Main Coronavirus / Covid-19 Discussion Thread

[Green Cross Code Man]

No, the First Minister of Wales made attempts to secure the best deal for the Welsh people who vote for him, no the English people who don't. As opposed to Boris Johnson who decided to ignore the lockdown rules he was telling the rest of the country to obey and in doing so insult every single key worker and relative of people who died.

I know who I prefer.

But the instance you refer to with Johnson has nothing to do with the Welsh restrictions which look to have done nothing to prevent Covid and which may have brought more harm to the Welsh people, and the decision Johnson's government took with plan B watch appears to have paid off both in respect to case numbers and the economy.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

No, the First Minister of Wales made attempts to secure the best deal for the Welsh people who vote for him, no the English people who don't. As opposed to Boris Johnson who decided to ignore the lockdown rules he was telling the rest of the country to obey and in doing so insult every single key worker and relative of people who died.

I know who I prefer.

He wanted more money so he could put in a full lockdown before Xmas, how is that best for the Welsh people?

You seem to think I like Johnson, I don’t.

All three mainland leaders are idiots.

 

[LamieRobertson]

No, the First Minister of Wales made attempts to secure the best deal for the Welsh people who vote for him, no the English people who don't. As opposed to Boris Johnson who decided to ignore the lockdown rules he was telling the rest of the country to obey and in doing so insult every single key worker and relative of people who died.

I know who I prefer.

Lol I think that’s apparent ..when you moving

 

[Weststander]

No, the First Minister of Wales made attempts to secure the best deal for the Welsh people who vote for him, no the English people who don't. As opposed to Boris Johnson who decided to ignore the lockdown rules he was telling the rest of the country to obey and in doing so insult every single key worker and relative of people who died.

I know who I prefer.

Drakeford pushed for a lockdown that wasn’t required at that stage. Lockdowns aren’t benign events - businesses go bust, people lose jobs, people especially the young and lonely suffer mentally.

I act for a large pub in north Sussex, successful forever. In the last 22 months, their staffing has reduced from 30 to 15 full/part time staff now. Trade is a fraction of what it was. That’s 15 real families with vastly reduced income to nil, bloody hard to get a job just now in north Sussex for obvious reasons. No wonder people are depressed.

Drakeford would have all hospitality businesses shut. He’s unable to think out of the box about mental health, just tunnel vision for Omicron.

The money he sought “for the best deal for his people” wasn’t required, he’s getting championed here for overreacting, then seeking Westminster printing of more debt to bankroll the consequences.

Madness.

 

[dazzer6666]

Drakeford pushed for a lockdown that wasn’t required at that stage. Lockdowns aren’t benign events - businesses go bust, people lose jobs, people especially the young and lonely suffer mentally.

I act for a large pub in north Sussex, successful forever. In the last 22 months, their staffing has reduced from 30 to 15 full/part time staff now. Trade is a fraction of what it was. That’s 15 real families with vastly reduced income to nil, bloody hard to get a job just now in north Sussex for obvious reasons. No wonder people are depressed.

Drakeford would have all hospitality businesses shut. He’s unable to think out of the box about mental health, just tunnel vision for Omicron.

The money he sought “for the best deal for his people” wasn’t required, he’s getting championed here for overreacting, then seeking Westminster printing of more debt to bankroll the consequences.

Madness.

Quite….Drakeford and Sturgeon continued with their ‘must do something different than Boris’ approach for political expediency IMO. If they were genuinely thinking the restrictions were necessary then they would have had to be immediate given the speed with which Omicron was spreading, not waiting until after Christmas (when all and sundry would be mixing in big family groups, office parties, pubs etc etc). They ended up with the worst of both worlds…unnecessary restrictions, implemented too late to be of any use.

 

[Weststander]

Quite….Drakeford and Sturgeon continued with their ‘must do something different than Boris’ approach for political expediency IMO. If they were genuinely thinking the restrictions were necessary then they would have had to be immediate given the speed with which Omicron was spreading, not waiting until after Christmas (when all and sundry would be mixing in big family groups, office parties, pubs etc etc). They ended up with the worst of both worlds…unnecessary restrictions, implemented too late to be of any use.

Socialising permitted up to and including Xmas, announced in advance, was the ‘dead’ giveaway.

If advised under the precautionary principle about a wave of Omicron overwhelming Scottish and Welsh hospitals, why announce that the lockdown/firebreak will start a week on Sunday, the day after widespread gatherings? That would be far too late for the number of cases bell chart with R values > 1.

Administrations whether based in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Berlin or Paris, inherently all have one eye on keeping the public and businesses relatively sweet, on economics, on politics. No one has ever said they should simply follow the modelling. [Well some people have said that, but we’d now be entering month 23 of a repressive lockdown].

 

[kevo]

Not going tonight, so watching on Sky. Literally ALL their build up is about Palace.

 

[A1X]

[tweet]1482456643103346695[/tweet]

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

The papers today seem to have been given the info that all restrictions are likely to go on the 26th of Jan. Looks like omnicron has peaked and we are on the way out of the worries about hospital capacity etc. for now!

 

[Motogull]

I thought it might be rude not to mention this.

I saw a colleague, 40ish, last week and he said a few days after being boosted he tested positive on crimbo day. Sounds like it was old school covid as he lost his taste and smell senses. Taste is returning but not smell yet. Luckily for him he had not read some old guff on the internet so had not decided that he would become immune to cause him to decide not to get jabbed.

Moral of the story: get jabbed and boosted.

 

[dazzer6666]

We’re on our way…….

DT extract

People will no longer be legally bound to self-isolate when they catch Covid-19 under plans being drawn up by Downing Street to learn to live with coronavirus in the long-term.

The Telegraph understands Boris Johnson wants to permanently repeal emergency coronavirus laws which have governed how the public can live for almost two years.

Instead, official guidance would remain in place which encourages people to behave in certain ways, but would not result in fines or legal punishment if ignored.

The plans will be worked up over the coming weeks, with an announcement being penned in as early as the spring - although no final decisions have been taken.

It would also mean there would be no legal requirement to isolate after contact with someone who has Covid or to wear face masks in certain settings.

A senior government source told The Telegraph: “Lots of legal requirements were put in place during the pandemic.

“As we come into a stage where things are more manageable and those legal restrictions may no longer be necessary, we will look to remove them promptly from the statute book.

“The Prime Minister is obviously determined to get back to normal as soon as we can.”

The move comes as hope grows that this winter’s Covid surge triggered by the emergence of the omicron variant is easing, with daily case numbers continuing to fall.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

We’re on our way…….

DT extract

People will no longer be legally bound to self-isolate when they catch Covid-19 under plans being drawn up by Downing Street to learn to live with coronavirus in the long-term.

The Telegraph understands Boris Johnson wants to permanently repeal emergency coronavirus laws which have governed how the public can live for almost two years.

Instead, official guidance would remain in place which encourages people to behave in certain ways, but would not result in fines or legal punishment if ignored.

The plans will be worked up over the coming weeks, with an announcement being penned in as early as the spring - although no final decisions have been taken.

It would also mean there would be no legal requirement to isolate after contact with someone who has Covid or to wear face masks in certain settings.

A senior government source told The Telegraph: “Lots of legal requirements were put in place during the pandemic.

“As we come into a stage where things are more manageable and those legal restrictions may no longer be necessary, we will look to remove them promptly from the statute book.

“The Prime Minister is obviously determined to get back to normal as soon as we can.”

The move comes as hope grows that this winter’s Covid surge triggered by the emergence of the omicron variant is easing, with daily case numbers continuing to fall.

Part of that is incorrect. It is no longer legally required to isolate if in contact with someone who has COVID if one is vaccinated. It hasn't been for ages.

 

[dazzer6666]

Part of that is incorrect. It is no longer legally required to isolate if in contact with someone who has COVID if one is vaccinated. It hasn't been for ages.

Yep..good news. We’re getting rid of unnecessary restrictions

 

[Weststander]

Once we’re fairly certain that variants are causing less and less severe illness in numbers terms, perhaps all the legislation and delegated powers eg to the London Mayor’s Office, should be repealed?

Other than anything protecting the clinically vulnerable, nursing homes etc.

A side note, most of the public have acted intelligently this winter - taking up boosters, self policing in terms of restricting social lives and visits to pubs/restaurants. Mitigating part of the need for laws.

 

[Poojah]

[tweet]1482456643103346695[/tweet]

Unvaccinated people are 28 times more likely to die from Covid than vaccinated, according to this Guardian article:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/16/what-do-we-know-about-people-who-died-covid-uk

 

[Swansman]

Unvaccinated people are 28 times more likely to die from Covid than vaccinated, according to this Guardian article:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/16/what-do-we-know-about-people-who-died-covid-uk

According to media we're also all supposed to be dead by now, with thousands of people being admitted to hospital each day due to Covid.

Saying that unvaccinated people are 28 times more likely to die from Covid is a conclusion made on flawed/twisted statistics. I'm not saying the vaccine doesnt help and doesnt protect people but those numbers are messed up. The majority of deaths happened during the first couple of months of the year when the vaccine wasnt available to most people so taking one figure from today - 82% are vaccinated and then another number from way back "there was a lot of deaths in February and almost no one was vaccinated!!!" is to push a narrative. If 82% are vaccinated and 18% are not, then if one vaccinated person dies and one non-vaccinated dies, you are more than 5x likely to die if you are not vaccinated so those numbers from the peak-megadeath-strain months are really pushing the numbers.

We dont know how many less deaths (if any) there would have been for the last few months even if no one was vaccinated and we dont know how many less deaths (if any) there would have been in the peak one year ago if the vast majority was vaccinated, because there are other things in play other than just vaccination status. It is guesswork and modelling.

Am I more likely to die from covid because I'm not vaccinated? Most likely that is indeed the case. Am I 28 times more likely to die from Covid because I'm not vaccinated? Most likely not.

 

[Fat Boy Fat]

We’re on our way…….

DT extract

People will no longer be legally bound to self-isolate when they catch Covid-19 under plans being drawn up by Downing Street to learn to live with coronavirus in the long-term.

The Telegraph understands Boris Johnson wants to permanently repeal emergency coronavirus laws which have governed how the public can live for almost two years.

Instead, official guidance would remain in place which encourages people to behave in certain ways, but would not result in fines or legal punishment if ignored.

The plans will be worked up over the coming weeks, with an announcement being penned in as early as the spring - although no final decisions have been taken.

It would also mean there would be no legal requirement to isolate after contact with someone who has Covid or to wear face masks in certain settings.

A senior government source told The Telegraph: “Lots of legal requirements were put in place during the pandemic.

“As we come into a stage where things are more manageable and those legal restrictions may no longer be necessary, we will look to remove them promptly from the statute book.

“The Prime Minister is obviously determined to get back to normal as soon as we can.”

The move comes as hope grows that this winter’s Covid surge triggered by the emergence of the omicron variant is easing, with daily case numbers continuing to fall.

I sincerely trust the removal of all restrictions is based on more than just “hope”...!

 

[Hotchilidog]

I sincerely trust the removal of all restrictions is based on more than just “hope”...!

That smacks of a populist play from an underfire PM.

I am indeed hopeful that in a couple of months we will be in a position to drop the (already insignificant restrictions) but to do so prematurely just because everyone in the country hates you is pretty pathetic if this is indeed the case.

 

[A1X]

A side note, most of the public have acted intelligently this winter - taking up boosters, self policing in terms of restricting social lives and visits to pubs/restaurants. Mitigating part of the need for laws.

I think one of the most pleasantly surprising things about the whole pandemic has been how prepared the public have been to put their lives on hold for "the greater good", other than a few morons and numpties like Piers Corbyn and his dimwit mates. I'd never have thought that could happen two years ago.

 

[Fat Boy Fat]

That smacks of a populist play from an underfire PM.

I am indeed hopeful that in a couple of months we will be in a position to drop the (already insignificant restrictions) but to do so prematurely just because everyone in the country hates you is pretty pathetic if this is indeed the case.

That is precisely what I said to my wife this morning - deflection away from Partygate...! Almost as opportune as a family member catching Covid.