Probably A Mad Suggestion

[fruitsalad]

But here goes...why do they not test every household, (yes I know it's a big ask) then those with it, which is less than those without it, stay in isolation together in one of the new hospitals, until they are clear, and let those without it get on with their lives and the country back to work etc, then stop letting people in, from around the world, it could be over in a fortnight.

[woofgang]

yes you are right....it is a mad idea.

[bhg481]

The problem is that a clear test only shows that you currently don't have enough virus in you to trigger "positive". You might have just caught it, test negative, be allowed to roam freely and then become infectious.

[teacake44]

They want to leave the new hospitals empty, so they can claim that the NHS is not over stretched, regardless of the amount of people that have had their cancer treatment cancelled, and are now sitting at home worrying what's going to happen to them. But the government need to prove their right, albeit by lying.

[Peter Pedant]

mad suggestion?
I have heard madder today

[ clue - delinquent deliberation on disinfectant]

[Peter Pedant]

// They want to leave the new hospitals empty,//

no - they are empty because they didnt reach into a cupboard and take out enough staff to run an extra 5000 beds

er as some suggested / predicted.

one intensivist said - well I am not running three intensive care units in this Hospital - we are down to one-and-a-half to two.....

there were 800 intensive beds in the UK before this started and I notice that for the first time for four or five weeks, the daily death toll is less than 800 - yes you turn over all the intensive care beds in one day
( peak availability was 3000)

[teacake44]

They were not set up to be intensive care beds, but either way yes, staff shortages where always going to be a problem, I do believe that they were to be used for the not so seriously ill, but for the ones that may need basic facial oxygen, not deep lung intervention. Hence the idea was that one nurse per six beds, even that a big ask.

[Dagman]

Didn't they use this type of strategy in Germany, almost nipped it in the bud with quick public testing actions. They have fared supremely better.

[teacake44]

@12.51 They didn't waste any time that's for sure, unlike the UK government, plus they where quick off the mark to not only produce their own tests, but to buy in bulk from other countries, and are more prepared labs etc, than the UK.

[fiction-factory]

Do you mean every person ( about 66 million) or a representative from each household (approx. 28 million?).

[Ringlet]

// It could be over in a fortnight //

It would take longer than that to discover how many people you haven't locked up who would subsequently test positive, for whatever reason. Then you would be back to square one.