Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[tsubaki]

I used to watch the daily press conference at the start but it turned into a farce pretty quickly. The first few journalists would ask exactly the same question on repeat. Then they would try and lure the medical advisors into answering overtly political questions. A complete waste of time and helped confuse the public rather than inform.

they were annoying, but that was the consequence of not asking the key questions

 

[YoboCopter]

Do you not think this is one of those scenarios where people grasp the seriousness of the issue so that they don’t ignore it and that public awareness in that case is a good thing.

I appreciate you might be bored of it like.

Its over stated imo, i think if people wer just left to there own devices would be easier

If you want to isolate you can, but if you want to carry on you can

 

[Kenshin]

The worst thing the media have done is (as they did over Iraq) they’ve spent ages talking about everything that’s come from Government orifices rather than the real issues causing the country to be hit worse than others.

We needed an effective track, trace and test system before this happened that can quickly. To prevent a second lockdown, we needed one setting up between March and now. It hasn’t happened. If we had one, it would not be necessary to lock down - we’d be able to identify new clusters and get them isolated and treated.

Instead the media have repeatedly cited “game-changing” developments, blamed literally everyone else in the country when it goes wrong and have cheerleaders of the anti lockdown movement anyway.

See you say we need a track and trace system.

But our government thought it would be ok to ask Google and apple to literally change their terms and conditions to allow them to have one!

That and the many reports and articles from people who are part of the track and trace who were sat doing nothing for hours every day. I read one where nothing worked and they were sat looking at a computer screen at home but the government were still paying them for the joy of it......

Any track and trace has to be global it seems, so it adheres to the phone company terms

 

[tsubaki]

Its over stated imo, i think if people wer just left to there own devices would be easier

If you want to isolate you can, but if you want to carry on you can

The problem with that is that “if you want to carry on” kills people. If you have / are suspected to have this, you have to be isolated. Of course you also have to be supported (financially, not getting into trouble at work etc) whilst you are isolated too, but if that happens and you are still swanning around then you deserve locking up.

 

[tsubaki]

See you say we need a track and trace system.

But our government thought it would be ok to ask Google and apple to literally change their terms and conditions to allow them to have one!

That and the many reports and articles from people who are part of the track and trace who were sat doing nothing for hours every day. I read one where nothing worked and they were sat looking at a computer screen at home but the government were still paying them for the joy of it......

Any track and trace has to be global it seems, so it adheres to the phone company terms

The app would’ve been helpful, but it’s the staff and the testing that is the bit they’ve messed up.

For it to work they would have to have enough people to, wherever you are in the country, get someone around to you to do a test in an hour after either you reported symptoms or someone you’d been in contact with did.

It would have cost loads but less than a lockdown and there are people doing nothing who you could have got to do the visiting etc after being suitably trained (personally I’d have used furloughed airline staff, most of whom already have limited medical training, are already in public facing roles, are usually in age groups who are less at risk and who aren’t going to be going back to the proper job soon). Obviously the medical experts would be involved too but at more appropriate levels.

 

[Barnfred 55]

A group of Britain’s leading virus experts say mistakes are being made in the handling of the Covid pandemic, with testing contracts awarded on apparently ideological grounds to private sector companies rather than based on expertise.

Article

This is the same group of leading virus experts that advised the government to keep all covid testing in house (by in house I mean NHS and PHE labs) so they could maintain quality control. The single main reason why the country was not able to ramp up it's testing capability when it needed to most.

When this is all over and the results of the inevitable enquiry are announced, I'm 100% convinced this will be one of the area's where the government will receive most criticism.

I'm not saying it is right to keep them out of the decision making process now. But given that the government has rightly taken a huge amount of stick on the back of their original advice, you can sort of understand why they have been.

 

[YoboCopter]

The problem with that is that “if you want to carry on” kills people. If you have / are suspected to have this, you have to be isolated. Of course you also have to be supported (financially, not getting into trouble at work etc) whilst you are isolated too, but if that happens and you are still swanning around then you deserve locking up.

If you know you have it and your getting paid i agree

But its not that clear cut is it

 

[Barnfred 55]

There's a difference between ignoring and creating fear.

There are lots of people of who are still terrified of the virus and we need to help them so that they feel comfortable going back to work and getting back out and about. The media could certainly do better to help with this.

I'm a little tired of the wealth v health debate. It's not a debate. They are so closely linked that one cannot be separated from the other. We need to save lives and save jobs. It's not one or other, it has to be both. We need people to get back to work so the economy does not completely collapse and we create millions more who are left extremely vulnerable. I think we are heading for economic hardship on a scale none of us have seen before.

Some of us older people remember some bad times in the 70s and even the 80s. I hope it doesn't get that bad. But otherwise you are right. Some hard times ahead. The fact this is global only makes it worse.

 

[Blue Shoes]

The problem with that is that “if you want to carry on” kills people. If you have / are suspected to have this, you have to be isolated. Of course you also have to be supported (financially, not getting into trouble at work etc) whilst you are isolated too, but if that happens and you are still swanning around then you deserve locking up.

Carrying on is seeing thousands go to every beach every time its sunny atm and that's constantly causing rises which means the virus is going nowhere fast.

 

[Tea_drinker]

I've read that the national death rate has been below the 5 year average for a good number of weeks now. Yet every time I switch the radio on there is someone on the edge of a heart attack and nervous breakdown screaming blue murder about people not wearing a mask in the shop.

 

[Tea_drinker]

 

[Goat]

So my daughters home has declared a major incident, 2 staff members tested positive and a few residents.

They called everybody in for an emergency test which was a decent response.

Would just be our luck for the missus to have to self isolate for 2 weeks after only returning to work yesterday.

Thats the dilemma people will face.

Stay off work and protect everybody else or go to work and pay the bills, after being on 80% wages for the last 4 months, it would really finish us off, not to mention The Rona like.

 

[orchard]

This is the same group of leading virus experts that advised the government to keep all covid testing in house (by in house I mean NHS and PHE labs) so they could maintain quality control. The single main reason why the country was not able to ramp up it's testing capability when it needed to most.

When this is all over and the results of the inevitable enquiry are announced, I'm 100% convinced this will be one of the area's where the government will receive most criticism.

I'm not saying it is right to keep them out of the decision making process now. But given that the government has rightly taken a huge amount of stick on the back of their original advice, you can sort of understand why they have been.

Is this true though? Wasn't it the case that the government told them to stand down January/February, the same as with PPE procurement, and that it will all be centrally managed?

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Lockdown study reports surge in health anxieties

New research into people’s coping strategies faced with COVID-19 highlights the mental health toll for those shielding.

www.bath.ac.uk

 

[Goat]

Lockdown study reports surge in health anxieties

New research into people’s coping strategies faced with COVID-19 highlights the mental health toll for those shielding.

www.bath.ac.uk

This whole thing is certainly testing any remaining mental state I had left.