It ain't gone away.

[pete75]

With so much news focus on the fighting in the Ukraine, little media attention is being paid to this but.......

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-60872687

[pete75]

With so much news focus on the fighting in the Ukraine, little media attention is being paid to this but.......

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-60872687

[ossie]

I think its time to move on and just live with it...

[reohn2]

I thought that was what we were doing,surely the question is how do we live with it?
Currently government say there's no need for restrictions and any precautions are the responsibility of the individual as they see fit.
Is this enough to keep infection rates down?
If not and hospital admissions rocket what then?
There's also talk of other perhaps more deadly mutations.

[simonineaston]

Certainly hasn't - but looks far less serious than it used to be. What's up in the air is what'll happen when the protections & benefits we've gained from mask-wearing, free testing, social behaviours and immunity from vaccines begin to diminish...

screenshot of graph

another screenshot of graph

[Jdsk]

I'm not too bothered by the end of the statutory regulations.

I'm very concerned about inadequate advice on reasonable precautions to take as individuals, as organisations, and in indoor spaces.

And the withdrawal of free testing.

And about any reduction in the surveillance programmes.

With the current vaccines it's looking likely that boosters at about 6 month intervals will be appropriate for some or all. That's going to need a powerful campaign.

Jonathan

[reohn2]

Other than I think atleast some statutory requirements are needed otherwise it's a free for all,I agree with you on your other points..

[Jdsk]

And we need a review of standards for air changes and filtration, including for schools and healthcare buildings.

And a plan for healthcare including mental health, with a workforce plan if we're serious about it.

And a review of our readiness for the next outbreak.

And a review of how we responded to the one that we're still suffering.

Jonathan

[Psamathe]

I still can't understand how mask wearing has such a crucial economic impact to the extent it is being abolished (though I'm still wearing a mask when e.g. in shops). I don't like masks but it's hardly a massive issue.

And

The NHS is coming under “significant” pressure amid a rise in Covid cases in virtually every area of England, the chief medical officer has warned, with hospitalisations likely to continue increasing at least until April.

NHS bosses urge people to stay away from A&E as Covid patient numbers hit record

Covid absences in schools in England triple in two weeks

Hospital staff absences in England due to Covid-19 jump 31% week-on-week

etc., etc.

Still, the inquiry into UKs handling of the pandemic should be starting any day now (or was promised to be).

Ian

[Ben@Forest]

I still can't understand how mask wearing has such a crucial economic impact to the extent it is being abolished (though I'm still wearing a mask when e.g. in shops). I don't like masks but it's hardly a massive issue.

And

What the Guardian article doesn't say is that about half the people hospitalised with coronavirus have other underlying health conditions. For some coronavirus is seriously affecting that other condition but for others its an incidental mild infection which makes no real odds to the patient - but still has to be logged as a person in hospital with coronavirus

My wife is a nurse and that is (and to some extent always has been) her experience.

[pete75]

I still can't understand how mask wearing has such a crucial economic impact to the extent it is being abolished (though I'm still wearing a mask when e.g. in shops). I don't like masks but it's hardly a massive issue.

And

What the Guardian article doesn't say is that about half the people hospitalised with coronavirus have other underlying health conditions. For some coronavirus is seriously affecting that other condition but for others its an incidental mild infection which makes no real odds to the patient - but still has to be logged as a person in hospital with coronavirus

My wife is a nurse and that is (and to some extent always has been) her experience.

Mild or serious the patient has coronavirus so is logged as having it. Hospitals have to take precautions against spread with all patients suffering the disease. A mild case is no less infectious than a serious one.

[pwa]

My impression at the moment is that while there are lots of people in hospital with Covid, the number of people seriously ill from Covid alone is small. We are a long way from the initial scenario, when the pandemic first started, of Covid making reasonably normal life impossible. And I am meeting people all the time who think enough is enough and we need to just get on with life now and accept what is now a much reduced risk. We are now at a point where we can play around with the fine details of where, if anywhere, a mask must be worn, but that is about it for me. In my head a line has been drawn under this, and I think that is the case for most people now. If a more serious variant crops up we will have to think again, of course, but until then we must see Covid as one more bug that can bring down those with impaired immune systems, especially when they are already hit by something else.

[Ben@Forest]

What the Guardian article doesn't say is that about half the people hospitalised with coronavirus have other underlying health conditions. For some coronavirus is seriously affecting that other condition but for others its an incidental mild infection which makes no real odds to the patient - but still has to be logged as a person in hospital with coronavirus

My wife is a nurse and that is (and to some extent always has been) her experience.

Mild or serious the patient has coronavirus so is logged as having it. Hospitals have to take precautions against spread with all patients suffering the disease. A mild case is no less infectious than a serious one.

Absolutely. But newspapers could and should make that clear. The intimation is everyone in hospital with coronavirus has been admitted for that reason, but it's not the case. It really annoys my wife that the reporting on this has never really been accurate.

[pwa]

What the Guardian article doesn't say is that about half the people hospitalised with coronavirus have other underlying health conditions. For some coronavirus is seriously affecting that other condition but for others its an incidental mild infection which makes no real odds to the patient - but still has to be logged as a person in hospital with coronavirus

My wife is a nurse and that is (and to some extent always has been) her experience.

Mild or serious the patient has coronavirus so is logged as having it. Hospitals have to take precautions against spread with all patients suffering the disease. A mild case is no less infectious than a serious one.

Absolutely. But newspapers could and should make that clear. The intimation is everyone in hospital with coronavirus has been admitted for that reason, but it's not the case. It really annoys my wife that the reporting on this has never really been accurate.

I have noticed over the last few months that BBC news reports about the latest figures do end with a mention that not all those in hospital with Covid are there because of Covid.

This BBC online item deals with the issue, pointing out that half of those in hospital with Covid were not admitted because of it, but because of something else. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-60872687

[peetee]

I am inclined to suggest a degree of complacency has much to do with this increase. This past week I have been a daily visitor to an elderly relative in hospital. I was told I was to provide a lateral flow test on each visit but I was never asked to present one, despite making more than one visit on a couple of days and walking extensively through the hospital building. On the first day I wore a fabric mask without comment but on the second a member of staff checking visitors on the main entrance asked me to wear a surgical mask. That was the only day they were present.
Also there were strict controls in place for the number of visitors allowed; one per day for an hour for each patient. I had seen five persons at one bed for considerably longer than 60minutes.
There were two public refreshment areas where masks could be removed. Non of the seated areas were screened and in one there was considerably less than two metres gap between the seating of adjacent tables and two days ago the stickers on the floor indicating the required gap between customers were being removed.
I could understand these slack practices if the system were at breaking point but, in the areas I visited, the environment and moods of the staff were relaxed and everything seemed ‘business as usual’.