Covid-19 : 2nd Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

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mikeymo
Posts: 2299
Joined: 27 Sep 2016, 6:23pm

Re: Covid-19 : 2nd Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

Post by mikeymo »

Jdsk wrote:
mikeymo wrote:Take some damn responsibility for stopping the virus, and stop blaming everything on the failures of the government"

How would you explain the enormous differences in death rates between similar countries, please?

Thanks

Jonathan


Have a look here:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Click on the heading of "Deaths/1M pop" column.

Tell me, what do you see?

The UK has a death rate very similar to lots of other "similar" countries.
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Covid-19 : 2nd Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

Post by thirdcrank »

mikeymo wrote:
Jdsk wrote:And the problems with consistent messages and leadership by example continue, here are the next two:

Screenshot 2021-01-11 at 14.10.59.png

Screenshot 2021-01-11 at 14.12.04.png
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2021/jan/11/uk-coronavius-covid-news-latest-updates-chris-whitty-boris-johnson-matt-hancock-vaccine-nhs-brexit

Jonathan


My response, as the Prime Minister's spokesman:

"We're busy, here in the government. So I haven't got time to tell you what you should do in every possible combination of circumstances you dream up in order to try to make us look bad on television.

The virus is spread by human contact. Do less of that. Take some damn responsibility for stopping the virus, and stop blaming everything on the failures of the government"

Sort of thing.

Bizarrely, for somebody who has never voted Conservative, I welcomed Priti Patel's clear, unambiguous support for the police. So did my also-never-voted-Conservative wife.


I'd suggest that what we need from the government and the prime minister in particular is strong leadership. In this context a clear message without spin. Forecasts of targets which will never be met - think of Soviet Five-year plans - invite criticism. Politicians are so media savvy that they know the score (if that's the right lingo.) So, lots of freelancers etc., are out there looking for the celebrity news and in these circumstances, government advisors and spokespeople are ex officio celebrities. If I mention Dominic Cummings, the cry may come up "Are you still on about that?" but that's the point. Or two points: reasonable people don't like to think "It's one law for us etc." By failing to act, the prime minister showed his underlying weakness.
Debs
Posts: 1335
Joined: 19 May 2017, 7:05pm
Location: Powys

Re: Covid-19 : 2nd Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

Post by Debs »

roubaixtuesday wrote:
Debs wrote:Went out on my usual 19 mile ride yesterday, on a route that is all countryside. Apart from the usual motor traffic on the B national limit roads, the other more minor roads are very quiet country lanes don't usually see a living soul. Yesterday there were a few walkers out an about, i don't mind this and don't blame people for going out for some fresh air in the solitary countryside. I always say 'Hello' as i pass by.

However, on a part of quiet country lane yesterday i encountered four teenage girls with a dog walking towards me, they were line abreast across the 5 meter wide road, the dog was off-lead but sensibly walking on the grass verge. At 200 metres they had plenty of time to see my approach and give me room to pass, but they didn't, and carried on walking on the road line abreast like a wall of people, this forced me to slow from 15mph down to 5mph and with a too close for comfort passing point.

Thinking about this; they are unlikely to be same family members, or sisters from the same household, the girls all looked to be about 15 years old, so i can only assume they are probably from different households, not social distancing from each other, plus obstructing a normally quiet country lane with intent to cause close passes with other people.


If you think about what teenagers would normally be spending their time doing, that they are outside walking together is probably a good, rather than bad thing. Risks of outdoor transmission are very low. Be pleased they're not engaged in more customary 15YO activities inside...


Who'd of thought, in the tragic days of Coronavirus, a plague of asinine youff would take leave of their habitations and descend upon the unsuspecting public. Would be better off with the zombie apocalypse.
mikeymo
Posts: 2299
Joined: 27 Sep 2016, 6:23pm

Re: Covid-19 : 2nd Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

Post by mikeymo »

This is a disaster!! I don't know how much longer I can stand it!!

Still, we're all suffering!!

You know what happened today? I ran out of milk, and the Asda delivery isn't till tomorrow, so I had to open a tin of evaporated* to put in my coffee. That's how bad it's got here!! And it's all Boris's fault I tell you!!

I bet Londoners in the blitz had to use vappy too.

*vappy that I had in store for the great Brexit disaster, as it happens.
mikeymo
Posts: 2299
Joined: 27 Sep 2016, 6:23pm

Re: Covid-19 : 2nd Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

Post by mikeymo »

thirdcrank wrote:
mikeymo wrote:
Jdsk wrote:And the problems with consistent messages and leadership by example continue, here are the next two:

Screenshot 2021-01-11 at 14.10.59.png

Screenshot 2021-01-11 at 14.12.04.png
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2021/jan/11/uk-coronavius-covid-news-latest-updates-chris-whitty-boris-johnson-matt-hancock-vaccine-nhs-brexit

Jonathan


My response, as the Prime Minister's spokesman:

"We're busy, here in the government. So I haven't got time to tell you what you should do in every possible combination of circumstances you dream up in order to try to make us look bad on television.

The virus is spread by human contact. Do less of that. Take some damn responsibility for stopping the virus, and stop blaming everything on the failures of the government"

Sort of thing.

Bizarrely, for somebody who has never voted Conservative, I welcomed Priti Patel's clear, unambiguous support for the police. So did my also-never-voted-Conservative wife.


In this context a clear message without spin.


"Hands, face, space"

Is that clear enough?
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Covid-19 : 2nd Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

Post by thirdcrank »

mikeymo wrote: ... "Hands, face, space"

Is that clear enough?


On its own very clear, but IMO blurred by the surrounding spin.

We are now in the absurd situation that the prime minister gets on his bike and rides seven miles and this is the subject of media queries. A strange world, but evidence of the self-inflicted bullet holes in his feet.
mikeymo
Posts: 2299
Joined: 27 Sep 2016, 6:23pm

Re: Covid-19 : 2nd Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

Post by mikeymo »

New message from the Prime Minister. It says:

"You must not leave your home for any reason whatsoever.

The police and army will be patrolling the streets, and will shoot dead anybody they see.

I hope that message is clear enough.

Lots of love, Bozzer."
mikeymo
Posts: 2299
Joined: 27 Sep 2016, 6:23pm

Re: Covid-19 : 2nd Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

Post by mikeymo »

thirdcrank wrote:
mikeymo wrote: ... "Hands, face, space"

Is that clear enough?


On its own very clear, but IMO blurred by the surrounding spin.

We are now in the absurd situation that the prime minister gets on his bike and rides seven miles and this is the subject of media queries. A strange world, but evidence of the self-inflicted bullet holes in his feet.


Do you remember that time you said that something he did was good?
Postboxer
Posts: 1929
Joined: 24 Jul 2013, 5:19pm

Re: Covid-19 : 2nd Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

Post by Postboxer »

mikeymo wrote:New message from the Prime Minister. It says:

"You must not leave your home for any reason whatsoever.

The police and army will be patrolling the streets, and will shoot dead anybody they see.

I hope that message is clear enough.

Lots of love, Bozzer."



It's kind of like that already though, but with fines instead of being shot. If they can't clarify where we're allowed to go for exercise, how do any of us know where we're allowed to go, so to err on the side of caution, we can't leave the house. I'm about 50 metres away from the next council area, would going that far be leaving my local area? It's certainly a different part of the city. In Wales there is the clear guidance that exercise but begin and end at home, I haven't looked to see if there is any further guidance on how far away you can go, but it's already clearer than the advice here in England.

Without clarity those wishing to follow the rules don't know what is allowed so may choose to do nothing, those intent of breaking them will bend their interpretation to suit themselves.
reohn2
Posts: 45158
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Covid-19 : 2nd Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

Post by reohn2 »

-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
User avatar
Cowsham
Posts: 4963
Joined: 4 Nov 2019, 1:33pm

Re: Covid-19 : 2ndthe Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

Post by Cowsham »

Postboxer wrote:
Cowsham wrote:
Postboxer wrote:I was thinking earlier what the furthest I've been from home is since March. I haven't been doing much cycling the last 6 months but still think I've been further away from my house by bike than I've been by car. I haven't been out much at all, I was thinking I'd barely been 2 miles from home but thinking about it the furthest I can remember driving is 3.6 miles to go to a school uniform shop back in August. The furthest away I've been from home cycling is about 18 miles.

So we've barely been doing anything, very few journeys to shops, hardly any of them during lockdowns. We haven't visited family or had any days out further afield, as, living in Greater Manchester, every time we were about to start planning days out or visiting family, local lockdown rules or high tiers or various other lockdowns were brought in, giving the impression that we were in a bad area, so we didn't want to travel t another area. The best time we could have visited family was in July, the rates were, compared to now and every time since, very low in Manchester, the kids were off school and my wife had two weeks off work, so the plan was to isolate ourselves as much as possible for as many days as possible, before going to visit family, then the local lockdown rules were announced so we thought we had better not.

My car is also subject to a recall to replace an airbag that might go off like a bomb, it was booked to go into the garage in March 2019, the week lockdown began, but I thought why take the risk so cancelled it, not knowing it would still not be done. Nissan then arranged for the RAC to fix them on the driveway, but I couldn't get it done because of Manchester's local lockdown, which seemed a bit silly as it was during the summer holidays and my car could have been sat there a week with no-one going near it, so there would be very low risk, compared to during term time when the longest it could be empty is 2 1/2 days.


Roughly what age are you?


40 why? Parents are comparatively old as I'm the youngest of 4, parents are 78 and weren't in the best of health before all of this. They live on a farm with my sister next door, the only other house and my brother works on the farm too, so they can see some family and have plenty of empty space to rattle around in. They're in East Yorkshire, near Bridlington, so a 2 hour drive away and an area that had had quite low Covid rates, though they were in tier 3 because rates were high 30 miles away from them in Hull.



You should be OK then if your getting into a small metal box with people who would most likely to be carrying the virus. Good job it isn't granny an granda that's taking them home from school cos ma and da are working as was the case for so many before Xmas

---- my main question is how could this not have been foreseen --- I've been banging on about it since September and I'm no expert.

Chris Witless was asked this very question ( on this mornings news ) but just gave the party line reply by saying " it's safe for children to go back to school " ------ yes it is Chris but it's not safe for older adults to be locked in a heated car with them cos it's winter. Brothers and sisters take it to other classes and so on.
I am here. Where are you?
prestavalve
Posts: 126
Joined: 24 Dec 2020, 8:03pm

Re: Covid-19 : 2nd Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

Post by prestavalve »

Postboxer wrote:Without clarity those wishing to follow the rules don't know what is allowed so may choose to do nothing, those intent of breaking them will bend their interpretation to suit themselves.


Nicola Sturgeon wrote:...local outdoor recreation, sport or exercise, walking, cycling, golf, or running that starts and finishes at the same place (which can be up to 5 miles from the boundary of your local authority area) as long as you abide by the rules on meeting other households...


The rules are like an exercise in linguistic pragmatics.

The rule making people no speak English gud.
Oldjohnw
Posts: 7764
Joined: 16 Oct 2018, 4:23am
Location: South Warwickshire

Re: Covid-19 : 2nd Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

Post by Oldjohnw »

Just in case there is a rump of people who think this evil virus is just like seasonal 'flu, there are now four times as many hospital admissions than with usual seasonal respiratory problems.
John
pete75
Posts: 16370
Joined: 24 Jul 2007, 2:37pm

Re: Covid-19 : 2nd Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

Post by pete75 »

Even Wetherspoon have seen a glimmer of the light. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/busi ... 85537.html
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
pete75
Posts: 16370
Joined: 24 Jul 2007, 2:37pm

Re: Covid-19 : 2nd Lockdown 2020 : 3rd Lockdown 2021

Post by pete75 »

mikeymo wrote:
Jdsk wrote:
mikeymo wrote:Take some damn responsibility for stopping the virus, and stop blaming everything on the failures of the government"

How would you explain the enormous differences in death rates between similar countries, please?

Thanks

Jonathan


Have a look here:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Click on the heading of "Deaths/1M pop" column.

Tell me, what do you see?

The UK has a death rate very similar to lots of other "similar" countries.


Like UK 1204, Germany 499, Netherlands 723, France 1041 etc. What do you regard as similar countries - I'd say Northern European and they're all lower.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
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