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Coronavirus in the UK - news, lockdown and discussion

In terms of "frozen veg", perhaps my standards are lower, but I'm finding great success with chucking bags of sprouts, carrots, mushrooms and kale in my over-enthusiastic chest fridge - the results seem to taste better than the commercially frozen version (blanched before freezing)
Slicing frozen carrots is "interesting" but no great problem ... sometimes frozen mushrooms end up a bit chewy ...
 
I can’t get any groceries delivered till after Christmas. If they start that shit with socially distancing in shops not guiding people around I’m going to be quite pissed off. Or hungry. Both. The takeawas are still open. Might just end up fatter.
 
Is anyone really going out because they want to support the hospitality industry though? They're going because they want to surely - I don't see the numbers of people going 'I really don't want to go out due to Covid but I feel a moral responsibility to fund my local pub' being significant.
And the converse, people saying 'I'm not going to go out even if I want to because it feels like the wrong/stupid thing to do/I'm seeing relations next week for Christmas and don't want to given them Covid.'
 
If protecting the NHS remains key, it's hard to see this leading to anything other than the closure of entertainment venues and maybe even a return to essential shops only. SChool's going online too, though I'm certain a 'libertarian' :rolleyes: government won't impose a 'stay at home order' this time. The effects of omicron may be milder, but the sheer numbers are going to be the thing that puts pressure on the NHS and care sector. Having said that, the government will fuck about for 2 weeks, dragging their feet, taking half hearted measures, limited by the number of loon MPs they've got (along with johnson's own weak position and self interest).

That's it though isn't it? The speed and extent of spread, unless something very odd happens with the trajectory, can only take us to most of the 'lockdown' measures we had before (even if tweaked and repackaged). It's just a question of time and how much more damage they do by prevaricating.
 
I noticed at the supermarket this morning that all the xmas party foods (mini sausage rolls and all that finger food stuff the kind people put out at parties) seemed to be all discounted going cheap.
Maybe i'm reading too much into it but i reckon a hell of a lot of people are just cancelling stuff without waiting to be told by Johnson to do so.
This was the pharmacy, setting the festive mood.
Screenshot 2021-12-16 at 13.04.50.png
 
I noticed at the supermarket this morning that all the xmas party foods (mini sausage rolls and all that finger food stuff the kind people put out at parties) seemed to be all discounted going cheap.
Maybe i'm reading too much into it but i reckon a hell of a lot of people are just cancelling stuff without waiting to be told by Johnson to do so.
Yeah thats been the pattern seen in the past and its something the authorities are quite reliant on given that the likes of Johnson wont go further at the right time.

Whitty still defends the indefensible plenty in this pandemic, but was able to go much further than Johnson with his messages in the most recent press conference. The press noticed this and so will the public.
 
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Yeah thats been the pattern seen in the past and its something the authorities are quite reliant on given that the likes of Johnson wont go further at the right time.

Whitty still defends the indefensible plenty i this pandemic, but was able to go much further than Johnson with his messages in the most recent press conference. The press noticed this and so will the public.
I agree, his deviations from the johnson line are becoming more pronounced. But what a fucking state of affairs when sensible advice has to be cautiously and quietly slipped in alongside the predominant ball of shite coming from the rest of government. And all that at a moment like this in terms of the spread of the virus.
 
Fuck off Labour, idiots.

Meanwhile, Labour said the government needed to provide clarity on how it wants people to behave in the coming weeks.

With thousands of football fans due to attend matches in the coming days, shadow heath secretary Wes Streeting said "clarity from the government would be helpful" on whether they should attend.

He added that the new Covid pass scheme for large events in England should give people confidence to "go about their daily lives and enjoy themselves".

"We have got to get to a point in this country where we can co-exist with coronavirus," he added.

From We're not locking the country down, says Boris Johnson amid rising Covid cases
 
A pile of quotes from the lobby briefing (guardian). Central theme: 'dunno, it's up to you'. Suspect this will be exactly the stuff the inquiry picks up, on the day we no doubt get over 100,000 positive tests, the government can't even say don't go to parties. Too late of course, johnson will be long gone by then.

Here is a summary of some of the main points from this afternoon’s lobby briefing with No 10:

  • Downing Street denied the government was sending out mixed messages on social contacts following the emergence of the Omicron variant. On Wednesday, the chief medical officer for England, Prof Chris Whitty, urged people to cut back on social contacts to help curb the spread of the disease whereas Boris Johnson had previously said people did not need to cancel Christmas parties. The prime minister’s official spokesman said:
Both the prime minister and the CMO were making the point that given the current infection rate, the prevalence of this variant, people should be cautious and think carefully before mixing with others. The prime minister was clear that this is a personal choice and people should do what is right for them.
  • Family visits over Christmas will be down to “individual circumstances and judgment”, No 10 said.
    The spokesman said:
I think the public recognise that those deemed to be clinically extremely vulnerable are most at risk and they would want to do everything possible, using the guidance we’ve put out available and the mitigation such as testing and vaccinations, to protect their loved ones at a time of high prevalence. But it will be down to individuals to decide what is right for them.
  • No 10 said the government was not seeking to cancel things on the public’s behalf. The spokesman said:
Hospitality remains open, businesses remain open to trade. We recognise that the prevalence of this variant and the high transmissibility is leading to further challenges for the hospitality sector in particular, and that’s why we want to hear their concerns and that’s something the chancellor and chief secretary will be doing today.
  • The government is not telling football fans not to go to matches, Downing Street has said. Following comments from the medical director for primary care at NHS England, Dr Nikki Kanani, that if anyone was visiting a football stadium this weekend it should be to get a jab at a pop-up clinic, the spokesman said there was “no guidance or restrictions in place”. He said:
Like Professor Whitty and the prime minister, she’s not being prescriptive. We understand it’s a personal choice for the public. And there’s no restrictions on those sorts of events, obviously, apart from the use of the Covid pass which provides a level of reassurance and protection.
 
I noticed at the supermarket this morning that all the xmas party foods (mini sausage rolls and all that finger food stuff the kind people put out at parties) seemed to be all discounted going cheap.
Maybe i'm reading too much into it but i reckon a hell of a lot of people are just cancelling stuff without waiting to be told by Johnson to do so.
This was the pharmacy, setting the festive mood.
View attachment 301086
65e38df1cfdee5d4f76118f84b8db135.jpg
 
omyfuckinggod is he really still stuck at "wash your hands and isolate"?
how is this prick getting airtime?
That post was what I linked to to demonstrate his history - that was the time at the start of the first wave in 2020 when he was trying to sell the governments original 'carry on' plan, on the very last day that plan was still alive. On that occasion the BBC got cold feet and removed his analysis from that article after not too many hours.
 
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