Coronavirus

[James]

I’m fully expecting masks back and Covid passports for large events within a couple of weeks.

I’d expect the enforcement of Vaccination’s in certain working settings. Where I work we still have quite a few people refusing the vaccine including 2 who have worked in a health care setting.

 

[sycophantia]

Not a bad effort from less than 1% of the population.

I suspect a large proportion of the world's population aren't measuring/reporting in the same way as others

 

[sycophantia]

You keep saying this James, but it's not fear mongering it's the reality. It was and is the Government strategy for people to die whilst keeping the country open. Personally, I think it was broadly the correct decision to open up when we did, although I'd like to have seen masks enforced more rigidly in certain situations, particularly on public transport. I would also have made more exclusions for those who weren't jabbed - in New York anyone over 12 who isn't can't go to a bar, restaurant, concert etc. I'm sure if you really want to there are ways around that, but it's an additional penalty for the selfish pricks, gullible and loons that haven't been jabbed. I don't really give a toss about the civil liberties or vaccination apartheid arguments as long as those who can't get the jab for whatever reason are excluded from any penalties

You have to ask yourself why our confirmed infection rates are nearly 5 times higher than any other country in Europe and whether that's an acceptable price to pay?

What I don't like is the blasé attitude to death on here from some and elsewhere. I get there's an element of bringing it on yourself in certain instances, but don't think that loss should just be dismissed they are still someone's husband, wife, mother, son, father, daughter.

I tend to agree with this. As far as I am aware, most of Europe has a strict 'mask in public' code, plus vaccine passport system. No idea why we haven't gone down this road.

 

[machin05]

It's down to schools. Restrictions and preventative measures (as insufficient as they were) are all but gone and with the inclement and cold weather hitting even our rudimentary ventilation systems (opening windows) are redundant.

You can avoid it all you like, but if you're sending your kids to school it'll enter your household sooner rather than later. Most likely undetected to boot (unless you're one of the few who regularly take LFTs).

The government's response? They've sent us a box of CO2 detectors. Without power plugs.

 

[lemonjelly]

You keep saying this James, but it's not fear mongering it's the reality. It was and is the Government strategy for people to die whilst keeping the country open. Personally, I think it was broadly the correct decision to open up when we did, although I'd like to have seen masks enforced more rigidly in certain situations, particularly on public transport. I would also have made more exclusions for those who weren't jabbed - in New York anyone over 12 who isn't can't go to a bar, restaurant, concert etc. I'm sure if you really want to there are ways around that, but it's an additional penalty for the selfish pricks, gullible and loons that haven't been jabbed. I don't really give a toss about the civil liberties or vaccination apartheid arguments as long as those who can't get the jab for whatever reason are excluded from any penalties

You have to ask yourself why our confirmed infection rates are nearly 5 times higher than any other country in Europe and whether that's an acceptable price to pay?

What I don't like is the blasé attitude to death on here from some and elsewhere. I get there's an element of bringing it on yourself in certain instances, but don't think that loss should just be dismissed they are still someone's husband, wife, mother, son, father, daughter.

absolutely this. the government (since 2010) has seen an amount of the population as collateral damage worth losing - there was a recent report confirming since 2010 life expectancy has gone down, and also excess deaths have risen a fair amount owing to austerity.

the suggestion this is the press fear mongering is an ignorant and idiotic stance to adopt. If anything it is quite surprising how covid has dropped down from the news agenda, especially with cases rising as they are - doubling every 5 weeks at the moment. More important to ask if someone is "channelling churchill".

The booster rollout is flagging causing a lot of anxiety for the over 60's.
mask wearing now seems to be only done by the minority of people.

instead of looking at how to bring rates down, people are discussing christmas, as well as whether boris broke the rules last christmas. or whether you can get a face to face gp appt.

there are also the knock on implications. in bham a referral for potential/suspected cancerous cells is now at 3 months and rising. think of how many cancers will spread/become terminal in that time frame.

 

[lemonjelly]

also, universities reopened 4 weeks ago. that will also play a part in further increasing numbers.

 

[sycophantia]

absolutely this. the government (since 2010) has seen an amount of the population as collateral damage worth losing - there was a recent report confirming since 2010 life expectancy has gone down, and also excess deaths have risen a fair amount owing to austerity.

the suggestion this is the press fear mongering is an ignorant and idiotic stance to adopt. If anything it is quite surprising how covid has dropped down from the news agenda, especially with cases rising as they are - doubling every 5 weeks at the moment. More important to ask if someone is "channelling churchill".

The booster rollout is flagging causing a lot of anxiety for the over 60's.
mask wearing now seems to be only done by the minority of people.

instead of looking at how to bring rates down, people are discussing christmas, as well as whether boris broke the rules last christmas. or whether you can get a face to face gp appt.

there are also the knock on implications. in bham a referral for potential/suspected cancerous cells is now at 3 months and rising. think of how many cancers will spread/become terminal in that time frame.

I agree with all you say here but none of that exonerates the general public from taking personal responsibility. Mask wearing and getting vaccinated are simple things but lots don't want to.
Friends of ours recently returned from Madeira where mask wearing in public inside areas including public transport is mandatory and everyone complies, tourists and residents alike. Also movement is strictly controlled but none of that stopped them from going about their business.

 

[James]

My stance on masks hasn’t changed & wont.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

278k global cases reported yesterday. 43k in UK. So about 15.5% on yesterday’s figures.

Are we still testing at a much higher rate than the rest of the world though?

 

[WolfMan]

Saw something on Twitter last night that reckoned 20% of all new cases globally are happening in the UK, that's a damning stat if true.

Why is it damning? Surely it's hospitalisations and deaths that are the important thing, as the vaccine doesn't prevent transmission we'll have high cases at various times during the year forever.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

Why is it damning? Surely it's hospitalisations and deaths that are the important thing, as the vaccine doesn't prevent transmission we'll have high cases at various times during the year forever.

Well it still shows that this country is taking it a lot less seriously than others does it not? Vaccinations or not, pretty much everyone else still seems to be making a conscious effort to keep transmission suppressed, vaccinations aren't 100% effective and not everyone is able to make use of it anyway, whereas the UK seems to have completely given up that mindset.

 

[WolfMan]

Well it still shows that this country is taking it a lot less seriously than others does it not? Vaccinations or not, pretty much everyone else still seems to be making a conscious effort to keep transmission suppressed, vaccinations aren't 100% effective and not everyone is able to make use of it anyway, whereas the UK seems to have completely given up that mindset.

From this I'm getting that you believe we should have some measures in place to reduce transmission literally forever?

 

[AndyWolves]

Whats the difference between someone catching Covid and dieing now as opposed to it happening in 3 months time?

I don't think we can stop Covid deaths, only delay them.

 

[WolfMan]

This is an interesting article on the 1918 Spanish Flu, it never really went away.

Weiterleitungshinweis

It's not hard to imagine an alternative reality whereby a vaccine was developed back then and vaccine passports were introduced. With the benefit of hindsight, in view of all of the nefarious regimes that have come and gone in the years since 1918, I'm certainly glad that none of them had that tool in their armoury.

I think that's the basis of my objection towards some of this stuff on civil liberties grounds, whatever is introduced now will become the new normal, it will then be available to any regime, however evil in the future. I'm sure vaccine passports would have been a fantastic help to the Nazis during WW2 for example. It just seems like a huge gamble to assume we'll have benevolent leaders forever, as history has shown us, that's almost certain not to be the case.

 

[Tredman]

Are we still testing at a much higher rate than the rest of the world though?

Possibly, but our test positivity rate is also higher which is really not a good sign.

 

[Tredman]

Whats the difference between someone catching Covid and dieing now as opposed to it happening in 3 months time?

I don't think we can stop Covid deaths, only delay them.

Spread them out and you don't overwhelm the NHS, so others don't die from other problems

 

[Sniffer]

Whats the difference between someone catching Covid and dieing now as opposed to it happening in 3 months time?

I don't think we can stop Covid deaths, only delay them.

If you limit the spread of the disease there is less chance of someone vulnerable catching it.

You might as well stop feeding them too.

 

[AndyWolves]

If you limit the spread of the disease there is less chance of someone vulnerable catching it.

You might as well stop feeding them too.

For ever? At some point restrictions will be relaxed and at that point the virus will spread.

We know vaccinations don't prevent infections.

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

Possibly, but our test positivity rate is also higher which is really not a good sign.

Is that down to most people only getting PCR tests when they either display symptoms or have a positive LFT? I know I've done loads of LFT and they wouldn't show up in the data.

We can't contain a virus forever, it will become one of the yearly flus that account for deaths. We have had a vaccine programme that has reduced the link between hospitalisations and deaths. As sad as it is people die from disease, the high mortality and overwhelming of the NHS has been averted as much as possible, we can't prevent it forever, nor can we continue to divert focus away from other preventable deaths.

I believe that it is mainly people who have not had both jabs who are the mainstay of hospital wards. As sad as that may be, there has been every opportunity for them to have this and an amount of social responsibility is required

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Are we still testing at a much higher rate than the rest of the world though?

I would imagine so yes. All the kids are still doing LFTs for school for a start.