Coronavirus

[Bibs]

I've always found their customer service to be very prompt and spot on with solving any issues. Just as well for the amount they take out of my account every month though, but very good service! 

[Kimbers]

"We are gearing up for another lockdown in January". Quote from Home Office insider.

I think I am reaching the point of "Fuck it I'm retiring and moving to Cyprus".

[andydclements]

3 hours ago, Kimbers said:

We are gearing up for another lockdown in January. Quote from Home Office insider - "I think I am reaching the point of Fuck it I'm retiring and moving to Cyprus".

Fixed that for you.😄

[red vtec]

3 hours ago, Kimbers said:

"We are gearing up for another lockdown in January". Quote from Home Office insider.

I think I am reaching the point of "Fuck it I'm retiring and moving to Cyprus".

Trouble is they wont give you access after 1st Jan as your non EU. 

[C8RKH]

3 hours ago, red vtec said:

Trouble is they wont give you access after 1st Jan as your non EU. 

I'd go to Israel instead, they party harder and longer than the Cypriots in my experience!  The wine's cheaper too  Who needs the EU.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Seems to be a lot of people already ignoring the new rules. My brother speaks of pub crawls in his town in Wales. Case numbers now at unprecedentedly high levels there. Here in Tier 2 Northamptonshire, our neighbours have got people round for Sunday dinner. They are not eligible for an exception to the no indoor mixing of households rule. Definitely a case of “why should I bother?”

Germany has announced a hard lockdown from 16 Dec to 10 Jan minimum, including closing non essential shops. Bars and restaurants are already closed. Can you imagine Boris announcing the same for us in the run-up to Christmas?

[thebartman]

How is it that I'm not allowed to get a beer in any of the (English) pubs I know, without a "proper" substantial meal. Not even at the golf club with no-one else in the "Bar" area.  Is eating the new vaccine?

How are the Welsh pubs getting away with this whilst the English hospitality sector is getting flayed alive?

Here's an link to a BMJ article regarding Tier system and their efficacy. 

BMJ article on lockdown/Tiers

Here's Havering's Director of Public Health on "Today" from last Friday.  Fast forward to 1:35:50 into the programme. R4 Today Programme, 27/11/20 - goto 1:35:50  

 

 

 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Well I would suggest that the evidence is that the Welsh pubs have been the cause of many outbreaks there, so I am not sure that getting away with it is the right term. If you have to eat a substantial meal in every pub, you’re probably not going to go on a pub crawl unless you’re Homer Simpson.

[Barrykearley]

I would suggest that should you look at the death rates in total in comparison to previous years - you may well find something very interesting.

 

it will show you the response to this virus to be completely out of kilter with the effects it is having 

[C8RKH]

A lot of my wives friends are "experienced" health professionals in their 50's - (GP,s Registrars - some recently retired early etc) and whilst we are following "the rules" she was quite pissed off when they all had a zoom get together at the weekend and it was obvious that they are flouting the lock down rules including moving between areas in different tiers.  I've noticed this before and it seems like "middle class professionals" seem to think they are somewhat more special than everyone else and so the rules don't apply to them. What makes this worse for me is that these fooking people (my wives friends) are bloody in the NHS - you the NHS who's people are complaining about how people are not following the rules and they are over worked etc. Unbelievable!

[Barrykearley]

What’s becoming more and more apparent to many educated folks @C8RKH is the utter bollocks that these rules are. Everyone can go to work, kids can go to school - but don’t expect to do anything freely that you enjoy cos that’s not allowed. All the while the lies about death rates are perpetuating.

[Barrykearley]

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/weeklyprovisionalfiguresondeathsregisteredinenglandandwales
 

have a look - you will see some spikes that’s not in doubt - and not any different to any other year that has a bad flu season. However the complete lockdown and screwing over of normal daily life is doing little or nothing other than killing the economy and having huge impacts on mental health.

frankly if you are fat, old and have underlying health conditions then stay at home and be cautious. Anyone else - should be able to carry about their business as they would anyway. What you are seeing in these “controls” is doing little or nothing to control a virus they have no ability to control and more about controlling and limiting people’s freedoms. I for one am starting to understand the Americans and their beliefs on not allowing gun controls.

[thebartman]

Now this isn't meant to be an antagonistic comment - but probably will be - and no offence intended ....   

but..

Why are we starting to vaccinate the least economically useful members of society first? (over 80s and care home residents) obvs NHS staff (sic)

Perhaps a multi-pronged approach, such as proper (revised current tiers?) care in care homes, and vaccinations for the 20-50/60 year old workers so the ecomonmy can get safely restarted, thereby generating income (tax revenue) for the government to buy more vccine from the pharmas? 

[Barrykearley]

Oooh @thebartman - is Logan’s run your favourite film 😂🙌

[thebartman]

2 hours ago, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

Well I would suggest that the evidence is that the Welsh pubs have been the cause of many outbreaks there, so I am not sure that getting away with it is the right term. If you have to eat a substantial meal in every pub, you’re probably not going to go on a pub crawl unless you’re Homer Simpson.

The point I was trying ( and clearly failed) to make was in England I can't get a pint because no pub will break the rules, but in Wales, they seem to be able to have pub crawls, even after a 2 week "circuit breaker" that appears to have had negligible effect

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

I was also thinking that. If we vaccinate an old person isolating at home, they are at very limited exposure to the virus, so what’s the point. If in a care home and staff are vaccinated, then also very little risk of catching the virus. I guess they just want to keep people alive, which is understandable really, but maybe not economically the most sensible use of the vaccine.

[SFO]

folks are breaking rules because of:

• lockdown fatigue
• social distancing fatigue
• irrational rules 
• reducing fear of death or serious illness as the effectiveness of propaganda wanes

3 minutes ago, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

I was also thinking that. If we vaccinate an old person isolating at home, they are at very limited exposure to the virus, so what’s the point. If in a care home and staff are vaccinated, then also very little risk of catching the virus. I guess they just want to keep people alive, which is understandable really, but maybe not economically the most sensible use of the vaccine.

idea is to keep pressure off NHS by reducing risk of illness of most vulnerable 

[Barrykearley]

4 minutes ago, SFO said:

idea is to keep pressure off NHS by reducing risk of illness of most vulnerable 

I’ve multiple friends who, work in the nhs. They will tell you there’s very real pressure currently. However - they are emotionally attached to the issue - stand back and think rationally about it. At this time of year the hospitals are rammed anyway - every year, year after year. This year is no bloody different other than the government and media enforced panic.

Anyway - if you were to believe the media and government hype - the hospitals would be empty cos everyone would be dead.

[thebartman]

The most vulnerable were put into care homes after contracting Covid in an NHS environment, and were never tested before being shipped out, just dumped for others to look after. Care workers were amongst the last to get PPE. Keeping pressure off the NHS is one thing - and very laudable ..   but the NHS serves the population, not vice-versa. Let's have a joined-up health / care system. 

[SFO]

5 minutes ago, Barrykearley said:

I’ve multiple friends who, work in the nhs. They will tell you there’s very real pressure currently. However - they are emotionally attached to the issue - stand back and think rationally about it. At this time of year the hospitals are rammed anyway - every year, year after year. This year is no bloody different other than the government and media enforced panic.

Anyway - if you were to believe the media and government hype - the hospitals would be empty cos everyone would be dead.

completely agree. Number of  CV19 patients in UK hospitals has broadly been stable for a week at circa 16k so nowhere near calamitous 
 

Edited December 13, 2020 by SFO

[thebartman]

On my local radio news today: - bloke had a suspected stroke (late yesterday evening). With no mobile to communicte with, and switchboards at hospital jammed, his Niece eventually discovered that he had, so far, spent 19 and 1/2 hours in the ambulance, at the hospital's entrance. Presumably, victims of non-covid ailments are 2nd class citizens? and all staff are paralysed to get on with anything else The gentleman in question was, of course, being looked after, but in the back of an ambulance? really?

1 minute ago, Barrykearley said:

Shhh..... don’t tell anyone. It’s more important we create fear and an environment where folks judge their neighbours and grass them up for minor issues. It’s all a bit late 1930s Germanic for my liking

Think you meant 1984

[Barrykearley]

I shall keep my knowledge of what’s happening in our local A&E completely to myself. Suffice to say - patients are being failed and some staff know and cannot solve it.

[thebartman]

A hypothetical question.

If Hospital "A" has 100 beds in 10 Wards, and if 2 wards are allocated/staffed/equipped for CV19 and there are 18 CV19 patients.  what is the correct answer, and which is the reported answer?

A. The Hospital is running at 90% capacity, and are overwhelmed, exhausted etc. etc. 

B. The Hospital still has 80% capacity, and is "Open for Business".

(and most other wards are open, but there are no referrals as GPs are too busy giving flu jabs and opting out of CV19 jabs, as they have to open from 08:00-20:00 7 days a week, with both vaccines to be administered along with the 15 minute anti-allergy waiting time and covid rules.)               

Feb 2020 - Hip replacement waiting list (more than 12 months) = circa. 1,600

Dec 2020 - Hip replacement waiting list (mre than 12 months) = circa. 16,500

Just comparing apples with apples.

[SFO]

42 minutes ago, thebartman said:

Feb 2020 - Hip replacement waiting list (more than 12 months) = circa. 1,600

Dec 2020 - Hip replacement waiting list (mre than 12 months) = circa. 16,500

Just comparing apples with apples.

This is the terrible consequence of the first lockdown when almost the entire capacity of the NHS was dedicated to CV19 ... as it turns out mostly unnecessarily.

no one wants to talk about these inconvenient truths as CV19 is apparently so 'lethal" 

[Barrykearley]

You will find ITU beds are full - but wards are typically very small - our local is wards of 4 beds....... they have had to open a second ward.

other beds do indeed have folks with covid - not a surprise really since they test everyone going in. What you don’t get reported is the fact these postive cases are in many cases showing no symptoms and are in hospital for completely unrelated matters.