Coronavirus

[katy]

Whenever things get bad and tough the British crank up their amazing sense of humour. The worse things get the more their Stoicism and humour help them out. It must be millennia of cultural experience. Monty Python and Blackadder would be making us laugh despite the grim reality of any given situation.

Around 75 million died during the war. It took a few decades before Monty Python type programmes surfaced. This is not a war.

[K&LTupper]

Katy It appears World Leaders including your own Prime Minister say thats exactly what it is. A War

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... 9-response

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/20 ... y-patrick/

https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-st ... -1-6565493

[olive]

Has anyone had a look at the aid packages the various countries are promising. ?They are eye watering especially when you consider the misery austerity has rightly or wrongly inflicted for the last ten years. I think there is no doubt Business will get the wheels turning again. I cannot see the holiday sector picking up quickly. I predict a shortage of aircraft operators and cheap flights and customers with disposable income.

A couple of very heartening stories I picked up from my vantage point in exile in the UK. Over 400 thousand people have volunteered to help the nhs. In our village there is an official ( the only official one apparently) support group. To help with distribution of food and medicine, , phone calls , dog walking if required and so on. All good news so tucked away in the bad news.

[peteroldracer]

Forgive me for being cynical: if there had not been the austerity programme there would have been far less money available to alleviate this crisis - "a rainy day"?
How many of the volunteers for the NHS are simply after a badge that will get them in the privileged queue at the supermarkets? Hearing of NHS being threatened and robbed of their ID disgusted me but shows just how immoral and selfish some people are.

[olive]

Well lets be cynical. This money suddenly made available isn't money that has been prudently saved but money that has been printed, some of it very imaginatively eg the Italian bonds by the EMF. Sanchez wants Coronavirus bonds but the prudent four arent so keen once again.

I dont know in answer to your question. Human nature being what it is there will always be people trying to buck the system. For every rotten apple there are plenty of good ones. I have been very heartened by the number of neighbours offering help for my situation.

One thing is certain there are holes in the system. SIL works for Tesco. The nhs workers turned up to do their shopping in their uniforms. Surely that is not a good health recipe! Then it was another 45 minutes before the normal punters waiting outside could go in as Sunday trading laws mean the nhs staff couldnt be processed till 10. Clearly not a war situation! As store manager , I would have suspended that rule though maybe the tills wouldn’t allow that common sense.

Are the Spanish all behaving impeccably?

[Devils Advocate]

Katy It appears World Leaders including your own Prime Minister say thats exactly what it is. A War

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... 9-response

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/20 ... y-patrick/

https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-st ... -1-6565493

No, it's far from a war. No need for 17 year olds to pick up Lee Enfields and have 3 weeks bayonet training to go out and face an enemy wanting to take over your country. The 17 year olds and everyone else are just being told to stay at home and not to be Richard heads. Not hard to grasp really is it?

[katy]

Two differing reports of Spanish pensioners.

In Daily Mail. Spanish pensioners being transferred because of virus in their residencia and shortage of staff are cheered by residents as they leave Alcala.

Spanish news. Transferred pensioners arriving at a home in La Linea were met by a jeering mob of around 60 people who began to throw stones and battle with Police.

Couldn’t make it up.

[Benal Pirate]

No good deed goes unpunished. I've volunteered. Not for a badge or to get in a supermarket queue. I'm not sure if I'll be needed but I've got time and transport should I be asked.

[Devils Advocate]

Nice one

[elusive]

Will all the volunteers be tested before they start and will they all be DBS checked? Surprised the goverment isnt or maybe they will work with all the SIA registered security companies and all the staff that have no work now.already DBS checked and trained.As the volunteers are needed because unlike spain and italy they dont have civil protection units. SIA staff are the UK equivalant.

This is all printed money/loans nothing to do with austerity.kinda ironic how during the election labour were critizied for their spending plans then this happens! The banks were bailed out by the tax payer in 08 yet even now when the goverment has called the three months morgage break when people have spoken to their banks they have been told the extra three months added on will be at a higher interest rate!

[Pamela1]

I'm guessing that when people come to the end of their fixed term mortgage the 3 months holiday they took will be then added on and that is where the higher interest rate will come in...

[Pamela1]

Article in the Olive Press today, Vox has asked for free healthcare to be removed for non residents during the CV outbreak.

[Devils Advocate]

I haven't touched a car or been in one since days before the lock down, had no need to.
However today I need to do a 60 mile round trip to get supplies to my 92 year old mum, neighbours are doing her basic shopping but she's too proud to ask for anything more.

I was feeling a bit sort of uneasy doing this even though she is a vulnerable person, so I emailed our local police HQ and put it on record what I'm going to do, just in case.

Not expecting a reply with the added workload these guys have I was bowled over this morning to see an email from them.

They thanked us for bothering to inform them, were delighted we were taking the supplies ourselves and wished us all the very best. They also said to put the reply in our glove box for if we are stopped and just make sure we are on the route between the 2 addresses, now I thought that was lovely of them to be fair to respond.

We are in a rural and not too busy area here and the road blocks and questioning started yesterday, traffic is now zero this morning.

Thankfully people are learning it's not a game. We went for our walk yesterday around our country lanes and could not believe people had actually driven here to do their allowed walk, never seen as many. We are better isolated in the gardens. Maybe that will have changed today, it's seeming like so far.

[Wicksey]

We went for our walk yesterday around our country lanes and could not believe people had actually driven here to do their allowed walk, never seen as many.

I presume you are writing from the UK DA? I guess that's why even a walk is not allowed here as there would still be a lot of people going out and potentially mingling, even if it's at a distance. It's the one thing that is difficult here, not being able to get out for a walk or any exercise. Following exercise videos in the house is just not the same

[Pamela1]

Two differing reports of Spanish pensioners.

In Daily Mail. Spanish pensioners being transferred because of virus in their residencia and shortage of staff are cheered by residents as they leave Alcala.

Spanish news. Transferred pensioners arriving at a home in La Linea were met by a jeering mob of around 60 people who began to throw stones and battle with Police.

Couldn’t make it up.

I was lost for words when i read that,what on earth is wrong with people! further more how has a crowd of that size being able to gather in the first place.

[alpineSi]

Around 75 million died during the war. It took a few decades before Monty Python type programmes surfaced. This is not a war.

Not disagreeing with your point, but for relevance, only 20m died in WWI all counted then 50m died from the flu the troops brought back with them. So the earlier war is more relevant to today, and interestingly enough, the British government refused to lock down public places then too (USA did though). This is on the GCSE history specification for one of the exam boards so there should be some 15-16 year olds drawing comparisons at home right now.

[katy]

Will all the volunteers be tested before they start and will they all be DBS checked? Surprised the goverment isnt or maybe they will work with all the SIA registered security companies and all the staff that have no work now.already DBS checked and trained.As the volunteers are needed because unlike spain and italy they dont have civil protection units. SIA staff are the UK equivalant.

This is all printed money/loans nothing to do with austerity.kinda ironic how during the election labour were critizied for their spending plans then this happens! The banks were bailed out by the tax payer in 08 yet even now when the goverment has called the three months morgage break when people have spoken to their banks they have been told the extra three months added on will be at a higher interest rate!

The UK has a massive voluntary sector structure already in place. Many orgs. With paid professionals and already providing contracted services. Logically new volunteers will be assigned to them. No training needed to drive people to health centres, GPs etc. Infact most places already have community transport, clean licence only. No training to deliver shopping, they are already doing that and do not handle money or enter the house.
Things are not that bad in UK that people are going to spend hours volunteering to jump the supermarket queue.

[elusive]

Article in the Olive Press today, Vox has asked for free healthcare to be removed for non residents during the CV outbreak.

Non residents dont get free healthcare to start with and a heck of alot of residents who pay taxes and contribute dont either! i presume he wouldnt have minded been treated by a non spaniard when the head of vox got corona recently. Idiots

[elusive]

:

I'm guessing that when people come to the end of their fixed term mortgage the 3 months holiday they took will be then added on and that is where the higher interest rate will come in...

Maybe. But the point being the banks were bailed out by tax payer which led to millions suffering and now they still want to make their extra £ of the same people who bailed them out and are now struggling. How quickly they forget.

[markwilding]

Article in the Olive Press today, Vox has asked for free healthcare to be removed for non residents during the CV outbreak.

Typical short sightedness from that bunch trying to make political advantage .This virus is not racist and makes no difference between resident or non-residents/ The last thing anyone wants is people with the virus not being isolated or treated or more importantly exposing everyone else to it

How would they feel if the UK did the same?

Elusive, Some things have changed regarding residents rights to health care this year and now I believe now residents have to the right to it .

Taken from this website

http://healthcareinspain.eu/living-in-spain/


If you are not entitled to healthcare through any options listed above in Spain or any from the UK listed below, And you have a permanent residence certificate (green card obtained from the National Police), you may be eligible for healthcare on the basis of residency

(read the Spanish law Real Decreto-ley 16/2012, de 20 de abril for reference on this following link Ref. BOE-A-2012-5403). Please apply for the ‘documento acreditativo del derecho a asistencia sanitaria’ from the INSS. If you are required to present a documento de no exportación (Legislation Letter), you will need to apply for one from the Overseas Healthcare Service (+44 191 218 1999).