Current Affairs

[Onelife]

we should be waiting for the reconnaissance to report back before crossing into no-mans-land

And look where that got us in WWI

Surveillance/technology has advanced a long way in the hundred+ years since WW1

[CaroleF]

I was reading a scientist's comments this morning and they said that if we had stringent rules every time a new variant of the influenza bug was found we'd never get back to anything approaching normality. At present there's no indication that the new variant causes serious illness - I accept that it might not be the case with vulnerable people who already have other illnesses and whose immunity is already compromised - but then those people would have problems if they contracted flu. The scientist said that we need to learn to live with it and take precautions as we have with flu.

[Gill W]

When people say ''we've got to learn to live with it', I'm never 100% sure what they mean. But I suspect it often means that we go back to our 2019 way of life asnd pretend that Covid doesn't exist. But Covid is here and its not going away, so I think living with it means that we will need to adapt our behaviour to reflect our changed world.

The virus mutates all the time, and most of them don't attract any attention. Some of them become variants of interest, and get named. That's why we seemingly jumped from Delta to Omicron, there were other named variants in between. Sometimes, like now, a variant of concern happens. It was noted that it had several mutations which is likely to make it highly transmissible. Maybe, in our 'living with it' world, when a variant of concern happens, we'll have to get used to living with additional mitigations while the scientists observe what the virus does. Perhaps we'll be in and out of mitigated behaviour for a long time to come, as the virus, mutates, ebbs and flows. Who can tell.

As observed so far, it does seem that Omicron is highly transmissable. New cases are spiking up sharply in South Africa. Also, there's the superspreader event in Oslo. 120 double vaxed people at a party in a restaurant - about 60 are now testing positive. so far 13 are sequenced for Omicron, more results to come in, so probably worth watching what happens.

I'm not too sure where the idea of Omicron being 'mild' has come from, apart from one doctor in SA a week ago saying this. Cases have spiked sharply in SA since then, and hospitalisations are now also rising. I personally think it's too early to be convinced of mildness or otherwise. I'm not even sure what people mean by 'mild Covid'. Is it when they don't have to go into hospital? I ask that, as it's perfectly possible to be unpleasantly ill and not go into hospital. I had flu about 25 yrs ago, when I was an otherwise healthy person in my late 30's. It wiped me out for about 3 weeks, and when I got back to work, I couldn't even climb the stairs to the top floor of the office for weeks. I had to rest between floors. I wouldn't describe my flu as 'mild'.

I heard from a friend the other day. He hasn't been very well for months, but didn't know why he'd gone from an active retired person to someone who couldn't walk across a car park without becoming breathless. It turns out both he and his wife had Covid, but they had no symptoms, so thay didn't even know. But, in his case, the virus damaged his organs including his liver and his heart, and it's changed his life forever. For all we know, a 'mild illness' in the acute stage, may mean a a population with a large degree of chronic illness later. We just don't know yet.

Unfortunately, I think 'living with it' is not going to be easy or particularly enjoyable, but we've just got to get our heads down and accept the new reality.

Regarding our current response to Omicron, I was pleased with the initial quickness of placing SA and other countries on the red list, and I thought lessons had been learned from previous times. I'm also pleased that mask wearing has been brought back for Shops and transport - it should never have been dropped anyway. Round here, people seem to be complying at almost 100% But don't understand why it hasn't been extended to other situation too, like theatres etc. I see they are 'ramping up' the booster jabs too, which is good - but this seems to be the only mitigation that they are pushing - lefts hope that Omicron isn't TOO vaccine evasive.

But apart from that the usual poor messaging is happening. At the press conference when Johnson announced that mask wearing was coming back, he almost glossed over it, by saying mask wearing would be tightened up, and gave no detail. It took a reporters question to prise any detail out of Johnson, and even then he looked very shifty about the whole thing.

I see they are encouraging people to go to their Christmas parties, which seems a bit mad in the current situation.... but they can't really say anything else, bearing in mind what happened last year in number 10 with the Christmas parties !

[oldbluefox]

I interpret 'living with Covid' as being able to carry on with a normal life but taking the usual precautions. We avoid crowded spaces, keep social distancing, wear masks in shops, wash hands etc but in no way do I feel my personal freedoms are much inhibited. We still go out shopping, eat in coffee shops and restaurants and go away on holiday. It's a matter of being aware of your surroundings and taking sensible precautions.
Of course there are those who delight in making mountains out of molehills and are using the situation for political wrangling. Not interested, I take care of my own situation and am not too interested what Bojo and Uncle Tom Cobley and all are doing. As for the anti-vaxxers are concerned, no time for them at all, just stay out of my space.
One concern I do have is the lack of necessity for children to wear a mask. Since a high proportion of those who are catching Covid are in the under 16 age range maybe they should be taking that precaution. Just a thought.....

[Gill W]

I interpret 'living with Covid' as being able to carry on with a normal life but taking the usual precautions. We avoid crowded spaces, keep social distancing, wear masks in shops, wash hands etc but in no way do I feel my personal freedoms are much inhibited. We still go out shopping, eat in coffee shops and restaurants and go away on holiday. It's a matter of being aware of your surroundings and taking sensible precautions.
Of course there are those who delight in making mountains out of molehills and are using the situation for political wrangling. Not interested, I take care of my own situation and am not too interested what Bojo and Uncle Tom Cobley and all are doing. As for the anti-vaxxers are concerned, no time for them at all, just stay out of my space.
One concern I do have is the lack of necessity for children to wear a mask. Since a high proportion of those who are catching Covid are in the under 16 age range maybe they should be taking that precaution. Just a thought.....

What you are doing is what we have been doing too - but I also keep an eye on virus news, so I know if I need to take any additional actions.

for me that's living with it, I expect that's the way it'll be for some time to come. But not sure if everyone has yet come to this realisation.

I also think that children should be wearing masks too

[oldbluefox]

I think some people are simply looking for loopholes by which they can stretch the precautions because 'that's what the government told us' or 'well that's what they are doing'. Instead they should be focusing on their own responsibilities which have nothing to do with anything Chris Whitty, Bojo or anybody else says and does but because they are protecting their own health and the health of those around them.

I also keep a watch on what is going on around me and adjust my behaviour accordingly but I refuse to over react to reports coming from the media, including the Press, who like to sensationalise their reports. I treat their reporting with the disdain it deserves which does nothing to allay fears and causes panic in some sectors of society. Morally I think it is wrong and should be ignored. Somebody once told me good news doesn't sell newspapers and I don't think they were far wrong.

Cases locally are in the mid 20s so whilst we feel pretty confident we still carry on as before. We are living with it.

[Kendhni]

Just finished reading a report where it is thought it could be another 5 years before COVID settles down to just being endemic. Hoping that is a bit of a worst case scenario, but we will have to wait and see,

[Mervyn and Trish]

I agree that mask wearing should cover more situations. It's hardly a major imposition. I'd say they should be worn in any indoor situation where there are a significant number of people unless it’s impracticable. Clearly that would exclude eating and drinking. But why not theatres, cinemas, schools, workplaces etc.? And they need to step up enforcement too. If they handed out a few £200 fines word would soon get round.

I'm not convinced by the mixed messages claims. That's just an excuse not to conform. I'm completely clear what's required of me.

[oldbluefox]

I'm all in favour of a couple of burly (as opposed to burlesque!!) bouncers at the door of supermarkets. No mask, no come in and no excuses. That's where I would do my shopping.

[towny44]

I agree that mask wearing should cover more situations. It's hardly a major imposition. I'd say they should be worn in any indoor situation where there are a significant number of people unless it’s impracticable.

Clearly that would exclude eating and drinking

. But why not theatres, cinemas, schools, workplaces etc.? And they need to step up enforcement too. If they handed out a few £200 fines word would soon get round.

I'm not convinced by the mixed messages claims. That's just an excuse not to conform. I'm completely clear what's required of me.

Would that mean that popcorn eaters in a cinema could avoid wearing masks?

[Gill W]

I'm not convinced by the mixed messages claims. That's just an excuse not to conform. I'm completely clear what's required of me.

Not sure about that. Most people that call the government out on their poor messaging actually do more than what the government requires of them

[david63]

I interpret 'living with Covid' as being able to carry on with a normal life but taking the usual precautions. We avoid crowded spaces, keep social distancing, wear masks in shops, wash hands etc but in no way do I feel my personal freedoms are much inhibited. We still go out shopping, eat in coffee shops and restaurants and go away on holiday. It's a matter of being aware of your surroundings and taking sensible precautions.

I agree - in other words taking responsibility for your own actions, and hoping against all odds that others do the same.

I was pleased with the initial quickness of placing SA and other countries on the red list

That was a political decision and not a scientific one. In this case there was no science to follow!

[towny44]

New pre departure test for anyone travelling to the UK will apply immediately. I have not seen the full rules, but I assume if you test positive you cant travel. However for Brits returning from holiday that test positive what do they do, I imagine the country they are leaving from wont want them to stay, but airlines won't want them on board, so will they need to quarantine in their resort until they test negative? Then what about cruise passengers presumably the cruise lines will need to test everyone within 48 hrs of disembarkation, and how do passengers testing positive get home, will they be allowed to drive home, or return by coach or train, and will they be allowed to use the services on their return journey?

[Onelife]

My gut feeling is that our government know more about the Omicron variant than what they are telling us.

[towny44]

My gut feeling is that our government know more about the Omicron variant than what they are telling us.

Maybe your gut has had too many of your choccies.

[barney]

New pre departure test for anyone travelling to the UK will apply immediately. I have not seen the full rules, but I assume if you test positive you cant travel. However for Brits returning from holiday that test positive what do they do, I imagine the country they are leaving from wont want them to stay, but airlines won't want them on board, so will they need to quarantine in their resort until they test negative? Then what about cruise passengers presumably the cruise lines will need to test everyone within 48 hrs of disembarkation, and how do passengers testing positive get home, will they be allowed to drive home, or return by coach or train, and will they be allowed to use the services on their return journey?

More questions than answers John, which is why the best advice is to avoid international travel.
My neighbours opposite trotted off to Tenerife on the day that the rules first changed and they have now changed again.
I know for a fact that they don’t use the internet so have no idea how they will be able to comply.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I'm all in favour of a couple of burly (as opposed to burlesque!!) bouncers at the door of supermarkets. No mask, no come in and no excuses. That's where I would do my shopping.

And that's how they'd pay for it. I'd choose that supermarket too.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I'm not convinced by the mixed messages claims. That's just an excuse not to conform. I'm completely clear what's required of me.

Not sure about that. Most people that call the government out on their poor messaging actually do more than what the government requires of them

A lot of us do that. But we're not the ones the media choose to interview. They want controversy. Anyone asked who says I'm entirely clear what I need to do won't feature in their report.

In any case if Boris went the other way and was totally prescriptive of every aspect of our lives we know what you know who would say.

And just look at the response this morning to the tightening of travel rules.

[Manoverboard]

For the first time since the start of the pandemic I reluctantly went into a shop. In this instance a safe Darzet Country Store where just about everybody was a local mask wearer, including me. It was a week ago this past Friday and today I have finally stopped sneezing and constantly blowing my nose ... it was a cold but it could equally have been Covid. ( My test by the way was negative )

We don't set out to take risks of course but everything we do is a risk, even collecting the online shopping at the front door is a risk but normality it is not.

[Chalgrave4]

I get more than a little annoyed when I hear people saying the rules are not clear. The rules are always clear but the "Media" interpretations and forecasts confuse the issue. I would surmise that most of the people demanding Clarity are really saying I don't like these rules as they are stopping me doing what I want.

[Ray B]

I thought the rules were very clear for the new cohorts who are eligiblefor the booster jab. Boris and Professor Jonathan Van-Tam made it very clear that you will be invited to apply for the booster, and do not attend vaccination centers before the invite. But as is usually the case, people will only hear what they want.

[barney]

For the first time since the start of the pandemic I reluctantly went into a shop. In this instance a safe Darzet Country Store where just about everybody was a local mask wearer, including me. It was a week ago this past Friday and today I have finally stopped sneezing and constantly blowing my nose ... it was a cold but it could equally have been Covid. ( My test by the way was negative )

We don't set out to take risks of course but everything we do is a risk, even collecting the online shopping at the front door is a risk but normality it is not.

Fortunately, the vast majority are showing common sense and while taking obvious precautions, are living life as normally as possible.
Mrs B had her best days takings yesterday since opening and there was 100% compliance with mask wearing.
The town was buzzing with a brass band playing and numerous other attractions plus free parking, subsidised by the chamber of commerce.
The word down our way is bricks not clicks.
Support for local businesses who supported the community during the first lockdown has continued and gone from strength to strength.
A proper market town and a proper supportive community.
Great Torrington

[Gill W]

A proper market town and a proper supportive community.
Great Torrington

Aren’t you a bit concerned down your way, what with Torridge being top of the Covid infection league for the last few weeks?

[barney]

A proper market town and a proper supportive community.
Great Torrington

Aren’t you a bit concerned down your way, what with Torridge being top of the Covid infection league for the last few weeks?

Nah!
It’s the schools.
Hardly anyone in hospital and an extremely low amount of fatalities in North Devon hospital.
The infection rate is not really that important now, it’s the individual severity that causes concern.

[Mervyn and Trish]

That's the problem with statistics. Only tell part of the story. We had a blip here too that was almost entirely in the schools. They encouraged everyone with a school connection to get tested and nipped it in the bud pretty quickly.