Coronavirus in the UK - news, lockdown and discussion

[Cid]

Jeremy hunt quoted in guardian as saying ‘these new tougher measures would only be needed for about 12 weeks’..
That’s 3 months, that’s long, if it’s to be a proper March-like stay at home thing.

UK to move to highest coronavirus alert level as full lockdowns loom

Boris Johnson to make TV announcement on Monday night after pressure to tackle soaring infection rate

www.theguardian.com

"it's not just a manufacturing issue... it's also that each batch needs to be quality controlled".

Mate... mate. Now I know you've not really been involved in the real world, but...

 

[existentialist]

"it's not just a manufacturing issue... it's also that each batch needs to be quality controlled".

Mate... mate. Now I know you've not really been involved in the real world, but...

The only thing they seem able to do with any aplomb is making excuses.

 

[maomao]

I don't reckon Patel eats dumplings. She's probably one of those weirdos that only eats exactly-parallel-cut bits of celery with small quantities of a dressing made from the tears of newly-made orphans.

I reckon she eats Klingon 'gagh'. With orpan tear dressing naturally.

 

[elbows]

I know I had forgotten about them, anyone remember the 'alert levels'?

COVID-19: UK coronavirus alert level to be raised as NHS 'could be overwhelmed without more action'

The UK's chief medical officers warn there is a "material risk" of the NHS being overwhelmed over the next 21 days.

news.sky.com

The Joint Biosecurity Centre had not been mentioned much in recent months either. Maybe they forgot they came up with it, perhaps having smoked their way to the centre of a biosecurity joint.

 

[Pickman's model]

The only thing they seem able to do with any aplomb is making excuses.

and even that's poor aplomb

 

[Espresso]

Spoiler: Screenshot

View attachment 247084

If we all down a shot each time one of those gets said, everyone will be plastered by ten minutes after he starts.
I was going to say ten past eight, but I know better now. It's not like he thinks punctuality applies to him.

"it's not just a manufacturing issue... it's also that each batch needs to be quality controlled".

Mate... mate. Now I know you've not really been involved in the real world, but...

I know.
It's not like Astra Zeneca will ever have had to do routine QC work throughout the production or in order to release any of the products they've ever made before, now izzit? It'll all be new to them, right enough.

What an absolute shower.

 

[Wilf]

Wonder why he'll be late tonight, clown car running out of petrol?

 

[Ax^]

"it's not just a manufacturing issue... it's also that each batch needs to be quality controlled".

Mate... mate. Now I know you've not really been involved in the real world, but...

if this was a normal recombinant protein therapy, aside from the rush to get it to market

tis would barely be out of the non human trails, mostly be QC for this sort of stuff takes years

 

[Spandex]

I know I had forgotten about them, anyone remember the 'alert levels'?

COVID-19: UK coronavirus alert level to be raised as NHS 'could be overwhelmed without more action'

The UK's chief medical officers warn there is a "material risk" of the NHS being overwhelmed over the next 21 days.

news.sky.com

Everyone had forgotten about the Covid Alert Levels. Until the No 10 Strategy Meeting this afternoon. As they tried to figure out how not to look like complete idiots announcing school closures after days of insisting schools won't close. Blank faces and furrowed eyebrows all around. Until a junior advisor staring at the wall, hoping for inspiration, spots a faded, dog eared poster that was stuck up some time in the spring and no-one had looked at since:

"I've got it!" he shouts "Remember the alert levels?"

Blank faces all around.

"Look! We get the CMO to declare Level 5 and say we have no choice but for lockdown to begin"

"Brilliant, get me the CMO right away"...

 

[cupid_stunt]

Wonder why he'll be late tonight, clown car running out of petrol?

PM addresses nation = prime time stuff.

It's not the usual Downing Street press conference, which trends to be early evening, this is more serious.

Plus he was having a zoom meeting with the leaders of the other 3 nations at 5 pm.

 

[Cid]

if this was a normal recombinant protein therapy, aside from the rush to get it to market

tis would barely be out of the non human trails, mostly be QC for this sort of stuff takes years

Yeah I did actually have a brief google afterward, to see that post-manufacture QC is more of a thing with vaccines. Which makes sense... Still. This is the prime minister. You'd think that maybe that should have been considered before all the optimistic guff about timelines etc. Also it is fairly clear he had about as much idea of what he was talking about as I did.

 

[Ax^]

I'm guessing his first 40 years of his life were spent with his nanny repeating telling him he had to wear clothes

so how the fuck was he was elected PM

 

[mx wcfc]

On a work call, a colleague mentioned that a client of his was seriously ill in hospital - as in "might not make it ill". Just before xmas he went to lunch with his wife and two other couples, under the guise of a "business meeting". One of the other guys had covid, but no symptoms. All six of them were infected, and god knows how many other people at the restaurant.

Why do people do this? Always looking for a way around the rules. 'king idiots. Putting so many other people at risk and burdening the NHS.

 

[Wilf]

Still, bit of good news:
Scottish MP Margaret Ferrier arrested over alleged Covid rule breach | UK news | The Guardian

 

[not-bono-ever]

I have buried one relative and been forced to cancel a holiday because of the virus - it’s a real thing that has a real world impact- why is this so difficult to understand that there is personal responsibility here ?

 

[Roadkill]

I'm guessing his first 40 years of his life were spent with his nanny repeating telling him he had to wear clothes

so how the fuck was he was elected PM

Because he's had every advantage that money and class position can obtain for him, because that aphorism about Jacob Rees-Mogg being a stupid person's idea of a clever person could just as well apply to him, and because he's carefully cultivated his public image over many years, aided by the fact that he's not a bad speaker (when sticking to a script) and a passably good writer. That image has successfully hidden the fact he's amoral, cynical, irresponsible and callous, and it convinced enough forelock-tugging halfwits that he was a better prospect as PM than Jeremy Corbyn to land him in No. 10. Until now it's also fairly successfully concealed the fact that he's a fucking idiot.

 

[Wilf]

On a work call, a colleague mentioned that a client of his was seriously ill in hospital - as in "might not make it ill". Just before xmas he went to lunch with his wife and two other couples, under the guise of a "business meeting". One of the other guys had covid, but no symptoms. All six of them were infected, and god knows how many other people at the restaurant.

Why do people do this? Always looking for a way around the rules. 'king idiots. Putting so many other people at risk and burdening the NHS.

No doubt that was a really stupid thing to do. I just find it hard to balance individual culpability with gross, criminal failure at the governmental level at the moment. Largely because I'm pissed I got a mental connection to The Masque of Anarchy, 'he had a face like Castlereagh'. Not much rhymes with johnson, but we're in the world of mass killers. Harold Shipman's shade must be very jealous.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Anyway, Johnson up soon, so eyes down for a full house...

 

[mack]

when i was young i thought that the people in charge must be really clever and know things not revealed to us mere mortals.

I dunno why but I read this line with Philomena Cunks' voice!

 

[Mation]

Wonder why he'll be late tonight, clown car running out of petrol?

Not petrol, but custard.

 

[Steel Icarus]

I have buried one relative and been forced to cancel a holiday because of the virus - it’s a real thing that has a real world impact- why is this so difficult to understand that there is personal responsibility here ?

It's maddening. Well, eye-rollingly ridiculous. Something something Thatcherism something Cummings something can't blame people
You know what, ten months into a fucking pandemic I can blame people like the bloke and couples mentioned above, there cannot be an excuse for it. You can't have a pop at Cummings then absolve Joe Schmoe of all i.e. 100% blame.
I'm sorry about your relo and your holiday :-(

 

[Steel Icarus]

Anyway, just wonder how shameless Johnson's going to be in his justification

 

[Artaxerxes]

Everyone had forgotten about the Covid Alert Levels. Until the No 10 Strategy Meeting this afternoon. As they tried to figure out how not to look like complete idiots announcing school closures after days of insisting schools won't close. Blank faces and furrowed eyebrows all around. Until a junior advisor staring at the wall, hoping for inspiration, spots a faded, dog eared poster that was stuck up some time in the spring and no-one had looked at since:

"I've got it!" he shouts "Remember the alert levels?"

Blank faces all around.

"Look! We get the CMO to declare Level 5 and say we have no choice but for lockdown to begin"

"Brilliant, get me the CMO right away"...

I’ve not forgotten them and I’m still angry about them fucking around with them in July

 

[maomao]

The BBC is doing the headlines early 'cause Boris is on at 8. They're gonna look stupid when they're filling dead air at ten past.

 

[Supine]

I have every confidence that Johnson will make a superb unifying speech that will see the country come together to beat this virus while a professional track and trace system is implemented.
None of that was true.

 

[maomao]

Oh no, they've just said he won't be on for twenty minutes. He's pissed again.

 

[Ax^]

well he does like to play at being churchill

 

[brogdale]

Only 2 flags; there're 4 when it's Brexshit

 

[Espresso]

Holy shit. He's on time.
We're doooooooooooooooooooooooooomed.

 

[brogdale]

Looking older than his own Father