COVID-19 — Coronavirus

[Bob Hope]

Lockdown is over as far as I can see from my front garden.

Been sat here for a couple of hours, I’m on a main road, and the volume of vehicles is ridiculous, and practically every other vehicle is a tradesman’s van.

I passed a right miserable bastard when I was working in Ramsbottom today.

 

[Manc in London]

Lowest R is 0.5 in London surprisingly, up to 0.9 didn’t say where that was though.

We are behaving down here :)

The bus on the hospital route passes close to my house. A few weeks ago there was 1 or 2 max on each double-decker. In the last week or so, when I see a bus on my walk, there are around 5 to 10 using it.

It has become noticeable on my daily walk that people are not keeping their distance as much as they used to. People feel encouraged to now walk past now to the point where shoulders or arms are almost brushing. Earlier today, I suggested to someone that they should maintain a distance.

 

[ayrshire_blue]

More likely strategy and political decision-making. UK unis and Research institutions were knocking on Govt's door for months and turned away. Only relatively recently has the UK ramped up its testing capacity and that was when they brought the universities, and pharmaceutical companies like GSK and Astrazeneca onboard.

The UK is playing the long game and a conservative game. It may look bad now, but that's because in my opinion their priority is to avoid at all costs a 2nd wave in the Autumn / Winter. You can do that through immunity but maybe South Korea and Germany can hold it off through testing.

1 strategy involves deaths. The other doesn't in the short term but does it ever see you through?

On the positive side there's lots of activity going on with immunetherapy (not sure if that's a word) and vaccines (one got approved for a Phase II trial today)

Sorry - I'm confused. In what way are the UK playing the long game? Are you saying that Herd immunity is plan A here, and that most countries who are keeping their death toll low for the time being won't be able to come the autumn time, aside from the odd country which you've mentioned?

Sorry if I've misinterpreted, but if not aren't we still a good 50% of the population away from Herd immunity?

 

[marco]

Wales and Scotland not budging on schools. No change in policy on June 1st. Jesus I hope we follow suit. I¨ll be honest, I am terrified of larger numbers in school. It could be catastrophic for everyone: pupils, teachers, families.

i heard on radio that when the schools go back,they will drop the fixed penalty to alow parents to decide

 

[kaz7]

Ooh

A secret report warned three years ago that the UK's plans for dealing with a health pandemic were "not sufficient", it has been revealed.The 57-page dossier by Public Health England, obtained by The Guardian newspaper, was commissioned after a 2016 simulation of a flu pandemic codenamed Exercise Cygnus

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...d-pandemic-plans-were-not-sufficient-11984773

 

[marco]

hahaha, scrote from round the corner from us was jailed today for breaching lockdown 9 times

 

[Bovril]

The second wave and third wave will be as bad, lots of posters here and rightly so are horrified by UK numbers at this the first wave, lets wait 12 Month's and see how things pan out.

 

[nellyonthewing]

I was once indirectly involved in a piece of work for the Care Quality Commission. Their primary concern? Staff pay, grading and conditions. If only it were an isolated case in the non-commercial sector.

Government ministers (any government) are basically transient amateurs, reliant on expert support and proactive, assertive advice from career experts in the civil service, QUANGOs and regulatory bodies. That support is generally mediocre, with too many time servers in cushy numbers and senior managers who want gongs and fat pensions. Well, you don’t get a gong for rocking the boat or for championing your cause against bean counters or lairy politicians. Ministers in turn rarely know how to delegate, resorting instead to often ill-conceived targets and, when time are tough, micro management. We’re lucky if planning horizons extend beyond the next wank.

So while it’s fair to blame the government for some of the current incompetence, the whole apparatus is creaky and things would be no better under any other administration.

I’d also bet most of the more cynical posters on here are/were in non frontline, white collar public sector roles with no decision making accountability, and who peep(ed) above the parapet only on social media.

I met Andy Burnham when he was Deputy Health Minister. He was a bit of a lickspittle then and is the prime example of how you can make a good living moving around the NHS and quangos. He's the public sector equivalent of Alan Pardew.

 

[Chippy_boy]

Sorry - I'm confused. In what way are the UK playing the long game? Are you saying that Herd immunity is plan A here, and that most countries who are keeping their death toll low for the time being won't be able to come the autumn time, aside from the odd country which you've mentioned?

Sorry if I've misinterpreted, but if not aren't we still a good 50% of the population away from Herd immunity?

Try a good 75% away. I reckon circa 5% of the population have caught this so far. If I am right then that would mean trying to get herd immunity before a vaccine or effective treatment would mean another 15x the current 30 to 40 thousand dead. It's an insane "strategy".

 

[ayrshire_blue]

Try a good 75% away. I reckon circa 5% of the population have caught this so far. If I am right then that would mean trying to get herd immunity before a vaccine or effective treatment would mean another 15x the current 30 to 40 thousand dead. It's an insane "strategy".

Yeah I agree. Although not sure if that's what Marvin was suggesting or if I've picked him up wrong. If it is what he's saying then kamikaze is a better word than conservative in this case surely.