Cycling UK Forum

Hi there, It's SFSL here? Self First, Self Last, as practised by a certain Downing Street Adviser! Works for him as he still gets the big money despit evidence that he's a Prat! MM

It's been said that the virus can stay on surfaces for hours.
It's therefore possible to suffer from it and been nowhere near another person for days. All you need to do is open a contaminated gate when on a solitary walk.

What about going into a shop and picking up a tin of beanz? It could be that someone had been in there and picked it up and put it down again.

Wash your hands thoroughly when you get home, but it could be ages before you can do that.

Mick F wrote:It's been said that the virus can stay on surfaces for hours.
It's therefore possible to suffer from it and been nowhere near another person for days. All you need to do is open a contaminated gate when on a solitary walk.

What about going into a shop and picking up a tin of beanz? It could be that someone had been in there and picked it up and put it down again.

Wash your hands thoroughly when you get home, but it could be ages before you can do that.

Why wait until you get home? I alcohol my hands on leaving any shop. The till lady in our Co-op does her hands after every customer.

Paulatic wrote:

Mick F wrote:It's been said that the virus can stay on surfaces for hours.
It's therefore possible to suffer from it and been nowhere near another person for days. All you need to do is open a contaminated gate when on a solitary walk.

What about going into a shop and picking up a tin of beanz? It could be that someone had been in there and picked it up and put it down again.

Wash your hands thoroughly when you get home, but it could be ages before you can do that.

Why wait until you get home? I alcohol my hands on leaving any shop. The till lady in our Co-op does her hands after every customer.

Does she still have skin on her fingers? I can't use the stuff.

francovendee wrote:

Paulatic wrote:

Mick F wrote:It's been said that the virus can stay on surfaces for hours.
It's therefore possible to suffer from it and been nowhere near another person for days. All you need to do is open a contaminated gate when on a solitary walk.

What about going into a shop and picking up a tin of beanz? It could be that someone had been in there and picked it up and put it down again.

Wash your hands thoroughly when you get home, but it could be ages before you can do that.

Why wait until you get home? I alcohol my hands on leaving any shop. The till lady in our Co-op does her hands after every customer.

Does she still have skin on her fingers? I can't use the stuff.

I have to use it at work and it does make my hands a bit sore. But sore hands or dead, take your pick

Ok, it can be argued that I didn't use a good example?
My point was, that you don't have to be in anyone's vicinity to contract the virus.

Mick F wrote:Ok, it can be argued that I didn't use a good example?
My point was, that you don't have to be in anyone's vicinity to contract the virus.

I heard recently that the chances of picking it up from stiles and gates in the countryside, although not zero, is extremely low, so I'm not worrying about that too much. I just don't touch surfaces when I don't need to. My wife, who is very cautious, uses dock leaves to avoid touching the latch on one gate she often uses.

With regard to the likelihood of traced contacts not self-isolating as they should, I think that could be a risk with self-employed people in financial difficulties. If I was told I had to stay off work for two weeks as a precautionary measure I would not be at all upset.

pwa wrote:We have had a lot of praise for nations such as Germany ans South korea which have relied heavily on tracing, and individuals self-isolating when asked. If that doesn't work in the UK because UK citizens won't co-operate for whatever reason, what would that say about UK citizens compared to citizens of Germany or South Korea? Are we incapable of acting in in unified way anymore?

It would say that UK citizens are intelligent and can tell that just because Dom, Boris and Matt call it "Track and Trace", that doesn't make it the same as what Germany and South Korea have been doing, that it's almost futile and probably anti-rural while the virus is still so widespread (some boroughs still haven't peaked in the first wave, according to news reports - rules are being set on the basis of the big cities) and that UK citizens believe in fairness and won't follow rules that the leaders don't follow.

I don't know how this will pan out, but I would hope the people of the UK will mostly see co-operation with Track and Trace as a civic duty, if they still understand that concept. And I think most still do.

Just lie back and think of Britain and accept whatever rogering the Old Etonians and Oxbridgers dish out, eh? Why would we continue to do that now? How's that been working out so far? We're already seeing that people are now ignoring even the law, let alone the guidelines, and doing what they think best. The sensible ones doing stuff like meeting up in groups outside and keeping their distance (which Boris has now belatedly legalised) are going to be OK, while the mistaken fools doing stuff like having lockdown parties indoors and BBQs are going to be the second wave. Better government would have saved more of the fools from themselves.

mjr wrote:

pwa wrote:We have had a lot of praise for nations such as Germany ans South korea which have relied heavily on tracing, and individuals self-isolating when asked. If that doesn't work in the UK because UK citizens won't co-operate for whatever reason, what would that say about UK citizens compared to citizens of Germany or South Korea? Are we incapable of acting in in unified way anymore?

It would say that UK citizens are intelligent and can tell that just because Dom, Boris and Matt call it "Track and Trace", that doesn't make it the same as what Germany and South Korea have been doing, that it's almost futile and probably anti-rural while the virus is still so widespread (some boroughs still haven't peaked in the first wave, according to news reports - rules are being set on the basis of the big cities) and that UK citizens believe in fairness and won't follow rules that the leaders don't follow.

I don't know how this will pan out, but I would hope the people of the UK will mostly see co-operation with Track and Trace as a civic duty, if they still understand that concept. And I think most still do.

Just lie back and think of Britain and accept whatever rogering the Old Etonians and Oxbridgers dish out, eh? Why would we continue to do that now? How's that been working out so far? We're already seeing that people are now ignoring even the law, let alone the guidelines, and doing what they think best. The sensible ones doing stuff like meeting up in groups outside and keeping their distance (which Boris has now belatedly legalised) are going to be OK, while the mistaken fools doing stuff like having lockdown parties indoors and BBQs are going to be the second wave. Better government would have saved more of the fools from themselves.

How will you react if you get the call to tell you that you have been in contact with someone who turned out to be infected, and for the sake of others you ought to stay out of circulation for a couple of weeks? Will you just ignore it?

My main concern is that perhaps we haven't yet got levels low enough to allow a tracing system to work well enough.

The MANUAL 3T: I dont think it will work. I dont give out my phone number to just any one. Even then it would be my landline I never pickup from so would go onto voice mail I also never listen to. I wouldnt give my mobile number to just any one. I would have thought it is contracting the virus from strangers is the real issue and of course thats a dead end.

But how many "strangers" are you with for at least 15 minutes at a distance of less than 2 metres? Using that definition I am pretty sure I have been in "close contact" with only 1 person since lockdown began, my having moved to her house to avoid the stress of totally solitary living. I intend to keep it that way for many months!

pwa wrote:How will you react if you get the call to tell you that you have been in contact with someone who turned out to be infected, and for the sake of others you ought to stay out of circulation for a couple of weeks? Will you just ignore it?

Not exactly ignore but as it currently stands, with no way to authenticate the call, I will not believe it if asymptomatic. I will take a test ASAP (which is now open to me, as I understand it) and I might stay home a couple of days for the result. Like djnotts, as far as I know I have been "in contact" in this sense with only one person since this began and she would tell me herself.

Would you stay home for 2 weeks when told to do so by a random phone call or text message?

My main concern is that perhaps we haven't yet got levels low enough to allow a tracing system to work well enough.

Yes and I am also be concerned that England's "Track and Trace" is too slow even if it meets its 3-day target. I guess Dominic doesn't want to adopt the WHO's 2-day target (as NZ has, among others) because he's scared of failing again.

Can I add to this thread, that the Grauniad reckons that the NHS will be holding onto all this contact information (and information about your contacts) for TWENTY YEARS.

Twenty years... I'm sure nothing nefarious could happen to your data in twenty years, nor that this Govt or a successor (or Dom, just because) wouldn't decide to monetise that data...

mjr wrote:

pwa wrote:How will you react if you get the call to tell you that you have been in contact with someone who turned out to be infected, and for the sake of others you ought to stay out of circulation for a couple of weeks? Will you just ignore it?

Not exactly ignore but as it currently stands, with no way to authenticate the call, I will not believe it if asymptomatic. I will take a test ASAP (which is now open to me, as I understand it) and I might stay home a couple of days for the result. Like djnotts, as far as I know I have been "in contact" in this sense with only one person since this began and she would tell me herself.

Would you stay home for 2 weeks when told to do so by a random phone call or text message?

My main concern is that perhaps we haven't yet got levels low enough to allow a tracing system to work well enough.

Yes and I am also be concerned that England's "Track and Trace" is too slow even if it meets its 3-day target. I guess Dominic doesn't want to adopt the WHO's 2-day target (as NZ has, among others) because he's scared of failing again.

I am reassured that your response to "the call" would be to take what I personally would regard as socially responsible and appropriate action, even if not quite to the letter of what is being asked.

Turnover of tests is of course the key. Everything about the handling of the pandemic in the UK seems to have a bit of a delay before it works well enough, so I am fully expecting tests to take two days too long at first, then gradually get faster.

There was a BBC Wales news report today which had some expert suggesting that Ceredigion, with a remarkably low incidence of Covid 19, might be an example of "rural distancing", where people naturally being very few and far between makes contagious diseases travel less successfully. If it is correct, some rural areas might never suffer to the same extent as cities. Even so, it only has to get into one care home.....

brooksby wrote:Can I add to this thread, that the Grauniad reckons that the NHS will be holding onto all this contact information (and information about your contacts) for TWENTY YEARS.

Twenty years... I'm sure nothing nefarious could happen to your data in twenty years, nor that this Govt or a successor (or Dom, just because) wouldn't decide to monetise that data...

Of course it will be safe it’s in the hands of Dido. Remember she was at Talk Talk and their huge data breach.