Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[gav-ffc]

Quickest turnaround I’ve had for my routine test, done in the office at 11am Thursday and got the text back at 18:44 yesterday.

[renton]

3 minutes ago, Honest_Man#1 said:

Todd has covered why this is a ludicrous point in general, but additionally it has always pissed me off when things like this talk about how they can’t tell if the contacts causing the rise in cases are happening in the classroom or from people travelling in and socialising whilst there etc, as if the two things are completely separate and if it’s actually not happening in the classroom itself that it’s somehow magically nothing to do with schools. They aren’t, and all come under the umbrella of ‘potential for the virus to spread due to schools being open as they currently are’. If schools were moved to blended, the classroom mixing is one thing that’s hugely reduced, but travelling, socialising etc is also reduced, so it’s irrelevant really where the specific location of the spread is occurring.

I guess the point is if the classrooms are not intrinsically to blame for spread, then there is room to enforce other restrictions and guidelines. Masks on all students, all the time, staggered start, break and leave times, different guidelines on pickups and drop offs, subsidised buses with strict bubbles cohorst to and from schools.

All things that could be used to mitigate some risk.

Practically speaking though, none of that is likely to have a high enough compliance to change the risk profile, such that blended learning ends up being the only real solution anyway, yet it does provide some amount of political cover.

The point here is to find enough R everywhere else to keep the schools going, without over loading hospitals and stopping the oldies dying in droves again. Household mixing does drive cases, hospitality does drive cases, schools do drive cases, so its a question of finding the optimal mix of restrictions. It's not been unsuccessful but my concern is how tentative the progress is. I do think blended learning for the older cohorts over December at least is the way to go to add some margin to the R reduction.

[Billy Jean King]

A wee update on this as I keep my beady eye on events.
Inverness play at home today but will have no fans allowed despite being placed in Tier 1 nearly a fortnight ago. They have however been given approval for (from JRG?) 300 fans for their game v Raith in the league.
So still no progress in exceeding the 300 pilot event amount.
Lossiemouth have a friendly today had had said fans would be allowed before subsequently withdrawing that statement and giving no reason why.

Yip the clubs and the SFA are well behind the curve here, seems to be taking them an age to get prepared.

[superbigal]

Wonder what else can be thrown at them ?

 

An outbreak of legionella has been detected in the water supply at two student halls of residence at St Andrews University.

Students living at the £7,000-a-year St Salvator’s Hall and Gannochy House have been told to use bottled water and temporary shower facilities after the bacteria – which can cause the potentially deadly Legionnaires’ disease – was discovered during routine testing earlier this week.

Edited November 14, 2020 by superbigal

[Granny Danger]

There seems to be lots of criticism on here but few solutions.  Is a close down of all educational establishments to, say, mid January the answer?

[Billy Jean King]

Of course it is. If spending a couple of hours in a 'covid secure' venue having dinner and a few drinks is being blamed for the spread, to the extent they were forcibly closed, and now have restrictions on what they can sell along with reduced operating hours, it's ludicrous to suggest spending hours per day in classrooms which are not 'covid secure' is "unproven" and "difficult to establish."

Still not getting it.

Lunch Out / Pint = non essential
Education = essential

No one bar the SG (not even me) is saying school isn't fuelling transmission but it's been deemed a necessary risk worth taking. No idea why a clique on here are so determined to have the SG admit this, in my eyes admission makes little difference as it's the correct policy to pursue. To be honest I wish they would then you guys would be forced to show your real gripe (it really isn't the fact the SG won't admit it's a calculated risk as Todd yet again illustrates beautifully)

In reality school doesn't have that long to go. Courses will be wrapped come Easter and that is 3 x 5 week blocks away with 2 x 2 week breaks which will help.

I love how it keeps you guys frothing though yet you still keep trying to claim it's nothing to do with your inability to go eating and bevvying whilst constantly (like Todd again) making that comparison to blow your argument out the water.

Schools might well go blended at some stage and if they do we will see very little reduction from it.

[Sergeant Wilson]

4 minutes ago, Granny Danger said:

There seems to be lots of criticism on here but few solutions.  Is a close down of all educational establishments to, say, mid January the answer?

I would say so. Extended Christmas holiday from the beginning of December until the end of January. Make up the time later.

[DAFC.]

The world really is a scary place now. Majority of British people wouldn’t take a COVID vaccine once available, according to Sky data. The safest, most effective treatment in humanity’s battle against deadly viruses and yet we still get absolute morons spreading false information about them: that they cause autism being one of the big ones. Morons, every single one of them and this will only mean an extension of lockdown measures as well as more deaths. They moan about lockdown but won’t go with what will uplift it quicker. Absolute moon-howlers.

[Billy Jean King]

I would say so. Extended Christmas holiday from the beginning of December until the end of January. Make up the time later.

I wouldn't be against a policy like that to be honest, basically a "fire break" and enough time as you say to catch up before summer. The example I gave above had curriculum finished by Easter but this on reflection would be better with the year ending nearer the June norm.

[Distant Doonhamer]

The world really is a scary place now. Majority of British people wouldn’t take a COVID vaccine once available, according to Sky data. The safest, most effective treatment in humanity’s battle against deadly viruses and yet we still get absolute morons spreading false information about them: that they cause autism being one of the big ones. Morons, every single one of them and this will only mean an extension of lockdown measures as well as more deaths. They moan about lockdown but won’t go with what will uplift it quicker. Absolute moon-howlers.

The only reasonable assessment of that is that the “Sky Data” is utter shite. There will be many who won’t take the vaccine but they will be vastly outnumbered by those who will. It’s a non story.

[Honest_Man#1]

1 hour ago, Billy Jean King said:

Still not getting it.

Lunch Out / Pint = non essential
Education = essential

No one bar the SG (not even me) is saying school isn't fuelling transmission but it's been deemed a necessary risk worth taking. No idea why a clique on here are so determined to have the SG admit this, in my eyes admission makes little difference as it's the correct policy to pursue. To be honest I wish they would then you guys would be forced to show your real gripe (it really isn't the fact the SG won't admit it's a calculated risk as Todd yet again illustrates beautifully)

In reality school doesn't have that long to go. Courses will be wrapped come Easter and that is 3 x 5 week blocks away with 2 x 2 week breaks which will help.

I love how it keeps you guys frothing though yet you still keep trying to claim it's nothing to do with your inability to go eating and bevvying whilst constantly (like Todd again) making that comparison to blow your argument out the water.

Schools might well go blended at some stage and if they do we will see very little reduction from it.

You really are a smug c**t, with a complete lack of empathy for others. I could live without going to the pub for the next year, but I wonder if the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people who are employed in the hospitality industry feel the same. 

[Ron Aldo]

I would say so. Extended Christmas holiday from the beginning of December until the end of January. Make up the time later.

Wouldn't be the worst plan. If a vaccine is on the way and is expected to be rolled out in spring why not swap the Christmas holidays and summer holidays (so basically 6 weeks at Christmas then 2 weeks next summer)?

By the end of the 6 weeks we'll (hopefully) only be a few weeks away from a vaccine. A decison can be made at that point to either fire the schools back as normal or implement a blended model for a few weeks.

[Marshmallo]

Aye try telling the guy who owns a barbers that his business is "non essential" when he can't pay his bills next month 

[RiG]

Let's check in on how "No Lockdown" Sweden is getting on...

 

[The Stig]

44 minutes ago, Honest_Man#1 said:

You really are a smug c**t, with a complete lack of empathy for others. I could live without going to the pub for the next year, but I wonder if the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people who are employed in the hospitality industry feel the same. 

These millions are now entitled to furlough and the businesses are getting grants until the end of March when hopefully the vaccine is starting to take effect and the can open back up fully. 

[Scary Bear]

55 minutes ago, Honest_Man#1 said:

You really are a smug c**t, with a complete lack of empathy for others. I could live without going to the pub for the next year, but I wonder if the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people who are employed in the hospitality industry feel the same. 

Could always just keep everything open. That would show empathy with everyone.

[Todd_is_God]

2 hours ago, Billy Jean King said:

Still not getting it.

Lunch Out / Pint = non essential
Education = essential
 

Coffee and cake out isn't essential either, but is allowed.

Education is essential, but it's not essential that it takes place in a traditional classroom.

I'm not sure where you get the idea that i'm foaming at the mouth about not being able to go for a pint. I'm perfectly happy to, and capable of, drinking at home. At least there I can listen to music as well.

My main gripe is the utterly inconsistant, arbitrary application of restrictions, and subsequent refusal to consider that the path they are taking may be leading them away from their desired destination, rather than towards it.

Edited November 14, 2020 by Todd_is_God

[Steven W]

3 hours ago, Billy Jean King said:

5 hours ago, Steven W said:

A wee update on this as I keep my beady eye on events.
Inverness play at home today but will have no fans allowed despite being placed in Tier 1 nearly a fortnight ago. They have however been given approval for (from JRG?) 300 fans for their game v Raith in the league.
So still no progress in exceeding the 300 pilot event amount.
Lossiemouth have a friendly today had had said fans would be allowed before subsequently withdrawing that statement and giving no reason why.

Yip the clubs and the SFA are well behind the curve here, seems to be taking them an age to get prepared.

Heels are clearly being dragged. By who, and why I'm not quite sure?

[DeeTillEhDeh]

This is just getting embarrassing now. At least the rest of the gang have slithered off to hide since it’s become indisputably clear that it’s schools driving infection rates, but you can’t help make a further tit of yourself.

You still didn't quote me saying schools were safe.

Still waiting.

[Honest_Man#1]

3 minutes ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

You still didn't quote me saying schools were safe.

Still waiting.

I don’t recall saying that you said schools were safe. Happy for you to quote me if I did.