surgery if you suspect you have it but to self isolate, get in touch with them and take it from there: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ Edit: It also occurs to me that if she is from a wealthy family perhaps she tried to use private healthcare - which would be definitely be the wrong thing to do in an emergency situation.
- makomk 7y ago
  The NHS's approach to testing definitely isn't perfect, but it seems to be fairly well thought out and relatively aggressive. They don't want people going to hospitals or GP surgeries because that can spread the infection to more vulnerable people. Also, if I'm understanding the news coverage correctly, all the cases of Covid-19 exported to Vietnam from the UK are related. More specifically, they're tied to one traveller who'd recently visited Lombardy in Italy, either by flying on the same plane as her back to Vietnam whilst she had symptoms or in the case of patient 32 by having met up with her in London. Having symptoms and having met someone confirmed to have the virus would definitely qualify for testing here or most places.
oliwarner 7y ago

jpxw 7y ago

Maybe the government will actually do something now. We are going to see more and more political leaders catch this.

oilrefinery 7y ago

The Coronavirus was synthesised and released by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) scientists to distract the media and cover up their atrocities in Hong Kong.

jariel 7y ago

If someone with no contact with infected people is getting infected, then the cat is out of the bag. This is a big deal. I suppose the UK has to lock down now before it's too late and the hospitals start overflowing.

mantap 7y ago
The lockdown will happen when Conservative MPs (especially ministers) start getting hospitalised. Also I'm worried about the Queen, I don't know what the COVID-19 death rate for 93 year olds is but it's surely supremely high.

amiga_500 7y ago

Boris Johnson's "strategy" is to put on a brave face, in lieu of doing some hard work, taking unpopular decisions and generally leading. Because of this his cabinet also have to put on a brave face. Out meeting and greeting. Nothing wrong here. Carry on! This is the result. We need leaders and we need them to stay above ground to execute the necessary steps to prevent what could become a very nasty situation. I might also add that at 62, given she fell ill on Friday, to say the next Tuesday: > "It’s been pretty rubbish but I hope I’m over the worst of it now," They should take her blood and find out what is in it!

stuaxo 7y ago
Isn't one characteristic that gets better before it gets worse than the first time ?
allovernow 7y ago
Look, the bottom line is that given the obvious unpopularity of right wing leadership on most popular online outlets (most news media, especially online, Reddit, Twitter, etc) literally anything that they do is going to be criticized. Probably better to avoid posting about them on HN. You're going to hear about everything negative that they do, but you are unlikely to hear much about the positive steps that they take. 2 examples: 1. Trump ordered millions of masks from 3M weeks ago. Did you hear about that? [0] 2. Trump is proposing payroll tax cuts until the end of the year [1]. Did you hear about that? My point isn't to defend anyone, just to emphasize that any news you hear about what politicians are doing is likely to be heavily skewed towards negativity, even when undeserved, so take your propaganda of choice (left and right) with a hefty grain of salt. 0. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/trump-3m-coronavirus-pandemic-mask-order-billion-sales-boost-profit-2020-3-1028956217 https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/trump-3m-cor... 1. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/09/trump-says-hes-working-on-a-payroll-tax-cut-to-help-us-workers-amid-coronavirus-outbreak.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/09/trump-says-hes-working-on-a-...
- pbourke 7y ago
  1. This is a required response to the crisis, not something noteworthy. They're ordering masks because they didn't have enough and as we see now they're already running low. 2. How in the hell is yet another tax cut a positive development? How will that affect the course of the crisis? Even as an economic measure, it will help no one who loses their job. Just asinine.

Non24Throw 7y ago

I guess he better lay down, drink plenty of fluids, and have some chicken noodle soup? This whole story has become so over-the-top it’s almost comical. Every tech company falling over themselves to see who can have the “stronger response”, because they don’t want to risk the brand damage that would come from media companies singling them out as the company that let one of their people get the sniffles... This is such blatant sensationalist fear-mongering nonsense from the media companies. It’s unfortunate that we (apparently) still give them so much power.

asenna 7y ago
Are you saying that suggesting employees to work from home is a sensational, over-the-top move by the tech companies? There's so many things wrong with what you just said. It's not just the "sniffles". Even if someone young and healthy gets it, they will survive but there's a chance they'll spread to someone who's at a much higher risk. This is the stage to NOT give up and just let it spread all over. Being overly cautious is still much better than what could happen if this spills over to an uncontrollable level (which I fear is already the case in some areas).
- Non24Throw 7y ago
  So you’re saying that all companies should have everyone work from home from October to February. That’s flu season. The flu is more transmissible, has a higher fatality rate than COVID-19, and is more dangerous for the same immunocompromised demographic (young, elderly, and those with preexisting conditions). And you think I’m being irrational. I have mild respiratory symptoms right now (mucus in nasal cavity, post-nasal drip, fever, aches, cough) in a region where coronavirus is prevalent. There’s a good chance that I have coronavirus right now. It’s not nearly bad enough to prevent me from working, which is often the case with coronavirus because the symptoms are usually mild. Many people with coronavirus are completely asymptomatic, recover fully and don’t even realize they had it. You are watching the news too much, and not being appropriately skeptical of it.
  - asenna 7y ago