Coronavirus in the UK - news, lockdown and discussion

[mx wcfc]

You said this last time and the same reasons apply. You can't stop online deliveries as it's not all fripperies and tat people buy but essentials, food etc. Many of those peple can't get to the shops and don't have peple to go for them.

Daft idea. Again.

I'm not suggesting stopping deliveries of food and medicines. Most of the stuff people buy off the likes of Amazon is tat that people could wait for. Most of us could last a few weeks without new clothes. Kids clothes can be bought at supermarkets. A book/cd/dvd can wait. Cut the vectors, dramatically. Cut the staff having to go into Amazon etc warehouses.

 

[Gerry1time]

Boris was very non-committal on schools today

Which likely means that two different sets of people have told him two different things, and he doesn't want to argue with either of them.

It's an utter pattern with the man. It's why Matt Lucas's 'Bake in a tent' skit was on the surface just funny, but at the same time also far, far more true than many people realised at the time*.



* if you want to go deep into the detail, the skit was clearly a take off of his early Sir Bernard Cholmondley character, which reappeared in a sadly much reduced and weaker form in Little Britain, but as an ex Bristol student of around the same time as him, I'm slightly convinced was based on some of his peers at the University at the 90's. #slightspeculationbutveryplausible.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

People were still buying things online when the rates were falling, so I think we can discount that as a major concern.

As the rates got back down pubs and restaurants reopen, kids went back to school, students went back to uni and vast numbers of people went back to work.

Then - for reasons that are a complete mystery - the rates have skyrocketed again

 

[Steel Icarus]

Schools and unis running into the summer? What?

 

[elbows]

Annoying as it is with people barging around shops etc, I don't thaink that's where the bulk of infections are occurring.

I completely support the closure of non essential shops when trying to control nasty moments in the pandemic. Its a pandemic no-brainer that it always features on their lists of options and is a measure they feel forced to take when things get especially bad. It was entirely unsurprising that it was part of tier 4 restrictions. There arent all that many other options in total and shopping that involves lots of people mixing indoors ticks enough of the warning boxes in this pandemic that it is very sensible to target this side of things.

 

[Wilf]

I'm not suggesting stopping deliveries of food and medicines. Most of the stuff people buy off the likes of Amazon is tat that people could wait for. Most of us could last a few weeks without new clothes. Kids clothes can be bought at supermarkets. A book/cd/dvd can wait. Cut the vectors, dramatically. Cut the staff having to go into Amazon etc warehouses.

At one level, yes in terms of staff at amazon having to work. But the rest of this just isn't accurate. A lot of supermarkets have a very pared down set of items you can get with the deliveries - and people are having to use other online deliveries for pretty standard items. Fwiw, I don't use amazon at all, 'cos they're cunts.

 

[xenon]

I'm not suggesting stopping deliveries of food and medicines. Most of the stuff people buy off the likes of Amazon is tat that people could wait for. Most of us could last a few weeks without new clothes. Kids clothes can be bought at supermarkets. A book/cd/dvd can wait. Cut the vectors, dramatically. Cut the staff having to go into Amazon etc warehouses.

I'm not suggesting stopping deliveries of food and medicines. Most of the stuff people buy off the likes of Amazon is tat that people could wait for. Most of us could last a few weeks without new clothes. Kids clothes can be bought at supermarkets. A book/cd/dvd can wait. Cut the vectors, dramatically. Cut the staff having to go into Amazon etc warehouses.

So who gets to decide if a kid can go what, 2 weeks, 3, 4 months without shoes. You can't buy a winter coat with the money you got for Christmas cos, er, rules.
Someone can't get a takeaway because even though they can't go into a crowded supermarket, might be ill, without cooking facilities or god forebid, just want to have a bag of chips cos, er rules.
you can ask peple keep their commercial interactions to a minimum but the idea of drawing up lists of what can and can't be sold, to whom, where and when is still daft I'm afraid and will make things much harder than they need to be for many, with no real benefit.

 

[Sunray]

Does anyone listen to the head dick any more? I see him and I get angry, not irrationally but because of endless shit like this

Ministers urged people to avoid panic-buying food as France failed to lift its ban on freight and passengers from the UK on Monday despite a personal appeal from the prime minister, who asked Emmanuel Macron to put aside his “anxiety” over the new strain of Covid-19.

There are reports of panic buying again. Telling people not to do something does run the risk of idiots doing exactly what you just asked them not to do.
Closing the ports was decisive action ffs! The French went 'Holy shit' and closed the ports to give them breathing space to work out the risks. It may or may not reopen. Looking at the graphs from the SE there is a definite possibility of it staying shut for drivers.
Boris Johnson appears blinded by decisive action. Tells the French, 'Don't worry it'll be fine'.

Is this actually happening?

 

[kenny g]

So who gets to decide if a kid can go what, 2 weeks, 3, 4 months without shoes. You can't buy a winter coat with the money you got for Christmas cos, er, rules.
Someone can't get a takeaway because even though they can't go into a crowded supermarket, might be ill, without cooking facilities or god forebid, just want to have a bag of chips cos, er rules.
you can ask peple keep their commercial interactions to a minimum but the idea of drawing up lists of what can and can't be sold, to whom, where and when is still daft I'm afraid and will make things much harder than they need to be for many, with no real benefit.

Agree. Children's clothes are vat free so should be excluded.

 

[kenny g]

But then again if one is an adult with an hole in one's shoes or shoe a new pair of footwear, or at the very least a visit to a cobbler, becomes somewhat essential.

 

[bimble]

I'm still stuck on the mind boggling stupidity of how come they (our leaders) failed to predict the possibility that after announcing to world on Saturday afternoon that a new out of control strain of the virus is running wild on our island , that there might possibly be a chance of France and others deciding to shut the doors until they can figure out what the hell is going on over here.
How on earth did this not occur to them as a possibility ?
They could have spent 3 seconds thinking about it and at least come up with a plan for testing at the borders to try to mitigate the fears of the neighbouring countries on whom we depend for much of our food.
Its just incredible to me that they didn't realise this might happen, were totally blindsided by it and only belatedly after the doors were slammed shut are now trying to cobble together a plan to get imports to resume.

 

[Hyperdark]

A quick question for those who continue to regularly use Take away food shops despite the increased risks involved...Why?

It sort of baffles me a bit as applied to the great majority of people doing so I absolutely do not buy the excuses of lack of cooking facilities or time, I've lived in many bedsits through my yoof and never been in one without at least a couple of rings to cook on and as for the time thing, I notice it takes a fair while for people visiting my local chippie to queue to get in and served which combined with travelling time easily blows the time excuse out the window..so come on, Why do you do it?

 

[strung out]

A quick question for those who continue to regularly use Take away food shops despite the increased risks involved...Why?

It sort of baffles me a bit as applied to the great majority of people doing so I absolutely do not buy the excuses of lack of cooking facilities or time, I've lived in many bedsits through my yoof and never been in one without at least a couple of rings to cook on and as for the time thing, I notice it takes a fair while for people visiting my local chippie to queue to get in and served which combined with travelling time easily blows the time excuse out the window..so come on, Why do you do it?

Because in the unrelenting misery which is this year, the ability to have a tiny bit of joy from getting a takeaway delivered or picking up a burger and chips that somebody else has cooked for you, is worth whatever tiny risk is associated with the drive to/from the restaurant and waiting outside for it to be ready.

 

[Thora]

A quick question for those who continue to regularly use Take away food shops despite the increased risks involved...Why?

It sort of baffles me a bit as applied to the great majority of people doing so I absolutely do not buy the excuses of lack of cooking facilities or time, I've lived in many bedsits through my yoof and never been in one without at least a couple of rings to cook on and as for the time thing, I notice it takes a fair while for people visiting my local chippie to queue to get in and served which combined with travelling time easily blows the time excuse out the window..so come on, Why do you do it?

The risk of getting a takeaway seems pretty low compared to going to work, school or the supermarket

 

[Mr.Bishie]

A quick question for those who continue to regularly use Take away food shops despite the increased risks involved...Why?

Have a number of posters here said that they regularly have a take-aways then? Where are you getting this from? Apart from cost, surely having a take-away is far safer than going to a busy supermarket?

 

[Artaxerxes]

Schools and unis running into the summer? What?

It was essential we sent kids back for the three weeks before summer break

 

[bimble]

Some countries (i only know for sure Kenya but there must be more) decided months ago that all students would simply get to re-sit the year, exams that were supposed to be this summer will happen next summer, etc. Has there been any mooting of this idea at all here?

 

[nagapie]

I'm imagining many parents will not want to send their children back to university after last term"s shit show trapped them there.

 

[Supine]

A quick question for those who continue to regularly use Take away food shops despite the increased risks involved...Why?

Do you have any evidence of increased risk? I'd have thought it is much safer than eating out. What danger is there?

 

[two sheds]

Only place I've got a takeaway from was the local chippie a couple of months ago. You phone up to order and pay, then turn up and they hand it to you at the door. Really nicely organized (and the best chips for miles around).

 

[bimble]

I've been really longing for takeaway / delivery food during the lockdowns, as a break in the monotony of my own crap cooking. It isn't possible here (too far from shops, would be cold by the time i got it home or drivers found the house) but wouldn't blame anyone at all for doing it as much as they like.

 

[Fez909]

A quick question for those who continue to regularly use Take away food shops despite the increased risks involved...Why?

It sort of baffles me a bit as applied to the great majority of people doing so I absolutely do not buy the excuses of lack of cooking facilities or time, I've lived in many bedsits through my yoof and never been in one without at least a couple of rings to cook on and as for the time thing, I notice it takes a fair while for people visiting my local chippie to queue to get in and served which combined with travelling time easily blows the time excuse out the window..so come on, Why do you do it?

I've had loads of takeaways. I've also had a wider range of takeaways than normal.

Reasons:

I have more money because I'm not spending it on nights out

I want to support local businesses

I love food, and I'm lazy

I don't think there's much risk in getting a takeaway

 

[Roadkill]

I'm imagining many parents will not want to send their children back to university after last term"s shit show trapped them there.

The perception of a 'shit show' comes from a small number of institutions that had bad outbreaks and mishandled them. For most of the sector last term went a lot more smoothly than it might have done, and for us - at least - student feedback has been pretty positive. Exactly how next term will work remains to be seen. We have been told to assume the same 'blended learning' approach as last, and to the best of my knowledge that applies to much of the sector, but obviously the new strain and whatever spike results from mixing over Christmas may well blow that off course.

 

[Roadkill]

I've had loads of takeaways. I've also had a wider range of takeaways than normal.

Same here, although I mainly get them delivered. Not because I think there's a massive risk in walking to the local outlets, but because I'm lazy. I enjoy cooking - which has been a godsend in lockdown - but sometimes it's nice to have a change.

 

[nagapie]

The perception of a 'shit show' comes from a small number of institutions that had bad outbreaks and mishandled them. For most of the sector last term went a lot more smoothly than it might have done, and for us - at least - student feedback has been pretty positive. Exactly how next term will work remains to be seen. We have been told to assume the same 'blended learning' approach as last, and to the best of my knowledge that applies to much of the sector, but obviously the new strain and whatever spike results from mixing over Christmas may well blow that off course.

My info is mostly anecdotal but the parents I worked with spoke about their children in halls not being allowed to come home whereas the ones studying locally were not really going in and managing quite well with blended learning.

 

[frogwoman]

I've had a handful of takeaways from local restaurants and pubs tbh. I'd rather not spend money on doing it regularly but I'd kind of prefer that my area doesn't have even fewer places to go out and eat etc than it did before the lockdown, and that my favourite places don't close down with one exception I don't think there was much risk involved

 

[Roadkill]

My info is mostly anecdotal but the parents I worked with spoke about their children in halls not being allowed to come home whereas the ones studying locally were not really going in and managing quite well with blended learning.

The problem is that far too many people are forming opinions based on anecdote, both from word of mouth and - more often, I think - from the news media. Horrendous outbreaks and angry students trapped in halls by heavy-handed security made good news stories, but didn't reflect the reality for most.

 

[nagapie]

The problem is that far too many people are forming opinions based on anecdote, both from word of mouth and - more often, I think - from the news media. Horrendous outbreaks and angry students trapped in halls by heavy-handed security made good news stories, but didn't reflect the reality for most.

It may not be the full truth but there certainly were children cut off from their families, I didn't really hear any heavy handed security stories. But if the reality is enough to deter parents sending them back to halls, remains to be seen.

 

[killer b]

I would imagine for most 18 year olds, even the weirdness of current Uni life is likely going to be preferable to staying home, now they're used to being away. Those who were going to go home to stay will already have done so.

Whether the universities will open in January remains to be seen though...

 

[Steel Icarus]

It shouldn't be about making students happy or giving students of all ages what they need, it should be about what is the safest course of action