Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[grandjoeblue]

It depends on whether we learn from this one (or the two before that).

We need, and have needed since the first one, a means of detecting and containing the virus when it appears in the population. That means people being encouraged to report illness, other people to go round to their houses and test, and encouraging those in the house to isolate if people test positive. It should be seen as everyone's patriotic duty to do that.

We cannot go back to if you feel ill its up to you to get tested, if you CBA, and if your boss won't do you for it.

If you think Omicron can be contained by test and trace you're mental, Delta was bad enough. One person can infect 50 at one event. It's impossible to stop unless we literally get to zero and close the borders.

 

[Wizard]

Totally - hence why I'm sceptical about the likelihood of a third lock down even before considering how necessary it is or isn't.*

And this then refers back to your first point: people are going to hear requests to do x, y and z and have little trust that those in power will adhere to them.

People are more likely to respect leadership and adhere to the rules if they a) feel it's necessary b) those in power are leading from the front - do as I do.

For most of the population, I now doubt they'll believe it's necessary and that ministers of civil servants will be abiding by the rules, and it'd be fair to do so.

It's a bit like 'The Boy Who Cries Wolf': 'Look, we need to follow the rules to save lives'; 'yeah, if you say so... but it's safe to party in your offices'.

*I'm currently in the isn't camp.

It’s quite difficult to not follow a lockdown, especially in Winter. People may go round to each other’s houses more but what else are you going to do? There will be some illegal parties too I guess but that’s not going to be a huge amount of the population. But if everything’s shut and the weather is crap what else are people going to do? You’re not going to be going to the park for picnics.

That’s why what the Tories did last Christmas was so damaging. Because the lighter restrictions won’t be adhered to anywhere near the level they were initially. There was always going to be a drop off in compliance but these stories have almost certainly accelerated that. And they weren’t exactly being followed particularly well before these stories came out.

 

[tsubaki]

If you think Omicron can be contained by test and trace you're mental, Delta was bad enough. One person can infect 50 at one event. It's impossible to stop unless we literally get to zero and close the borders.

TBF I think doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is a much better indicator of mental illness.

Having a working test and trace system would contain this. It would have contained Delta, and Beta.

 

[Seanjd]

It’s quite difficult to not follow a lockdown, especially in Winter. People may go round to each other’s houses more but what else are you going to do? There will be some illegal parties too I guess but that’s not going to be a huge amount of the population. But if everything’s shut and the weather is crap what else are people going to do? You’re not going to be going to the park for picnics.

That’s why what the Tories did last Christmas was so damaging. Because the lighter restrictions won’t be adhered to anywhere near the level they were initially. There was always going to be a drop off in compliance but these stories have almost certainly accelerated that. And they weren’t exactly being followed particularly well before these stories came out.

Yeah I don’t really get the whole ‘I just won’t do lockdown’ thing. If events are off, clubs shut, pubs limited etc, you kind of have no choice really.

 

[grandjoeblue]

TBF I think doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is a much better indicator of mental illness.

Having a working test and trace system would contain this. It would have contained Delta, and Beta.

Delta and Beta are nothing compared to this variant, this is on a whole different level. You would literally need the whole population on house arrest with no key workers working and even then you would still probably catch it going the supermarket.

It's impossible to have a successful lockdown with schools open for example with Omicron too as the numbers would be huge just with kids anyway.

 

[LinekersLegs]

Well deserved award for her clear and detailed communication of complex data

 

[tsubaki]

Delta and Beta are nothing compared to this variant, this is on a whole different level. You would literally need the whole population on house arrest with no key workers working and even then you would still probably catch it going the supermarket.

It's impossible to have a successful lockdown with schools open for example with Omicron too as the numbers would be huge just with kids anyway.

No, it isn't.

This does spread quickly, but there isn't anything to stop it whatsoever at the moment. If there was something to stop it, you would at the very worst slow it down (giving more time for boosters) and with a working, tested and proved system probably would identify and contain outbreaks of it quickly enough to stop them.

 

[Neiler]

 

[efcfanwirral]

No, it isn't.

This does spread quickly, but there isn't anything to stop it whatsoever at the moment. If there was something to stop it, you would at the very worst slow it down (giving more time for boosters) and with a working, tested and proved system probably would identify and contain outbreaks of it quickly enough to stop them.

If the daily numbers and 10,000 confirmed cases were the real numbers it'll be fine.

But they seem to think it was 200,000 infected yesterday and that'll double every couple of days, just not tested confirmed cases, so it sounds like it'd fall apart quite quickly. I'm not even going to try to understand where these numbers are coming from though

 

[grandjoeblue]

No, it isn't.

This does spread quickly, but there isn't anything to stop it whatsoever at the moment. If there was something to stop it, you would at the very worst slow it down (giving more time for boosters) and with a working, tested and proved system probably would identify and contain outbreaks of it quickly enough to stop them.

There is not a chance you can have an open society with indoor events with a variant that can make 100s positive from 1 hour or less.

I agree you could potentially slow it down but we'd still have high cases in 3 months time.

 

[tsubaki]

There is not a chance you can have an open society with indoor events with a variant that can make 100s positive from 1 hour or less.

I agree you could potentially slow it down but we'd still have high cases in 3 months time.

the choice is between high and astronomical though

 

[Ghost Rider]

No, it isn't.

This does spread quickly, but there isn't anything to stop it whatsoever at the moment. If there was something to stop it, you would at the very worst slow it down (giving more time for boosters) and with a working, tested and proved system probably would identify and contain outbreaks of it quickly enough to stop them.

Nothing has stopped covid in general since this all began.

Even in full lockdowns , there were still cases.

You can't stop it , you can only manage it.

 

[tsubaki]

Nothing has stopped covid in general since this all began.

Even in full lockdowns , there were still cases.

You can't stop it , you can only manage it.

we aren't managing it though

 

[Ghost Rider]

we aren't managing it though

Well we are with restrictions

Reducing transmission rates, covid passports , work from home etc.

The next step is closing down , we haven't got much else to 'restrict'

 

[grandjoeblue]

the choice is between high and astronomical though

Basically we have to hope it's mild now. There are over 200,000 cases a day easily already (most people don't test). Let's hope the vaccine works. It would take 2 or 3 weeks for a lockdown to slow cases and with Christmas loads of people wouldn't obey anyway.

Maybe they can stop large events and nightclubs but I doubt it will have a big impact.