Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[coprolite]

9 minutes ago, Distant Doonhamer said:

For some but not all I suspect the attendance at the building is to be seen to be there.

Matthew 6:5

And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets

[Distant Doonhamer]

If you look there are plenty of things to be concerned about still. The rates of infection in Czech Republic, concerns over numbers in Germany, worries re critical care capacity in Paris. That said vaccination continues to look like the absolute game changer and in the U.K. we are seeing substantial and sustained benefits of that. I understand the caution of those in power but for every note of positivity there seems to be a tidal wave of angst. A bit of reasoned positivity would help a whole lot of people now.

[Steven W]

7 minutes ago, Michael W said:

We are now at the 1 year mark of our experts getting it badly wrong. 

Despite his 'being a Tory', Rory Stewart always struck me as something a good egg.

[Michael W]

10 minutes ago, Left Back said:

Isn't in exactly a year ago that the WHO declared this a pandemic?

It is indeed. 

Also a year since Liverpool played Atletico Madrid with a few thousand away fans travelling from one of Europe's epicentres.

[Gaz]

1 minute ago, Michael W said:

It is indeed. 

Also a year since Liverpool played Atletico Madrid with a few thousand away fans travelling from one of Europe's epicentres.

Incredibly a week later we had 250,000 folk heading to a gambling festival.

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

It's also a year to the day since this genius tested positive for COVID.

 

 

[mizfit]

Well colour me shocked.

[PWL]

32 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

To the surprise of absolutely no one, they have gone back up after opening schools.

Over the last 7 days, 0-14 year olds are the third highest group for new infections. So much so that 4% of all cases in that age group have occured in that time frame.

If they are going to worry about infection numbers for the levels system then schools, clearly, need to be treated the same as every other indoor space until we have vaccinated our adult population, however much this annoys parents.

 

4% of the total in a week when it's only a very limited numbers that are back really jumps out. Especially when schools were open for such a considerable period for autumn to Xmas. 

Does this add credence to fact that virus more transferable than before? Or have kids given up with social distancing etc? 

[scottsdad]

For me, the whole purpose of the restrictions for the past year has been to reduce hospitalisations and deaths. This is what we were told (Protect the NHS etc). Now that these are declining I do sense a shift of emphasis to positive tests (I refuse to call them "cases"). But surely if vaccines and other treatments cut down hospitalisations and deaths, then infection rates don't matter as much. If this virus infects loads of people and makes them feel a bit off for a few days - so what?

We're not there yet - we need more vaccines rolled out. But they are clearly having an effect. 

Lockdown restrictions are a very blunt tool that causes its own untold damage. As a parent I see it in my kids. As a uni lecturer I see it in the overwhelming majority of students. Lockdown is really hurting, and we should ease the restrictions as soon as we can. Again, that's not yet (our deaths and hospitalisations are still at October levels, and they need to be at July levels).

[madwullie]

2 minutes ago, PWL said:

4% of the total in a week when it's only a very limited numbers that are back really jumps out. Especially when schools were open for such a considerable period for autumn to Xmas. 

Does this add credence to fact that virus more transferable than before? Or have kids given up with social distancing etc? 

Can only speak for my kid's class at his school, but they seem to be being pretty strict. Bubbles in class, only really playing with a small group, divided into groups in the playground, and any time I've been up picking him up at 3, the teacher and assistants have all been masked. 

Doesn't really matter how careful they are I suppose, firing 20 kids together in a room is going to increase transmission no matter what

[Todd_is_God]

10 minutes ago, PWL said:

4% of the total in a week when it's only a very limited numbers that are back really jumps out. Especially when schools were open for such a considerable period for autumn to Xmas. 

Does this add credence to fact that virus more transferable than before? Or have kids given up with social distancing etc? 

I think all of those cases will be incredibly mild if there are symptoms at all, but it puts the myth that schools are 'safe' to bed.

If kids can transmit the virus, then they will spread it among classmates, who will take it home to their parents, who will take it to work etc.

Young people being infected is not (and never has been) a problem, but until we get through the entire JCVI 1-9 list, then squashing them into classrooms has the potential to cause issues in those groups further down the line.

I'll be furious if we have to put up with this shit even longer just because we wanted to give parents a wee break a couple of months earlier.

Edited March 11, 2021 by Todd_is_God

[realmadrid]

16 hours ago, Elixir said:

Great news if you live elsewhere in the UK. Doesn't seem like it will change anything north of the border in terms of civil liberties, however.

When was that tweet as the dates don't add up at all.

As its March now they would have us doing all those 30-39 and 18-29 in the same month.

Is it not more likely to be over 50's mid April then go one month on from then for each group.

 

 

[Marshmallo]

16 minutes ago, mizfit said:

 

 

Well colour me shocked.

 

Definitely a real thing that happened

[scottsdad]

9 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

I think all of those cases will be incredibly mild if there are symptoms at all, but it puts the myth that schools are 'safe' to bed.

If kids can transmit the virus, then they will spread it among classmates, who will take it home to their parents, who will take it to work etc.

Young people being infected is not (and never has been) a problem, but until we get through the entire JCVI 1-9 list, then squashing them into classrooms has the potential to cause issues in those groups further down the line.

I'll be furious if we have to put up with this shit even longer just because we wanted to give parents a wee break a couple of months earlier.

So what's the answer? Keep kids off school all year?  

Home schooling isn't helping kids. It was fine for a while but there are serious and significant side-effects to this. Lockdown is by its very nature unnatural. It was necessary to get the virus under control, but we have to send them back to school as soon as practicable. 

[Left Back]

3 minutes ago, realmadrid said:

When was that tweet as the dates don't add up at all.

As its March now they would have us doing all those 30-39 and 18-29 in the same month.

Is it not more likely to be over 50's mid April then go one month on from then for each group.

 

 

over 50 this month (March), 30's and 40's next month (April), over 18's May.   Seems fine to me.

[true_rover]

When was that tweet as the dates don't add up at all.
As its March now they would have us doing all those 30-39 and 18-29 in the same month.
Is it not more likely to be over 50's mid April then go one month on from then for each group.
 
 

It feels pretty realistic as a suggestion. If you kept at the UK rate for first doses from the last 7 days, you would get through every adult by 10th June.

[Hedgecutter]

Just got my blue envelope through the door despite being in my 30s with no health condition.   

Eta:  ah, it would seem that I do actually have a health condition based on some extremely wide sweeping criteria, which throws me into Group 6 ahead of the 60-65s.  Would certainly explain it, although I've had to reschedule for mid April anyway (by phone seeing as the website was f***ed, which probably surprises nobody).

Edited March 11, 2021 by Hedgecutter

[vikingTON]

3 minutes ago, scottsdad said:

So what's the answer? Keep kids off school all year?  

Home schooling isn't helping kids. It was fine for a while but there are serious and significant side-effects to this. Lockdown is by its very nature unnatural. It was necessary to get the virus under control, but we have to send them back to school as soon as practicable. 

Children could be sent to school in July and on Saturdays when the pandemic is under control, while much safer sectors of the economy are opened up first. 

[TheScarf]

1 minute ago, Hedgecutter said:

Just got my blue envelope through the door despite being in my 30s with no health condition.   

THAT MEANS YOUR DOG IS GETTING STOLEN TONITE BABE!!XX

[Todd_is_God]

4 minutes ago, scottsdad said:

So what's the answer? Keep kids off school all year?  

Home schooling isn't helping kids. It was fine for a while but there are serious and significant side-effects to this. Lockdown is by its very nature unnatural. It was necessary to get the virus under control, but we have to send them back to school as soon as practicable. 

Apply the same indoor restrictions across all indoor settings until we have vaccinated the groups required to bin them, yes.

None of this is ideal, but potentially prolonging it for everyone else so children can go into school certainly isn't the answer.