Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[Goat]

So am I, it's upsetting.

It's crap. We need to get a hold of this thing and the general infection rate has gone down. That's good.

But to get a hold of this thing - and stop more people dying from it and the collateral consequences of lockdown/tiers, whatever - then surely we need to be using the right bloody tests?

Could these definitely not have been produced quicker? I know Liverpool was a trial, but surely it's just a different method of testing. It was known before, surely?

Tory death cult, does death cult things.

 

[Woolverhampton_Blue]

There's a lot of ageist banter going on on here. Put any other group other than "old folk" in the txt and see how it looks.

It’s all just light hearted silliness mate. Be very surprised if anyone seriously means any of it.

 

[BlueToff]

Happy for Liverpool that they're in Tier 2. Hopefully it's a bit of freedom and at least enough people went out and got tested to have a positive impact!

 

[BlueToff]

Gloves, outside of PPE in hospitals, are useless. Unless you have different gloves every time you go shopping or deliver a parcel.

And although I share your bewilderment at why folk are still getting it, I guess its cos its really really infectious. And schools.

Just a question but has any other country in Europe shut down schools this time around?

It seems every country is aiming to avoid that.

 

[davek]

Happy for Liverpool that they're in Tier 2. Hopefully it's a bit of freedom and at least enough people went out and got tested to have a positive impact!

...and then after Christmas it'll be back into a lockdown. More lives lost, but Crimbo was boss.

 

[BlueToff]

...and then after Christmas it'll be back into a lockdown. More lives lost, but Crimbo was boss.

I don't think Christmas will be 'boss' for anyone.

I'm in Tier 3 until at least December 16. Even if the area goes into Tier 2, most restaurants and pubs etc just won't be able to open safely without the risk of fines or closure, so they won't do it.

Being able to go and bring my nana to ours on Christmas is about all that's going to happen around here, and there's no way we're leaving an 80-year-old woman with dementia on her own at Christmas.

Most places are going to be like that, so I don't really get where this idea that everyone's going to be able to have a free for all is coming from.

 

[davek]

I don't think Christmas will be 'boss' for anyone.

I'm in Tier 3 until at least December 16. Even if the area goes into Tier 2, most restaurants and pubs etc just won't be able to open safely without the risk of fines or closure, so they won't do it.

Being able to go and bring my nana to ours on Christmas is about all that's going to happen around here, and there's no way we're leaving an 80-year-old woman with dementia on her own at Christmas.

Most places are going to be like that, so I don't really get where this idea that everyone's going to be able to have a free for all is coming from.

Should be locked down if it's that unenjoyable. May as well have completely shut down and depressed the infection rate.

 

[BlueToff]

I know you're trying to provoke a reaction out of scousers here, however, I do feel VERY uneasy at the position Anderson and Rotheram have put Merseyside in. Basically, we're being used to divide and conquer the north.

Anderson and Rotheram have bent over backwards to do this governments bidding and the word "scab" must be on the tip of some people's tongues. I know it would be on mine if it were the leaders of Manchester, Sheffield or Newcaslte or wherever doing this.

We should be all in this together.

May I ask why you think this?

Is it because they've trialed a testing scheme which seems to actually have had a positive impact, rather than follow the "end is nigh" rhetoric?

The testing suggests the infection rate has dropped dramatically. That's a good thing. It's the only way out of this, even when the vaccine arrives, because the vaccine is going to take a long time to get to everybody.

 

[BlueToff]

Should be locked down if it's that unenjoyable. May as well have completely shut down and depressed the infection rate.

But it may well be locked down, that's the point.

Regardless of whether I can go to the pub or not, we wouldn't be leaving my nan on her own at Christmas, in a year where she hasn't been able to get to grips with anything that's been going on anyway.

 

[davek]

May I ask why you think this?

Is it because they've trialed a testing scheme which seems to actually have had a positive impact, rather than follow the "end is nigh" rhetoric?

The testing suggests the infection rate has dropped dramatically. That's a good thing. It's the only way out of this, even when the vaccine arrives, because the vaccine is going to take a long time to get to everybody.

They took part in the testing scheme in order to get the rate down to a level they knew the government would allow them to get some trade going again over Christmas. But the rate is still too high, and they all know that the R number and infections will accelerate again over the Christmas. It's a completely cynical use of testing that brings the whole notion of depressing the virus into disrepute.

 

[BlueToff]

They took part in the testing scheme in order to get the rate down to a level they knew the government would allow them to get some trade going again over Christmas. But the rate is still too high, and they all know that the R number and infections will accelerate again over the Christmas. It's a completely cynical use of testing that brings the whole notion of depressing the virus into disrepute.

As of last week the r rate in Liverpool was below one...

There's no real promise of anything being fully opened up over Christmas. It probably will go up again, but the point of these tests is that they are quicker and potentially, it seems, more accurate than the PCR tests.

So having them rolled out in Tier 3 areas at least gives a platform to build from.

If people can get tested and get their results back quicker, that is a good thing.

 

[davek]

As of last week the r rate in Liverpool was below one...

There's no real promise of anything being fully opened up over Christmas. It probably will go up again, but the point of these tests is that they are quicker and potentially, it seems, more accurate than the PCR tests.

So having them rolled out in Tier 3 areas at least gives a platform to build from.

If people can get tested and get their results back quicker, that is a good thing.

Here's a better idea: lockdown until the vaccine is administered to the vulnerable.

That's too much of a distraction from making money though.

 

[BlueToff]

Here's a better idea: lockdown until the vaccine is administered to the vulnerable.

That's too much of a distraction from making money though.

Lockdown is completely ruining people's lives and isn't sustainable. People are dying because of it.

There's no easy answer, but track and trace is the way to go.

While the system leaves far too much to be desired, having tests that are quicker and more accurate is a good place to start.

 

[BlueToff]

Tests now a bad thing because the results don't suit the agenda, I guess.

 

[Tubey]

May I ask why you think this?

Is it because they've trialed a testing scheme which seems to actually have had a positive impact, rather than follow the "end is nigh" rhetoric?

The testing suggests the infection rate has dropped dramatically. That's a good thing. It's the only way out of this, even when the vaccine arrives, because the vaccine is going to take a long time to get to everybody.

The infection rate was stabilised and starting to fall before mass testing. Shortly before lockdown it flatlined. If I were a betting man I'd say it didn't make a blind bit of difference.