Coronavirus in the UK - news, lockdown and discussion

[Sunray]

Sunray I've got a friend arriving from Mexico (hopefully!) in 3 weeks - the list of potential 2 and 8 day test providers is huge! How on earth do you make a decision? Are you able to let me know which one your Finnish friend used, so I can at least avoid that one?? Many thanks

I'll ask her.

 

[tim]

Hopefully he'll catch a nasty mutant strain and die properly this time.

Are you channeling Michael Gove?

 

[Badgers]

Our Disgraced Prime Minister Johnson has cancelled his jolly to India

 

[cupid_stunt]

Our Disgraced Prime Minister Johnson has cancelled his jolly to India

I came here to posted that.

India to be added to the 'red list' in 5...4...3.......

 

[Badgers]

I came here to posted that.

India to be added to the 'red list' in 5...4...3.......

Should have been 5...4...3....... Weeks ago

 

[Orang Utan]

My council has repurposed its mobile library vans as mobile vaccination outlets and visiting areas all around the city, especially those with high vaccine-hesitancy. Fair play

 

[two sheds]

thus giving you something to read in your 15 minutes after the jab

 

[Artaxerxes]

thus giving you something to read in your 15 minutes after the jab

It’s just Maeve Binchy

 

[two sheds]

It’s just Maeve Binchy

Hadn't heard of her but she sounds lovely:

Maeve Binchy tells wonderful stories. They show that, whilst times change, people often remain the same: they fall in love, sometimes unsuitably; they have hopes and dreams; they have deep, long-standing friendships, and some that fall apart. Maeve Binchy's work includes wonderfully nostalgic pieces and also sharp - often witty - writing ...

 

[Cloo]

Plague detectors have been round with PCR tests for our street on their sweep for SA variant in the area, so gsv and I have done ours - they'll pick up later today. Quite impressed by handling - they have a mobile unit by Tesco as well so they can get a sample of people who might not live in the postcode, but use the high street.

 

[Espresso]

I came here to posted that.

India to be added to the 'red list' in 5...4...3.......

Yup. That's just been announced

 

[Buddy Bradley]

India to be added to the 'red list' in 5...4...3.......

Attacks on Indians for spreading the virus in 5...4...3.......

 

[elbows]

How can there not be a third wave? We've got surge testing because of the South African variant in Lambeth, Wandsorth and Hayes in the same week as end-of-lockdown maskless crowds all rammed in together. People under 45 haven't been vaccinated. The Indian variant is just getting started in the UK and may well spread dramatically.


In other news, the great Devi Sridhar explains everything. A 43 min podcast with horrible sound quality. Thankfully there's a transcription: It's Okay to Overreact: Devi Sridhar Shares COVID's Humbling Lesson

Devi has annoyed Julia Hartley-Brewer.

 

[cupid_stunt]

There's a whole section on Julia Cunty-Bollocks on this site -

Covid FAQ - Julia Hartley-Brewer

In late October, Hartley-Brewer claimed there were no excess deaths occurring. In September, she wrote that "a second wave is highly unlikely," and that there was "no evidence of a second wave". She has generally argued that the risks of Covid are lower than commonly assumed. She claimed in October 2020 that there are "no excess deaths" and in January 2021 that Covid "isn’t causing excess deaths anymore."

 

[David Clapson]

Dissing Devi should really be a criminal offence. Indirectly it's bound to lead to more infections, more long term disability and more deaths. Minimum sentence 10 years.

 

[elbows]

Dissing Devi should really be a criminal offence. Indirectly it's bound to lead to more infections, more long term disability and more deaths. Minimum sentence 10 years.

I have occasionally wondered what sort of hospitalisation and death rate a virus would need to cause in order for nations to start crushing people with loud, ignorant voices that represent a threat to public health.

Hartley-Brewer should fear a variant being named in her honour. "Fallout from the Hartley-Brewer variant of 2022 had a chilling effect on press freedoms. It was later discovered that several prominent Tories had shares in the gallows businesses which boomed once measures to tackle this variant were introduced"

 

[elbows]

Although I'm also aware that the wording of legislation to support that would likely be broad enough that people like me, who make loud noises about various pandemic details and inadequate establishment response, could also be swept up in it.

 

[andysays]

Devi has annoyed Julia Hartley-Brewer.

Better a Devi than a divie...

(phone attempted to autocorrect that to 'divine', which I'm sure JHB would love)

 

[glitch hiker]

Better a Devi than a divie...

(phone attempted to autocorrect that to 'divine', which I'm sure JHB would love)

This is how the world ends: trained objective experts respectfully informing a bewildered weary public attacked by ignorant influencers with the backing of corporate social media

 

[elbows]

Of the decision to put India on the UK's red list, Prof Walport told BBC Breakfast: "These decisions are almost inevitably taken a bit too late in truth, but what's absolutely clear is that this variant is more transmissible in India."

He said he believed it was becoming the "dominant variant" in India, while there were also concerns it could be more effective at escaping a natural or vaccine-induced immune response, "so there's good reasons for wanting to keep it out of the country if at all possible".

He said that "buying time" against new variants was "really important" in order to get the population vaccinated and to get booster vaccines ready.

Covid-19: India red list add 'may be too late', Prof Mark Walport says

There are "good reasons" for keeping the new variant out of the UK, scientist Prof Mark Walport says.

www.bbc.co.uk

Hints of what I always say there, at best these are observe and delay attempts, not attempts at full containment.

 

[elbows]

The suicide rate didnt go up in the first lockdown according to research.

I supose I'm not surprised since there was some fear and focus on this at the time but then terrible data did not emerge, implying it didnt happen as feared.

Covid-19: Suicide rate 'did not rise during first lockdown'

More people were seeking mental health support, but data shows no increase in suicides in England.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[cupid_stunt]

The suicide rate didnt go up in the first lockdown according to research.

I supose I'm not surprised since there was some fear and focus on this at the time but then terrible data did not emerge, implying it didnt happen as feared.

Covid-19: Suicide rate 'did not rise during first lockdown'

More people were seeking mental health support, but data shows no increase in suicides in England.

www.bbc.co.uk

I was about to post that, pisses on the anti-lockdown loons, but then they will not believe it anyway.

 

[Teaboy]

I think we'll need more time to pass before we get a more complete picture of the impact of covid and lockdowns on the mental health of the nation. Personally I'd expect these things to start manifesting themselves more when we are properly coming out the otherside from all this.

 

[Artaxerxes]

I think we'll need more time to pass before we get a more complete picture of the impact of covid and lockdowns on the mental health of the nation. Personally I'd expect these things to start manifesting themselves more when we are properly coming out the otherside from all this.

Same.

 

[existentialist]

The suicide rate didnt go up in the first lockdown according to research.

I supose I'm not surprised since there was some fear and focus on this at the time but then terrible data did not emerge, implying it didnt happen as feared.

Covid-19: Suicide rate 'did not rise during first lockdown'

More people were seeking mental health support, but data shows no increase in suicides in England.

www.bbc.co.uk

I'm struggling to remember my references, but I do recall reading something about people's experiences during the Blitz, and quite a lot of the emotional fallout emerged once the immediate danger was over, and people struggled to return to a normal life having experienced often quite traumatic events.

The degree of trauma from Covid is likely to generally a lot less than having aircraft dropping bombs on your house, but there will undoubtedly be significant levels of distress amongst quite a few people. Just as we all start breathing a sigh of relief, it's worth remembering that - psychologically and emotionally - the country is not going to be out of the woods for some time yet.

 

[teuchter]

My impression is that a lot of people have found the lockdown we've just come out of rather harder than the first one.

 

[souljacker]

I'm struggling to remember my references, but I do recall reading something about people's experiences during the Blitz, and quite a lot of the emotional fallout emerged once the immediate danger was over, and people struggled to return to a normal life having experienced often quite traumatic events.

The degree of trauma from Covid is likely to generally a lot less than having aircraft dropping bombs on your house, but there will undoubtedly be significant levels of distress amongst quite a few people. Just as we all start breathing a sigh of relief, it's worth remembering that - psychologically and emotionally - the country is not going to be out of the woods for some time yet.

I found that whilst on furlough during the initial wave, I coped quite well. Nothing to spend money on anyway and the weather was ok so it was a bit like an extended holiday. 2nd wave was a lot tougher which wasn't helped by actually getting Covid.

However, I'm now back at work full time and I've found it far more of a struggle. I'm tired and stressed and don't want to get out of bed in the mornings. I feel like the madness of the last year has properly hit me and it's quite hard to cope. I totally agree that once this is all over, others will struggle returning to normal life, however that looks.

 

[cupid_stunt]

My impression is that a lot of people have found the lockdown we've just come out of rather harder than the first one.

Fucking hell, I agree with teuchter for once.

'Nurse, nurse, where's my meds?'

 

[Teaboy]

Yeah, I remember conversations with my partner at the end of last summer saying we'd feel far more prepared and comfortable with the idea of lockdown if it were to happen again. We were wrong. The last few months have been grim.

 

[Artaxerxes]

Yeah, I remember conversations with my partner at the end of last summer saying we'd feel far more prepared and comfortable with the idea of lockdown if it were to happen again. We were wrong. The last few months have been grim.

I said from the start that this would drag on for a while and it'd be at least this Spring until things went back to normal, coped with the first lockdown fine but the second one hit me fucking hard about mid-January. Still feeling very unmotivated and tired all the time, just worn down. I can't even watch TV or films much any more.