Current Affairs

[Kendhni]

Again the government are being a bit slow to react. Calls to tighten up have been about since September.
You cannot trust joe public to do the right thing unless they are led by the hand.

[Kendhni]

You know what be a powerful message about wearing a face mask and the pandemic not being over? Tory MPs wearing a mask in parliament. Masks are conspicuous by their absence on that side of the house

They must lead by example.
We have an opportunity to really knock this on the head by being pro-active rather than reactive.

[oldbluefox]

Again the government are being a bit slow to react. Calls to tighten up have been about since September.
You cannot trust joe public to do the right thing unless they are led by the hand.

Unfortunately if the government do respond straight away they are accused of going into panic mode, if they don't they are prevaricating so either way they cannot win in the eyes of their critics.
You are right that Joe Public cannot be trusted to do the right thing. Personally I would like to see the Scottish model adopted (much as I dislike Sturgeon but on this issue she is right). I cannot understand why infection rates in Wales where they have adopted similar precautions as Scotland are so high.
And yes, MPs on both sides of the house should lead by example.

[towny44]

Our infection rates are very high, but they are consistent even when rising.
However I look at the other countries data fairly regularly and taking Germany as an example, their daily rates although much lower than ours, fluctuate wildly, ranging from under 2000 a day to over 18000 all in the same week. Those figures cannot possibly be accurate, as they would represent an R rate going from under 1 to about 9 in 2 days, that is just not possible.
Our stated rates are very consistent with the ONS monthly data, which at least show them to be a realistic figure I still have doubts about many other countries data.

[Manoverboard]

The me-me-me population as a whole didn't bother to heed the warnings nor see the signs, what else could we expect ?

The messaging from both government and media has been that it's all over.

Has it ?

I make my own mind up about such things and I believe that is the case with most people. Some, like us, are generally sensible and take responsibility for themselves and the people they mix with whereas the selfish brain dead types will do what the hell they like and then blame somebody else when it goes pear shaped.

We have taken ' safety first ' precautions throughout but have witnessed the various degrees of risk taking by others that we personally know. No one has thus far mentioned that they did so because of something they saw in the media or because of a Government Statement.

We are due to have the booster jabs shortly but we will continue as now for the time being.

[oldbluefox]

Comparing one nation's results with another is a very hit and miss affair because the circumstances in individual nations are so very different. Easy to do if the criteria are the same but there are too many variables to make any accurate comparison.
Just been for my Covid booster jab and was amazed by how ignorant some people are about their own health. Some have no idea what medications they are on, didn't know when they had their second jab, didn't have their little blue card and some created plenty of fuss but couldn't follow a simple instruction to wait for 10-15 minutes after their injection. They couldn't even follow the exit arrows and ended up at the bottom of the corridor!!! What hope is there of these people taking Covid precautions unless the government mandates it?

[Mervyn and Trish]

Comparing one nation's results with another is a very hit and miss affair because the circumstances in individual nations are so very different. Easy to do if the criteria are the same but there are too many variables to make any accurate comparison.

I agree. Analysis I've read says we are now seeing more cases because we were fastest to roll out vaccines so we are also fastest for immunity to begin to wane. Another factor is testing. We have conducted far and away the most tests per head of any major European country. 4.7m per million population. France has done half that at 2.3m per million. And once-brilliant-at-testing Germany has only done 871 thousand per million. Test more, find more.

I also agree with some of what you say Gill, without quoting your post (trying to save David's servers from a hernia!). I too wish we would move more quickly to Plan B and make masks compulsory again since voluntary doesn't work. Not so difficult. And bring in Covid passports. That wouldn't affect me, in fact we are going to the theatre for the first time in 2 years next week and are delighted the theatre is demanding proof of double jabs or recent Covid test. However, I accept that is more controversial and definitely in the realms of damned if they do and damned if they don't.

Where I disagree with you is on mixed messaging because I don't think it has been mixed at all. When things were relaxed it was made very clear there was no good time to do it and in fact later in the winter would be worse. At the time some, including you, made claims cases, hospital admissions and deaths would rocket. They didn't. In fact cases after a while fell and then stabilised and numbers in hospital and deaths began to slowly fall. Any call then to tighten up would have been laughed out of court by the great unwashed. Only in the last couple of weeks have cases started to rise again and the message I've heard has been very clear - get jabbed - that being what the analysts were saying would make the most difference.

We see what we want to see. Your Twitter example is perfect. We follow people we think are like minded. I do use Facebook and have blocked a number of people preaching anti-vax and hoax. The less perceptive believe them. One fit young man I knew tragically died as a result of doing so.

If our priority is to go the pub or a festival we believe it is all over and only see what reinforces that. If we are more cautious we see the opposite. If we believe the government is incompetent we only see evidence to support that.

The MP's report was a good example of that. Yes it did criticise the government's initial response to the pandemic, though with some caveats that were not widely reported, and also praised other aspects, also not headlined. The media read what they wanted to read and that's what most of us got in the headlines.

And don't even get me started on Jeremy Hunt's role in that committee, a bitter man openly opposed to the current administration and described to me by a senior hospital consultant as the worst Health Secretary we ever had - and that's some achievement.

[Manoverboard]

Twitter ship all the controversial stuff to the head of the queue to make it look like normality ... it is rigged as indeed is Faceache.

Their collective records are even worse regarding ' Black Lives Matter ' because basically they choose to let the excesses of the Trolls remain in situ, including the vast majority of the reported stuff.

[oldbluefox]

"I think Facebook and Twitter are classed as media"

Any clown or contrived expert can post there with no qualifications or expertise whatsoever. If that is where people are getting their information from they are more gullible than I thought.

[Ray B]

Face masks will do a lot to stop the spread, like some of the posts, we also have not stopped using them. The message was quite clear from the government that masks help to protect but maybe it does not reach those that prefer to ditch them. A lot of people watch very little news preferring to tune in to music or video streaming channels and then moaning that they had received no information on what to do.
Will get my booster jab Saturday week and continue to protect myself the best I can.

[Manoverboard]

We have to do a 30 mile round trip for our Boosters, bl**dy Government said naught about that

[towny44]

We have to do a 30 mile round trip for our Boosters, bl**dy Government said naught about that

Well if you choose to live in a wonderful scenic county, with a population density about the same as Scotland, then you must expect these little inconveniences. Our booster jab centre is 1.5 miles away.

[barney]

Where we are, cases have gone through the roof.
Now, having said that, they are nearly all school aged children and under twenties.
We have continued with our mask and sanitation policy as have nearly all other shops.
That will continue no matter what any particular minister says or doesn’t say.
We keep our own counsel and plough our own furrow.
I was amazed to see on bbc breakfast news this morning, lovely Naga saying to a headmaster from Ipswich, in response to his policy of reintroducing mask wearing in his school, that he was acting against government policy.
Can anyone point me to the policy of telling people not to wear masks!
If anyone is stupid enough not to take adequate precautions over their own health, then possibly they deserve what they get.

[Onelife]

https://blogs.bath.ac.uk/iprblog/2020/1 ... nications/

[Gill W]

"I think Facebook and Twitter are classed as media"

Any clown or contrived expert can post there with no qualifications or expertise whatsoever. If that is where people are getting their information from they are more gullible than I thought.

Social MEDIA is a clue to what these channels are.

As well as the clowns and contrived experts, you also get access to actual qualified experts in any field you wish to name.

I can't speak for Facebook, but on Twitter, the Blue Tick is an assurance that the account belongs to a verified person - very helpful in sorting the wheat from the chaff.

I've noted your attempt to belittle me by dismissing what I have said by laughing at me. It hasn't taken long for it to start again

[david63]

I thought I saked you all to behave

[Gill W]

I was amazed to see on bbc breakfast news this morning, lovely Naga saying to a headmaster from Ipswich, in response to his policy of reintroducing mask wearing in his school, that he was acting against government policy.
Can anyone point me to the policy of telling people not to wear masks!

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/face ... rom-17-may

Schools were told in May that masks no longer required

Where I disagree with you is on mixed messaging because I don't think it has been mixed at all. When things were relaxed it was made very clear there was no good time to do it and in fact later in the winter would be worse. At the time some, including you, made claims cases, hospital admissions and deaths would rocket. They didn't. In fact cases after a while fell and then stabilised and numbers in hospital and deaths began to slowly fall. Any call then to tighten up would have been laughed out of court by the great unwashed. Only in the last couple of weeks have cases started to rise again and the message I've heard has been very clear - get jabbed - that being what the analysts were saying would make the most difference.

I thought I had clarified this ages ago. I was trying to point out how relatively small numbers can become relatively big numbers very quickly.

I noticed a few weeks ago, I think when had plateaued at around 35000 cases a day that you were feeling hopeful. I didn't respond at the time as I was on a break from posting, but, I thought that starting the autumn season at such a high daily rate, was not good at all. I see that the 50000 barrier has been broken today. Deaths are mercifully lower than before we had the vaccine but even at a rate of a 1000 deaths a week, we are looking at 10000 more deaths by the end of the year, which is huge, and harks back to my original thoughts about how numbers can mount up quickly.

[Manoverboard]

We have to do a 30 mile round trip for our Boosters, bl**dy Government said naught about that

Well if you choose to live in a wonderful scenic county, with a population density about the same as Scotland, then you must expect these little inconveniences. Our booster jab centre is 1.5 miles away.

I did my sums wrong ... it's actually 40 miles and in a different County

[Mervyn and Trish]

Deaths are mercifully lower than before we had the vaccine but even at a rate of a 1000 deaths a week, we are looking at 10000 more deaths by the end of the year, which is huge..

Any deaths are regrettable but that is fewer than flu in a normal year. Should we shut down the country to avoid that too?

As well as the clowns and contrived experts, you also get access to actual qualified experts in any field you wish to name.

I can't speak for Facebook, but on Twitter, the Blue Tick is an assurance that the account belongs to a verified person - very helpful in sorting the wheat from the chaff.

Blue ticks only confirm the account is genuine, not the veracity of the opinions expressed. Piers Corbyn has a Twitter account. He is a passionate anti vaxer and Covid denier. He also has a science degree from Imperial College, one of the world's top universities for science, and an MSc. An impressive CV. Should we believe him?

I thought I saked you all to behave

No chance!

[Manoverboard]

I can't speak for Facebook, but on Twitter, the Blue Tick is an assurance that the account belongs to a verified person - very helpful in sorting the wheat from the chaff.

I'm a verified person with Sainsburys and Amazon but I couldn't be a racist unlike those on Twitter.

[oldbluefox]

I've noted your attempt to belittle me by dismissing what I have said by laughing at me. It hasn't taken long for it to start again

If you are going to post wild statements like that don't be surprised if you get a reaction.

[barney]

I was amazed to see on bbc breakfast news this morning, lovely Naga saying to a headmaster from Ipswich, in response to his policy of reintroducing mask wearing in his school, that he was acting against government policy.
Can anyone point me to the policy of telling people not to wear masks!

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/face ... rom-17-may

Schools were told in May that masks no longer required

Where I disagree with you is on mixed messaging because I don't think it has been mixed at all. When things were relaxed it was made very clear there was no good time to do it and in fact later in the winter would be worse. At the time some, including you, made claims cases, hospital admissions and deaths would rocket. They didn't. In fact cases after a while fell and then stabilised and numbers in hospital and deaths began to slowly fall. Any call then to tighten up would have been laughed out of court by the great unwashed. Only in the last couple of weeks have cases started to rise again and the message I've heard has been very clear - get jabbed - that being what the analysts were saying would make the most difference.

I thought I had clarified this ages ago. I was trying to point out how relatively small numbers can become relatively big numbers very quickly.

I noticed a few weeks ago, I think when had plateaued at around 35000 cases a day that you were feeling hopeful. I didn't respond at the time as I was on a break from posting, but, I thought that starting the autumn season at such a high daily rate, was not good at all. I see that the 50000 barrier has been broken today. Deaths are mercifully lower than before we had the vaccine but even at a rate of a 1000 deaths a week, we are looking at 10000 more deaths by the end of the year, which is huge, and harks back to my original thoughts about how numbers can mount up quickly.

So, you interpret that as wearing masks is forbidden.

[Ray B]

There is a difference between not having to wear a face mask in schools and deciding to wear a face mask voluntary in schools or anywhere else.
No rules say you can not wear a mask anywhere.

[Quizzical Bob]

We have to do a 30 mile round trip for our Boosters, bl**dy Government said naught about that

You lucky barstewards. We would do anything to get our boosters before we sail off on 5th November but our six months expires on the 28th October. Our surgery invited the Mrs for a combined flu and Covid booster three weeks ago but when we turned up early on a Saturday morning they suddenly asker her if it had been at least six months.

When asked the obvious question they said that they had only just been told about the six months requirement. What really annoys us is that we cannot even book a jab appointment until after the six months have expired. We shall be lucky if we get jabbed before February.

[Mervyn and Trish]

We've just been offered our boosters but the earliest date we can get is while we're due to be abroad for the first time in 18 months so we'll be booking in at the first opportunity when we get back.