Main Coronavirus / Covid-19 Discussion Thread

[e77]

As ever, let us see.

The argument that we could be doing more that won't tank the economy is still valid though.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Another nice drop in cases, longer this goes on the better

I see German case numbers are just going up and up.

 

[vegster]

Another nice drop in cases, longer this goes on the better

I see German case numbers are just going up and up.

Yes, very nice to see the numbers going down, lets hope it continues. The old conundrum we always have is that we have so many cases compared to other countries because we do so much more testing. This week, being half term week probably indicates that our testing numbers have gone down as many people don't want to lose a holiday break by testing positive.

It's either that or that Covid rates are somehow slowing down despite the general slow abandonment of mask wearing, social distancing and handwashing as we all become more complacent, this with increasing mixing of the population socially, you only have to look at one side of the House of Commons to see the close contact mixing. Being " Fraternal and convivial " really isn't a defence against airborne viruses

I'm expecting the rates to go back up again within a week of the schools going back.... I'd love to be proved wrong on this though.

 

[vegster]

Another nice drop in cases, longer this goes on the better

I see German case numbers are just going up and up.

For reference, Worldometers Coronavirus figures put Germany at 20,000 new cases yesterday compared to our 40,000.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Yes, very nice to see the numbers going down, lets hope it continues. The old conundrum we always have is that we have so many cases compared to other countries because we do so much more testing. This week, being half term week probably indicates that our testing numbers have gone down as many people don't want to lose a holiday break by testing positive.

It's either that or that Covid rates are somehow slowing down despite the general slow abandonment of mask wearing, social distancing and handwashing as we all become more complacent, this with increasing mixing of the population socially, you only have to look at one side of the House of Commons to see the close contact mixing. Being " Fraternal and convivial " really isn't a defence against airborne viruses

I'm expecting the rates to go back up again within a week of the schools going back.... I'd love to be proved wrong on this though.

It seems school kid cases peaked last week in England testing is slightly down, but nothing major.

Hmmm I’m not sure lack of masks is down to one side of the House of Commons, the labour conference/evening events was pretty mask free - in fact some of the Labour Party seem to only wear them in the commons.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

For reference, Worldometers Coronavirus figures put Germany at 20,000 new cases yesterday compared to our 40,000.

And 10 days ago Germany was at 8700.

More than doubled in that time with fewer tests according to our world in data.

With a massive 9 percent of tests being positive.

 

[vegster]

It seems school kid cases peaked last week in England testing is slightly down, but nothing major.

Hmmm I’m not sure lack of masks is down to one side of the House of Commons, the labour conference/evening events was pretty mask free - in fact some of the Labour Party seem to only wear them in the commons.

It's the mixed messaging that is causing the confusion and apathy.

 

[Weststander]

And 10 days ago Germany was at 8700.

More than doubled in that time with fewer tests according to our world in data.

With a massive 9 percent of tests being positive.

Our positive test result rate is currently on the 5% percentile. Several other European nations have a far higher number.

Per capita, Belgium, Italy, Czech Republic and Slovakia also carry out extensive testing.

 

[Weststander]

It seems school kid cases peaked last week in England testing is slightly down, but nothing major.

Hmmm I’m not sure lack of masks is down to one side of the House of Commons, the labour conference/evening events was pretty mask free - in fact some of the Labour Party seem to only wear them in the commons.

5% masks (plus a couple of those dumb visors)? Thousands in a packed arena.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

5% masks (plus a couple of those dumb visors)? Thousands in a packed arena.

Quite, which is why the commons argument is a weak one.

Didn’t Starmer take a photo, post it then take it down and do it all again with a mask?

 

[Weststander]

Quite, which is why the commons argument is a weak one.

Didn’t Starmer take a photo, post it then take it down and do it all again with a mask?

It’s got silly, hypocrites from any party are easily exposed with 24-7 media coverage.

Regarding masks, at this stage I respect the views of those not wearing. That’s shirley the overwhelming majority going by 99.9% of the north stand, trains and buses and supermarkets.

At the last Downing Street press conference, the message from the two scientists was protect the elderly by wearing a mask. That hit home, so I did on subsequent visits to Lidl and Sainsbury’s.

But ….. the great irony …. 80% of the 60 to 80 year olds are still not wearing masks, including today in Lidl Goldstone Retail.

 

[atomised]

For reference, Worldometers Coronavirus figures put Germany at 20,000 new cases yesterday compared to our 40,000.

So pleased to see you including the comparative testing figures there so we can look at those figures and analyse them properly of course alongside the positivity rate. So good to see such a concise balanced post.

 

[vegster]

So pleased to see you including the comparative testing figures there so we can look at those figures and analyse them properly of course alongside the positivity rate. So good to see such a concise balanced post.

Perhaps you should read the post I was replying to and stop going so thermonuclear ?

 

[dsr-burnley]

It’s got silly, hypocrites from any party are easily exposed with 24-7 media coverage.

Regarding masks, at this stage I respect the views of those not wearing. That’s shirley the overwhelming majority going by 99.9% of the north stand, trains and buses and supermarkets.

At the last Downing Street press conference, the message from the two scientists was protect the elderly by wearing a mask. That hit home, so I did on subsequent visits to Lidl and Sainsbury’s.

But ….. the great irony …. 80% of the 60 to 80 year olds are still not wearing masks, including today in Lidl Goldstone Retail.

I suspect that the older you are, the less concerned you are about the relatively small prospect of dying of coronavirus. Currently about 5% of deaths are people with coronavirus, and significant numbers of those are the already-ill or the unvaccinated. Why waste the best remaining years of your life worrying about one of the smaller elements of your risk of death?

You might be surprised how many of the older people don't hear very well if they can't see who they're talking to. Plenty of people struggle with phones who appear to have little problem hearing face-to-face, and a lot of that is because of lip reading - often without even realising they're doing it.

 

[Weststander]

I suspect that the older you are, the less concerned you are about the relatively small prospect of dying of coronavirus. Currently about 5% of deaths are people with coronavirus, and significant numbers of those are the already-ill or the unvaccinated. Why waste the best remaining years of your life worrying about one of the smaller elements of your risk of death?

You might be surprised how many of the older people don't hear very well if they can't see who they're talking to. Plenty of people struggle with phones who appear to have little problem hearing face-to-face, and a lot of that is because of lip reading - often without even realising they're doing it.

Agreed. It cuts both ways, shop staff not hearing what the hell you’re saying too when you wear a mask. Must be world records levels of having to repeat stuff over the last 18 months.

Only out of interest, not vilifying them, I wonder why the vast majority of men and women over 60 don’t wear masks? Plenty of scope for social scientists to examine attitudes during this pandemic. This wasn’t a poor sample of just Lidl and Sainsbury’s, in our busy shopping mall Churchill Square last week masks were few and far between. I felt a conspicuous idiot by giving a mask ago again.

A personal and long standing theory of mine …. the independent spirit and thinking of Brits, which has pros and cons. We don’t like being told what to do.

O’Brien on LBC this morning on track’n’trace took an unlikely call (not a bod blaming Boris for all the world’s ills) from someone who’s worked in NHS track’n’trace from the beginning, in charge of teams making the actual phone calls. She explained that 90% of folk receiving the call didn’t want to know, even at the height of the pandemic, in essence they didn’t care and were going to ignore the message.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Sexy little 24 percent week on week drop for England.

 

[Weststander]

Sexy little 24 percent week on week drop for England.

Touch wood, the number of Covid patients on ventilators hasn’t taken off as predicted by many.

To benchmark, the total was 3,300 at the apex in April 2020 and 4,100 in January 2021.



The NHS is ever under pressure, hopefully this lack of ‘bad news’ is helping hospitals function.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Touch wood, the number of Covid patients on ventilators hasn’t taken off as predicted by many.

To benchmark, the total was 3,300 at the apex in April 2020 and 4,100 in January 2021.

View attachment 141663

The NHS is ever under pressure, hopefully this lack of ‘bad news’ is helping hospitals function.

More good news!

 

[crodonilson]

Data going in the right direction which is very encouraging. Let's not rest on our laurels though. It's not ever November yet and hospitals are already under immense pressure. 9,000+ covid patients in as we speak as well as the usual seasonal respiratory viruses. I think we may be ok for the next few weeks, the forthcoming activities are generally outdoor events and many councils have already called off firework displays because of the super spreader nature of these eventsand Halloween means many will be wearing masks to stop the further spread.

My main concern now is the festive period. Weneed to ensure the narrative is that if people must have people over to celebrate they do so sensibly and remember the adages of hands, space face and fresh air.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Data going in the right direction which is very encouraging. Let's not rest on our laurels though. It's not ever November yet and hospitals are already under immense pressure. 9,000+ covid patients in as we speak as well as the usual seasonal respiratory viruses. I think we may be ok for the next few weeks, the forthcoming activities are generally outdoor events and many councils have already called off firework displays because of the super spreader nature of these eventsand Halloween means many will be wearing masks to stop the further spread.

My main concern now is the festive period. Weneed to ensure the narrative is that if people must have people over to celebrate they do so sensibly and remember the adages of hands, space face and fresh air.

Must admit I even laughed at this one