Coronaphobia - Britons terrified says SAGE adviser

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... ssage.html

Britons were 'terrorised' by the government's tough coronavirus message and 'lost sight' of the fact most people only have mild illness, says SAGE adviser.

Boris Johnsons hardline coronavirus lockdown message has 'effectively terrorised' the UK population into believing they will die if they catch coronavirus, one of the government's experts has said.

Professor Robert Dingwall suggested Britain had 'completely lost sight' of the true nature of the disease because 'mostly it isn't' killing people.

His comments illustrate the potential problems facing the Prime Minister as he prepares to set out his lockdown exit plan in an address to the nation on Sunday night.

Polling published yesterday showed almost two thirds of the population are worried about the effects of lifting the draconian curbs too early.

Some experts are concerned that so-called 'coronaphobia' could prove a major barrier to getting the nation back up and running.

Prof Dingwall from Nottingham University sits on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), which feeds into the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).

He told The Telegraph: 'We have this very strong message which has effectively terrorised the population into believing that this is a disease that is going to kill you. And mostly it isn't.

'Eighty per cent of the people who get this infection will never need to go near a hospital. The ones who do go to hospital because they are quite seriously ill most of them will come out alive - even those who go into intensive care.'

Prof Dingwall said the UK had 'completely lost sight of that' because of an 'obsession' with the death toll and international comparisons.

He added: 'All of that helps to create this climate of fear and I am not surprised in a sense that the Government might take a rather cautious approach to try to unlock the lockdown - simply because they would really be nervous that if they pushed it too quickly it would be like giving a party and nobody came.'

An exclusive poll for MailOnline yesterday suggested the public fears the virus far more than immediate economic meltdown.

It revealed 62 per cent are more worried about the effects of the draconian curbs ending too early, while 38 per cent said their main concern is the havoc they are wreaking on the economy now.

Around seven in 10 believe bus and train drivers, teachers, and medical staff should have the right to refuse to go back to work, even if the government says it is safe.

Some 60 per cent said the state should keep covering a proportion of people's wages even if in theory they should be able to resume their job.

More than three quarters of people said they would be behind bus drivers who made the 'personal decision' to stay off because of safety fears, with just 16 per cent saying they would not support them

Nearly half say they could even support strike action if people are ordered to get back to work.

Prof Dingwall also questioned the wisdom of the Government's two metre social distancing rule as he said he had been told by a public health expert it had been chosen because 'we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was'.

'Personally I think we could quite safely go to 1.5 metres which seems to be an internationally acceptable standard, inside and outside,' he said.

The media has played a massive part in putting the shit up people.

I love that part that says that 60 per cent of people believe that the government should carrying on paying people's wages if they choose not to go back to work I assume many of these are the people who feel safe enough to go out to the supermarket and to B and Q but not safe enough to go back to work.

Where do these thickos think all this money is coming from? Is there a money tree growing in the garden of 10 Downing Street? Do they not realise that by the time they think it's safe to venture back to work (maybe next year perhaps as long as a cure has been found by then) none of these people will have jobs to go back to as the economy will have collapsed completely. And if by any chance they still have jobs do they realise how much tax they'll be paying for the next 30 or so years to try to recoup what it's costing the country at the moment.

The general held belief amongst the public driven by the government and the media is that if you catch this virus you're dead. Doesn't matter how old you are, how healthy you are, where you live - you catch it you're dead. Yet there was an article today that said that it is estimated that six million people in the UK have already recovered from the virus, most having hardly noticed that they've had it.

And how enlightening to hear that there's no science behind this two metres social distancing - and comforting to know that our own government believe that most people wouldn't be able to know how far one and a half metres was. Another random figure made up with no medical justification apparently.

What a mess our government has made of this situation aided by a truly poor media.

Too slow to go into lockdown
Letting down NHS workers by not providing them with the protection they need
Sending elderly people out into care homes from hospitals helping contribute to the spread of the virus
Spending millions on "white elephant" Nightingale hospitals with hardly any patients or staff
Giving thousands of people the wrong test results
Buying PPE from abroad that is useless
So many politicians caught flouting their own lockdown rules and idiots like the PM and the Health Secretary catching the virus
Scaring the vast majority of the country shitless about something that even if they catch it is extremely unlikely to kill them.

Perhaps they'll tell us that we can no longer use cars from now on. Every time you drive a car you could kill yourself and you could also kill somebody else. Perhaps we should stop driving as it's too much of a risk.

The media has played a massive part in putting the shit up people.

I love that part that says that 60 per cent of people believe that the government should carrying on paying people's wages if they choose not to go back to work I assume many of these are the people who feel safe enough to go out to the supermarket and to B and Q but not safe enough to go back to work.

Where do these thickos think all this money is coming from? Is there a money tree growing in the garden of 10 Downing Street? Do they not realise that by the time they think it's safe to venture back to work (maybe next year perhaps as long as a cure has been found by then) none of these people will have jobs to go back to as the economy will have collapsed completely. And if by any chance they still have jobs do they realise how much tax they'll be paying for the next 30 or so years to try to recoup what it's costing the country at the moment.

The general held belief amongst the public driven by the government and the media is that if you catch this virus you're dead. Doesn't matter how old you are, how healthy you are, where you live - you catch it you're dead. Yet there was an article today that said that it is estimated that six million people in the UK have already recovered from the virus, most having hardly noticed that they've had it.

And how enlightening to hear that there's no science behind this two metres social distancing - and comforting to know that our own government believe that most people wouldn't be able to know how far one and a half metres was. Another random figure made up with no medical justification apparently.

What a mess our government has made of this situation aided by a truly poor media.

Too slow to go into lockdown
Letting down NHS workers by not providing them with the protection they need
Sending elderly people out into care homes from hospitals helping contribute to the spread of the virus
Spending millions on "white elephant" Nightingale hospitals with hardly any patients or staff
Giving thousands of people the wrong test results
Buying PPE from abroad that is useless
So many politicians caught flouting their own lockdown rules and idiots like the PM and the Health Secretary catching the virus
Scaring the vast majority of the country shitless about something that even if they catch it is extremely unlikely to kill them.

Perhaps they'll tell us that we can no longer use cars from now on. Every time you drive a car you could kill yourself and you could also kill somebody else. Perhaps we should stop driving as it's too much of a risk.

Top post Davids I've been saying from the outset,the government and the media are complicit it ramping up the fear factor! My concern is to what ends? The daily death tolls,and comparisons are deliberate imho,in order to ramp it up a notch, even down to symtoms, they keep adding things,again for the fear factor,there is more ,the number of deaths that are NOT a direct result of covid being counted,even if the person hadn't been tested? We will never know the true number of deaths as a direct result of it,as figures prove,testing positive doesn't mean you will die,you just have it,and more than likely will not show any symtoms,and not become particularly unwell either.most people I know would return to work tomorrow, as you point out, there are far worse dangers in everyday life,and the daft people who believe furlough should be for as long as the person in receipt of it decides if they will return to work! This is going to cost us and the next generation as it stands,how daft to think it can go on indefinitely.watch people line up like sheep for the vaccine

So over 30,000 deaths is all bullshit unbelievable and the op has quoted the daily mail

So over 30,000 deaths is all bullshit unbelievable and the op has quoted the daily mail

its not about what paper its in ,its about who is making the quotes and are they reasonable.. yes mate people have got caught up in these league tables of deaths and figures...

There is a magic money tree and it is called the Bank of England and their quantitative easing programme. So far they have created 200 billion pounds our of thin air.

Apparently the Government is supposed to pay this money back through taxes but just like in 2010 they won't so why can't those who are furloughed stay at home until the crisis has properly pasted?

So over 30,000 deaths is all bullshit unbelievable and the op has quoted the daily mail

30,000 deaths that would never have happened if it wasn't for the virus? Are there 30,000 deaths in addition to the deaths that would have happened over the last few months anyway or is nobody currently dying from anything other than coronavirus?

Even the ONS has said that Covid 19 is being included on death certificates where no tests have been carried on the deceased to determine whether they actually had the virus - are these deaths being counted?

Look, there's no doubt that many many people have died and that is tragic for them and their families - absolutely no doubt.

But going back to the original post here the point is how many people have had the shit put up them by the actions of the media and the government.

There is a magic money tree and it is called the Bank of England and their quantitative easing programme. So far they have created 200 billion pounds our of thin air.

Apparently the Government is supposed to pay this money back through taxes but just like in 2010 they won't so why can't those who are furloughed stay at home until the crisis has properly pasted?

Thank goodness for that - perhaps I can grow one in my garden

So when will the crisis have properly passed? When there's a cure? There still isn't a cure for normal flu and that kills thousands of people every winter so let's all stay at home until there's a cure for that as well and let's make the government pay our "wages".

As the government can obviously afford it I would expect unemployment benefit to be raised to the equivalent of the furlough payments for as long as all those people who are too terrified to go outside their doors (except to shop, exercise and visit garden centres and queue at Burger King) decide that it's unsafe to go to work.

So as far as you're concerned what is currently happening will have no financial effect on the country at all? Everything will just go back to normal once the crisis has "properly passed" with no financial consequences for any of us. That's reassuring to know

Less than 400 people under the age of 45 have died of Covid 19 in this country. The narrative has to change. All those thinking the government are great paying your wages beware. A tsunami of job losses is coming when they stop paying them. Businesses will go under on a huge scale later this summer. Perhaps then people will start to have a real pragmatic debate about which is more important. Hide from Corona in lockdown or restart the economy and accept their will be risks- like everything else in life.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/arti ... burns.html

The media has played a massive part in putting the shit up people.

I love that part that says that 60 per cent of people believe that the government should carrying on paying people's wages if they choose not to go back to work I assume many of these are the people who feel safe enough to go out to the supermarket and to B and Q but not safe enough to go back to work.

Where do these thickos think all this money is coming from? Is there a money tree growing in the garden of 10 Downing Street? Do they not realise that by the time they think it's safe to venture back to work (maybe next year perhaps as long as a cure has been found by then) none of these people will have jobs to go back to as the economy will have collapsed completely. And if by any chance they still have jobs do they realise how much tax they'll be paying for the next 30 or so years to try to recoup what it's costing the country at the moment.

The general held belief amongst the public driven by the government and the media is that if you catch this virus you're dead. Doesn't matter how old you are, how healthy you are, where you live - you catch it you're dead. Yet there was an article today that said that it is estimated that six million people in the UK have already recovered from the virus, most having hardly noticed that they've had it.

And how enlightening to hear that there's no science behind this two metres social distancing - and comforting to know that our own government believe that most people wouldn't be able to know how far one and a half metres was. Another random figure made up with no medical justification apparently.

What a mess our government has made of this situation aided by a truly poor media.

Too slow to go into lockdown
Letting down NHS workers by not providing them with the protection they need
Sending elderly people out into care homes from hospitals helping contribute to the spread of the virus
Spending millions on "white elephant" Nightingale hospitals with hardly any patients or staff
Giving thousands of people the wrong test results
Buying PPE from abroad that is useless
So many politicians caught flouting their own lockdown rules and idiots like the PM and the Health Secretary catching the virus
Scaring the vast majority of the country shitless about something that even if they catch it is extremely unlikely to kill them.

Perhaps they'll tell us that we can no longer use cars from now on. Every time you drive a car you could kill yourself and you could also kill somebody else. Perhaps we should stop driving as it's too much of a risk.

Top post Davids I've been saying from the outset,the government and the media are complicit it ramping up the fear factor! My concern is to what ends? The daily death tolls,and comparisons are deliberate imho,in order to ramp it up a notch, even down to symtoms, they keep adding things,again for the fear factor,there is more ,the number of deaths that are NOT a direct result of covid being counted,even if the person hadn't been tested? We will never know the true number of deaths as a direct result of it,as figures prove,testing positive doesn't mean you will die,you just have it,and more than likely will not show any symtoms,and not become particularly unwell either.most people I know would return to work tomorrow, as you point out, there are far worse dangers in everyday life,and the daft people who believe furlough should be for as long as the person in receipt of it decides if they will return to work! This is going to cost us and the next generation as it stands,how daft to think it can go on indefinitely.watch people line up like sheep for the vaccine

It’s been way over the top in my opinion. 10 million wasted on a hospital unused at the MS, only 100 in the 4000 capacity in London and unused in Birmingham also. Don’t get me wrong I’m really glad they were never used but surely they could have built them somewhere more permanent? So if there is a second wave in October they are ready to go, or in 3 years or five whatever.....What they are going to find, even when they release lockdown is that most wont be wandering into town to go shopping in the small shops that need us most. Sure some will, but many many won’t so bye bye small independents hey.
Most young people, around 98% I read will only have mild symptoms if they get it, so why can’t they crack on and get the economy going before it’s too late?? I fear for my kids future sometimes, glad they are young enough for it to recover maybe. Gutted if you are about 18-25 now. Tough few years coming up.

There is a magic money tree and it is called the Bank of England and their quantitative easing programme. So far they have created 200 billion pounds our of thin air.

Apparently the Government is supposed to pay this money back through taxes but just like in 2010 they won't so why can't those who are furloughed stay at home until the crisis has properly pasted?

yes I suppose people can put their cancers, heart attacks and strokes off as well eh....that really is where the extra deaths are and its really about time now someone payed attention to it...
as for the furloughed...what about the 12 mill that have continued working...? its taking the P out of them..

There is a magic money tree and it is called the Bank of England and their quantitative easing programme. So far they have created 200 billion pounds our of thin air.

Apparently the Government is supposed to pay this money back through taxes but just like in 2010 they won't so why can't those who are furloughed stay at home until the crisis has properly pasted?

yes I suppose people can put their cancers, heart attacks and strokes off as well eh....that really is where the extra deaths are and its really about time now someone payed attention to it...
as for the furloughed...what about the 12 mill that have continued working...? its taking the P out of them..

I have seen gp's and a&e staff making announcements regards people not attending,encouraging people to seek treatment if they feel unwell! You are correct,lots of people are dying because of covid fears,not because of covid itself.and to think furlough can be paid indefinitely? Until the crisis passes ffs!!

There is a magic money tree and it is called the Bank of England and their quantitative easing programme. So far they have created 200 billion pounds our of thin air.

Apparently the Government is supposed to pay this money back through taxes but just like in 2010 they won't so why can't those who are furloughed stay at home until the crisis has properly pasted?

yes I suppose people can put their cancers, heart attacks and strokes off as well eh....that really is where the extra deaths are and its really about time now someone payed attention to it...
as for the furloughed...what about the 12 mill that have continued working...? its taking the P out of them..

I have seen gp's and a&e staff making announcements regards people not attending,encouraging people to seek treatment if they feel unwell! You are correct,lots of people are dying because of covid fears,not because of covid itself.and to think furlough can be paid indefinitely? Until the crisis passes ffs!!

there were 96.4 MILLION out patient appointments last year I wonder how many have already been cancelled this year.. its where diagnosis is made, existing illness is monitored and treatments /surgery arranged plus as you say A and E numbers have fallen of a cliff. but worse of the lot our NHS was running at 94% bed capacity in January.. but for over 2 months its been 30% lower...35k empty beds for 60 days...that's HALF A MILLION 4 night stays... what happened to this half a million people ?

I think people are getting too frightened and are scared to go back to work, they were reading letters on TV this morning like an electrician saying he can't go back until he gets PPE, and an office worker saying he doesn't want to drive his car as he would prefer to use the bus but that's not safe.

At some point we have to get back and be sensible and keep a distance, if we can go into a supermarket or DIY shop, we can go into a safe well-planned workspace.

There is a magic money tree and it is called the Bank of England and their quantitative easing programme. So far they have created 200 billion pounds our of thin air.

Apparently the Government is supposed to pay this money back through taxes but just like in 2010 they won't so why can't those who are furloughed stay at home until the crisis has properly pasted?

yes I suppose people can put their cancers, heart attacks and strokes off as well eh....that really is where the extra deaths are and its really about time now someone payed attention to it...
as for the furloughed...what about the 12 mill that have continued working...? its taking the P out of them..

I have seen gp's and a&e staff making announcements regards people not attending,encouraging people to seek treatment if they feel unwell! You are correct,lots of people are dying because of covid fears,not because of covid itself.and to think furlough can be paid indefinitely? Until the crisis passes ffs!!

there were 96.4 MILLION out patient appointments last year I wonder how many have already been cancelled this year.. its where diagnosis is made, existing illness is monitored and treatments /surgery arranged plus as you say A and E numbers have fallen of a cliff. but worse of the lot our NHS was running at 94% bed capacity in January.. but for over 2 months its been 30% lower...35k empty beds for 60 days...that's HALF A MILLION 4 night stays... what happened to this half a million people ?

They
Like my sister are waiting at home for hospitals to open for normal business so she can have knee op that was cancelled just after corvid lockdown started... I've got new appnt at uhw for mid July cancelled from last week , so optimistic things will start to return soon.