Coronavirus: General discussion (see opening post for rules)

[LeMarchand]

I don't know if this is a definite but doesn't it work that 1 person living alone can create a support bubble with you to create 1 household - so in this case do you count that as one household when working out the Christmas numbers (ie 3 households)?

 

Hmmm... sounds possible. I'll look into it, thanks.

 

(Though it does seem crazy that that people in his position may have agency carers who somehow don't count towards a bubble!)

Edited December 1, 2020 by LeMarchand

[Pink_Panda]

Hmmm... sounds possible. I'll look into it, thanks.

 

(Though it does seem crazy that that people in his position may have agency carers who somehow don't count towards a bubble!)

 

The guidelines from Thursday seem to be for all tiers that if 'someone covered by an exception (for example, someone who is working or volunteering), they are not generally counted as part of the gatherings limit. This means, for example, a tradesperson can go into a household without breaching the limit, if they are there for work, and the officiant at a wedding would not count towards the limit'.

 

However, I'm not sure if this applies during the Christmas 'break' 23-27 December.

[mavhc]

Glad the virus can tell the difference.

 

Just move Christmas to summer like the Australians did.

 

1.5 million total deaths will happen this week, more than the spanish killed when invading the Yucatán.

 

7 day moving average isn't rising any more though. Just in time for everyone to meet their families for Thanksgiving and Winterval

[mikeprice]

Possibly the wrong thread -(Dad jokes maybe) but thought it could go well here as well

 

 

 

also - because communicating with 'some people' is rather like trying to communicate with the long dead

[Ditto]

For the critics of Test and Trace, here's your chance to do better - and get yourself c £600 per day- https://www.cwjobs.co.uk/job/programme-manager/venn-group-job91323602

[jmak]

Hmmm... sounds possible. I'll look into it, thanks.

 

(Though it does seem crazy that that people in his position may have agency carers who somehow don't count towards a bubble!)

Pretty sure the regulations would allow this. Some of my earlier posts expressed my view that people should think really carefully before meeting up with other people and not just use the opportunity of the relaxed rules to mix as much as possible.

 

However your case is one of the exceptions where I would be more concerned about your and your Dad's other needs and would be making plans on how to visit him while minimising risk to him whether it's against the rules or not.

 

My personal approach would be to isolate yourself as much as possible for the first few days of the holidays and then go to visit him before the rest of your family does their Christmas mixing.

 

FWIW, I think the infection rate in the community is now about as low as it's going to get before the vaccines take effect.

[jmak]

For the critics of Test and Trace, here's your chance to do better - and get yourself c £600 per day- https://www.cwjobs.co.uk/job/programme-manager/venn-group-job91323602

The local authority where I live is advertising for people to operate and manage the local test and trace system too. I wonder if it's a policy or if local authorities have just taken it into their own hands.

[LeMarchand]

Pretty sure the regulations would allow this. Some of my earlier posts expressed my view that people should think really carefully before meeting up with other people and not just use the opportunity of the relaxed rules to mix as much as possible.

 

However your case is one of the exceptions where I would be more concerned about your and your Dad's other needs and would be making plans on how to visit him while minimising risk to him whether it's against the rules or not.

 

My personal approach would be to isolate yourself as much as possible for the first few days of the holidays and then go to visit him before the rest of your family does their Christmas mixing.

 

Thanks. I'm going to chat to his main carer and see if she wants the 21/22 or 24/25 off - both of which give her a 4 day weekend. TBH work is so hectic at the moment that the only other place I go is the supermarket (so I won't do Sainsbury's on the 18th, when I will be tested, as the local JS customers love to try to snuggle up to me) and the rest of the household would only see Bonus Daughter #1 and her household - and she's finally taking things seriously so we should be fairly safe transmission wise.

 

On a separate note, is it just here, or were the roads back to normal traffic levels today? It was hectic here - wondering if they should have named the Tier System as Lockdown Tiers.

[Duranis]

On a separate note, is it just here, or were the roads back to normal traffic levels today? It was hectic here - wondering if they should have named the Tier System as Lockdown Tiers.

 

Where I'm living traffic, both on the road and people walking around, hasn't changed at all since the first lockdown was lifted. We are in Tier 3 but it's just as busy as ever.

[Rob_D]

Where I'm living traffic, both on the road and people walking around, hasn't changed at all since the first lockdown was lifted. We are in Tier 3 but it's just as busy as ever.

 

Same here, during the second (not really a lockdown) I didn't see a noticeable drop in traffic or people out shopping, and so far going into T2 hasn't changed anything (not that I really expected it to).

[LeMarchand]

Around here, traffic was noticeably low during LD1 and then a bit less low until today. Maybe it's just a coincidence with theweather.

[Andrew_C]

LD2 was quieter than 'normal' but nothing like as quiet as LD1.

 

This morning was busy, but the M3 looked quiet(ish) where I cross it; not LD quiet, but not solid.

[sonofsanta]

I go out for a walk at lunchtime each day--chance to stretch my legs and get away from my screen--and honestly, town seemed as busy as ever through Lockdown 2, certainly not like Lockdown 1 where everywhere was a ghost town when you walked to Tesco.

 

Now, though? I passed a queue ten people deep for flippin' Card Factory

[bald_pig]

I go out for a walk at lunchtime each day--chance to stretch my legs and get away from my screen--and honestly, town seemed as busy as ever through Lockdown 2, certainly not like Lockdown 1 where everywhere was a ghost town when you walked to Tesco.

 

Now, though? I passed a queue ten people deep for flippin' Card Factory

 

I saw people queuing for poundland on the weekend!

[Rob_D]

Now, though? I passed a queue ten people deep for flippin' Card Factory

 

Got to buy them Christmas cards some time. And with more people not physically meeting up maybe we'll see a rise in the number of cards sent.

[mavhc]

actual data instead of anecdata https://www.google.com/covid19/mobility/

 

Less retail and recreation, same amount of people going to work

 

https://www.gstatic.com/covid19/mobility/2020-11-29_GB_Mobility_Report_en-GB.pdf

 

We fixed it in July to Sep, then let everyone die again, it's now 50 times worse than the low of 10 deaths per day, back to 400-500

 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/

[Ditto]

actual data instead of anecdata https://www.google.com/covid19/mobility/

 

Less retail and recreation, same amount of people going to work

 

https://www.gstatic.com/covid19/mobility/2020-11-29_GB_Mobility_Report_en-GB.pdf

 

We fixed it in July to Sep, then let everyone die again, it's now 50 times worse than the low of 10 deaths per day, back to 400-500

 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/

The baseline is calculated for the period 3 Jan – 6 Feb 2020. I don't think that's very robust and takes no account of seasonal variations. At a local level , anecdotal observations are valid. The trouble with pure data interpretation is just that, it can be interpreted to suit the user.

[mavhc]

Pretty sure people go to work all year round. More data is always better. Going by my own observations lockdown 2 has caused horses to roam the streets, but that's probably not true in general

[Ditto]

@jpembroke is a well respected Data Analyst in the education sector. His pinned tweet is "Bad data is not better than no data at all". I'll let you decide if you want to have a twitter discussion with him - he can be very engaging.

[mavhc]

Why would the data be bad?

 

"No one I know has been ill, this virus is a fake"

[Andrew_C]

His pinned tweet is "Bad data is not better than no data at all".

In support of that view, I commend the book "Factfulness" to you. And the quiz that starts the book off HERE. Try it; only about 13 questions, and I'd put very good money on it changing your view of the state of the world.

[jmak]

For an alternative approach to Christmas:

 

Italy announces Christmas travel restrictions

 

Italyon Thursday announced national travel restrictions for the Christmas holidays designed to limit the spread of Covid-19 in the European country first hit by the pandemic.

 

The new rules, together with an existing curfew and other regulations already in place, seek to curb circulation throughout the country during the festive period by limiting the number of gatherings.

 

“If we let down our guard now, the third wave is just around the corner,” the health minister, Roberto Speranza, told parliament on Wednesday.

 

Travel between Italy’s regions will be prohibited from 21 December until 6 January, with people barred from travelling outside their own towns on 25 and 26 December and 1 January.

 

The decree includes the “strong recommendation” to avoid hosting those who do not live together.[/Quote]

 

From https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/dec/03/coronavirus-live-news-former-french-president-dies-of-covid-complications-global-deaths-near-15m

[6Foot2]

NOTE: Not a political post: No political replies are expected, nor are they invited.

 

Link: Gavin Williamson: UK is 'a much better country than every single one of them' [The Guardian]

 

The education secretary, Gavin Williamson, has claimed the UK was the first country in the world to clinically approve a coronavirus vaccine because the country has “much better” scientists than France, Belgium or the US.

 

Williamson said he was not surprised the UK was the first to roll out the immunisation because “we’re a much better country than every single one of them”.

 

Asked whether Brexit was to credit for the world-first, Williamson told LBC radio station on Thursday: “Well I just reckon we’ve got the very best people in this country and we’ve obviously got the best medical regulators...

 

Absolutley astounding!

[Norphy]

Weren't Russia the first to approve a COVID 19 vaccine?

[Andrew_C]

The vaccine developed by a couple of Turks in European labs?