Coronavirus: General discussion (see opening post for rules)

[Ditto]

Well, non-politically of course, I guess they made the right decision albeit somewhat late! You do have to wonder if an advisor thought it would be OK with the original announcement - if so, I suspect their skills would be better employed elsewhere!

[jthompson]

Well, non-politically of course, I guess they made the right decision albeit somewhat late! You do have to wonder if an advisor thought it would be OK with the original announcement - if so, I suspect their skills would be better employed elsewhere!

Presumably the same people who'd been tasked with lining up some celebratory freedom day photo-ops for Boris tomorrow, which will all now have to be cancelled.

[Ditto]

My primary governance school was attributing it's no-cases and or bubble closures to date to rigorously following guidance throughout, but I never thought it was that simple. Whilst I'm confident all the steps taken were as good as they could, this Delta variant is so transmittable, it has changed the landscape as we can all see in daily figures. Over the weekend, 3 year classes closed. That's 20% off school in one fell swoop. I really feel for the pupils and staff, especially the transitioning Yr6. This isn't they way they would want the final few days of term to end. I'm so much hoping from next September wave 3 will be over and we can all make a big step nearer to what we regard as normality.

[6Foot2]

Link: Australia to deport Britain's Katie Hopkins after quarantine breach | Reuters

 

...she stoked public outrage when she posted a video on Instagram joking about answering the door naked and maskless to people delivering meals while she was in hotel quarantine...

 

Just as restrictions ease, that "British common sense" comes to the fore again with this "helpful" contribution from one of the least helpful contributors on the matter, or any matter for that matter!

[Slarty66]

Link: Australia to deport Britain's Katie Hopkins after quarantine breach | Reuters

 

 

 

Just as restrictions ease, that "British common sense" comes to the fore again with this "helpful" contribution from one of the least helpful contributors on the matter, or any matter for that matter!

She will probably get signed up by GB news on her return .......

[mavhc]

My primary governance school was attributing it's no-cases and or bubble closures to date to rigorously following guidance throughout, but I never thought it was that simple. Whilst I'm confident all the steps taken were as good as they could, this Delta variant is so transmittable, it has changed the landscape as we can all see in daily figures. Over the weekend, 3 year classes closed. That's 20% off school in one fell swoop. I really feel for the pupils and staff, especially the transitioning Yr6. This isn't they way they would want the final few days of term to end. I'm so much hoping from next September wave 3 will be over and we can all make a big step nearer to what we regard as normality.

 

Now they can watch tv all day at home instead of at school.

 

"62% of adults aged 16 to 29 years (you know, the ones least likely to be vaccinated) want to travel abroad" I wonder if this is to give variants to other countries, or bring them back home? Need more TMA.

 

"95% of adults reporting they had now either received a vaccine or would be likely to have a vaccine if offered" so have they not been offered?

 

Currently 1 million vaccines every 4 days, less than half of what it used to be. Still missing 12% of adults for 1st dose (or 7% given 5% are refusing), and 32% for 2nd (or 27%). The gap between first and second dose has been dropping slightly, was stuck around 22% for 20 days, but now dropping 1% every 4 days

 

Vaccination left to give: 23 million, so 92 days at current rates for all adults. Still need to do 16-18 year olds asap, 18+ is only 80% of the population, can't stop the spread with that.

[BJG]

There's an all-day all-staff indoor meeting tomorrow, with people asked to take lateral flow tests beforehand. I wasn't comfortable with this on several levels, so I just told my line manager I didn't want to go and he said it was understandable. I don't know if I'm being paranoid or if they were stupid to call it at the moment, but it seems like poor timing to me, and people should be used to Teams meetings by now.

[LeMarchand]

I've been having a lot of emails warning of decreased support from various firms on certain days due to "Freedom" large in-person company get-togethers/shindigs. "Common sense" my bottom.

[mavhc]

Not paranoid when the graphs look like https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases

 

And 11% of new cases in the world are in UK, we're number 1!

 

 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table (for yesterday)

[Garacesh]

There's an all-day all-staff indoor meeting tomorrow, with people asked to take lateral flow tests beforehand. I wasn't comfortable with this on several levels, so I just told my line manager I didn't want to go and he said it was understandable. I don't know if I'm being paranoid or if they were stupid to call it at the moment, but it seems like poor timing to me, and people should be used to Teams meetings by now.

 

I mean if you're gonna be grouping folks up together indoors, it makes sense to ask them to test beforehand?

I'd be much happier with that than them not asking.

 

Thankfully we're still wearing masks here. This is the last week of term anyway so as much as the restrictions in our LA are removed, we're just going to carry on as we have been doing.

Though I suspect there will be significantly more resistance to mask-wearing from the pupils now.

I expect by the end of the week, most of them won't be bothering to wear one at all (as opposed to the wearing them under the chin they're doing at the moment....)

[Andrew_C]

or if they were stupid to call it at the moment,

In one. Just because someone with a political motive claims "it is all over, go back to licking each other" doesn't mean what he/she says. That is based on experience of previous pronouncements.

[Rob_D]

In one. Just because someone with a political motive claims "it is all over, go back to licking each other" doesn't mean what he/she says. That is based on experience of previous pronouncements.

Why shouldn't you be able to conduct a fairly safe indoor meeting in line with standard restrictions (2m apart, wear a mask, have an LFD test before hand, open all the doors and windows for good airflow)?

[Andrew_C]

Why shouldn't you be able to conduct a fairly safe indoor meeting in line with standard restrictions (2m apart, wear a mask, have an LFD test before hand, open all the doors and windows for good airflow)?

Because "that is all over now"?

[BJG]

Thanks for comments. Apparently a few people expressed reservations about it, so they've cancelled it.

[Ditto]

Thanks for comments. Apparently a few people expressed reservations about it, so they've cancelled it.

Seems sensible and good to hear they have reacted to staff concerns. With the current weather, you would have thought something outside would have been better received.

[Ditto]

Not paranoid when the graphs look like https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases

 

And 11% of new cases in the world are in UK, we're number 1!

 

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https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table (for yesterday)

Do the case numbers take in to account the level of testing in each country? Is this table a total or per 100,000 of population? Do UK death figures show us as number 1 also? On deaths, let me save everyone the trouble - UK was listed 35th, but it's an absolute figure and not per 100,000 and I expect there are significant differences in how the figures are compiled across the countries. I'll say it again, I am unsettled with the explosion of cases in the UK and what impact that will have on people's lives, but our profile is very different to the vast majority of the other countries in that dataset. Pulling out 1 statistic to show UK as the worst in the world is not good use of data.

 

For those interested, the interactive chart allows you to sort by per 1million of population, both for active cases and deaths, as well as 'serious/critical'. I'd recommend reviewing those if you want a fuller picture of the current state of affairs.

[Garacesh]

I'd be curious to see covid stats next to % of population tested daily. I do feel the stats are somewhat worth less (though not worthless) without it.

After all, if we suddenly, somehow, tested literally everybody in one day, stats would jump through the roof.

I tend to assume stats are ≈± across a reasonable period. Hopefully trending towards more tests but probably not.

[mavhc]

Total deaths: 7th

Deaths per capita: 20th, above USA, Mexico, Chile, Romania, Spain, France, Portugal. Below 11 countries with <10 million people that in total are smaller than uk

Active cases: 2nd

Actual population: 21st

 

Tests per person: 3.4

 

As we know we're doing terribly reducing restrictions is an even worse idea than countries that don't know.

[sigma]

I'd be curious to see covid stats next to % of population tested daily. I do feel the stats are somewhat worth less (though not worthless) without it.

After all, if we suddenly, somehow, tested literally everybody in one day, stats would jump through the roof.

I tend to assume stats are ≈± across a reasonable period. Hopefully trending towards more tests but probably not.

 

For another perspective, the ONS data is useful:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveypilot/16july2021

[mavhc]

1 in 30 people from 17-24 have it

1 in 50 secondary school children have it

[6Foot2]

[6Foot2]

Link 1: Israel on brink of lockdown after dropping facemask rules | News | The Times

 

Israel faces the prospect of another lockdown only a month after social distancing and mask rules were dropped, amid a fourth wave of Covid-19.

 

Government sources warned that if Israelis failed to voluntarily observe social distancing the country may have to go into lockdown during the Jewish festival of Rosh Hashana, in eight weeks’ time. Naftali Bennett, the prime minister, tried to sound more upbeat: “We can beat coronavirus in five weeks — it’s just up to us.” Contrasting his new government with that of his predecessor, Binyamin Netanyahu, he claimed “that for us, jailing people in their homes is a last resort”...

 

Full story sits behind The Times paywall.

 

Link 2: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations - Statistics and Research - Our World in Data

 

[mikeprice]

Went to Tesco before - I was wondering how many people would be wearing masks

 

Seemed like more than usual - but not as bad as I expected - the vast majority had a mask on

 

most of the ones with no mask were younger - 2 families with masked kids and woman but unmasked Dad - presumably 'cos he's 'ard

 

Barbers earlier - queue of 3 - I was the only one with a mask

[6Foot2]

Went to Tesco before - I was wondering how many people would be wearing masks

 

Seemed like more than usual - but not as bad as I expected - the vast majority had a mask on

 

most of the ones with no mask were younger - 2 families with masked kids and woman but unmasked Dad - presumably 'cos he's 'ard

 

Barbers earlier - queue of 3 - I was the only one with a mask

 

We went to our local Sainsbury's just up the road. It was a nice sunny day, so we walked. We both used our masks in store, as a lot of other customers did (as can be inferred, some did not)

 

However, I am not sure which was more worrying: The maskless, or "Typhoid Mary" Everywhere we went she was there. While she was wearing a mask, she was coughing so much and so hard, it crossed my mind that she might not last much longer.

 

When we got to the self-checkout tills, she was there too! We were able to pay and leave before she made her way to the exit.

 

[6Foot2]

Link: Covid: Arm band calls for those with weak immune systems - BBC News

 

 

A man with a weakened immune system is calling for recognised, wearable symbols that indicate the need to observe social distance around individuals with the condition.

 

Neil Collingwood, 64, from Leek, Staffordshire, said the ending of England's lockdown rules on 19 July was not good news for people less able to fight off Covid-19.

 

Even people with two vaccine jabs were not completely without risk, he said.

 

He has made a prototype arm band.

 

It "is bright orange and uses the universal symbol for first aid," Mr Collingwood explained.

 

He has it in mind for adults with weakened immune systems, or who are immuno-suppressed, and less able to battle infections naturally.

 

They include people receiving chemotherapy or radical radiotherapy for cancer, and those with serious immune disorders.

 

"There are about half a million people in the UK whose immune systems are not effective," he said.

 

Recent studies suggest they do not receive as much protection from Covid vaccines as other people.

 

Mr Collingwood, who has chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, a form of blood cancer, as well as type 1 diabetes, leaves the house only to exercise and occasionally take photographs as part of his work as a historian and author.

 

"I run eight to 10 miles a couple of times a week down a disused railway line, and after Monday, people are not going to want to give me any sort of social distance," he explained.

 

"I've already had people who have refused to get out of my way," he said, "with one person shouting 'grow up it's not going to kill you.'"

 

"Some of the people in my situation may be 10 or 12 years old, they will never - as things stand - be able to have normal lives," said Mr Collingwood.

 

"I probably don't have all that long left, but I'm damned if I want to sacrifice what time I have got left because of stupidity, and the fact we are not being considered as a very important vulnerable group."

 

He said of the armband plan: "If this became the accepted way of people identifying themselves, then that might make my life a lot better than it has been for the past 16 months."

 

Seems like it could be helpful.