Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[deegee]

Way I have seen these past few weeks are that the variant was an ideal opportunity for Boris to deflect from all his current woes and internal squabbles, which Ironically have only got worse due to backbenchers pushing back from his new restrictions.

It was obvious, based on the past two years and party political agendas, that Drakeford and Sturgeon were going to go “DEFCON 1” and go further and deeper, just to oppose anything the Torys were doing. This has resulted in total heads gone everywhere, with no-one seemingly willing to read the room and listen to clear scientific and medical facts, that this strain is weaker in terms of serious illness and death. It’s this blinkered defiance that will either make or break all sides in this shitshow.

For whatever reason, there seems no dissent from other parties; possibly due to intertwined London based policies eg Starmer would also go deeper, just to point score versus Boris, presumably as he doesn’t have his own internal- party issues and troubles to seek. Hence Labour in Scotland tie the line. 
 

The most important post I read here today, sadly lost among the 30 pages that followed was by poster @Frank Grimes..

Since Omnicrom was detected in UK (Nov 27th)- 7 Omnicrom deaths, average age 83

Same timescale- 239 male suicides; 70% aged between 25-44 years old.

I would suggest the Governments ought to look at that sobering fact, the next time they get up on their soapbox.

[Thereisalight..]

1 hour ago, Meldrew said:

Mental Health is nothing but an overused buzzword and Tesco will always need shelf stackers

I've saw some posts on this thread lacking empathy, but this may top the lot. A hideous statement to make when so many people are struggling with no end to this in sight. You've had people having to see loved ones through a care home window, folk not being able to say goodbye to family/friends either at hospital or at funerals, people like me who lost my Dad the month before the first lockdown struggling to grieve properly, Operations cancelled, job loses etc etc. Yet you think mental health is a buzzword? All I can say is you should thank your lucky stars you've never had to suffer from the likes of depression and anxiety. Tosser

[Billy Jean King]

It ends with vaccines with multiple types of Covid in it like the flu vaccine.
Or a concerted effort to vaccine round the world rather than just the developed west.

Years then [emoji31]

[alta-pete]

12 minutes ago, Michael W said:

Wish Swinney would limit his public statements.

Think he does what she tells him to do tbf. Not his fault. 

[anotherchance]

9 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

We also had the rather odd dismissal of anything Sweden because "population density" which ignored the fact that Sweden, whilst quite big, has cities just like here, and most people tend to live in them.

It's absolutely confirmation bias. Anything which does not show the outcome you want it to must be discredited rather than considered.

Remember for these people it is always the data that must be wrong, never them.

Our esteemed leader headlined the Denmark data during last week’s lecture, downplayed the more positive data from SA. Then the Denmark data turned out to be more positive, so that got shredded, so now she’s sticking with the old favourite “we just don’t know!!!!” while ignoring everything that doesn’t fit.

Genuinely do prefer to give the benefit of the doubt when I can, but it’s shite, shite behaviour and I’m heartened to see it being called out en masse online from reasonable types - although would rather see it transfer into real life questioning on the real life data from SA and elsewhere.

[deegee]

Just now, alta-pete said:

Think he does what she tells him to do tbf. Not his fault. 

Sometimes it’s the small petty things that get on your nerves. I for no rational reason get mad with the way him and Sturgeon strut into Holyrood. The “piece to camera” always has him looking like a droopy- shouldered, glaikit henpecked type, walking a couple paces behind her and trying to keep up, both in masks and clutching folders across their bodies like church elders about to read a sermon from the pulpit.

No sense to it, but that scene on the news always infuriates me lol.

[Left Back]

First time I’ve seen this in the MSM.  Chief leader writer from the Observer on the press preview on Sky News calling out that the data is looking more positive than the doomsday scenario being portrayed.

ETA guy from the Telegraph saying similar.

Edited December 21, 2021 by Left Back

[101]

5 minutes ago, Billy Jean King said:

Years then

The Pfizer pill will help, Omicron will help in the long term although hope less developed health services can cope and Whitty was confident about a mixed vaccine being rolled out next winter.

Only thing worth keeping an eye on is countries entry requirements as countries are no doubt going to be asking for different stuff, was it Croatia that wanted travelers to have a dose or boaster within 6 months of arrival something like that anyway. But hopefully things calm down in the medium term!

[Todd_is_God]

1 hour ago, Elixir said:

Sturgeon and Drakeford are going to look like the tinpot clowns they are.

 

To circle back to this for a moment...

The most interesting part of this chart is not the likely peak of cases, but how hospital growth has stagnated.

If London hospitalisations not soaring really is the metric that will stop any additional restrictions coming in in England, it seems more likely than not that no restrictions will be needed.

Afterall, whilst you can hypothesise that cases peaked around the 15th because people may be less reluctant to get tested and miss Christmas, that simply does not apply to hospitalisation in England as you'd be tested.

That the 15th is 10 days before Christmas is a convenient coincidence for the "we just don't know" brigade.

[Thorongil]

Is Boris has played Sturgeon here I don’t think even Thomas Kinkade could paint Sturgeon in a positive light. 
What an idiot.

[Thorongil]

Has Meldrew been emptied? He’s a sad wee character.

[Hedgecutter]

2 minutes ago, Thorongil said:

Has Meldrew been emptied?

I can believe it.

[anotherchance]

1 minute ago, Thorongil said:

Is Boris has played Sturgeon here I don’t think even Thomas Kinkade could paint Sturgeon in a positive light. 
What an idiot.

It gives her the opportunity to play the victim, and it doesn’t need to be like that - she could call his bluff just as easily.

At the moment I’d even accept a change from cautious to balanced. It’s really the minimum we should expect from any leader in the post vaccine world.

[Todd_is_God]

12 minutes ago, Thorongil said:

Is Boris has played Sturgeon here I don’t think even Thomas Kinkade could paint Sturgeon in a positive light. 
What an idiot.

I'm still convinced* the late addition of "up to" was significant.

Bin Edinburgh Hogmanay and the Glasgow Derby off to avoid large scale gatherings, ban vertical drinking to avoid crowded pubs for the game, then lift the restrictions "early" to try look like the good guys.

Spoiler

Hopium copium

 

Edited December 21, 2021 by Todd_is_God

[8MileBU]

2 hours ago, Meldrew said:

Mental Health is nothing but an overused buzzword and Tesco will always need shelf stackers

Dickhead isn’t though. 

Gutter level trolling at its lowest. Do one and stop being a cretin.

[UsedToGoToCentralPark]

England reducing isolation from 10 days to 7 if you test negative 2 days in a row.

[Scampi on toast]

1 hour ago, sparky88 said:

The only thing I can think of is that the different demographics of SA and UK make it slightly more difficult to compare the two.

The whole situation is almost like a mirror image of the data from Italy in March 2020, when folk were saying 'italys population is really old that's why they have had so many deaths'. And that was used as excuse for inaction on lockdowns in UK and elsewhere.  

South Africa's demographics should ( I think ) lead to higher deaths.  Blacks ( coloured, whatever the PC term ) folk tend to be lower in vit D with a higher death rate.   There's also a far higher levels of HIV in SA.   Lets present the data as it is. 

* update the Aston Villa (not super John McGinn ) once again on my profile 3 times in 30 mins.   Mental stuff.   It's like Nicola Sturgeon on stilts. 

@bully wee villa can you explain your weird behaviour to the masses. 

Edited December 21, 2021 by Scampi on toast

[PedroMoutinho]

Looks like virtually all nightclubs are closing from Boxing Day as far as I can see. 

The SG have effectively closed them without saying it as they can’t have table service or 1 metre between groups.

There’s bound to be job losses as a result with no furlough as I can’t see them having bags of cash in the bank as it is after the last 2 years.

 

Edited December 21, 2021 by PedroMoutinho

[Rob1885]

[Todd_is_God]

1 minute ago, Rob1885 said:

 

Encapsulates perfectly the catastrophic nature of his baldness