[Roa1]

canucklad

Yup, I agree!

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has elected a new Chairman of their 34-member WHO Executive Board. He is from India (Health Minister) and let’s hope that under him, a proper impartial external investigation into how the coronavirus originated in Wuhan, described as an invisible killer, a deadly pathogen that cannot be seen coming, and then attack the organs, that cannot be treated, a virus that leaves catastrophic consequences; social lockdowns (people dying and buried alone without their loved one’s to pay their respects), closing of air space, the world’s economy grinding to halt, death and destruction that follows its path – and there is still no cure.

I don’t wish anyone to live through this again, and we need answers to understand that it is never going happen again.

[Cedric_Statherby]

[quote quote=999544]Do I blame Boris & Nicola for this mess ? NO
That blame lies elsewhere, with a regime that has in recent days shown its utter contempt for international treaties and whether we like it or not is regressing back into its darkest days of suppression and bullying[/quote]

I agree strongly with this! And having lived and worked in Hong Kong I am deeply saddened.

But am I surprised? No, not really. Indeed it is one of the minor benefits of this whole corona-saga that the scales are falling off the world’s eyes very fast, and we are seeing the true nature of the regime you have for some reason not named. The animosity towards China for their part in spreading the virus – a potent mixture of extreme dislike and complete distrust – is such that they now know that there is no point in a charm offensive, as they have been rumbled. And as a result they no longer even pretend to care about world opinion. To quote the chant made famous by Millwall fans in the 1980s*, “Nobody likes us, we don’t care; we’re big and strong, oppose us if you dare”.

This new belligerent attitude from China is not a good sign for the world. But it is at least more honest than their previous approach. And the rest of the world is on notice. And when, having swallowed Hong Kong, the Dragon tries to eat Taiwan, it will be interesting to see how the international community reacts.

(* For non-UK readers and non-soccer fans, Millwall are a London football club who in the 1980s had a reputation for particularly belligerent and dangerous supporters. No intention to smear the club today or their current fans with the same brush!)

[simeoncox]

In the absence of any other option, yes, a distance of two metres minimum reduces the potential of coming into contact with virus-bearing aerosols or droplets. Additionally, an appropriate (non-woven, three layered / 3-ply, fitted) mask will contain droplets to the wearer for short periods upto two hours. (Penetration of cloth masks by droplets was almost 97% and medical masks 44%.)

▪ https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2009324
▪ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4420971/
▪ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7118603/

[SimonS1]

Someone on YouTube posted these videos of Gatwick today.

South Terminal deserted

North Terminal closed

All these highly dangerous travellers must have donned invisibility cloaks as well as PPE?

[PhilipHart]

The surgical mask is a bad fit for risk reduction

Universal Masking in Hospitals in the Covid-19 Era

1 user thanked author for this post.

simeoncox

[canucklad]

Could BA, actually about to play a blinder here ?

Talking to my group of friends trying to come up with a plan for the various trips we had planned and cancelled, whether it be to jointly celebrate a stag and a retirement with one large group of friends, or my football buddies and our trip to watch Bilbao, or my golfing trip and not forgetting HK

The common denominator ,if travel involves wearing masks, then we’ll further postpone till later.

Further questioning , suggested that as long as people have to wear masks, they are a threat.
For most of them, wearing masks were a step to far, and infringed on their personal liberties.

Another factor in their thinking was , nobody either directly or indirectly had been affected by the virus since this started, with the exception of one member of my bowling club.

Small village mentality maybe, but I wonder if they do represent the sentiment of the silent majority?

And back to the original question, BA so far hasn’t put masks in as a prerequisite !

[cwoodward]

Hi Canucklad
An interesting post and I have no sermon re wearing masks however I doubt if your friends are going to be flying anywhere long haul this year as all indications are that, certainly for the next few months most if not all airlines are going to demand that pax wear masks in-flight – this as a condition of boarding.
I was a late convert to masks but I do believe that they have been hugely effective here in Asia in containing the epidemic.

2 users thanked author for this post.

openfly, DerekVH

[capetonianm]

Given that BA is apparently about to fire all its staff and then rehire them on inferior terms, and that it has had its debt rating cut to junk, they may have greater crosses to bear (pun intended, Cruz = cross in Spanish) than masks. I wonder if they will fire Cruz.

British Airways has its debt rating cut to ‘junk’ status by Fitch and has become the first major European airline to have its debt rating cut to ‘junk’.

Fitch, the ratings agency, cut BA’s rating from BBB- to BB+ today.

(For clarity, this downgrade is specifically for British Airways and not for its parent, International Consolidated Airlines Group. This is because the debt which has been downgraded is ringfenced against the BA operation.)

[canucklad]

[quote quote=999834]and that it has had its debt rating cut to junk, they may have greater crosses to bear[/quote]

Never mind that, my rather substantial sum of Avios points has expired to zero…not a happy bunny !!
I deliberately booked Ba to ensure that there was activity on the account, but since my flight was cancelled/rebuked I’ve lost them .

[SimonS1]

[postquote quote=999840][/postquote]

I thought with Avios it was necessary only to have some activity every 3 years – BA, Oneworld, supermarkets etc.

[ASK1945]

[postquote quote=999840][/postquote]

Are you not using a BA Amex card? Provided you use that (at least occasionally) your Avios never expire.

[freelancemomma]

None of it is necessary IMO. We should be helping vulnerable populations protect themselves and let the rest of life go on. Indefinite social distancing is inhumane, dystopian and unsustainable.

[HloeW]

It looks stupid for air travel. This business must be profitable, otherwise the ticket price will be at the price of gold for an ordinary person.

[Author]

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