Technology1 min ago
Another U Turn
A friend of mine who lives in Trafford was really looking forward to today as Trafford and Bolton were coming out of lockdown. At the 11th hour, BJ has decided that they are not. How many more U-Turns are there going to be, why can't they get things right?
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I'm simply wondering how long it will be before the government realises that this problem - such that it is - cannot be tackled by ordering people to stay away from each other.
There are currently just over 700 people in hospital with the virus. There are around 140,000 hospital beds in the UK (many of them are unoccupied, but that's another story). So one hospitalised case for every 200 beds. Put another way, just over 0.001% (one in a hundred thousand) of the population are in hospital with Covid. Also bear this in mind:
- In the week ending 16th January GP consultations (remember them?) for ‘flu-like illness reached 15 per 100,000 people. The current daily average for new Covid infections is 12.5 per 100,000.
- In that same week hospital admissions for ‘flu were 2.43 per 100,000 people. This meant over 1,500 people (over 200 a day) were admitted to hospital in a week. Yesterday 107 people were admitted with Covid.
- The average daily number of deaths from Covid for the month of August was ten. In the last week that figure was eight. In the last three days it was two. In the w/e 16th January there were 2,686 deaths (about 380 a day) where ‘flu and/or pneumonia was given as the cause of death.
- The government’s commentary on that week's ‘flu figures (by any measure worse than the last month’s Covid figures) said “[these suggest] flu is having a low impact on hospital admissions as well as intensive care unit and high dependency unit admissions.” So not a big worry then.
Just how long will this lunacy persist? Do you recall people being locked down, walking around in masks, prevented from gathering, not going to football matches, shop and pub staff working behind perspex screens (and so on, and so on)? Me neither.
There are currently just over 700 people in hospital with the virus. There are around 140,000 hospital beds in the UK (many of them are unoccupied, but that's another story). So one hospitalised case for every 200 beds. Put another way, just over 0.001% (one in a hundred thousand) of the population are in hospital with Covid. Also bear this in mind:
- In the week ending 16th January GP consultations (remember them?) for ‘flu-like illness reached 15 per 100,000 people. The current daily average for new Covid infections is 12.5 per 100,000.
- In that same week hospital admissions for ‘flu were 2.43 per 100,000 people. This meant over 1,500 people (over 200 a day) were admitted to hospital in a week. Yesterday 107 people were admitted with Covid.
- The average daily number of deaths from Covid for the month of August was ten. In the last week that figure was eight. In the last three days it was two. In the w/e 16th January there were 2,686 deaths (about 380 a day) where ‘flu and/or pneumonia was given as the cause of death.
- The government’s commentary on that week's ‘flu figures (by any measure worse than the last month’s Covid figures) said “[these suggest] flu is having a low impact on hospital admissions as well as intensive care unit and high dependency unit admissions.” So not a big worry then.
Just how long will this lunacy persist? Do you recall people being locked down, walking around in masks, prevented from gathering, not going to football matches, shop and pub staff working behind perspex screens (and so on, and so on)? Me neither.
So it's working, NewJudge. Surely it's better to jeep things under control as best we can rather than just ignore it and risk it spiralling out of control and requiring national lockdowns again. A few on here want us "to get a grip" "grow some..." but no responsible government will take that risl. The opposition parties don't want restrictions lifted.
If you were in Scotland, NJ, there would be few supporting you- they are generally complying and very supportive of the Scottish government which speaks with one voice. Signs in shops, for example, say "masks are mandatory" and they expect you to leave if you try to enter without one
If you were in Scotland, NJ, there would be few supporting you- they are generally complying and very supportive of the Scottish government which speaks with one voice. Signs in shops, for example, say "masks are mandatory" and they expect you to leave if you try to enter without one
I think Boris and his merry men have already realised they can't control this situation, their just doing what they think will please the public in general, and I'm afraid their not even getting that right. Boris won't do anything anyhow until he test's the water, to do that he tends to drop hints out of what he may or may not do, and see what reaction he gets first. In a nutshell he's got no bottle what so ever.
//So it's working, NewJudge.//
What's working? There are now virtually no widespread restrictions on activities in England apart from large gatherings. That and people roaming around in face masks that actually open up the wearers to far more risk than they reduce it for others around them and the ludicrous "social distancing" guidance that is simply ridiculous. But the damage that is causing to businesses and the wider community is immense.
Daily deaths are in low double or single figures. Compared to that week in January when I cited the 'flu statistics, there is not much happening of any significance - certainly not from any single cause - at the moment. In that week there were over 2,600 deaths from 'flu. Did you hear about it on the telly or in the papers? I doubt it. Were we all told to stay 2m away from each other and wear face coverings? No. Were the buses limited to about a third of their capacity? No.
This virus will continue to spread until it mutates into something else or goes away. Fannying about with "local lockdowns" and "social distancing" will not stop that. All it's doing is spacing the spread out over a longer period and causing even more economic damage than has already occurred. Collateral damage is now becoming apparent: GPs surgeries are all but defunct in most areas; surgery for patients suffering from life threatening conditions is being suspended. It is simply not sustainable to carry on like this. We don't get it every winter when tens of thousands of people die from 'flu.
The phrase that I find most cringeworthy when I see it is "keeping you safe." I go into a shop and I see "We're taking these measures to keep you safe". I get on a bus or train and I am urged to do this that and the other "To keep everybody safe." Utter cobblers. The government has fooled the population into believing they can somehow be "kept safe" from contracting an infectious disease. I've got breaking news: they can't. People will catch it; infection rates will go up and down. The sooner that is accepted by everybody and this ridiculous strategy of trying to keep people away from each other is abandoned, the sooner we can find the marbles many of the population seemed to have mislaid since last March.
What's working? There are now virtually no widespread restrictions on activities in England apart from large gatherings. That and people roaming around in face masks that actually open up the wearers to far more risk than they reduce it for others around them and the ludicrous "social distancing" guidance that is simply ridiculous. But the damage that is causing to businesses and the wider community is immense.
Daily deaths are in low double or single figures. Compared to that week in January when I cited the 'flu statistics, there is not much happening of any significance - certainly not from any single cause - at the moment. In that week there were over 2,600 deaths from 'flu. Did you hear about it on the telly or in the papers? I doubt it. Were we all told to stay 2m away from each other and wear face coverings? No. Were the buses limited to about a third of their capacity? No.
This virus will continue to spread until it mutates into something else or goes away. Fannying about with "local lockdowns" and "social distancing" will not stop that. All it's doing is spacing the spread out over a longer period and causing even more economic damage than has already occurred. Collateral damage is now becoming apparent: GPs surgeries are all but defunct in most areas; surgery for patients suffering from life threatening conditions is being suspended. It is simply not sustainable to carry on like this. We don't get it every winter when tens of thousands of people die from 'flu.
The phrase that I find most cringeworthy when I see it is "keeping you safe." I go into a shop and I see "We're taking these measures to keep you safe". I get on a bus or train and I am urged to do this that and the other "To keep everybody safe." Utter cobblers. The government has fooled the population into believing they can somehow be "kept safe" from contracting an infectious disease. I've got breaking news: they can't. People will catch it; infection rates will go up and down. The sooner that is accepted by everybody and this ridiculous strategy of trying to keep people away from each other is abandoned, the sooner we can find the marbles many of the population seemed to have mislaid since last March.
>Don’t these “lockdowns” in Trafford and Oldham only consist of not being allowed to socialise in home and garden? And yet the Metrolink advises against “all but essential travel” to Oldham only. I was wondering how that would help ..
I think you are not supposed to meet up with friends in groups in pubs and restaurants etc there. But the messages on the tram might mean don't travel to visit friends in Oldham, Trafford etc, and maybe it's because they also want to keep numbers down on the tram because of social distancing.
But as I haven't travelled/wouldn't try to travel on public transport of visit other households or pubs in such areas I don't know for sure
I think you are not supposed to meet up with friends in groups in pubs and restaurants etc there. But the messages on the tram might mean don't travel to visit friends in Oldham, Trafford etc, and maybe it's because they also want to keep numbers down on the tram because of social distancing.
But as I haven't travelled/wouldn't try to travel on public transport of visit other households or pubs in such areas I don't know for sure
