Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[scottsdad]

Still the focus is on so-called "cases". This disease has bean near-eliminated as a threat to life and serious illness in Scotland. But because of increased levels of infections in some areas (amongst younger people who are really very unlikely to suffer badly or die) people's jobs and businesses remain at risk of extended lockdown. It is a joke. 

As for Devi etc. talking about a vacine-dodging variant, they're like the Daily Express doing their annual warning that winter will be the really bad with blizzards and icy blasts, deep snow and sub-zero temperatures. They're right every 7 or 8 years and can then point back and say "Told you so!". Those on Twitter saying talking up a mega-mutant that evades vaccines are doing so in case this actually happens. Then they'll be able to pull off the same thing and smother you in smugness. And if they're wrong? Who cares - the threat is perpetual.

[The Naitch]

Is Nicola doing her best Boris impression here or was it never actually confirmed as being at 2.15?

There was never any announcement of a 2.15 briefing so no idea where it was picked up from.

3 (three) in ICU surely means no delays to Glasgow or Moray moving to Level 2 anyway…

[super_carson]

8 minutes ago, GiGi said:

The NHS is clearly coping absolutely fine with the pandemic at this point in time so I'm not really seeing the fuss about these small increases in case numbers. This was inevitable as the country returns to a semblance of normal life yet for all the new cases these are clearly not spiking deaths or serious illness. 

That should actually be very good news. Yes the virus is still prevalent but not causing serious harm. 

 

Absolutely this.  I thought the more pragmatic scientists and officials were saying that elimination/zero-covid was, realistically, impossible? Shitting it over cases is contradictory to this.  

In order for us to learn to live with this thing we need to be firing vaccinations into just about every fucker we can, round the clock if need be, and stop shitting it at the slightest rise in infections.  The vaccinations now clearly are preventing hospitalisations and deaths and a vaccine evading variant remains a hypothetical.  They are the only real mitigation that should be required come the middle/end of summer.  

Edited May 14, 2021 by super_carson

[Left Back]

6 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

Something I havent really seen mentioned, but I think its worthy of discussion... Given the situation now compares to last summer, and with the actual number of cases which are being conveniently presented as HUGE PERCENTAGE RISES!!!!! Being in many cases, single figures.... How the f**k is test and protect not fully able and fully trusted to be able to head these outbreaks off? Especially given the head start that any outbreak is rapidly going to run into more vaccinated peope than not, people can and are testing at gome twice a week and we have more LFTs to act as a surge capacity than a horse can shite.

We all know T&P is/was a shambles but why is this not being raised? Its literally there to tackle outbreaks from low numbers as society reopens and theres not been a fucking peep about it. Minter.

Testing and tracing has made no difference to the course of the pandemic.

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/127/public-accounts-committee/news/150988/unimaginable-cost-of-test-trace-failed-to-deliver-central-promise-of-averting-another-lockdown/

[Ron Aldo]

I've went a bit heads gone this afternoon, I'll admit, but surely it was inevitable that as restrictions were lifted case numbers would increase?

There's generally been a gap of a couple of weeks between restrictions easing and numbers increasing so I'd suggest we're probably at the point now where you'd expect to see a rise in case numbers. Why is no one coming out and simply saying that this was inevitable and is really not unexpected or anything to worry about? Instead we're being led to believe its the result of yet another "variant".

[eez-eh]

It’s absolutely crazy that cases are still being used as the main figure of interest when deciding restrictions, rather than whether or not people are getting seriously ill. Absolutely batshit crazy.

[Bairnardo]

2 minutes ago, Left Back said:

Testing and tracing has made no difference to the course of the pandemic.

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/127/public-accounts-committee/news/150988/unimaginable-cost-of-test-trace-failed-to-deliver-central-promise-of-averting-another-lockdown/

But I mean... Do they expect us to just forget that we are paying for it and that it was formed as part of a virus mitigation strategy?

Wasnt there an article posted here where they were taking credit for preventing 100ks of infections? 

Why are we to believe that targeting pubs and hughing is more effexrive than something we are spending billions on?

 

[Left Back]

1 minute ago, Bairnardo said:

But I mean... Do they expect us to just forget that we are paying for it and that it was formed as part of a virus mitigation strategy?

Wasnt there an article posted here where they were taking credit for preventing 100ks of infections? 

Why are we to believe that targeting pubs and hughing is more effexrive than something we are spending billions on?

 

That was specifically about the app alerting people to isolate I think.  Something like £40m to develop out of the budgeted £37bn

[TheScarf]

3 minutes ago, eez-eh said:

It’s absolutely crazy that cases are still being used as the main figure of interest when deciding restrictions, rather than whether or not people are getting seriously ill. Absolutely batshit crazy.

99% of cases don't require any sort of treatment but the SG and media would have you believe everyone needs admitted to a fucking ICU.

[Marshmallo]

Surely she's not tweeting this out and then giving the country bad news

 

[GiGi]

Case numbers going up but hospitalisation going down or at least staying put tells the story really. 

If people were becoming very ill at a notably higher rate linked to the increase in cases then fair enough, but if that's not happening then case numbers become a less relevant statistic to focus on, at least in isolation. Link number of hospital beds taken to case numbers and if they keep going on the current trajectory then there shouldn't be any need to slow down easing restrictions. 

[Bairnardo]

That was specifically about the app alerting people to isolate I think.  Something like £40m to develop out of the budgeted £37bn

So we have a contact tracing budget remaining of 36.96 billion which has gotten us less than telling folk not to hug strangers and prohibiting a pint with your curry?

[Have some faith in Magic]

2 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

99% of cases don't require any sort of treatment but the SG and media would have you believe everyone needs admitted to a fucking ICU.

Remember this about the vaccine risk v reward and potential ICU admission at younger ages. It doesn't suit the purpose anymore so will no doubt be ignored. 

[Left Back]

1 minute ago, Bairnardo said:

7 minutes ago, Left Back said:

That was specifically about the app alerting people to isolate I think.  Something like £40m to develop out of the budgeted £37bn

So we have a contact tracing budget remaining of 36.96 billion which has gotten us less than telling folk not to hug strangers and prohibiting a pint with your curry?

That’s how the PAC seem to view it although the whole £37bn hasn’t been spent yet.  This years budget was £15bn so you’d imagine there is still a good chunk of that left.

[Bairnardo]

That’s how the PAC seem to view it although the whole £37bn hasn’t been spent yet.  This years budget was £15bn so you’d imagine there is still a good chunk of that left.

Aye, regardless of spend v future spend, I dont think it should be forgotten during the current furore where people are being gaslighted into believing that more cases must equal further use of emergency powers to restrict our lives.

The first step of moving away from restrictions is surely to increase awareness of more* passive measures to keep the public informed and help them make decisions that they are confortable with.

*Ultimately, being contact traced and told to isolated if for example you are double dosed is obviously shite and needs binned too, but the idea that the choice is "cases increase, must react by locking down" is shite, and no one is holding them to account re what other measures are more approprite based on where we are

[Billy Jean King]

Something I havent really seen mentioned, but I think its worthy of discussion... Given the situation now compares to last summer, and with the actual number of cases which are being conveniently presented as HUGE PERCENTAGE RISES!!!!! Being in many cases, single figures.... How the f**k is test and protect not fully able and fully trusted to be able to head these outbreaks off? Especially given the head start that any outbreak is rapidly going to run into more vaccinated peope than not, people can and are testing at gome twice a week and we have more LFTs to act as a surge capacity than a horse can shite.

We all know T&P is/was a shambles but why is this not being raised? Its literally there to tackle outbreaks from low numbers as society reopens and theres not been a fucking peep about it. Minter.

Is anyone actually isolating if they are contacted, think that's probably the main issue. Quite a few family and friends are thoroughly fed up with isolating via schools and that is still probably one of the main drivers.

[Bairnardo]

Is anyone actually isolating if they are contacted, think that's probably the main issue. Quite a few family and friends are thoroughly fed up with isolating via schools and that is still probably one of the main drivers.

I dont know. Because any and all talk of contact tracing etc seems to have fallen off the face of the earth aside from the odd mention of the app.

Tracing the actual contacts of positive cases, and establishing if they themselves are positive, again perhaps using the fucking Everest sized mountain of LFTs we have paid for, rather than telling them to shut themselves in for 10 days does still seem like something that should be within the capabilities of the system though.

You might call that targeted testing or something I suppose.

[superbigal]

You think anyone who returned from India, and who mysteriously managed to get back into Scotland without a fortnight in a travel lodge, will tell their story to Track and Trace.

[Aladdin]

1 minute ago, Bairnardo said:

I dont know. Because any and all talk of contact tracing etc seems to have fallen off the face of the earth aside from the odd mention of the app.

Tracing the actual contacts of positive cases, and establishing if they themselves are positive, again perhaps using the fucking Everest sized mountain of LFTs we have paid for, rather than telling them to shut themselves in for 10 days does still seem like something that should be within the capabilities of the system though.

You might call that targeted testing or something I suppose.

Its a really good point but the depressing answer is that our systems, across the UK, dont fucking work.  Nothing has worked during the pandemic apart from lockdowns and vaccines.

[Bairnardo]

You think anyone who returned from India, and who mysteriously managed to get back into Scotland without a fortnight in a travel lodge, will tell their story to Track and Trace.

Its a really good point but the depressing answer is that our systems, across the UK, dont fucking work.  Nothing has worked during the pandemic apart from lockdowns and vaccines.

Both fair points, but little consolation to people who are currently waiting on an announcment today (Friday) about whether their livelihood will become viable on Monday, for the first time in 2021, or in many cases, since autumn last year.

Someonwle should be answering for the repeated use and threat to use the nuclear option, over a year into this situation.