COVID-19 — Coronavirus

[Healdplace]

All settings deaths today is 5. Presumably the 5 England hospital deaths.

And cases down a small amount to 3330.

 

[Len Rum]

All settings deaths today is 5. Presumably the 5 England hospital deaths.

And cases down a small amount to 3330.

Had a heart attack when I saw Sky were reporting Breaking news - cases rise BY 3330!

 

[Healdplace]

Deeply concerning that these slightly better numbers see falls in several places but the NW has a new record number today. Hope they are just doing far more tests here but we don't get that information.

London 311 - down from 393 and second straight drop

MIdlands 397 - up from 357

Yorkshire 413 - down from 418.

But the North West after falling from 876 (the old record) to 800 yesterday is today up to 906.

I suspect that is the highest percentage yet in this region of the UK total.

 

[Healdplace]

As feared a new Greater Manchester record today also nearly 100 up on yesterday and just up on Friday's past record at 425 cases. Under 50 % of the NW total but up as a percentage of UK cases. Possibly due to focused testing here.

As you can imagine nowhere comes out well today. Only one place below 20 and I think from recent data you can guess which borough that is.

Only one place set a record today - a bit of a surprise too - but it is now a GM wide spread with everywhere being at inflated levels (some more so than others, of course) causing the numbers to be so high.

 

[everythingchangesbutblue]

Anyone who has seen my posts on here probably knows that I'm very much a firm believer in taking this whole thing very, very seriously. I think it's a nasty, horrible disease. I'm no denier. However, I really can't deny that my view has started to shift recently as the deaths have plummeted. It's been really encouraging to see it going down. Cases are going up, yep, and there has been a slight uptick in hospitalisations, but it's still absolutely marginal from where we were months ago, and it's so low that if it arrived now we'd not even notice largely. I can't help but feel that if the deaths don't start to rise a fair bit, we should consider trying to get back to normal a little where possible. The constant changing of rules is ridiculously damaging for so many people.

We're averaging less than ten deaths a day, sometimes less than five, and while any death is of course really, really tragic, this is absolutely nothing compared to the 1,000 days back around the peak, and just general mortality rates in the UK. Over a thousand die every day in the UK even without a pandemic. I don't think we can logically carry on locking large parts of the country down IF, and this is the all important if, deaths are averaging low still. Looking around other European countries, they're having record levels of cases, but considerably less than 100 deaths a day still. Even lower in some countries...and that's actually good news! I know it's because it's mainly hitting young people too, but I think there's an element of it being because people aren't getting strong viral loads (due to social distancing/hygiene etc), and thats also a good thing. Plus the increasingly better treatments etc. It's getting about, but hardly any are getting ill or dying. Surely that's hugely positive.

I fully want everyone to be safe and sensible and maintain hygiene and social distancing rules, but I do get concerned about lives being destroyed, businesses being ruined, rising poverty due to constant changes in rules etc etc - especially if the deaths don't start to upturn notably. We shouldn't be tightening up unless we're certain of a potential return to the dark days. Say we went from 5 deaths a day to 25 odd in the UK, and no higher, then I personally don't believe that isn't a justification to panic. I can't help but feel that so many young people are being robbed of their lives, and so many older are just withering in a room waiting to die locked away too. I feel we owe it to ourselves as a society to try and react to what is happening sensibly. If there are no signs of deaths going up in a couple of weeks, despite the huge increase in cases recently, I don't think there is any reasonable justification for it to carry on. If they do go up notably, of course, take measures...but only notably. There are currently no signs that we'll get anywhere near the awful state that we were in March and April, and that's a very good thing.

I suspect some will disagree with me, but I always try and be rational and logical where possible. I personally believe that if we can live with it at low numbers, then life should go on to an extent. I don't think this is unreasonable :)


EDIT - just want to say that I'm so sorry that people have really struggled with this and it's been an awful virus. I've lost someone to this personally too, so this isn't coming from a place of self interest at all.

You seem a nice guy and I've watched your videos from the start but fuck me is there anybody on this forum who flips his opinion more than you? One day you're up the next you're down. If deaths increase in the next fortnight you will change again. And what about the few million of us who are vulnerable to this disease, do we stay in forever or run the gauntlet of increased odds of dying so some can go chippy and a concert? People seem so so concerned for the depressed or jobless but not about the millions like me who have no way out till either a vaccine or it goes away.

 

[mackenzie]

The government has now sent an urgent warning to care home providers as data emerges that the number of cases there has quadrupled over the past 2 weeks. And hundreds of new cases a day are being recorded in care homes round the UK at present.

Does anyone know how this can be happening? I thought care homes were almost impregnable now?

 

[blueparrot]

You seem a nice guy and I've watched your videos from the start but fuck me is there anybody on this forum who flips his opinion more than you? One day you're up the next you're down. If deaths increase in the next fortnight you will change again. And what about the few million of us who are vulnerable to this disease, do we stay in forever or run the gauntlet of increased odds of dying so some can go chippy and a concert? People seem so so concerned for the depressed or jobless but not about the millions like me who have no way out till either a vaccine or it goes away.

Peoples moods change and swing with events, it's normal. We don't all express it on here but if it helps good luck to him or anyone else. We all know people, or are related to people in your position and we're concerned for them and those like them, but we can't put our own lives or thoughts on hold, just hope for a vaccine or effective treatments soon.

 

[The Light Was Yellow Sir]

Does anyone know how this can be happening? I thought care homes were almost impregnable now?

Officially, an ‘outbreak’ is 2 or more cases and, last week, there were over 400 outbreaks in care homes. They’re not impregnable and won‘t ever be, unless Hancock makes good on his weekly testing in care homes pledge (spoiler alert: he won’t).

 

[everythingchangesbutblue]

Peoples moods change and swing with events, it's normal. We don't all express it on here but if it helps good luck to him or anyone else. We all know people, or are related to people in your position and we're concerned for them and those like them, but we can't put our own lives or thoughts on hold, just hope for a vaccine or effective treatments soon.

6 months i've been stuck in my flat after being told i was in the highest risk group and to avoid all face to face contact all the while not being able to have my regular appointments for my condition. I know all about life on hold yet some on here moan about not being back to normal. There are people worse of than me and i think for us wfh, limited social opportunities or unemployment are all worries we would love to have except for a killer virus that is worse for us than 99.5% of everyone else on the planet. Fuck those who think their life's on hold for a semi lockdown. Stay the fuck in, spend you're money online and with the opportunities that this partial lockdown affords you follow the basic guidelines.

 

[twosips]

You seem a nice guy and I've watched your videos from the start but fuck me is there anybody on this forum who flips his opinion more than you? One day you're up the next you're down. If deaths increase in the next fortnight you will change again. And what about the few million of us who are vulnerable to this disease, do we stay in forever or run the gauntlet of increased odds of dying so some can go chippy and a concert? People seem so so concerned for the depressed or jobless but not about the millions like me who have no way out till either a vaccine or it goes away.

Yes. Probably fucking loads who flip more. I've not posted a strong opinion about covid on here or on Twitter for absolutely ages. In fact, my last opinion in here was in mid August where I was saying not to worry about the reinfection cases as they're like outliers. Hardly one day up, one day down is it? Really not sure what you're referring to there? If you can prove me wrong and find some posts, go for it.

My stance now is different to that of months ago simply because we know a fuck load more about this. Treatments have improved, people are more aware, there are other countries we can keep an eye on for precedents, we know what we're dealing with. So yes, my view has altered, but that's healthy and normal. I'd be more worried if anyone was rigidly sticking to their exact same view from March regardless of all the changes. It sounds like you're talking about my posts from months ago where there was hundreds of people dying every day from this. Of course I was more emotional then, as we'd been told the IFR was 1.0% by some professors! We know now that that is miles off thankfully due to various factors including potential cross immunity/better treatment etc. Things are clearly different now and we know a tonne more than we did. As a result, I've changed my opinion slowly based on evidence. Once again - what on earth is wrong with that?

I feel incredibly sad for the vulnerable and for you. It's shite. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. I think vulnerable should be protected, yes, and I never suggested they shouldn't be, did I? I'm not sure what the alternative is though? I don't think we can lock down absolutely everyone realistically forever, as other countries won't do the same, and as soon as we allow flights back in it'd only start again anyway. It's pretty clear with the benefit of hindsight that the whole world disagrees on how to deal with this, so that's a no go. The government isn't going to go for a zero covid approach, quite clearly, and I don't really think that's probably possible anymore anyway, so if there is a way for people to try and live without millions of people losing their incomes and futures being absolutely decimated by this, then we have to try and find it.

If the infections go up, but the deaths remain hopefully very low, then I think that's what we may have to accept. Once again, I'm not sure what is wrong with that. Protect the vulnerable in the best way we can, support them financially too would be my choice, and let everyone else try and get back to something approaching normality and hope for the best....if the deaths start to get out of control, of course react stronger. We're nowhere near that though. We can't lockdown forever and I do think we're doing some severe damage unintentionally to many, many good, hard-working people with the constant local lockdowns without hospitalisation rises.

Edit - and this isn't a personal view either about my life. I still won't hug my parents or anything like that. I'll still be extra cautious for an awful long time, but I think its a crying shame that millions of people are going to lose their livelihoods, just as brexit looms to throw us into even more uncertainty. We'll destroy more lives than we'll lose if we're not careful. Once again, I'm sorry for the vulnerable. It's awful.