Coronavirus in the UK - news, lockdown and discussion

[elbows]

I expect there will be news stories I can quote later on what she said, but just to give a vague idea in the meantime of what Sturgeon has said:

Spoke about why even if this variant turned out to be milder, the healthcare burden would still be large due to the huge number of expected Omicron cases. Mentioned data from Denmark which didnt show an improvement to the hospitalisation ratio (my words not hers).

Asking people to limit the number of other households they mix with before and after Christmas. Not a formal law this time, but guidance is going to say no more than three households should mix.
Return of physical distancing etc in retail and a requirement for hospitality to prevent crowding and bottlenecks.
Went on about how they think they need to go further still, but cant do it unless UK government makes the funding available. Blunt language was used about how their response is being 'curtailed' by this.

 

[elbows]

Since transmission within the UK is now the big problem, and we dont have a policy of trying to prevent every case, it is no surprise to hear just now that all countries are being removed from the red list.

 

[elbows]

Also not surprising is that the BBC live update text covering what Sturgeon said has so far completely failed to mention the bit where she said they wanted to go further but their response is being curtailed by lack of funding that the UK government is in charge of offering. I wait with interest to see if that changes and whether wider reporting elsewhere on the BBC and well beyond the BBC draws much attention to that. In the meantime it reminds me why I often feel the need to watch speeches for myself.

 

[_Russ_]

I've stopped watching BBC 'news' since they stopped employing adults

 

[magneze]

Sunak warns over multibillion cost of booster programme

Exclusive: Chancellor said to not have opposed jab regime but warned of spending cuts or tax rises to pay for it

www.theguardian.com

... knows the price of everything and the value of nothing ...

 

[pbsmooth]

except, of course, the BBC has reported that... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-...b8adef531c2c4733360e22&pinned_post_type=share

 

[kebabking]

Mrs K - now the head, don't ask - has instructed her staff to prepare for remote/home learning. Might happen, might not, but no one would be surprised. Staff do binned, nativity online.

I've cancelled all in office work for my gang - I'm in Estonia, they're in the UK, which made me feel well executive - we were already on WFH where possible, but now we're on a WW3 only basis.

Defence Medical Services have cancelled all leave and put all personnel on 12 hours NTM.

Loads of units have had people dicked for Rescript, 1000+ already deployed, and force gen at AHQ has got another 5k on 24 NTM.

Op. Deny Christmas in full swing....

 

[Sue]

I've cancelled all in office work for my gang - I'm in Estonia, they're in the UK, which made me feel well executive - we were already on WFH where possible, but now we're on a WW3 only basis.

Tell me that doesn't stand for World War 3....

 

[Brainaddict]

Sunak warns over multibillion cost of booster programme

Exclusive: Chancellor said to not have opposed jab regime but warned of spending cuts or tax rises to pay for it

www.theguardian.com

... knows the price of everything and the value of nothing ...

It's fucking bonkers isn't it? The man is clearly a dangerous ideologue because he knows he's not even telling the truth. As far as I can make out most of the covid response has been funded neither with spending cuts nor tax rises and will continue to be so. Note to Nadine Dorries: there is no such thing as taxpayer’s money

 

[magneze]

It's fucking bonkers isn't it? The man is clearly a dangerous ideologue because he knows he's not even telling the truth. As far as I can make out most of the covid response has been funded neither with spending cuts nor tax rises and will continue to be so.

Indeed - how many people did "Eat Out To Help Out" kill?

 

[Supine]

Mrs K - now the head, don't ask - has instructed her staff to prepare for remote/home learning. Might happen, might not, but no one would be surprised. Staff do binned, nativity online.

I've cancelled all in office work for my gang - I'm in Estonia, they're in the UK, which made me feel well executive - we were already on WFH where possible, but now we're on a WW3 only basis.

Defence Medical Services have cancelled all leave and put all personnel on 12 hours NTM.

Loads of units have had people dicked for Rescript, 1000+ already deployed, and force gen at AHQ has got another 5k on 24 NTM.

Op. Deny Christmas in full swing....

Is that 12hr ntm so get back to uk to help?

 

[elbows]

Transcript of Sturgeons statement. I shall quote the bit I was on about earlier so you can judge for yourselves whether I interpreted it fairly and considered it newsworthy.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) update: First Minister's statement – 14 December 2021

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh on 14 December 2021.

www.gov.scot

I know how much I am asking of everyone today, after a difficult and painful two years.

I would not be doing so if I did not believe it to be absolutely necessary.

Indeed, it could be argued that we should be going further - which is why I need to also explain a significant limitation on our ability to act in the way we think necessary to protect public health.

In this context, I am not seeking to make a political point - simply to set out the factual position.

Many of the protections that help curtail COVID come at a financial cost to individuals and businesses - so wherever we can, we put in place financial packages to protect people’s health, jobs and livelihoods.

However, the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments do not have the ability to borrow to meet the COVID funding challenge.

UK funding arrangements mean we rely on the Treasury to do so on our behalf. And the Treasury has responded well throughout this pandemic.

And although Scottish taxpayers foot our share of the bill, money only flows to the devolved governments when the UK government makes decisions.

Financial support is not triggered if the devolved governments take decisions we consider appropriate for public health reasons - even though it is our responsibility to do so.

So because the UK government is at this stage not proposing any further protections - a position I do not agree with - there is no funding generated to compensate businesses for any protections we think are necessary and wish to put in place.

That is not acceptable in current circumstances and, with the Welsh and Northern Irish governments, we are pressing for a fairer approach that takes account of our devolved responsibilities for protecting public health.

But for now, this is the situation we are in, and it means our public health response is curtailed by lack of finance.

There are further steps we could and would have considered today - particularly around hospitality - had we the financial ability to do so. But we don’t.

However, I can confirm that with some considerable difficulty, we have managed to identify within our own resources around £100 million that we will use to help businesses, mainly those in hospitality and food supply, and in the culture sector, affected by our advice last week on work Xmas parties and further affected by what I have said today.

 

[kebabking]

Tell me that doesn't stand for World War 3....

Sadly, it does. Deep suspicion that something unpleasant is about to happen to Ukraine...

 

[kebabking]

Is that 12hr ntm so get back to uk to help?

Nope, it's people already in the UK - it's split between people being held on base, and people sent home.

Broadly it means keeping your bags packed, not getting pissed, having petrol in the tank and keeping your phone charged. I've already had my WhatsApp message to let me know what joyful opportunity awaits should that nice Mr Javid decide he needs more help....

 

[cupid_stunt]

Sadly, it does. Deep suspicion that something unpleasant is about to happen to Ukraine...

I worry that if Russia invades Ukraine, China with take the opportunity to invade Taiwan, whilst the west is looking elsewhere, and doing fuck all.

But, that's for another thread.

 

[elbows]

Sadly, it does. Deep suspicion that something unpleasant is about to happen to Ukraine...

Indicators certainly include 'warnings to Putin' in recent days from various leaders that remind me of this bit from Orwell: "Mussolini had bombed the Abyssinians while fifty-three nations (I think it was fifty-three) made pious noises ‘off’."

 

[two sheds]

It's fucking bonkers isn't it? The man is clearly a dangerous ideologue because he knows he's not even telling the truth. As far as I can make out most of the covid response has been funded neither with spending cuts nor tax rises and will continue to be so. Note to Nadine Dorries: there is no such thing as taxpayer’s money

There's a really good explanation of that using a tank with tap water filling other tanks and taps that I meant to dig out a while ago and ask what people think of it.

 

[Steel Icarus]

I worry that if Russia invades Ukraine, China with take the opportunity to invade Taiwan, whilst the west is looking elsewhere, and doing fuck all.

But, that's for another thread.

Yes, it is. Please

 

[brogdale]

 

[two sheds]

The last bit of that looks like it's itself almost increasing exponentially.

 

[2hats]

Super or double exponential. Moving into the realms of tetration.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Presumably you mean the promised speeding up?

It is speeding up.

No its flat

No, it's speeding up, which should start showing up in the jabs per day figures soon.

This exchange was last Thursday, when we were already seeing things speeding up, despite what Russ had going on in their head.

Last Fri, Sat, Sun & Mon all saw record numbers of jabs compared to the same days before, and the Sat figure of 550k was the highest number on a single day since the start of the booster roll-out, and yesterday's 514k was the 3rd highest ever. Only three times have we gone over 500k, and two of those in the last few days.

Planning had already gone into getting these sort of figures before Johnson's statement on Sunday, it should be interesting to see how far turbocharging will increase those numbers further over the coming days.

 

[Sue]

Sadly, it does. Deep suspicion that something unpleasant is about to happen to Ukraine...

Shit, I was joking.

 

[elbows]

Todays version:



Also I expect problems with the test system data to start to affect the picture available via this data. This may take the form of people struggling to get tested but also increasing lag between tests and results being reported:

 

[B.I.G]

<ed: link removed - it is absolutely against the board rules to link a user name to a person's real life identity>

 

[2hats]

now we're on a WW3 only basis.

Thanks. Have penciled that into my diary; must get my dosimeters fixed and recalibrated.

Also I expect problems with the test system data to start to affect the picture available via this data. This may take the form of people struggling to get tested but also increasing lag between tests and results being reported:

Expect infection/case ratio to rise even further as people eschew testing in order to avoid disrupting their personal plans.

 

[two sheds]

Is the growth showing up in the interactive map yet?

https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/interactive-map/cases

i've mainly been looking at Cornwall which still seems fairly static. There are pockets of 800+/100,000 in the 7-day figures - but most seem to be purple (400-800). The purple does seem to stretch over most of the England, Wales, N Ireland and southern Scotland though.

 

[elbows]

Is the growth showing up in the interactive map yet?

https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/interactive-map/cases

i've mainly been looking at Cornwall which still seems fairly static. There are pockets of 800+/100,000 in the 7-day figures - but most seem to be purple (400-800). The purple does seem to stretch over most of the England, Wales, N Ireland and southern Scotland though.

I dont really use the maps for looking at trends and pace over time. I'd rather use the graphs, which for Cornwall dont really show Omicron signs at the moment:

https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases?areaType=ltla&areaName=Cornwall%20and%20Isles%20of%20Scilly

 

[two sheds]

Thank you

 

[Calamity1971]

Someone needs to put this cunt out of his misery.