Coronavirus: General discussion (see opening post for rules)

[LeMarchand]

somehow this time around "I need to be in for any technical problems" whereas in Lockdown 1 I could work from home...

 

Ditto, alas.

[mikeprice]

Went past my old school this afternoon

 

car park was full

 

so I presume most staff were in

[smurfomatic]

Ditto, alas.

 

My requirement to be on site is being reviewed on Friday. I've been busy for the last few days, but most of that was setting up things, resetting passwords and sorting out Chromebooks to loan out, so that should hopefully tail off now.

[TwistedHelixis]

car park was full

 

so I presume most staff were in

 

I had to visit a couple of schools today and both were packed with kids. One of those schools is in a very wealthy area, the teacher is sure a lot of her pupils have stay at home mums but have sent the kids in anyway.

 

I also noticed the government changed some guidance last night, something about children without a quite area to work can now get sent in. I think they are doing this to get back at the teacher union stuff the other day. I am also not sure where schools now stand from a safety perspective as schools are now effectively closed, so i think the government can get round that safety issue now.

[6Foot2]

Link: Second suspected bird flu outbreak in Northern Ireland [bBC News]

 

There is a second suspected outbreak of bird flu in Northern Ireland.

 

Ulster Farmers' Union chairman Victor Chestnutt said initial results had confirmed the disease at a premises between Moira and Lisburn.

 

It follows an outbreak at a commercial poultry farm near Clough in County Antrim on New Year's Eve.

 

Thirty thousand birds are due to be slaughtered there as part of a government led response.

 

Bird flu, or Avian Influenza, is carried by migratory wild birds.

 

• Poultry flock to be culled after bird flu outbreak
  
• NI tightens biosecurity rules to combat bird flu
  
• Bird flu found in dead swan in County Derry

It is a major issue for the poultry industry which results in affected flocks being culled, and wider movement and trade restrictions for other farms in the area.

 

Measures were announced earlier in the winter to try and prevent transmission from wild birds to commercial poultry farms.

 

Initial tests are done at a facility in Northern Ireland, with confirmation coming following secondary checks at a lab in Great Britain.

 

Poultry is a £750m a year industry in Northern Ireland which employs 5,000 people.

 

There are around 24 million birds on 650 farms, most of them in counties Tyrone and Antrim.

 

The disease has been detected in a number of wild birds in Northern Ireland this winter and in commercial flocks in both Great Britain and in the Republic of Ireland.

[jmak]

My requirement to be on site is being reviewed on Friday. I've been busy for the last few days, but most of that was setting up things, resetting passwords and sorting out Chromebooks to loan out, so that should hopefully tail off now.

It'll be worth bearing in mind that time exposed to danger is relevant, not just how many people you've been near/places you've been to. Therefore if you have a couple of things that you need to be on site for, but the rest can be done from home, it would make sense to leave the building as soon as you can.

[smurfomatic]

It'll be worth bearing in mind that time exposed to danger is relevant, not just how many people you've been near/places you've been to. Therefore if you have a couple of things that you need to be on site for, but the rest can be done from home, it would make sense to leave the building as soon as you can.

 

Certainly once I'm allowed to work from home, I will only be on site for the time required to fix that particular issue.

[LeMarchand]

So, the "school closure" seems pretty much only a bit of one, especially as this is being widely trumpeted.

 

Government guidance updated in September includes “pupils who may have difficulty engaging with remote education at home (for example due to a lack of devices or quiet space to study)” as an example group of those who may be classed as vulnerable by educational providers or local authorities.

 

I have also heard of a council that is considering giving keyworker status to anyone who is finding working from home with their kids not going to school too much like hard work.

[6Foot2]

Link:

[Matt Cartoons Picture Tweet]

 

'13m jabs by mid-Feb'

 

[mikeprice]

Past my old school again this morning - car park still full - loos like all the staff are in again

[6Foot2]

[LeMarchand]

loos like all the staff are in again

 

George Michael would've loved to visit your old school!

[elsiegee40]

 

Political posts have been removed.

[witch]

I have also heard of a council that is considering giving keyworker status to anyone who is finding working from home with their kids not going to school too much like hard work.

 

That's a bit harsh. I have a friend who is working from home and her employer, whilst sympathetic, needs his work done in order to keep the company going. She has two children of 8 and 10 who need to do their remote learning but who struggle without someone there to help them

 

You tell me, what is she supposed to do to keep her job and help her children with their education?

 

I will tell you what she is doing. She is getting up at 3 am to do 4 hours work before her children wake up. She is trying to get the bits of work where she needs to talk to others done during the day when the children are quiet and or busy

 

She then goes back to work at 9 to do another 3 hours or so

 

Do you think she is working hard? Is it sustainable?

[Ditto]

Video link: Boris Johnson holds Covid press briefing

What on earth happened shortly after 46:10 until 47:36?! Did this happen in the live broadcast?

Edited January 7, 2021 by Ditto

[Primus]

That's a bit harsh. I have a friend who is working from home and her employer, whilst sympathetic, needs his work done in order to keep the company going. She has two children of 8 and 10 who need to do their remote learning but who struggle without someone there to help them

 

You tell me, what is she supposed to do to keep her job and help her children with their education?

 

I will tell you what she is doing. She is getting up at 3 am to do 4 hours work before her children wake up. She is trying to get the bits of work where she needs to talk to others done during the day when the children are quiet and or busy

 

She then goes back to work at 9 to do another 3 hours or so

 

Do you think she is working hard? Is it sustainable?

 

Sustainable? No? Sounds an awful situation, however we have to keep the number of students in school to an absolute minimum if we're going to get on top of this disease. Critical workers clearly have to be able to work, others sadly, like many, are having to take a hit or have awful working hours etc like your friend.

 

It's awful but sadly it is what it is - if we don't get on top of this serious numbers of people will die.

[LeMarchand]

That's a bit harsh. I have a friend who is working from home and her employer, whilst sympathetic, needs his work done in order to keep the company going. She has two children of 8 and 10 who need to do their remote learning but who struggle without someone there to help them

 

You tell me, what is she supposed to do to keep her job and help her children with their education?

 

I will tell you what she is doing. She is getting up at 3 am to do 4 hours work before her children wake up. She is trying to get the bits of work where she needs to talk to others done during the day when the children are quiet and or busy

 

She then goes back to work at 9 to do another 3 hours or so

 

Do you think she is working hard? Is it sustainable?

 

 

Apologies if I've offended you our your friend, but bringing up kids is hard - one of the many reasons that it's never interested me - but it is a choice (with a few exceptions). Whilst no-one could have predicted the current circumstances, there's always there possibility that your child will be born with something that means you will have to give up your old life to care for them or something might happen later in their lives to totally change what you imagined your future would be.

 

From your description it doesn't sound as if your friend works for a council anyway, so her employer wouldn't be able to try to use the exemption (which should only be applied to certain staff anyway).

 

Local and national government

 

This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of:

 

• the coronavirus (COVID-19) response, and the delivery of and response to EU transition
  
• essential public services, such as the payment of benefits and the certification or checking of goods for import and export (including animal products, animals, plants and food), including in government agencies and arms length bodies
  

 

So councils offering such letters to any staff who request it are both breaking the rules as well as potentially helping the spread of the virus.

 

At the moment, everyone who is working on site in education (and many of those on wfh) are working incredibly hard and at an unsustainable rate. Those with children will have to go home and deal with their own children.

 

Anyway, we're all feeling the strain apart from those lucky people who moan about how boring it is at home. I know I feel like shoving a broken laptop up the backside of the next person who expects a working "spare".

 

Members of Edugeek: if I'm not online tomorrow, please think of me on my lily pad.

[elsiegee40]

US Pharmacist accused of spoiling COVID-19 vaccine believed it would change people's DNA, officials say https://www.abc15.com/news/national/coronavirus/pharmacist-accused-of-spoiling-covid-19-vaccine-believed-it-would-change-peoples-dna-officials-say

 

OZAUKEE COUNTY, Wis. — The pharmacist accused of intentionally spoiling nearly 600 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic made his initial appearance in a Wisconsin court Monday.

 

Steven Brandenburg is the pharmacist accused of intentionally spoiling vials of vaccine at the Grafton Aurora Medical Center on Dec. 24.

 

According to a probable cause statement, Brandenburg removed the box containing the vaccine from a refrigerator and let it out for 12 hours, rendering it useless.

 

Brandenburg told investigators that he believed the vaccine was not safe for people and would "harm them and change their DNA," the probable cause said.

 

Brandenburg, according to the Grafton Police Department, is an "admitted conspiracy theorist."

 

Brandenburg was arrested on Dec. 31 on charges of first degree recklessly endangering safety, adulterating a prescription drug, and criminal damage to property.

 

Officials say 57 people did receive the vaccine after it was left out, but they do not believe those people are in any danger.

[Norphy]

 

A GP said that some of his patients have turned down the Pfizer vaccine, in order to ‘wait for the English one’

 

Words fail me.

[gmonks]

All our staff are in every day.

 

We have more kids in than the first lockdown.

[PlantHead]

Hospital admissions due to flu compared to Covid

https://twitter.com/jburnmurdoch/status/1347200811303055364?s=20

Ouch, that is quite sobering.

Edited January 8, 2021 by PlantHead

[elsiegee40]

 

A GP said that some of his patients have turned down the Pfizer vaccine, in order to ‘wait for the English one’

 

Words fail me.

 

Mr gee40’s elderly uncle said that to him when he phoned him at the weekend. Mr gee40 managed to peel his jaw off the floor and tried to persuade him otherwise

[witch]

@LeMarchand

You are right, she doesn't work for a council. However, what if she did? Maybe dealing with homeless, mental health or accommodation? Surely she would be a candidate for a council labelling her a key worker although currently she wouldn't be? I know this because I do know someone who does work for the local council, and she is desperate to get help with her children as her job is pretty important.

 

Yes I really do know all these people! I've lived here for 30 years, I have three children who have done lots of activities over the years and my son now works for the local council!

[jmak]

Hospital admissions due to flu compared to Covid

https://twitter.com/jburnmurdoch/status/1347200811303055364?s=20

Ouch, that is quite sobering.

That link is worth clicking [emoji106]

 

Personal anecdotes: we currently have a friend who is Covid positive monitoring their oxygen sats at home. They've been ranging between 90% to 93%, mostly around 91%. They've been told not to go to hospital unless it drops below 90%, because the hospital is essentially full. The guidance is that Covid patients should be given oxygen when sats drop below 93%. That's Bedfordshire, not London or a known hotspot.

 

Another couple we know (friends we socialise with, not just people we've heard of) both had confirmed second infections of Covid. Sufficiently unusual that Public Health England sent a courier to collect blood samples and neither were seriously unwell, but a reminder that even if you've had it, you still need to be careful.

[Davit2005]

What on earth happened shortly after 46:10 until 47:36?! Did this happen in the live broadcast?

 

Yeah was it the Telegraph changing tp something about US Unity,

 

I missed the end of the briefing while I thought WTF and then found the official number 10 live stream.