COVID-19

Our government is inept imo, they should have got this under control last year, but didn’t follow advice. Their handling of it has allowed plenty of doubt to be put into a lot of people’s minds about how serious this virus can be. It’s a mess, hopefully the vaccination roll out will work, but this will go on for a good while yet. Our excess deaths figure is bad enough, but I suspect it is probably worse than than the figure used. No one wants tough restrictions, whilst I think Fordy goes too far berating any tradesperson for trying to work within the rules, we do need a tight lockdown. Many workers financially have no choice, and for every person that does their due diligence in terms of safety, there will be others that outright take the piss, and many somewhere in the middle.

 

I'm going to be honest and it's not popular but I don't think they've ignored much advice - they have probably done everything they've been told to do but not as quickly as some would like but that's a different discussion. They're probably also getting conflicting advice rather it being a single stream of what they should do.

Why would you think the excess deaths are worse than reported? Do you think they're under reporting total deaths?

As for a tight lockdown, I'm not sure. I'd rather get to a stage where people actually stuck to the rules that were applied rather than continually increasing the restrictions that were going to be ignored anyway. So few of the countries which are similar to the UK have dealt with this well shows it's almost impossible unless you can completely cut yourself off.

 

Part of the problem is the size of the SAGE group that advises the government, 20 is far to many with to many views, No sooner have the government taken action on their advice then various members are spouting on various channels and programs another view confusing the public and undermining confidence in the government and their own group advice

 

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink comes to mind, seems some are not able to take the governments advice or they couldnt care less and think it doesn't apply to them.

 

Then you've got Independent SAGE which seem to take an alternative view just to be contrary.

It's the problem with "following the science", it's not just a single viewpoint and you can always find someone who disagrees with the direction you're choosing which undermines the message.

 

Operation blame the public has been in progress since around September October when they knew they couldn’t control this with winter coming.

it’s complete bollocks and everyone falling for it. Do you really think John in Morrison’s who’s wearing his mask on his chin is responsible for 32000 people
In hospital today with covid? Absolutely no chance. It’s the late lockdowns, sending schools and universities back after we’d pushed everyone to mingle all summer with eat out to help out and get back to the pubs and have a drink.

the same thing has happened again now. Everyone can have a great Christmas after we have all mingled in schools and universities and at work. Oh and we will send all this kids back despite knowing this virus is totally out of Control and 70% more virulent than the other strain. But decide to shut them a day later.

we would still have deaths and still have cases but not on the scale we see now if we had taken different actions and actions sooner and stricter. The nhs is about to fall over. Care homes will be next. The government knows they have acted far too late and are now blaming the public.
There will always be people who flout rules but compare them to the amount of cases we have daily and deaths daily it is not them. It is on this government. Shambles from February 2020 to now.

They will look to blame the public more over this week. It’s bollocks. Don’t fall for it

 

The problem is that is it people who are spreading it, especially people who don't abide by the scientific advice.

You're dead right about things like Eat Out to Help Out even if it was well intentioned to boost the hospitality sector but by the same token, knocking 10 quid off a meal was hardly forcing people out either.

 

Of course it’s people, it’s a virus. That’s obvious. But we have done nothing early enough to limit it. It’s all about slowing it down until we could get the vaccine out there but we didn’t do it

 

thing is you saw how people reacted as the first lockdown continued, they got bored and wanted out. If it has started sooner boredom would have hit sooner.

personally I wanted lockdown earlier and longer but people in general wouldn’t have stuck to it without severe enforcement

 

So yes, we agree, it is John walking around Morrisons who is spreading it.

"Early enough" is a matter of opinion. We're clearly trying to do something about it at the moment but people aren't listening to the advice.....hence the need to have compliance forced upon them such as the announcement by Morrisons. It doesn't matter what restrictions you put in place if people willfully ignore them.

 

It’s too late! We were getting 50000 a day and then locked down.
95% of people wear the masks I’d say form what I’ve seen. They are a very minute issue. They would not cause 50k positive a day for weeks on end. That’s on schools and unis

 

I take it you don't spend much time in Bradford Supermarkets? It's nowhere near 95%! But you're right, no one measure answers for why it got up to 50k a day. As I've said before I'm happy for lockdown to be a last resort so I don't mind it being "late"

When were we at 50,000 a day? Was it after unis and schools had been shut for all except 1 day?

But the current issue is definitely that people have got lockdown fatigue and are behaving differently to what they were doing in March. There were massive amounts of people going sledging when it showed the other day....but they know the risks.

 

I look at the Figure stated in July and August and they are minimal throughout. I understand that that it spreads easier in the winter months as it is a Coronavirus. When you look at the graphs though, the largest upturn in cases comes from mid September when all the Kids went back to School and Uni.

This shows to me that the Pubs and Restaurants were not massive regarding the spread.

I totally understand that why they are closed because kids are taking it home and passing it onto parents and grandparents.

I tested positive (I only went for a test because our Works manager tested positive) and had very little symptoms - just a slight cough - the problem is, if I hadn’t had a test I would have gone to work the following week - and seem my Mum (who is 73) and potentially spread it around.

it’s the asymptomatic people that are spreading it around and they don’t even know it.

it’s just a bit of a nightmare, hopefully this Vaccine will get us back to some sort of normality.

the thing that really gets my goat is the negativity by the government and the mainstream media. People are struggling with mental health issues as it is (especially those that live alone). They need some positivity to cling on - not be beaten with a stick every day with “lock down could last till April” etc.

 

I was dead against action taken against the two women who took part in the crime of having a coffee and a walk a few miles from their house at an area which was quiet to avoid large crowds in parks near their homes. The fines were ridiculous and quite rightly have been reversed.

To me the fines are for clear breaches of the rules like having a party or meet up in someones house, a lock in or one of many clear breaches that are still going on. Not the driving to a quiet spot for a walk.

Which brings us onto Boris Johnson, he did the same thing as these two women. There is a park behind Downing Street he could ride round but he was "driven" to the olympic park to then ride round it on a bike. If the PM leads by this example it's no wonder the rules are a complete clusterfuck.

 

I can only see these ridiculous enforcement tactics gettingg worse with the out of touch Patel banging the drum in the press.
Policing in this area is always educate, educate, educate. enforcement is not necessary. Move them on, job done

 

Have they confirmed he didn’t cycle there? I know there was discussion yesterday that they didn’t know if he had cycled there

 

I agree with the first half of the post.

Not sure about the last bit. Like you I think the fines given to the women were ridiculous but then, by the same token, I can't kick up a fuss about Johnson travelling for his exercise.

 

Hearing today about a boat party in Hertfordshire where 40 guests paid £30 a head. Should have sunk the fecking boat once they all got on. Selfish pricks.

Yesterday a couple who drove from Northampton to Newquay to "look at some seals on the beach".

Unbelievable Jeff.