Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[mahermi1]

Without wanting to labour the point, that's where it boils back to the management of this crisis. Initially, I was quite supportive of the government's actions.

With hindsight, it was folly to do so because they've muddled their way through from blunder to blunder over the past four or five weeks.

Can I ask where that is?

North West mate in Halton.

 

[PhilM]

More that a terror attack.. yes.

But i wasn't really comparing it to cancer anyway, just making the point that hundreds die from it every day due to man made effects (smoking, alcohol, pollution etc) but life doesn't shut down and we don't demand all of them are banned.

I mentioned this last night. Ignore all other comparisons with flu or cancer et al, look at the fact that we're looking at nearly 60,000 excess deaths or +60%.

That's in a two and bit month period. Whether x-amount of people die from something else, a lot more people have been dying than they should be, fact!

Hence, why restrictions were put in place and we should still be cautious because we can/could quite quickly ensure that this doesn't continue.

 

[ForeverBlue92]

I get the concerns about the government, but are their failings going to be lessened by us all sitting at home and doing nothing? If the last three months have taught us anything, that's arguably a big fat no.

I get that there's a need for the public to change their mindset and things like wearing masks on public transport can only be a good thing in my opinion and personally I'd have that become standard operating procedure during cold and flu season, don't particularly care if the screens between me and the checkout staff and proper one way systems around shops stay in place forever.

The media have to sort themselves out as well, far too often have we heard contradictory advice about precautions. Friend made a decent point the other day that Academics are continually being asked for their opinion, but you can guarantee that if one academic has one opinion, another will hold something directly contrary - so in the example of mask wearing it seems to have been a good idea, but media outlets have found the academic who disagrees and did a test with 4 students that found weak evidence and had them share their view - leaving the public completely unsure.

I know I've gone off completely at a tangent there, do get the wisdom but do wonder how much will actually change with us all back in lockdown.

End of the day we have been in lockdown near 3 months- any spike in the virus is down to idiots thinking its a constant bank holiday.

Therefore I aint putting my life on hold for God knows how many more months whilst clampits out there continue to take the mick. If they catch it tough titties there own fault.

For the rest of us its just pot luck if you're being sensible but would rather take my chances with this than lose my house/income and be on the street in time for a cold winter.

 

[Charro]

We need to lockdown again - fast.

No shops reopening
No restaurants reopening
No pubs reopening
No football matches behind closed doors
No unlimited exercise outside
No access to pubic transport or any shop allowed to remain open unless wearing a face mask

Take it you’re stopping your bike rides then?

 

[Brennan]

It’s weird as I woke up this morning not realising the world had ended.

 

[davek]

Take it you’re stopping your bike rides then?

Why on earth would I do that?

 

[davek]

View attachment 89938
I mentioned this last night. Ignore all other comparisons with flu or cancer et al, look at the fact that we're looking at nearly 60,000 excess deaths or +60%.

That's in a two and bit month period. Whether x-amount of people die from something else, a lot more people have been dying than they should be, fact!

Hence, why restrictions were put in place and we should still be cautious because we can/could quite quickly ensure that this doesn't continue.

Dont waste your time mate. Some people want their trip to a Turkish barber, go to the gym, and a pastie and a pint.

Tens more thousands of people will die? Tough. They've had a (phoney) lockdown for 2 months and cant stand the Robinson Crusoe lifestyle any longer.

 

[Charro]

Why on earth would I do that?

Because you seem to want everyone else to stay indoors.

 

[COYBL25]

I get the concerns about the government, but are their failings going to be lessened by us all sitting at home and doing nothing? If the last three months have taught us anything, that's arguably a big fat no.

I get that there's a need for the public to change their mindset and things like wearing masks on public transport can only be a good thing in my opinion and personally I'd have that become standard operating procedure during cold and flu season, don't particularly care if the screens between me and the checkout staff and proper one way systems around shops stay in place forever.

The media have to sort themselves out as well, far too often have we heard contradictory advice about precautions. Friend made a decent point the other day that Academics are continually being asked for their opinion, but you can guarantee that if one academic has one opinion, another will hold something directly contrary - so in the example of mask wearing it seems to have been a good idea, but media outlets have found the academic who disagrees and did a test with 4 students that found weak evidence and had them share their view - leaving the public completely unsure.

I know I've gone off completely at a tangent there, do get the wisdom but do wonder how much will actually change with us all back in lockdown.

You`re spot on about the media.

I had a conversation with my best mate last night, who has no underlying health conditions, doesn`t sit in an at risk group and was already in the fortunate position of being able to work from home in a very well paid full time job before all this kicked off.

He hasn`t left the house at all since the lockdown, neither has his 5 yr old son or his wife, as he thinks the zombie apocalypse is outside his front door. ( they get their shopping delivered _

The purpose of the conversation was to find out whether he intended to come on a pre booked weekend away in August or if I should put another mate on standby.

At first I couldn`t get a straight answer out of him, but I eventually dragged it out of him, that he`s that scared of what he`s read / reading, that him and his family have
made the conscious decision not to leave the house again until a vaccine is found and that they`re making plans to home school their son until then !!!!!

At that point I had to leave the conversation as I didn`t want to say something that I`d regret and lose a good friend.

I know this is extreme, but how you`ve got to ask yourself how the hell have we ended up here ??

 

[OGG]

There were people on here claiming it would be 100,000 to a million.

The fact we are seemingly over the worst of this doesn’t sit well with some people for some reason. Nobody with any iota of sense can claim the government have done a good job, but we seem to have got through it. It’s time to start getting back to some version of normality without the histrionics

Excess deaths (pretty much all coronavirus) now stands at 64,500.

If we hadn’t locked down the figure could have been over half a million.

We had to lock down. We should have done so sooner. Now we need to get infections down to a level our track, trace, isolate capability can manage. Get this at full capacity and we can open up more - until such time as it is we need to be careful.

 

[davek]

Because you seem to want everyone else to stay indoors.

Why would you say that? I think everyone able to should get out for an hour or so exercise. Keep a face covering on; keep socially distanced.

Non-essential shops, bars, gyms should be firmly locked down; schools should remain shut and non-essential workers told to remain safely at home. If that happens, maybe we can get to the level achived by France, Spain and Italy...all in the same boat as the UK at one point but now doing way better than us.

 

[tsubaki]

There were people on here claiming it would be 100,000 to a million.

The fact we are seemingly over the worst of this doesn’t sit well with some people for some reason. Nobody with any iota of sense can claim the government have done a good job, but we seem to have got through it. It’s time to start getting back to some version of normality without the histrionics

It would have been - with a death rate of around 1% of the infected, and a government aiming to get herd immunity (70% of the population), if left unchecked we would have had around 450000 deaths from COVID alone, plus all the others from the overwhelmed health service.

 

[Brennan]

Why would you say that? I think everyone able to should get out for an hour or so exercise. Keep a face covering on; keep socially distanced.

Non-essential shops, bars, gyms should be firmly locked down; schools should remain shut and non-essential workers told to remain safely at home. If that happens, maybe we can get to the level achived by France, Spain and Italy...all in the same boat as the UK at one point but now doing way better than us.

You don’t need to get on a bike to exercise.

You are choosing to put emergency services and other people at risk more than necessary because you want to ride a bike rather than just going for a walk.

You are a massive hypocrite.

 

[davek]

It would have been - with a death rate of around 1% of the infected, and a government aiming to get herd immunity (70% of the population), if left unchecked we would have had around 450000 deaths from COVID alone, plus all the others from the overwhelmed health service.

...as it is, it's "only" 65,000 killed. That's what success looks like...apparently.

 

[PhilM]

I know this is extreme, but how you`ve got to ask yourself how the hell have we ended up here ??

Sadly, there will always be those who take it to the extreme in either direction and that has to (at least to an extent) be put down to the media depiction.

It obviously wasn't the time to say it there and then, but perhaps he will need some coercing to get out the door even if that doesn't mean going on the holiday.

The lack of exercise alone and doing the basics like going shopping, all while socially distancing, will do his mental health the world of good.