Coronavirus - general, non tennis related

Elegant Point · Satellite level

RE: Coronavirus - general, non tennis related

indiana · Tennis legend

Up and up go the new case numbers. Today's report: UK 26,068 and Scotland 3,887. The week's totals will soar again.

Can't seriously still say on track for reopening in less than 3 weeks "at the latest". Yet Johnson and co try to bury their faces in the sand and Sturgeon is getting a bit silly too.

Elegant Point · Satellite level

ASTRAZENECA vaccine shots manufactured in India but administered in the UK could mean YOU won't be able to go on holiday in Europe this year

This version of AstraZeneca hasnt been approved in Europe yet, but up to five million doses of it have been administered in the UK and this will be identifiable on the recipients vaccine cards and Covid travel pass on the NHS app.

The only way to tell if your jab was made in India is by checking the batch number, which will be included in the NHS Covid pass letter. An amendment made to the agreement between AstraZeneca and the UK regulator (the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority) lists three batch numbers that were manufactured by Serum Institute India that were assessed and are treated as Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca.

Batch numbers are: 4120Z001, 4120Z002, 4120Z003

Hopefully these batches will gain regulatory approval!!

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/travel-europe-vaccine-astrazeneca-covishield-b1876764.html

indiana · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
[...]
New cases per week (per 100K), deaths in the week :

15/05 - 21/05: 16,743 (24.54), 42
22/05 - 28/05: 20,765 (30.44), 58
29/05 - 04/06: 29,028 (42.55), 55
05/06 - 11/06: 45,894 (67.27), 61
12/06 - 18/06: 61,181 (89.67), 72
19/06 - 25/06: 89,996 (131.87), 110

[...]

Up and up soar the UK weekly new covid cases.

26/06 - 02/07: 155,146 (237.34), 123

Strongbow · All-time great

Another locckdown coming, deapite the politicians (who are all talking about easing. despite the figures). Not exactly a bold prediction.

-- Edited by Strongbow on Sunday 4th of July 2021 10:44:02 PM

indiana · Tennis legend

I don't think lockdown now thatt the vaccine roll-out has meant so much less serious effects. But hospital admissions and deaths, while still relatively low, are rising a bit week to week. It seems to me so not the time to really push the numbers on with supposedly freedom day in two weeks time.

The government's determination to keep to this 19th Juy date for huge easing and the extent of the talk about such as much easing of rules / recommendations on face masks, while new cases soar ( with still potential horrible consequences for some ) does seem ridiculous. Populist nonsense. This all still needs careful consideration as to what can be eased at this time, with more to follow, rather than so sticking to this once revised, but now seeminglg so inflexibke, freedom day.

As the UK probably now has more new cases than the whole of the EU combined, I can imagine other countries looking on and shaking their heads at so much talk about easing and so little precautiionary talk or indeed criticism of much of some of the under 40s' behavior.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

The new 'the state won't tell you what to do' mantra is SO ridiculous it makes me rage.

The state tells us not to exceed the speed limit, it tells us that education of children is mandatory, it tells us to pay taxes to provide essential services......

One of the main purposes of government is to 'tell' people what needs to be done to make society function properly.

But, suddenly, it's supposed to be all singing and dancing because it's not going to 'tell' us what to do anymore.

Elegant Point · Satellite level

Strongbow wrote:
Another locckdown coming, deapite the politicians (who are all talking about easing. despite the figures). Not exactly a bold prediction.

-- Edited by Strongbow on Sunday 4th of July 2021 10:44:02 PM

I dont think the government will lockdown unless hospitalisations and deaths start to rise - BoJo has basically said we will have to live with Corona and get on with our lives.

I somewhat agree - in that Corona will never go away and we therefore we have no option but to live with it moving forwards. IMO Corona may become more seasonal like flu (which kills a significant number of mainly elderly people each winter ) and like flu IMO there will be mutant strains of Corona requiring the roll out of a slightly modified vaccine as we move towards each winter.

What I do think is wrong, is not requiring mask wearing on public transport and in crowded public places - IMO this should continue indefinitely, especially in the winter. Although hospital admissions are currently low, there are reports of people suffering from long Covid and whilst they dont require hospitalisation, the effects are longstanding and debilitating.

-- Edited by Elegant Point on Monday 5th of July 2021 01:49:12 PM

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

Elegant Point wrote:
Strongbow wrote:
Another locckdown coming, deapite the politicians (who are all talking about easing. despite the figures). Not exactly a bold prediction.

-- Edited by Strongbow on Sunday 4th of July 2021 10:44:02 PM
I dont think the government will lockdown unless hospitalisations and deaths start to rise - BoJo has basically said we will have to live with Corona and get on with our lives.
I somewhat agree - in that Corona will never go away and we therefore we have no option but to live with it moving forwards. IMO Corona may become more seasonal like flu (which kills a significant number of mainly elderly people each winter ) and like flu IMO there will be mutant strains of Corona requiring the roll out of a slightly modified vaccine as we move towards each winter.
What I do think is wrong is not requiring mask wearing on public transport and in crowded public places - IMO this should continue indefinitely, especially in the winter. This would also help stop the spread of winter flu.

I agree re mask wearing and would also like it if they made it continue in supermarkets and shops, generally, and maybe also limited numbers in supermarkets, although clearly that wont happen. But masks in supermarkets, definitely

Elegant Point · Satellite level

iNewspaper suggests that ministers are following economics rather than science with their decision to scrap face masks.

Analysis from reviews of social distancing and mass gatherings revealed public dislike of face masks. Keeping compulsory face masks could cost the events and hospitality industry more than £4 billion in lost revenue.

An alternative view is mask wearing can help inspire confidence and encourage people to return to events/hospitality. If ministers REALLY believe that Corona is under control, and want to encourage a return to commerce, then continuing with compulsory mask wearing might actually help stimulate the local economy. This would be especially true if people (like me) continue to feel unsafe in busy public spaces, because they arent convinced by BoJo and are following the science.

If people choose to continue to wear masks in crowded public spaces, IMO they can continue to go to events/hospitality and help these industries recover whilst limiting viral spread. If they dont wear masks then Corona infections may spiral exponentially and who knows what decisions the government will have to make then.

#followthescience

www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-82574-w

-- Edited by Elegant Point on Wednesday 7th of July 2021 07:39:39 PM

indiana · Tennis legend

Yes, very much agree EP.

I particularly feel for the old and vulnerable. Double jabbed no doubt but that is far from 100% protection. And the risk is made higher still by a fairly out of control growing new case rate. So the government then intends to add to the mix much less compulsory / recomnended face mask use on top of that. For many it won't just be a question of not being confident enough to go to events, it may be back to hardly leaving their homes.

Why on earth can't the government do both, open more things up and encourage peiple to get about and help the ecomomy but also appeal to rhe good side of so many people to play their part for everyone and wear facemasks as at present since rhe case numbers, are so high - it's really not so hard! They appear to be playing to the wishes of these least interested in society and their fellow citizens and of bringing covid under much more under control. They may well be underestimating the population in general and be placating a vocal minoriry while having less control of covid spread. A kind of lose lose.

The extent of planned relaxations against the growing case numbers, by far the worst in Europe, is to me just bizarrre. Again, is wearing a face mask that hard?!

#followthescience

SuperT · Futures qualifying

I totally agree with all of this. Many people who I have spoken to seem to agree that bringing an end to face masks and social distancing makes it less likely that we will go out to restaurants and pubs, so the new policy may turn out to be counter productive in terms of boosting the economy. I have recently been away for the first time in ages. We stayed in a hotel, and with all the right Covid restrictions in place we felt really safe and had a fantastic time. We would like to go back, but if they were to remove all precautions as advocated by Boris & Co at a time of rising case numbers then I would be very reluctant to do so. We are double vaccinated, but as we know this doesn't give 100% protection and there are always going to be a small percentage who are likely to get infected. The truth is that once again the government has made a complete mess of this and sadly there will undoubtedly be many more deaths

indiana · Tennis legend

The Scottish Government has said that there is going to be an "ongoing need" for face coverings after 9th August when other restrictions are due to be rremoved in Scotland. Details are under review but are expected to include in shops and on public transport

The UK Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick, told the BBC thar he would like to see the four nations "move as one" on the matter but he acknowledged that the picture was different across the UK.

Too right, these making policy for England are callous dangerous flamin' idiots. Not that he actually pointed to that!

Elegant Point · Satellite level

indiana wrote:
The Scottish Government has said that there is going to be an "ongoing need" for face coverings after 9th August when other restrictions are due to be rremoved in Scotland. Details are under review but are expected to include in shops and on public transport

The UK Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick, told the BBC thar he would like to see the four nations "move as one" on the matter but he acknowledged that the picture was different across the UK.

Too right, these making policy for England are callous dangerous flamin' idiots. Not that he actually pointed to that!

IMO there have been many instances throughout the pandemic where governments led by women have made very sensible decisions based on science that have saved lives.

-- Edited by Elegant Point on Friday 9th of July 2021 08:15:07 AM

indiana · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
indiana wrote:
[...]
New cases per week (per 100K), deaths in the week :

15/05 - 21/05: 16,743 (24.54), 42
22/05 - 28/05: 20,765 (30.44), 58
29/05 - 04/06: 29,028 (42.55), 55
05/06 - 11/06: 45,894 (67.27), 61
12/06 - 18/06: 61,181 (89.67), 72
19/06 - 25/06: 89,996 (131.87), 110

[...]
Up and up soar the UK weekly new covid cases.
26/06 - 02/07: 155,146 (237.34), 123

And up more. Ah but the rate of increase is slowing say ministets. Still gone markedly up though with major relaxations imminent.

03/07- 09/07 : 202,879* (297.26 per 100K), 176 deaths

* will come down a bit since nowadays any reported lateral flow positive followed by reported PCR negatives within 3 days is removed from the case figures.