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Coronavirus: General discussion (see opening post for rules)

Dos_Box

By Dos_Box
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6Foot2

6Foot2

Posted
Posted (edited)

Health Secretary (Matt Hancock) to lead a coronavirus Downing Street briefing shortly (BBC1/BBC News channels)

 

Edit: It's on now.

 

Edit 2: Further actions within the tiering system (due to the new variant)

Edited by 6Foot2
smurfomatic

smurfomatic

Posted
Posted

Northamptonshire now going to tier 3, meaning the "island" in the middle of the tier 3 section of the north west and the tier 3/4 section from London & south east is no more.

 

Not a surprise (in fast expected us to be in tier 3 in mid-December) but gutted as it means no crowds at the Boxing Day rugby game.

tg12

tg12

Posted
Posted
Well I now feel mildly less guilty for leaving London at the weekend now Suffolk is being bumped up from T2 to T4. My drive back home after New Year could be quite quiet!
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mikeprice

mikeprice

Posted
Posted
Something of the intended meaning lost in translation...

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]60289[/ATTACH]

 

:rolleyes:

 

Well we assume it has been lost

 

but maybe Chinese (????) science has uncovered a transmission risks that was have not yet considered

6Foot2

6Foot2

Posted
Posted

Link: 'Tier 5': England faces possible new Covid restrictions, source says [The Guardian]

 

Further coronavirus restrictions could be introduced in England akin to a “tier 5” lockdown, a government source has suggested, as experts warn the current curbs might not be enough to shrink the epidemic.

 

Tier 4 restrictions came into force in London and parts of the south-east and the east of England on 20 December and have since been extended to a swathe of the country, from Cambridgeshire to Sussex and parts of Hampshire.

 

Under these restrictions, people have been told to stay at home, with household mixing banned outside support bubbles, although one person can meet up with one other person outdoors.

 

With the incubation period for the virus lasting up to 14 days, experts say the impact of such measures in some areas might be expected to be seen in the coming days – although the picture may be muddied by delays in testing and reporting of results because of the Christmas break.

 

However, an analysis of the spread of the new, highly transmissible coronavirus variant by experts at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, released this month, warned that even if the whole of England were placed under tier 4 restrictions on Boxing Day until the end of January, the R value would not fall below 1.

 

Now, it seems, there could be plans to introduce even stricter measures to try to keep the virus under control.

 

According to the Mirror, a Whitehall source has said the tier 4 rules do not appear to be working, adding that the government could introduce “another level on to tier 4, so like a tier 5”.

 

While no details have been released as to what such a tier could look like, or whether it would even be called “tier 5”, one possibility is that the tighter measures could include closing schools for the majority of pupils and moving education online.

 

“I can’t see any other option for getting the virus under control,” said Prof Susan Michie, a member of the government’s Covid-19 behavioural science team that feeds into Sage, as well as the Independent Sage group of experts – although she noted that she had not heard any direct evidence such a move was to be made.

 

The move to close schools has been backed by Dr Nick Davies, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, which also feeds into Sage, and an author of the recent analysis.

 

“If our parameter estimates are correct … it seems like [tier 4] alone isn’t enough, so something else might need to be done on top of that. And we’ve looked at school closures because that’s sort of the next obvious thing to do on top of those restrictions,” he said.

 

Schools closed for the majority of pupils during the first lockdown in the spring, while the other restrictions included the edict to venture outside only once a day for exercise, leave home only for essentials, and for all non-essential shops and places of worship to close.

6Foot2

6Foot2

Posted
Posted

Link: Spain to share coronavirus vaccine-refusal registry with EU countries [POLITICO]

 

The names of Spaniards who decline a coronavirus vaccine will be recorded and shared with other European countries, Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa said.

 

While vaccination is voluntary, Illa said Monday that people who decline a shot when offered will be recorded in a “registry” and shared “with other European partners.”

 

In an interview with Spanish broadcaster La Sexta, Illa said the registry “is not a document to be made public, and it will be done with the utmost respect for data protection."

 

The move is nonetheless likely to raise data-privacy concerns and fuel the ongoing debate about how best to tackle vaccine hesitancy.

 

A European Commission spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about whether Brussels would play a role in maintaining or sharing this registry.

6Foot2

6Foot2

Posted
Posted

Link:

[Governor Jared Polis Picture Tweet]

 

Today we discovered Colorado’s first case of the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7, the same variant discovered in the UK.

 

The health and safety of Coloradans is our top priority and we will monitor this case, as well as all COVID-19 indicators, very closely.

 

From The Office Of Governor Jared Polis.jpg

6Foot2

6Foot2

Posted
Posted

Link: Covid-19: Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine approved for use in UK [bBC News]

 

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for use in the UK, with the first doses due to be given on Monday amid rising coronavirus cases.

 

The UK has ordered 100 million doses - enough to vaccinate 50 million people.

 

This will cover the entire population, when combined with the full order of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.

 

It comes as millions more people in England are expected to be placed under the toughest tier four restrictions.

 

On Tuesday, 53,135 new Covid cases were recorded in the UK - the highest single day rise since mass testing began - as well as 414 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test.

 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the vaccine development "a triumph" for British science, adding: "We will now move to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible."

 

And England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty praised the "considerable collective effort that has brought us to this point".

 

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr Hancock said it marked a "significant moment" in the fight against the virus, adding that "2021 can be a year of hope and recovery because we can see our way out of the pandemic".

 

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was designed in the first months of 2020, tested on the first volunteer in April, and has since been through large-scale clinical trials involving thousands of people.

 

It is the second jab to be approved in the UK after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was given the go-ahead in December.

 

Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech jab, which needs ultra cold storage at -70C, the Oxford-AstraZeneca can be stored in a standard fridge so will be easier to deliver to care homes and GP surgeries.

 

AstraZeneca's chief executive Pascal Soriot told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the company will "progressively ramp up" the vaccination programme, and will be able to deliver up to two million doses a week.

 

More than 600,000 people in the UK have been vaccinated since Margaret Keenan became the first in the world to be given it outside of a clinical trial...

Arthur

Arthur

Posted
Posted (edited)

Secondary school new term delayed by two weeks

 

Secondary schools across most of England are to remain closed for an extra two weeks for most pupils, to help regain control of coronavirus.

 

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson told the Commons that exam-year pupils would return a week earlier than their schoolmates in the week of 11 January.

 

In the meantime, schools will have more time to set up mass testing plans.

 

In a few areas with the highest infection rates, primaries would remain closed temporarily, he added.

 

The areas where primary schools would remain closed are: most of London, much of Essex and Kent, Hastings and Rother in East Sussex, Milton Keynes and parts of Hertfordshire.

 

Mr Williamson said the temporary school shutdowns would cut chains of transmission. Primary closures would be reviewed every two weeks.

 

But teaching unions said the move did not go far enough, and one labelled it another "last-minute mess". They have been calling for a working test-and-trace system since before schools returned from the lockdown in September.

 

The move comes after most of England was put into the toughest tier four restrictions, and follows warnings from medics about pressure on hospitals - and from government scientists about the increasing contagiousness of the new strain of coronavirus.

 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "We must face the reality. The sheer pace of and spread of this new variant requires us to to take even tougher action in some areas."

 

He stressed that the children of key workers and vulnerable pupils would still be able to return to primaries or secondaries next week.

 

"At this critical moment, with the prospect of freedom within reach - we've got to redouble our efforts to contain the virus," he said.

 

Mr Williamson said the delay in reopening secondary schools would allow head teachers to develop and set up mass testing plans for their pupils.

 

"In the face of a rapidly changing situation, I am determined to act to preserve lives and the NHS, as we continue to protect education and put children first.

 

"We are making changes to the start of term to give more time for the rollout of our first of its kind rapid testing programme, to identify students who have the virus but don't display any symptoms."

 

He added that the government expects to deliver 50,000 devices to schools across the country on 4 January to support remote learning, with 100,000 devices to be delivered during the first week of term.

 

But Kate Green, Labour shadow education secretary, said: "Only days before many schools should have been opening again to all pupils, the secretary of state has announced that many will not be returning as planned.

 

"This delay and disruption to children's education is a direct result of the government's failure. They've lost control of the virus. Now they're losing control of children's education."

 

Her Labour colleague, Yvette Copper, said schools in her constituency had received no support or allocation of funding, and no contact from the military, which has been organising testing in some schools.

 

She added: "They all want to do this mass testing but the support they are getting is always too late, too chaotic."

Edited by Arthur
Rob_D

Rob_D

Posted
Posted

And with a whole 4 days until the supposed "start of term" the government have changed things around again. (yeah we all expected something like this).

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/prime-ministers-statement-on-coronavirus-covid-19-30-december-2020

 

TLDR:

Primary schools in some areas will go back on the 4th while some do distance learning until the 18th.

Secondary schools will have key-worker/at-risk kids in from the 4th with year 11 following on the 11th and everyone else on the 18th (with everyone not in school undergoing distance learning obviously.

All of this is (of course) so we can get mass testing in place for the staff and students.

witch

witch

Posted
Posted
So we are now Tier 4. Extra issue for us is that we are very close to the county border - they are Tier 3 over there where my son and daughter live. Officially they are unable to go to the supermarket nearest home as the supermarkets are in the Tier 4 area, but would have to travel quite a long way through their own county to get to a decent shop!
Zammo

Zammo

Posted
Posted
So we are now Tier 4. Extra issue for us is that we are very close to the county border - they are Tier 3 over there where my son and daughter live. Officially they are unable to go to the supermarket nearest home as the supermarkets are in the Tier 4 area, but would have to travel quite a long way through their own county to get to a decent shop!

 

Same thing where I live. I am just over the border in Bucks (Tier 4) by about 2 miles. People in my village had spent £50+ on a Turkey from a town 2 miles away in Oxfordshire and were told that technically they couldnt collect it as it was in Tier 3....

elsiegee40

elsiegee40

Posted
Posted (edited)
So we are now Tier 4. Extra issue for us is that we are very close to the county border - they are Tier 3 over there where my son and daughter live. Officially they are unable to go to the supermarket nearest home as the supermarkets are in the Tier 4 area, but would have to travel quite a long way through their own county to get to a decent shop!

This bit of Kent was in that position for quite a while. Both Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells only just being in Tier 4 and neighbouring Sussex villages having a problem. You can stray over the county border very easily without thinking about it while walking or driving.

 

Groombridge has the Kent-Sussex border going straight through it. They were in the ridiculous position, a few weeks back, where one pub had to close and the other could stay open.

 

I have been travelling to Tier 3 (now Tier 4) by about half a mile to get to the rescue. Work or volunteering in animal welfare is counted as essential, before anyone shouts at me, and we are all masked and gloved, etc unlike in schools as it’s a wildlife hospital.

Edited by elsiegee40

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