Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[craigkillie]

3 minutes ago, Rob1885 said:

Just as a further to your last paragraph, it's absolutely insane that the SG were going to allow an Old Firm game take place in front of a full house despite just closing the schools

I think it was another week before the schools closed.

[scottsdad]

The number of positive tests in itself is a number best ignored. Calling them cases makes them sound potentially more serious than they are - you could have no symptoms at all, but test positive. Does that make you a "case"?

The real number worth looking at is the % of tests carried out that are positive. The number of tests carried out across the UK has risen a lot in the last few weeks so naturally a bigger net will catch more. I'm certain that in April last year there were many more infections than reported "cases". So like I said, don't sweat this little "uptick". The three metrics worth looking at are:

• % of tests resulting in a positive result (the WHO say below 5% for a fortnight means you have the virus under control)
• Hospitalisations
• Deaths (Not convinced by these numbers to be honest either).

All three are in a very rapid decline. Partly due to lockdown, but a big effect of vaccines breaking transmission chains. 

[Thereisalight..]

Two primary school in Ayr have closed due to covid outbreaks there. That will probably put Ayrshire back in the shitter but " schools above all"

[Left Back]

12 minutes ago, scottsdad said:

The number of positive tests in itself is a number best ignored. Calling them cases makes them sound potentially more serious than they are - you could have no symptoms at all, but test positive. Does that make you a "case"?

The real number worth looking at is the % of tests carried out that are positive. The number of tests carried out across the UK has risen a lot in the last few weeks so naturally a bigger net will catch more. I'm certain that in April last year there were many more infections than reported "cases". So like I said, don't sweat this little "uptick". The three metrics worth looking at are:

• % of tests resulting in a positive result (the WHO say below 5% for a fortnight means you have the virus under control)
• Hospitalisations
• Deaths (Not convinced by these numbers to be honest either).

All three are in a very rapid decline. Partly due to lockdown, but a big effect of vaccines breaking transmission chains. 

Tell that to the government. you're preaching to the converted here (mostly)

[Guest Bob Mahelp]

Any reason why every other UK country is decreasing the number of cases per 100k, yet Scotland is increasing ?

 

[Thereisalight..]

It seems for a year now we've panndered to the elderly/vunrable/kids whist for everyone outwith those categories its "fck you, suck it up and get on with it" 

[The Marly]

It seems for a year now we've panndered to the elderly/vunrable/kids whist for everyone outwith those categories its "fck you, suck it up and get on with it" 

Eh?

[The Moonster]

3 hours ago, Steven W said:

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

There's a good discussion with him at Oxford Union shortly after he left the Tories. I think the full thing is on Youtube, well worth a watch - he tells some great Boris buffoonery stories. I've got a lot of time for him.

[Todd_is_God]

With total deaths now into "negative excess" in England already I can see the debate over the pace of easing restrictions down there heating up.

[Bairnardo]

We need to get this obsessing with case numbers to f**k otherwise we can lock down for ever.
All that matters is nhs capacity, cases on ITU and deaths.  Things the vaccines are sorting and will continue to do.
Someone needs to tell the melts in Holyrood this pronto.
 

Look at this thread though. Some of the people who are correctly, IMO pushing the opinion that we need to unwind restrictions pretty quickly to complete normality, basing this entirely on ICU capacoty, not cases, are still grinding the school axe from months ago.

If you want normality and to ignore case numbers, schools need to be open, schools will have their share of cases, those cases should be largely ignored in the context of restrictions

[Todd_is_God]

Just now, Bairnardo said:

Look at this thread though. Some of the people who are correctly, IMO pushing the opinion that we need to unwind restrictions pretty quickly to complete normality, basing this entirely on ICU capacoty, not cases, are still grinding the school axe from months ago.

If you want normality and to ignore case numbers, schools need to be open, schools will have their share of cases, those cases should be largely ignored in the context of restrictions

You are spot on. But if the SG aren't willing to look beyond case numbers as the primary metric for deciding "levels" then we (and by "we" I mean people on this thread discussing this) can't ignore them.

Am I personally concerned by schoolkids testing positive for Covid? No. Am I concerned that the SG will panic about the total number of cases increasing and baulk at easing restrictions down the line? Yes.

As much as i'd love them to be, the SG's current position on cases makes seperating them impossible.

[Sergeant Wilson]

29 minutes ago, Thereisalight.. said:

It seems for a year now we've panndered to the elderly/vunrable/kids whist for everyone outwith those categories its "fck you, suck it up and get on with it" 

Aye, who do they think they are, the weak only hold us back. If we could get rid of them and a few others we'd be laughing

[Honest_Man#1]

1 minute ago, Todd_is_God said:

You are spot on. But if the SG aren't willing to look beyond case numbers as the primary metric for deciding "levels" then we (and by "we" I mean people on this thread discussing this) can't ignore them.

Am I personally concerned by schoolkids testing positive for Covid? No. Am I concerned that the SG will panic about the total number of cases increasing and baulk at easing restrictions down the line? Yes.

As much as i'd love them to be, the SG's current position on cases makes seperating them impossible.

Absolutely spot on. The reality is schools should be open as the fact they are infection factories shouldn’t have a major impact on hospital and death rates due to the progress of the vaccination programme, but as long as the government use case numbers as a metric for easing restrictions then schools being open will hold us all back.

[Bairnardo]

You are spot on. But if the SG aren't willing to look beyond case numbers as the primary metric for deciding "levels" then we (and by "we" I mean people on this thread discussing this) can't ignore them.
Am I personally concerned by schoolkids testing positive for Covid? No. Am I concerned that the SG will panic about the total number of cases increasing and baulk at easing restrictions down the line? Yes.
As much as i'd love them to be, the SG's current position on cases makes seperating them impossible.

You're right there. But schools are always going to come before the stuff we as adults really want. They will be first all over the world.

Scotgov will be forced away from the cases route. They cannot sustain differing restrictions from England. Folk just wont accept it.

[No_Problemo]

11 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

Look at this thread though. Some of the people who are correctly, IMO pushing the opinion that we need to unwind restrictions pretty quickly to complete normality, basing this entirely on ICU capacoty, not cases, are still grinding the school axe from months ago.

If you want normality and to ignore case numbers, schools need to be open, schools will have their share of cases, those cases should be largely ignored in the context of restrictions

Yeah - if the SG weren’t obsessing so much over case numbers I wouldn’t have any issue whatsoever with schools being open. 

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

28 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

There's a good discussion with him at Oxford Union shortly after he left the Tories. I think the full thing is on Youtube, well worth a watch - he tells some great Boris buffoonery stories. I've got a lot of time for him.

Im not saying there is such a thing as a ‘good’ tory. But what I believe prior to boris purging the brexit-sceptic branch of critics there existed two particular types of tory, 1) the evil b*****ds who use their position to enrich themselves and dont care about who is hurt as a result and 2) the probably misguided ones who think capitalist/conservative policies will actually make a difference to people (these tend to be the people born with money but perhaps not selfish b*****ds). 
I think Stewart falls into the latter, hes clearly not an evil b*****d but just has a funny take on things.

[Bairnardo]

3 minutes ago, Snafu said:

Jason Leitch saying the entire adult population will need a booster jag every year.

Ok so going by how long its taking to get through the adult population with this vaccination program will the booster program start in July or August every year?

Not complaining about the current speed, we are very lucky but has this future ambitious plan been thought out?

Can they not just stick to the first 9 groups?

Will there be enough numbers to make up vaccination teams every year to make this booster program work if all adults have to be done?

 

https://news.stv.tv/politics/leitch-adults-will-need-covid-booster-jab-every-winter?top

Leitch: Adults will need Covid booster jab every winter

Jason Leitch said the entire adult population could be given a dose of the vaccine each winter.

That is an absolute nothing story. Full of could and depends on. 

Veey few people are suggesting a yearly dose for everyone. Even the drug companies arent yet suggesting this. 

 

Fair enough preparing for that eventuality but that headline is totally misleading

[Michael W]

Looks like Tommy could have saved us all. Shame he failed Foondy maths. 

[Left Back]

3 minutes ago, Tynierose said:

I think the key word there is could.  He needs to shut his trap instead of spouting pish continually, u turning and trying to keep his profile high.

Melt.

To be fair to the moon unit the deputy chair of JCVI was the first to mention it.  No real evidence of necessity but as a precautionary measure.

https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n664

Wonder what that will do to the covax programme if the west are using themselves as dartboards endlessly

[djchapsticks]

12 minutes ago, Michael W said:

Looks like Tommy could have saved us all. Shame he failed Foondy maths. 

Think the syphilis has finally taken it's toll and drove him mental.

Tommy's proposal would see every adult given £500 a year, not £500k. Unless he is proposing a £34 trillion pot of money. 

Edited March 11, 2021 by djchapsticks