Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[DeeTillEhDeh]

3 minutes ago, Elixir said:

Yup. This is yet another socially constructed problem rather than a medical one - just like the ludicrous isolation rules for healthcare staff.

Another byproduct of this is the colossal plastic waste from testing (and masks), purely to indulge raging hypochondriacs. A farce.

Genuinely - what would you suggest the rules should be regards isolation for NHS staff?

[Jacksgranda]

57 minutes ago, NUMBER 7 said:

The SNP have gone on record as saying Indy Ref 2 is on the back burner until the pandemic is under control.

To that end yes they do wish strands of the pandemic to linger on, its in a warped way it is in their best interests, as they are currently and medium term in no position to hold and hope to win said referendum, should it be allowed in the first place.

Now the truth of omicron is out the bag they would be better to produce the real numbers that say

Folks going into hospital with Omicron Covid are about 20% of the declared number in hospital that also have tested positive for Covid. 

The NHS is not over run by case numbers, but has issues with staff shortages through folks having to isolate.

The number of Covid ventilations and deaths are reducing to minuscule numbers.

Sorry We fucked up and were over cautious, then hope folks have short memories, but I’d suspect this recent fiasco won’t be forgotten 

 

 

 

 

 

It won't be forgotten but I doubt there will be enough folk to make much of a difference at the ballot box

[Elixir]

4 minutes ago, Granny Danger said:

Most folk on here knows what is driving Covid policy in WM but they’re not going to admit it as it doesn’t suit their narrative.

Imagine thinking it's a bad thing that there is scrutiny (and pushback) against this when even Joe Public can question the data at hand, yet the 'opposition' gives the government a blank cheque to implement whatever they want. It's not even just Tory backbenchers that are sceptical - high ranking members of the cabinet (Sunak, Truss, Kwarteng) are. Even true Labour left-wingers like Corbyn, Long-Bailey and Lewis are opposed. Regardless, there is no narrative. I couldn't give a toss how restrictions are halted or appealed, so long as they are.

[Monkey Tennis]

40 minutes ago, Michael W said:

"Other countries do it" isn't a reason for us to follow blindly. If it is, I assume we can just introduce voter ID and routinely arm the police and that'll be just fine? I don't advicate these policies ans i doubt you'll see much soppprr from them in this thread either, but much of Europe does this, so we shouldn't be allowed to complain about it if it happens, right? It's an attempt at shutting down debate and/or criticism of the governing party and nothing else. Every single restriction taken should be justified.  

It shouldn't also need to be said that the UK isn't France, France isn't Portugal, Portugal isn't Germany and so on. They are all different and one size fits all approaches won't work. In France for example, there are more people in hospital than there are in the UK despite the UK running a significantly higher case load over the last few months. Only in the last couple of days has France overtaken in terms of daily numbers. Measures taken there are probably therefore unnecessary in Scotland, so blindly copying it is bad policy. 

I don't think anyone's advocating blindly following what others are doing (except those who want us to mimic Westminster of course).

These other countries are being cited as a response to the suggestion that the Scottish decisions are only being made due to our particular political circumstances.

[Elixir]

7 minutes ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

Genuinely - what would you suggest the rules should be regards isolation for NHS staff?

Stop mass testing, which evidently does nothing to prevent spread anyway. Healthcare workers with no or minimal symptoms should be free to work.

[UsedToGoToCentralPark]

Most folk on here knows what is driving Covid policy in WM but they’re not going to admit it as it doesn’t suit their narrative.

The ability to have a democratic debate where multiple points of view can be aired in public regardless of political persuasion?

[Monkey Tennis]

15 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

So then, just so we are clear, you think England should put further covid restrictions in place?

I don't think he's necessarily saying that at all.

[Bairnardo]

I don't think he's necessarily saying that at all.

Hes suggesting that the public story from Westminster, "The data does not support restrictions is a lie". I think to back that up, you have to be able to show that the data DOES support restrictions, but is being ignored and it follows on from there that the data would tell you which restrictions were required.

I dont think im being unreasonable there?

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

3 hours ago, Monkey Tennis said:

All absolutely true.  Much of it is commendable.

 

However, as far as I'm aware, the Scottish Government hasn't actually banned football for all time.

Thanks for that, i thought they had outlawed it. Well i mean they probably would if they could. 
But behind the flippancy in your comment my post was more to do with the value of football clubs to communities being overlooked by the snp fans and importance of clubs in breaking down stigmas in mental health. 

[GTee]

Clearly one isn't enough, so we are now in the midst of TWO pandemics in the North East now. 

[Dawson Park Boy]

Don’t think it will be needed but an interesting story in the FT saying that England are considering opening up Nightingale type or field hospitals in case they are required for Omicron patients which will keep them away from mainstream hospitals. A bit like the old ID or scarlet fever hospitals.

At last, some common sense is starting to percolate through.

[HeartsOfficialMoaner]

Sturgeon/SNP still losing members and losing votes but still they carry on. Why do they do it? What is more important than votes?

A death by a thousand self inflicted cuts. 

[DeeTillEhDeh]

9 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

Hes suggesting that the public story from Westminster, "The data does not support restrictions is a lie". I think to back that up, you have to be able to show that the data DOES support restrictions, but is being ignored and it follows on from there that the data would tell you which restrictions were required.

I dont think im being unreasonable there?

They are not mutually exclusive arguments - you can use the data but still have political considerations.

And that's not exclusively a Westminster thing either - I've no doubt that a lot of what the Scottish and Welsh Executives are doing has political considerations as well as @Todd_is_God has alluded to on several occasion.

Edited December 30, 2021 by DeeTillEhDeh

[HeartsOfficialMoaner]

39 minutes ago, virginton said:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/30/lateral-flow-tests-to-be-constrained-over-next-two-weeks-warns-sajid-javid

Hopefully someone in authority will smack down the world's shittest dentist then, for shrieking at perfectly healthy people to get tested before ever leaving their house and massively squandering scarce public health resources in the process. 

Here's how a logical system should work:

1) If you are a household/close contact, you must take a negative LFT to release before the end of isolation. 

2) If you have generic cold-like symptoms, you should consider taking a LFT to check if it's the shan variant or not.

3) If you're perfectly well, you should take no LFTs at all and reserve them for cases of genuine need.

Chasing asymptomatic infection across the entire population is utter folly. 

I've had 3 jags already, LFT's can GTF. 

[DeeTillEhDeh]

Stop mass testing, which evidently does nothing to prevent spread anyway. Healthcare workers with no or minimal symptoms should be free to work.

I still think there is a role for testing - particularly in the Health and Care sectors - where staff are dealing with patients with serious underlying health issues.  I think there is also a personal choice regards testing for those with responsibilities - those with perhaps elderly relatives or relatives with underlying health conditions.
 
Where I think testing is a waste of time is in sectors such as Education - the pantomime of some pupils and some staff taking LFTs twice weekly hasn't made schools any safer.
 
In terms of NHS staff I think there does need changes made to self-isolation - there needs to be a better mechanism to get staff back to work if they have tested positive but are no longer infectious. 

[Bairnardo]

They are not mutually exclusive arguments - you can use the data but still have political considerations.
And that's not exclusively a Westminster thing either - I've no doubt that a lot of what the Scottish and Welsh Executives are doing has political considerations as well as [mention=2588]Todd_is_God[/mention] has alluded to on several occasion.

Well yeah.... But the default position for any democratic society is not to have these types of restrictions on peoples lives. So its more incumbent on those applying them to justify them than those not applying to justify not applying them.

Folk who assert that Westminster are lying can prove this by sinply showing us that the data shows a need for restrictions.

[Thereisalight..]

I know there is a few medical people on this thread so thought I’d ask here instead of the futility of getting a doctor. Last night for the second time since Aug, I took a turn. Ears started to ring so loud, I got really warm, struggled to breath, felt so lightheaded that I lay on the floor so I wouldn’t faint. Thankfully it passed after about 10 mins, but I don’t feel my heart rate is 100% today. Any ideas? 

[Abdul_Latif]

1 minute ago, GTee said:

Clearly one isn't enough, so we are now in the midst of TWO pandemics in the North East now. 

As I’ve said before, anything said by Jillian Evans should be chucked in the bin immediately. So risk averse and terrified, I don’t know how she leaves the house.

[Jacksgranda]

3 minutes ago, Thereisalight.. said:

I know there is a few medical people on this thread so thought I’d ask here instead of the futility of getting a doctor. Last night for the second time since Aug, I took a turn. Ears started to ring so loud, I got really warm, struggled to breath, felt so lightheaded that I lay on the floor so I wouldn’t faint. Thankfully it passed after about 10 mins, but I don’t feel my heart rate is 100% today. Any ideas? 

FFS get in touch with a doctor

[Steven W]

Anyone else catch some Scottish pro-restriction rocket on Jeremy Vine.

Totally uneducated, yet able to speak to a massive audience and spout absolute rubbish as if it were fact. "The league cup final caused the Omicron explosion in Scotland" a particular favourite.