I do think it’s hysterical to call for an extended lockdown and criticise Monday’s lockdown easing, going off the basis of a fairly small outbreak in London. Calling someone clueless, on the other hand, is just disrespectful.
Coronavirus - the new strain XVII
- Thread starter gavreid
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I think the surge testing has been proportionate to the threat we’ve seen in North London.
My reference to panicking and overreacting was aimed at a few forum members who questioned whether we should be easing lockdown and suggested extending it further from the basis of a fairly small outbreak.
Well read the posts and understand them then, nobody has 'CALLED FOR AN EXTENSION TO LOCKDOW' merely pointed that it could be inevitable.
You are adding stuff that folks are not saying, or adding a tilt to it that was obviously not intended. I I find it utterly disgusting that you can call it hysterical and find it OK to do so.
To be fair I tend to immerse myself in the science of the matter rather than paying sole attention to the MSM who (right or left) are doom-mongering and fear-instilling cretins with an agenda to keep people scared as they think it brings in more readers/viewers. Having said that, the thing with this virus is it can very quickly get out of control again... so all I am advocating is some caution.
As for your thoughts on the mob mentality in here there is a bit of a clique and certain members of it have belittlement and patronisation as hobbies, but that's only like real life at the end of the day. Walk into a pub (after lockdown easing obvs
) and there'll always be a few drinkers you'd rather not bother hearing from although you'll feel they love the sound of their own voice. It's the same here. Good job we're not all the same I guess 
Tony L
Administrator
Another factor is the general age demographic. I’ve no accurate or recent data, but I suspect the top of the bell-curve is 55-60 or so, with a huge number of members here in their 70s and 80s, plus some folk who have underlying health issues or disabilities. Basically a lot of people for whom this really isn’t a game. If they call it wrongly they may well be in the death or life-changing long-covid categories. That does tend to focus the thread on the science and evidence rather than whatever vacuous soundbites the lying Bullingdon prick in No 10 is trying to sell to his donors this week.
Let’s just agree to disagree.
gintonic
50 shades of grey pussy cats
does not contain an outbreak. Lockdowns, quarantines, self isolation contain outbreaks. Really important if vaccines are not entirely effective.
Testing positive from a surge test requires a person to self-isolate though, thus helping contain the outbreak.
Problem being that too many don’t self-isolate, a lot of the time because they can’t afford to.
The fact that people don’t isolate for losing out financially really does get my back up really, this isn’t playing a game and why should they expect unknowing others to be put at risk just because they think they have a right to covertly go about their business just because they haven’t got any symptoms. If I knew I was positive I frankly couldn't forgive myself with the potential of possibly passing it on to others who could become seriously ill. How others do this shows what the country has turned into. All in this together - not a chance as there are always going to be selfish individuals. If the figures are to be believed of those who don’t self isolate there really is no chance of stopping this from getting bad again.
30 odd million vaccinations could all be for zilch if this SA variant takes hold and I sincerely hope that doesn’t happen for all our sakes. It’s not that they can’t afford to self isolate, we all can’t afford for them not to do it. Everyone can afford to self isolate - going without money for two weeks can’t be an issue for a lot of folks most people have money to spare after all we have had nothing to spend it on for months.
I know This sounds harsh but maintaining the relaxing of lockdown in London now knowing there have been clusters isn’t a good idea I don’t think at this time.
The UK’s minimum statutory sick pay is one of the lowest rates of sick pay in Europe. It’s at £95.85 a week compared to average earnings of £503, which means that the average worker would lose 80 per cent of their income if they had to stop work due to Covid, according to the TUC. https://www.tuc.org.uk/research-analysis/reports/sick-pay-works
The reality is most people can’t afford to self-isolate and go without money for two weeks and don’t have cash to spare. Making it affordable for people to self-isolate would really help. A choice between putting food on the table and infecting someone else isn’t a nice one. The Labour Party have been saying this for months and they’re right.
In terms of London, if surge testing doesn’t work, maybe local lockdown action could be taken in the areas infected to stop the spread. Is there any evidence the SA variant is more infectious and deadly than say the Kent one or that the vaccines are any less effective against it when it comes to serious disease?
Sorry Wayne, but I don't think you realise how a lot of people in his country have to live.... for many lockdown will not have seen them saving money as all their money goes on 'just getting by'. I'm the first to blame people if they don't obey the basic rules when they can (and there are plenty of examples of those), but the support in the UK for those who are struggling and on low incomes is woeful even without the pandemic factored in... I just can't see how they could self isolate and continue to get by in many cases.
We agree on something!
Colin L
High-tech low-life
I think what lies behind the hesitancy for releasing restrictions too quickly from many on this forum (populated generally by older people) is that we know what a bunch of dickheads most of the great British public are. The media’s fascination with getting the pubs open and going on holiday doesn’t help. Given half a chance joe public unleashed will ignore distancing and hand washing and infections will take off again.
Bjork67
pfm Member
They need to stamp on this hard, 6 months hard lockdown. Nobody allowed out whatsoever, shopping delivered by armed forces. Medicines etc to be delivered to door , like what China had in Wuhan. Any breaking of the rules instant execution. All internet activity halted. I'm certain there's dark forces at work in spreading new variants. No more virus chitchat, spreading of rumours etc. This could be the end of the human race. The complete banning of pink salt or any other weird salt, table salt and gritting salt only. Malt vinegar to be made the only vinegar sold. Anybody even thinking about anchovies, sloe gin or olives should be turned into glue. Weetabix cornflakes porridge only none of this weird honey nut clusters lark. No more crinkle cut chips ! Straight cut only.
I understand but you are getting the fact some people just won’t self isolate - period, they just refuse to do so, and won’t which is a terrible state of affairs. I understand about people who are on low incomes I myself am one of those. If you have a family to support etc then obviously things would be hard to manage.
What about the payment of £500 isn’t that still available?, I appreciate like everything to do with benefits the Government don’t make claiming easy and you have to possibly be in receipt of a passport benefit of some sort no doubt to claim some of these payments?.
The issue with people not self isolating is never ok on principle, if your a one man self employed type working outside in the fresh air installing telecoms equipment for example, then maybe the risk of transmission is less. But if like many do around where I live manufacture caravans in close proximity to 100s of others and share a confined workspace, then this is were problems spiral and transmission also.
gavreid
Pretty Words...
Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine research ‘was 97% publicly funded’
- Analysis rebuts claim by Boris Johnson that jab was developed ‘because of greed’
"Less than 2% of the identified funding came from private industry, the researchers said, a finding they said posed a challenge to the views of people such as Boris Johnson, who has said that the record-fast development of Covid-19 vaccines was “because of capitalism, because of greed”."
https://www.theguardian.com/science...covid-vaccine-research-was-97-publicly-funded
- Analysis rebuts claim by Boris Johnson that jab was developed ‘because of greed’
"Less than 2% of the identified funding came from private industry, the researchers said, a finding they said posed a challenge to the views of people such as Boris Johnson, who has said that the record-fast development of Covid-19 vaccines was “because of capitalism, because of greed”."
https://www.theguardian.com/science...covid-vaccine-research-was-97-publicly-funded
What an excellent post that is. I’m also a fan of porridge - actually some in front of me now. Thankfully that wasn’t as scarce as powdered milk in the first lockdown or was it the fourth?.
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