Wuhan virus.

[Suff]

Unlikely, if it were outside Southampton, the passengers would have been debarked, isolated and the ship decontaminated. The ship is UK flagged and the UK would be held responsible for the passengers.

It is easier for Japan to detain the passangers on a UK flagged ship than for the UK to.

[Workingman]

Unlikely, if it were outside Southampton, the passengers would have been debarked, isolated and the ship decontaminated.

You know that for a fact? You know exactly where we would individually isolate some 3,300 people? You are certain that we have the facilities and the staff to treat them better than the Japanese could? You can guarantee that we would decontaminate the ship from top to bottom?

It saddens me to say it, but I do not share your optimism.

The Diamond Princess quarantine period ended yesterday and people are free to leave. The UK is now making arrangements to bring 74 of them home.... but having already been quarantined for the prescribed period they will have to be isolated for a further 14 days once they return home, as is the case with those returning to other countries.

Why?

They are clear, aren't they? Let the little darlings roam free. Let them mix with family and friends, go to the shops, the doctors, pubs and clubs and cinemas. Everything will be fine.

My daughter is stuck in a neighbouring country, Vietnam, where there is a lot of cross-border traffic. She is in the capital, Hanoi, in an urban population of 16 million people. Schools and businesses are closed, events have been cancelled and large gatherings banned. People are urged to self-isolate but if they are out on the streets they are stopped and randomly zapped with a temperature gun. The above measures are what the Vietnamese have taken in their attempts to keep a lid on things and for them, at least, they seem to be working. There have been 16 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 14 of them have recovered.

We, on the other hand, would not have to worry. We are British, on an island, and we are brilliant and much better than anyone else at dealing with these sorts of things. All we have to do is man-up (or people-up if you're a bit PC) sing Jerusalem, wave a flag, and we'll be fine.

[Suff]

It saddens me to say it, but I do not share your optimism.

I'm not optimistic, I am pessimistic that the UK legal system would force it as a soon as the first lawsuits began.

Being in Japan under Japanese control, blocks all UK based attempts to get people off the ship.

[Workingman]

I'm not optimistic

Not optimistic!? You said that if the ship was in British waters we could disembark 3.300 people and put them into solitary confinement facilities (ones we do not have) and then decontaminate the whole ship. That sounds a lot like optimism to me.

Being in Japan under Japanese control, blocks all UK based attempts to get people off the ship.

What $&*£("+ attempts? Please enlighten us. We have known for weeks when the quarantine period would end and only now are we "talking" about sending planes to remove British citizens. If we were organised and capable those planes would already have landed back at Brize and our people would be in (solitary) quarantine at a well equipped medical facility.

The reality is that we, our government, are freaking useless.

[Suff]

Not optimistic!? You said that if the ship was in British waters we could disembark 3.300 people and put them into solitary confinement facilities (ones we do not have) and then decontaminate the whole ship. That sounds a lot like optimism to me.

No that was pessimism that the courts would not force the passengers to be disembarked and handled in a medically safe facility.

What $&*£("+ attempts? Please enlighten us.

UK courts cannot force a UK ship to move passengers when in Japanese waters. It is the Japanese government and courts who decide who can be taken off the ship when it is in Japanese waters.

A UK flagged ship in UK waters is under UK government and court control. That's not BS, that's fact. If that ship was docked in Southampton 100 ambulance chasers would be dragging the government and cruise line through the UK courts to get the passengers off.

That is not conjecture, that's a well known fact.

[Workingman]

Oh, you carry on with your hypotheticals and dissing of the Japanese, but back in the real world we wonderful British super beings have put back the repatriation of our own people because it is "logistically complicated".

I repeat my earlier claim: we are freaking useless. Drinking event / brewery.

[Suff]

We are not at the bottom of the pile. Whilst our press compare us with the US, the remainder of the EU lag far behind our actions to move our people. Whether it be out of China or off cruise ships.

As for the cruise ship, the condemnation continues to mount and the cases will not stop until all the passengers are moved off it.

Fortunately a growing number of countries have de ided to do just that. Including the UK.

Meanwhile, the number of new cases in China are dropping (if you can believe the figures).

[Workingman]

Suff, my daughter is in an area where the virus is active, so our family is dealing with a real situation. Whilst the Vietnamese have not put places in lockdown they have taken some strong measures to mitigate, control or slow down the virus, as I posted earlier.

However, our FCO and the NHS cannot give us any specific details about what to do should we be able to bring her back. There is nothing about arrival checks, quarantine, self-isolation or her freedom to roam once home. The best we have been able to gain is for us / her to keep in contact with the embassy in Hanoi and to contact our GP.

The embassy is, apparently, keeping a close watch on the situation but as of yesterday evening there were no specific dos or don'ts. A doctor, who is a neighbour of my ex but not her GP, thinks that she should be ready to prepare a couple of the bedrooms in order that B can self-isolate if / when she returns.

We are not in panic mode atm, but we are having to fund B financially because her work is shut down. That's the reality and is probably why I have such strong views on the subject.

[Suff]

I understand completely WM. Both your fear and your frustration.

#2 son was stuck living under a bridge over Christmas in Argentina, his passport has expired and I can't get money to him.

So I do _really_ understand the situation.

I also understand the government's quandary. Do they knee jerk and close everything down and hammer the economy or do they try and rely on people being willing to be sensible.

There isn't a country which has taken a totally hard line on this, not even China. Which is sending people back to work in the other provinvlces.

But some countries tend to feel that getting their citizens closer to home is better. It is, after all, the run up to an election in the US.

[Workingman]

Children eh!

I see that what was feared the most looks like it is happening. People who have not visited an area where the virus is lurking nor have been in close contact with an infected person (family, friends, medics etc) are now testing positive.

There was a spike in numbers when a new method was used to class infections then there appeared to be a lessening in the rise in the rate of infections. That now looks to have been a false dawn and was most likely caused by some of those newly 'infected', but who were not, starting to recover from something - a cough or a cold.

It is also beginning to look as though 14 days of quarantine might have been a number plucked out of the air. People who have been quarantined for more than that time are now testing positive.

There will be a lot of squeaky bums hoping this thing does not now mutate.