An urgent appeal to listen to the PMs advice

Despite the PM's warning last night, this morning I saw a queue of people close together outside a well-known high street bakery (I was out to collect emergency equipment for medical work).

Here's why we all need to take this very, very seriously and why ignoring the advice is simply reckless and irresponsible.

Any of us could be an asymptomatic carrier of Covid-19 - in other words we won't know we have it yet but will be still be spreading it.  Over the course of the next 4 weeks, with no distancing measures, we each will likely cause over 400 others to be infected (each person we infect infects others, and they in turn infect others etc).  Currently the UK death rate is about 5% of known cases.  That means without distancing yourself, you will potentially be responsible for the deaths of 20 people in the next month or so, and far more beyond that as those you have infected will infect many, many others.

If we practice the measures outlined by the PM we can bring the infected number at 4 weeks down to a few at most, and likely no resulting deaths.

The government's priority is to save lives, and to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed.  There may be no available bed or treatment for you or a loved one should you need it if you don't heed the appeal now.

And here's what worries me about what I saw this morning: at the moment the PM's message was effectively just a strong appeal.  But what is the next step if  people continue to flaunt the appeal to stay indoors (aside from the exceptions he outlined)?  The government's only recourse will be to impose curfew by law - and that may mean the military on the streets too.  We will literally be forced to stay in our homes.  The entire country will be fully locked down, as has been seen around the world, if we do not listen to the advice of last night.   

If we keep trying to live life like before. the government will have no choice because we will have given them no choice.

The cost of our freedom, everyone's freedom (as we can currently define it) is to listen and obey NOW what the PM last night implored of each of us.  The old way of doing things is gone.  Or, it should be.

Please take this seriously.  The young as well as the old, the rich and the poor, no-one is immune from this.   NHS Critical Care units are full of those unable to breathe, some of whom go on to die from multi-organ failure.   It is an awful way to die.  It's happening right now, close to you.   

We can still significantly impact the course of this pandemic, but it requires each of us take responsibly, to play our part.  

As I heard recently - 'Our grandparents were called to war.  We're called to sit on the sofa.  Just do it'.

Please.