Coronavirus in the UK - news, lockdown and discussion

[Mation]

Coronaballs

Thread!

I have said words to that effect on Twitter and got 85 likes so far - it is literally the hardest I have ever worked in my 20 years of working! I will confess, historically, if I didn't have a lot on, I didn't do an awful lot at home (but really, was I doing much more if I didn't have much more on at work?!)

You know I'm very fond of you, Cloo, but on this my violin is fairly tiny

 

[scifisam]

Thread!
You know I'm very fond of you, Cloo, but on this my violin is fairly tiny

I dunno, I have quite a lot of sympathy for anyone who's had to work from home full time and homeschool their kids.

 

[MrSki]

Not sure if this has been posted before but fucking hell!

 

[Mation]

I dunno, I have quite a lot of sympathy for anyone who's had to work from home full time and homeschool their kids.

Yep, me too. Not what the post was about, though. Or at least, not what it conveyed.

 

[Supine]

Not sure if this has been posted before but fucking hell!

I pressed confirm and then got sent the kit. Not sure what the big deal is tbh.

 

[BlanketAddict]

I can't see how bubbles are supposed to work. Traveling to college daily, me, Mrs SI and our lad are then going to go off to three bubbles.

The problem with bubbles is they have a tendency to burst!

 

[kabbes]

The government (he says in a shock to nobody) is just incredibly reactive to events all the time. There’s no planning or strategy or attempt to look at the experience of other countries. There’s also no ability to turn problems into opportunities. So we have a situation in which sandwich chains are struggling and the government reacts by telling us all to go back to the office.

This really could be the catalyst for a much happier, healthier and greener way of living. Who thinks it’s a good thing to have all that plastic waste from sandwiches and all those emissions from commuting and so much time spent travelling?Who thinks it’s good to have a hollowing out of local towns because they’re nothing more than sleeper dorms for the central city? In the long run, we’d be so much better off with a working world in which home working rather than office working is the default, and offices are used as necessary as collaboration spaces, not computer farms. But the government doesn’t care about any of that, they just don’t like Pret A Manger losing jobs.

 

[Badgers]

The government (he says in a shock to nobody) is just incredibly reactive to events all the time. There’s no planning or strategy or attempt to look at the experience of other countries. There’s also no ability to turn problems into opportunities. So we have a situation in which sandwich chains are struggling and the government reacts by telling us all to go back to the office.

This really could be the catalyst for a much happier, healthier and greener way of living. Who thinks it’s a good thing to have all that plastic waste from sandwiches and all those emissions from commuting and so much time spent travelling?Who thinks it’s good to have a hollowing out of local towns because they’re nothing more than sleeper dorms for the central city? In the long run, we’d be so much better off with a working world in which home working rather than office working is the default, and offices are used as necessary as collaboration spaces, not computer farms. But the government doesn’t care about any of that, they just don’t like Pret A Manger losing jobs.

I suspect Pret is far lower down their priority list than the commercial landlords (party donors) and their own property portfolio's.

 

[sparkybird]

And public transport.....

 

[maomao]

The government (he says in a shock to nobody) is just incredibly reactive to events all the time. There’s no planning or strategy or attempt to look at the experience of other countries. There’s also no ability to turn problems into opportunities. So we have a situation in which sandwich chains are struggling and the government reacts by telling us all to go back to the office.

This really could be the catalyst for a much happier, healthier and greener way of living. Who thinks it’s a good thing to have all that plastic waste from sandwiches and all those emissions from commuting and so much time spent travelling?Who thinks it’s good to have a hollowing out of local towns because they’re nothing more than sleeper dorms for the central city? In the long run, we’d be so much better off with a working world in which home working rather than office working is the default, and offices are used as necessary as collaboration spaces, not computer farms. But the government doesn’t care about any of that, they just don’t like Pret A Manger losing jobs.

It's not just pret a manger though is it. It's all people who work in service industries that exist to cater for the clerical workers of the city. Everyone in catering and retail. And if no-one's coming to work then the post rooms are looking a little overstaffed and why do we need all those security guards when there's no computers to nick anymore. While this government is so far unique in the level of entitled incompetence it has achieved I think it's probably beyond the abilities of any capitalist society to plan those people out of city centre jobs.

 

[Badgers]

And public transport.....

Those shareholders need more bailouts

 

[Artaxerxes]

It's not just pret a manger though is it. It's all people who work in service industries that exist to cater for the clerical workers of the city. Everyone in catering and retail. And if no-one's coming to work then the post rooms are looking a little overstaffed and why do we need all those security guards when there's no computers to nick anymore. While this government is so far unique in the level of entitled incompetence it has achieved I think it's probably beyond the abilities of any capitalist society to plan those people out of city centre jobs.

Homeworking is also often a bit shit for various reasons.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Not sure if this has been posted before but fucking hell!

Those things always tell me I don't exist. If you have a PAYG phone, no credit cards and your bills are in someone else's name you may not exist either. I suppose it's too much to ask for the UK government to check on things like the electoral role, driving licences, HMRC etc instead. Or better still, just not bother at all on the assumption that nobody is going to bother fradulently acquiring covid tests and that making access to testing as simple as possible must be the priority.

 

[Badgers]

Homeworking is also often a bit shit for various reasons.

Can be. I looked at the cost of a space in shared office if needed and that is cheaper/quicker than the commute so 'at home' is not the only option.

 

[Supine]

Or better still, just not bother at all on the assumption that nobody is going to bother fradulently acquiring covid tests

I'd say that was an incredibly stupid assumption. Some dick would order loads and try to resell them.

 

[2hats]

the electoral role

What is your function in our democracy?

 

[maomao]

I'd say that was an incredibly stupid assumption. Some dick would order loads and try to resell them.

Would be a bit pointless if they were freely available.

 

[Cerv]

Would be a bit pointless if they were freely available.

do you trust the government not to run out? they're clearly worried about that themselves

 

[SpookyFrank]

I'd say that was an incredibly stupid assumption. Some dick would order loads and try to resell them.

Yeah some dickhead somewhere is gonna try and turn a profit on it, will likely fail miserably, and their efforts will be insignificant in terms of the total number of tests being done.

Compare that to the guaranteed pissing away of money on external identity checking services which, as universal credit claimiants have known for years, are not fit for purpose.

 

[two sheds]

and the result will have to be entered on your NHS file anyway so why not check against that first of all? They could have increased the NHS funding for that and all sorts of things that they're instead pissing money up the wall for their inept private sector mates.

 

[kabbes]

It's not just pret a manger though is it. It's all people who work in service industries that exist to cater for the clerical workers of the city. Everyone in catering and retail. And if no-one's coming to work then the post rooms are looking a little overstaffed and why do we need all those security guards when there's no computers to nick anymore. While this government is so far unique in the level of entitled incompetence it has achieved I think it's probably beyond the abilities of any capitalist society to plan those people out of city centre jobs.

Yes, any big structural change is going to be costly for those who are negatively affected by it. Which is why it’s much better to recognise reality and try to plan for the change rather than closing your eyes to it and pretending you can bully millions of people into doing something they don’t want to do and now realise they don’t have to do.

 

[kabbes]

Homeworking is also often a bit shit for various reasons.

So is office working.

There seems to be about 20%ish that prefer the office. That’s fine, you don’t have to eliminate offices. But planning around the idea that everybody doing permanent office working is not going to be the norm in the future is better than paying for fucking adverts to try to bully us to do something that isn’t even a net positive.

 

[emanymton]

So is office working.

There seems to be about 20%ish that prefer the office. That’s fine, you don’t have to eliminate offices. But planning around the idea that everybody doing permanent office working is not going to be the norm in the future is better than paying for fucking adverts to try to bully us to do something that isn’t even a net positive.

I am doing a rota of 2 weeks working from home then 2 weeks in the office and I find that by the end of my two weeks I am looking forward to the switch.

 

[xenon]

I haven't even got an office any more... I know he's a wanker but I'm now boicoting Nick Ferrari on LBC cos I got sick of hearing him talking about home workers skiving, get back to work, when I was logging on to my work PC of a morning. He's gutted no doubt...

And the people saying. Well if you can work from home, what's to stop companies just employing cheaper labour overseas... Have they been asleep for the last 20 years. Of course outsourcing a callcentre, where you can manage, train and provision staff in a centralised manner is a bit different to having to rely on people having facilities, enough knowledge and support to do the job from their home. And a lot of those easier to outsource jobs will likely be automated out of existence soon.

Our city centres need to have places people can actually afford to live in, local shops and ameaneties to serve then. Not just expensive student accommodation and office blocks.

 

[andysays]

Coronavirus: Winter plans revealed in leaked Sage report

A leaked government report suggests a "reasonable worst case scenario" of 85,000 deaths across the UK this winter due to Covid-19.

 

[kalidarkone]

I haven't grasped as a healthcare worker what happens if any staff get get it now. I'm sure it's in my email somewhere, but I doubt we'll all be told to self isolate.

Its this :
If have symptoms and/or a temperature then stay at home , do a test let your employer know the result. Quarentine for 14 days? If positive. If negative then go back to work when you are fit yo work.

You should 100% be self isolating if you have symptoms and are positive. If your employer has an issue with this then id be contacting my union and possibly local mp and public health.

 

[kalidarkone]

Yeah some dickhead somewhere is gonna try and turn a profit on it, will likely fail miserably, and their efforts will be insignificant in terms of the total number of tests being done.

Compare that to the guaranteed pissing away of money on external identity checking services which, as universal credit claimiants have known for years, are not fit for purpose.

Right now id buy one on the black market cus I sure as shit can't get a home test atm as the govt website is telling me there are none available! I need to do a test because I feel ill and I'm back to work Weds night so it would be good to know.

It shouldn't be this fucking hard

 

[souljacker]

Right now id buy one on the black market cus I sure as shit can't get a home test atm as the govt website is telling me there are none available! I need to do a test because I feel ill and I'm back to work Weds night so it would be good to know.

It shouldn't be this fucking hard

Do you do the Zoe app? When I reported symptoms the other day they offered me one. It might take you to the same site you've already tried though. I didn't click it as I already had a drive through booked.

 

[kalidarkone]

Do you do the Zoe app? When I reported symptoms the other day they offered me one. It might take you to the same site you've already tried though. I didn't click it as I already had a drive through booked.

Oh yes I do!! Good thinking! x
Worse case scenario I could go to a drive through but I'm feeling rubbish.

 

[kalidarkone]

Oh yes I do!! Good thinking! x
Worse case scenario I could go to a drive through but I'm feeling rubbish.

Just did my daily zoe report and did not get offered a test.
Must find my thermometer.....