Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[NilSatisOptimum]

It'll get up to 200,000 if this government are left in for another year.

Can't see any other democratic outcome... Parliament could not shift Mays perilous position with a no confidence vote, let alone Johnson 80 seat majority. However, he has used up much of his goodwill capital in recent weeks.

 

[davek]

Can't see any other democratic outcome... Parliament could not shift Mays perilous position with a no confidence vote, let alone Johnson 80 seat majority. However, he has used up much of his goodwill capital in recent weeks.

He should be in gaol awaiting trial.

 

[ForeverBlue92]

On way to B&M and saw some fella on a bike wearing a surgical mask shaking his head at a large group of kids walking past not social distancing.

I immediately let out a laugh thinking of @davek and the missus asked why I was laughing so had to make up some crap excuse on the spot in order to keep my GOT antics/identity hidden under the rug.

 

[davek]

On way to B&M and saw some fella on a bike wearing a surgical mask shaking his head at a large group of kids walking past not social distancing.

I immediately let out a laugh thinking of @davek and the missus asked why I was laughing so had to make up some crap excuse on the spot in order to keep my GOT antics/identity hidden under the rug.

Ha Ha Ha.

However, a technical correction: no surgical mask. Two black neck warmers, cycling glasses jammed down on the bridge of nose keeping them in place.

I'm the middle aged social distance nazi passing out with carbon dioxide poisoning on the Formby bypass. Wave hello...but dont speak...and keep your distance.

 

[Joey66]

 

[Jebus_lives]

When is the next election? Can we ban Tory voters? Might have a chance then of getting Captain Dumbass, Puppet Master Cummings, HanCOCK and co out and put Starmer or someone how actually has a set in power

This is a depressing thought

 

[navidson]

There are a few very easy wins for the Government if they wanted to implement them and get this fabled R number back down

Sack Dominic Cummings
Stop large scale public gatherings by closing all beauty spots/beaches
Return to the original guidelines about meeting other household members

Basically, the public cannot be trusted to be sensible - we are a nation of entitled babies that need to have our collective bums wiped for us. There is no reason that workplaces/businesses/retail should be punished because of the actions of the public. They have the capacity to set social distancing within their own environments and should be allowed to open if these guidelines are adhered to.

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

Surely Hancock or the Government cannot be serious, given there was no such instruction about attending VE celebrating and beaches or other places of leisure...

Thousands expected to attend Black Lives Matter protests across UK as public warned against mass gatherings

Thousands are expected to attend anti-racism demonstrations in several UK cities this weekend despite warnings from ministers that mass gatherings are banned. Worldwide protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis are heading into their second weekend amid public anger at police...

www.itv.com

Only white middle class and upwards lifes matter it seems.

 

[orchard]

No.

Unlock = massive spike in cases / deaths; go back to lockdown = thousands of lives saved. That's the choice.


Of course, that's not going to be acknowledged by this government and their backers in the business world, and it wont impress the lumpen proletariat who care more about getting their hair cuts and stuffing a pastie into their stupid 'kin gobs than looking to save lives.

It's not a binary choice Dave, an unlocking could be managed well

True, drop in the ocean, but if you scroll down a bit, you'll see they say



Maybe they're legit, maybe they're fly by night, who knows, I don't, and neither do you.

But one thing's for sure, though the elected parts of govt have, at best, spun the info on PPE and, at worst, continually lied through their teeth* , the whole process hasn't been helped by the piss poor bureaucracy associated with the centralised procurement process.

So I'd rather people tried other methods as well, and if that means a risk of failure or corruption, then so be it, that's a risk worth taking.


*it's far closer to the latter than the former.

They obviously got us all into this mess, and continue to pervert any rational response.

Most of the debt being accrued is in response to the government's earlier 'mistakes'. Like you concede mate, they deserve to be heavily scrutinised, and shouldn't (considering the history of all those involved with the executive) be given the benefit of the doubt.

 

[LinekersLegs]

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.

Tbf going to the often crowded and hard to park supermarket has often wound me up at the best of times so getting the groceries delivered is way better for my mental health anyway!

 

[BlueStevie35]

Hospital death figures across the U.K. have been announced as an even 100 for the day, 37 down on yesterday and 78 down on last Saturday. Of those 75 were in English hospitals, 71 down on last week and 48 on yesterday with 72 coming in the last 10 days, bringing the 7 day rolling average below 150 for the first time since March 29th

 

[Billy Dean]

This is a depressing thought

Very much so. Our only hope is the Tories ousting Johnson amd replacing him with someone who isn’t an incompetent sociopath

 

[LinekersLegs]

Hadn’t heard of OC43 before - anyone seen any info on it?

But others are more sceptical. David Brown, a retired molecular virologist worked on coronaviruses for 20 years.

His wife got pneumonia over Christmas, with an appalling cough and loss of taste and smell.

He thinks she and many others probably had another coronavirus, OC43, which can also cause respiratory illnesses.

"OC43 can be really severe. It can cause recurring infections in your lifetime like other coronaviruses. There's no surveillance of it, and it's impossible to go back and check," he says.

Human coronavirus OC43 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So just a fancy way of saying got a bad cold?

 

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

 

[Deckard2049]

There are a few very easy wins for the Government if they wanted to implement them and get this fabled R number back down

Sack Dominic Cummings
Stop large scale public gatherings by closing all beauty spots/beaches
Return to the original guidelines about meeting other household members

Basically, the public cannot be trusted to be sensible - we are a nation of entitled babies that need to have our collective bums wiped for us. There is no reason that workplaces/businesses/retail should be punished because of the actions of the public. They have the capacity to set social distancing within their own environments and should be allowed to open if these guidelines are adhered to.

I don’t fully think this is fair. Many epidemiologists said that public compliance with the lockdown was higher than what was anticipated because people bought into the notion they were saving the NHS. Looking back though I think the government went in too heavily with the “protect the NHS” stuff and it’s now coming back to bite them. In a way, it was a good message- a clear slogan and straightforward. But now most people are very much under the impression that hospitals are almost vacant, they weren’t overwhelmed, treatments have been postponed/cancelled and doctors/nurses are under little pressure. I’m not saying this is right or wrong, but the media are now publishing a lot of stories about GP’s with hardly any work, cancer treatments being delayed, people missing appointments etc etc. All these stories go a long way to informing the public’s perception of the situation.

The transition from that original message to whatever it is now was so bad (and in conjunction with Cumgate) that people feel like some sort of social contract has been broken- we did our part so open up Boris! People think that the NHS has been saved which was pushed as a key goal of lockdown so a lot of them think it’s mission accomplished. They now need clear messaging and information (not this stay alert BS); which is why wheeling out Whitty and Valance to blind them with science and PowerPoint presentations on a daily basis is pointless. I include myself in this, but those briefings/any messages the government want to put out should be done as clearly and concisely as possible so that the average Brit who’s glancing up from his phone screen isn’t seeing Whitty banging on for minutes at a time to the point where everyone has tuned out or watching Hancock talking in convoluted, long winded sentences that say nothing over and over. Instead the public need important information in basic language delivered in as short a time frame as possible. That’s it.

The only way I could see compliance rising again and a stricter lockdown would be if they actually laid out clear targets to be met for the lifting of lockdown- none of this five unclear stages BS or fluctuating R numbers which Joe and Jane Bloggs have no interest in. People just want clear, definitive numbers, meaning “when daily infections have been x for x number of days/weeks and daily deaths have been y for y number of weeks this is what will happen”.

The problem is I don’t believe we have the capability for a stricter lockdown or if the government even has the appetite for it. We locked down late and we locked down soft which means two things- we’ve damaged our economy whilst still suffering a large number of deaths. Basically, we massively screwed up (we’d all put a different word here but the sweat filter won’t allow it!). We’re coming up to 12 weeks since our “lockdown” and we’ll be getting right into the midst of summer. There will be no inclination to extend that further or go back into a stricter lockdown, hence why all this talk about local lockdowns is suddenly appearing- first and foremost the government wants London up and running ASAP. If they can do that whilst some little town up north locks down they’ll be more than happy.

Locking down hard now (some would say locking down properly) would also be an admission they got it horribly wrong. After twelve weeks, are the public going to accept that? And would the government ever admit it?