Coronavirus in the UK - news, lockdown and discussion

[mwgdrwg]

Why isn't the BBC reporting total number of deaths? How odd.

 

[teqniq]

Good article on the growing anger amongst healthcare workers with a particular focus on Wales.

“we Are Being Sacrificed” - Furious NHS Workers Turn on the Government Over Covid Deaths -

Reading Time: 6 minutes After another week which has brought yet more deaths and hospitalisation of health workers, those on the Coronavirus Front-line are increasingly turning against both the Welsh and British governments. The death of their colleagues, a chronic lack of PPE, failure to test...

www.voice.wales

 

[gentlegreen]

NHS rationing oxygen with doctors instructed to downgrade blood saturation targets

Exclusive: Demand due to coronavirus crisis has pushed oxygen systems close to their limit

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[steveo87]

See, one of the specific parts of the lockdown that's getting to me, is that I'm 'lucky' because I get to leave the house, because of work.

As long as I socially isolate myself, which really isn't difficult for me, and maintain hygiene standards, in theory I should be fine.

The thing I'm finding most difficult (apart from the slow-burn anxiety of 'If I get it, then I'm bound to pass it on to Baby87 - and then we really fucked') is that there's no 'weekend' anymore.
What I mean is that there's nothing to break up the weeks, to the point where it feels like I've been working constantly, when in reality it's the same as it was before.

Don't get me wrong, there are a myriad of people on worse situation for me, and as I write it feels a bit 'first world problems', but it's just how I'm feeling.

 

[zahir]

Key scientific data and advice the UK government is using to guide its covid-19 response won’t be published until the pandemic ends. Documents used to make decisions and the minutes of meetings of the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE) will only be made public when the current outbreak is brought under control, according to Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser.

In a letter sent earlier this month to MP Greg Clark, who chairs the House of Commons science and technology committee, Vallance said: “Once SAGE stops convening on this emergency the minutes of relevant SAGE meetings, supporting documents and the names of participants (with their permission) will be published.”

“I think they should be sharing who the key people are and minutes of their meetings,” says Devi Sridhar, a public health scientist at the University of Edinburgh, UK, who also signed the letter published in The Lancet. “I think transparency is incredibly important and we’ve taken this route in the Scottish Government Covid-19 Advisory Group. We share the names of members and minutes.”

The refusal to publish minutes of the advisory group meetings until the pandemic is over also contradicts the UK government’s own guidance. The 2011 Code of Practice for Scientific Advisory Committees says meeting minutes should be published “as soon as possible” and written in an “unattributable form” – meaning there is no need to identify members. Advisory committees “should operate from a presumption of openness” the code says, and also publish meeting agendas and final advice.

UK’s coronavirus science advice won’t be published until pandemic ends

The UK government says its coronavirus strategies are based on science, but the scientific advice it has received won’t be made public until after the pandemic

www.newscientist.com

 

[teqniq]

Withering article in the Sunday Times. What has Johnson done or more likely not done to piss Murdoch off?

 

[Wilf]

Withering article in the Sunday Times. What has Johnson done or more likely not done to piss Murdoch off?

Paywall. Do you have screenshots or summat? We could all do with seeing a bit of cunt on cunt violence in these dark times.

Edit: just found this:

 

[teqniq]

Paywall. Do you have screenshots or summat? We could all do with seeing a bit of cunt on cunt violence in these dark times.

I can do screenshots, yes.

Spoiler: Screenshots

 

[teqniq]

Spoiler: Screenshots cont.

 

[teqniq]

Spoiler: Screenshots cont. 2

 

[teqniq]

Paywall. Do you have screenshots or summat? We could all do with seeing a bit of cunt on cunt violence in these dark times.

Edit: just found this:

Lol

 

[Wilf]

Lol

Ooops (but thanks anyway. Your screenshots are much better!).

 

[Raheem]

Why isn't the BBC reporting total number of deaths? How odd.

888. They abolished it when TV went digital.

 

[teqniq]

Ooops (but thanks anyway. Your screenshots are much better!).

Apologies to all, I missed a big chunk towards the end. Added now to screenshots cont 2

 

[planetgeli]

Nice one teqniq thanks.

 

[Chilli.s]

Confirms that we are led by a bunch of self serving arseholes who are way out of their depth on this.

 

[treelover]

Mirror reporting fears from medics they will run out of oxygen

its just incredible, and disagraceful.

 

[prunus]

Fucks sake.

 

[Azrael]

Withering article in the Sunday Times. What has Johnson done or more likely not done to piss Murdoch off?

The Thunderer has always had an unusual degree of editorial independence for a Murdoch rag -- notably when they went against him over Brexit -- this directly affects everyone, including journalists, and many if not most of their readers will be in their senior years. Mail and even Telegraph have also broken ranks.

They're setting up Johnson to come riding in to save the day. Which, as he's incapable of saving an email, will mean handing policy off to someone vaguely competent. Screw up again and may be time to activate men in grey suits, "Boris" with greatest regret to step down for sake of health and family/ies, etc.

 

[teqniq]

It may be that Murdoch prefers Gove and with Johnson's abysmal non-handling of the pandemic the writing is on the wall.

 

[zahir]

Boris Johnson claims his Covid-19 response is “led by the science”. But one look at the expert advice his Cobra committee received suggests his government resisted being led too quickly. Advice to the government in February recommended closing bars and schools – actions the government didn’t take until late March.

The earliest paper, from 11 February, on “stopping large public gatherings”, makes a strong case that while cancelling big events would not be particularly effective, “stopping all leisure activities, including public gatherings such as at bars and restaurants, would be expected to have a much larger effect”. Johnson did not close pubs until 20 March, well over a month later.

Subsequent papers show there was much debate among experts and the argument was not cut and dried. But they give a distinct impression of early advice being much stronger than the actions the prime minister actually took.

Private Eye | Landlords: Eviction notice

UNDER pressure from some landlord Tory MPs, in March the government watered down its Renters (Reform) Bill, originally designed to improve renters' rights, by delaying a ban on

www.private-eye.co.uk

 

[Azrael]

It may be that Murdoch prefers Gove and with Johnson's abysmal non-handling of the pandemic the writing is on the wall.

Yup, Gove very popular among Westminster bubble, which tells you all you need to know about them.

He's also smart enough to know he wants to keep a very low profile ATM, so that'd be an absolute last resort.

 

[Azrael]

Private Eye | Landlords: Eviction notice

UNDER pressure from some landlord Tory MPs, in March the government watered down its Renters (Reform) Bill, originally designed to improve renters' rights, by delaying a ban on

www.private-eye.co.uk

Well to a point, not seen any evidence that an aggressive suppression and elimination strategy was even suggested by "the science", nor, if it was, any reason that the government would've rejected it in favour of "herd immunity" and the horrors of its attendant death toll.

Going by Johnson's speech in early Feb and anonymous comments from a cabinet minister in the Telegraph, we know they wanted to avoid a lockdown. Several strategies compatible with doing that, and if they chose the most politically costly one, must've come with strong backing from their scientific advisors.

 

[brogdale]

This piece by Dominic Minghella seems to have the perfect title for a documentary about Johnson's criminal negligence.

 

[zahir]

Azrael I was wondering if the papers referred to in the Private Eye article are publicly available somewhere or are still unreleased.

 

[brogdale]

Yup, Gove very popular among Westminster bubble, which tells you all you need to know about them.

He's also smart enough to know he wants to keep a very low profile ATM, so that'd be an absolute last resort.

Gove's decision to 'self-isolate' always looked significant.

 

[2hats]

Azrael I was wondering if the papers referred to in the Private Eye article are publicly available somewhere or are still unreleased.

They are all available here, including the 11 February and 26 February papers mentioned in the article.

 

[weltweit]

Gove's decision to 'self-isolate' always looked significant.

He managed to get the affected party tested, (which irritated some) the test was negative and he was later photographed out running. So he hasn't been isolating for some time.

 

[brogdale]

He managed to get the affected party tested, (which irritated some) the test was negative and he was later photographed out running. So he hasn't been isolating for some time.

Time enough to get his ducks in a row and avoid some of the growing shitstorm.

 

[kropotkin]

Not sure he'll have a job for much longer

No, too valuable a resource at the moment