Coronavirus: General discussion (see opening post for rules)

[Garacesh]

#Bettvid now starting to be used on twitter for those who caught Covid at BETT. One person reporting three pings so far from the NHS app for their attendance day

 

Yup, as expected. I considered it pretty much inevitable. There were bound to be people there who didn't know they had COVID.

I'm still not 100% sure I would have gone, had I not just recovered from it a few weeks ago. I think maybe I still would've, but I would've been a lot more diligent about distancing, masks, sanitising, etc

 

That being said, nobody bothered to ask me about vaccinations/covid pass/etc on the door. Quite a few others reported the same thing, there was no more red tape to get in than any other year.. Show your badge, scanner beep, in you go.

[LeMarchand]

The LAMP (spit) test I just handed in is the last one; trial is now over like the threat from Covid is supposed to be. 50% staff off with Covid at that school. Admittedly standards (and even bothering to take advantage of the free testing) have slipped since "Freedom Day".

[Andrew_C]

Don't you know? The epidemic is over; just live with it.

[HarryMonkey]

 

. .

[tmoon-mint]

I am now one of the only ones left still wearing masks in school. Does feel a bit isolating at times. Schools just seem to be going along as normal while staff absence goes through the roof. I have had a few comments made about my mask over the years but the most recent was "They're still making you wear those are they?!" to which I replied nope just a personal choice. The other ridiculous one was that I was somehow scaring the children by wearing one (this was very early on in the pandemic).

 

I have decided that I will revisit mask wearning in September depending on what the sitaution looks like then. If me wearing a mask prevents even one elderly or vulnerable person catching it that to me makes it completely worthwhile.

[E_G_R2]

Very few wearing masks now. We still wear them around school as we have relatives who are at risk.

 

Don't care what anyone thinks i'm looking after number one

[mavhc]

Daily deaths now lowest since Apr 2020, about 4000

[Koldov]

I don't wear a mask, but purely because I don't put myself at more than a very slight risk (in fact I have flatly refused on occasion), I mean I do have to walk down corridors, but I can almost do one end of the school to the other whilst holding my breath (it's a small school, I'm not a champion free diver or anything) but I try to time that whilst the children are in lessons. I don't go to meetings, go into classrooms or go into the hall whilst children are there, I do carry an alcohol wipe with me if I need to use handles (still use alcohol gel on my return - at least that's my excuse when people smell alcohol on me) and gloves when touching computers/laptops... Nobody is allowed in the office and those that try are ushered out with a smile and we'll go into the library where I can get some distance from them.

 

If children are scared of a mask, why don't you get one with a nice friendly smile on it...?

 

[tmoon-mint]

Very few wearing masks now. We still wear them around school as we have relatives who are at risk.

 

Don't care what anyone thinks i'm looking after number one

 

Me too. The level of guilt I felt when I caught it last year was far worse than the illness itself. I just could not cope with the thought that I might have passed it onto somebody who may then end up being seriously ill. I was asymptomatic at the time and only knew I had it because I did a lateral flow test.

 

Now the idea that people do not need to self isolate if they have it and can even continue bringing their children to school knowing they have it is making everything worse. Have I developed a phobia of it? Probably.

[Koldov]

Thing is I've always had a slightly (un)healthy dislike of children and their germs (why am I working in a school again?), so I haven't had to modify my behaviour that much!

 

[Ditto]

Daily deaths now lowest since Apr 2020, about 4000

 

All deaths I presume, not just covid related?

 

An image from https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYmUwNmFhMjYtNGZhYS00NDk2LWFlMTAtOTg0OGNhNmFiNGM0IiwidCI6ImVlNGUxNDk5LTRhMzUtNGIyZS1hZDQ3LTVmM2NmOWRlODY2NiIsImMiOjh9

 

This is England only, but gives a clear graphical insight in to excess deaths now, when compared to early in the pandemic.

 

I do feel focussing on deaths alone is not entirely helpful. Looking at current hospitalisation rates, and staff absence, those are having a serious impact and shows we are still a long way from what we regard as normality. It does make me question whether now is a reasonable point to cease free LFTs. I guess we will rely on ONS studies for case trends and monitor the hospital data for an insight to the current state of things.

[Andrew_C]

I guess we will rely on ONS studies for case trends

Zoe have had their funding pulled, I'd bet ONS get told "Shut up, we don't want to know, so we don't have to tell the public" very soon.

[elsiegee40]

Zoe have had their funding pulled, I'd bet ONS get told "Shut up, we don't want to know, so we don't have to tell the public" very soon.

 

Zoe is still continuing its research. They’re self funding for the time being.

 

They still gathering data from the participants… including me and my family

[Andrew_C]

And us too. But the pulling of the funding was political.

[mavhc]

All deaths I presume, not just covid related?

 

Covid related, but global

[mikeprice]

I am still wearing a mask in public indoor spaces

 

but I am more and more in a minority

 

although I have noticed that no-one seems to give me any funny looks or comments as some people have said on 'other forums' and in 'some newspapers'

 

or maybe I just ignore people and totally miss what they are thinking?

[hardtailstar]

I'm still wearing a mask around the school, shops and any indoor public space.

 

I've not had it at all and I don't want to catch it.

 

I'm pretty much the only person in school wearing a mask too.

[elsiegee40]

I feel the same as @hardtailstar.

 

So far (clutches wood) Mr gee40 and I have avoided it.

 

In the the last couple of months we have flown to France and enjoyed a break out there and attended multiple events in the UK at theatres, restaurants and galleries (mostly rearranged from 2020 and 2021) and, as our offspring put it, not entirely sure how we have done it.

 

At the London O2 Arena on Thursday night… admittedly only at about one third capacity… but there were a handful of mask wearers. I counted a dozen at most around us.

 

Hardly anyone seemed to be wearing masks in motorway service stations on the way to visit my mum today.

 

We are definitely the exception wearing masks and mainlining hand gel.

 

I have no desire to get ill. I have had full on flu a few years ago and that was bad enough. I shall continue with masks and hand gel and try to stave off actually catching covid as long as I can.

[Ditto]

I guess there is the possibility of having had it in the past asymptomatically? If mask wearing reduces exposure to viral load and reduces passing it on, the downsides are minimal. There were studies investigating regular low level exposure could help immunity, but I don't know if any conclusions were drawn.

[elsiegee40]

Possible, but less likely for me as I have been testing twice weekly at least for as long as I can remember.

[mikeprice]

I noticed a new list of possible symptons today

 

blocked nose, headache and diarrhoea

 

Great - start of the hayfever season so I normally have 2 out of those

 

did a test anyway and it was negative

 

but it seems like almost anything can be a symptom.

 

I suppose you just have to suppose you might have it if you have more than an unspecified number of them

[Andrew_C]

I noticed a new list of possible symptons today

 

blocked nose, headache and diarrhoea

 

Great - start of the hayfever season so I normally have 2 out of those

 

did a test anyway and it was negative

 

but it seems like almost anything can be a symptom.

 

I suppose you just have to suppose you might have it if you have more than an unspecified number of them

If you have been following the ZOE study, they have been trying for just shy of 2 years to get the Govt to accept that their list of symptoms was wrong.

[mikeprice]

Just listening to BBC news and there are 9 new symptons

 

advise seems to be that if you have some of the symptoms AND a temperature or fell so unwell as to be unable to go to work - then you should behave as if you have Covid and isolate

 

better than the articles I saw this morning

 

I wish the papers would report it properly and not just give edited highlights!!!

[BOOT]

Why do I have mandatory training in a cramped room with 400 other people during a global viral pandemic?

[hardtailstar]

Why do I have mandatory training in a cramped room with 400 other people during a global viral pandemic?

 

If its like our MAT who spent thousands on Google equipment during the pandemic for virtual meetings, now has decided to hold all meetings face to face and will invite people to attend but never tells the host school how many are turning up so on previous meetings there has been three people using our main hall and when they booked out a meeting room for another meeting on previous numbers we had 50 turn up!