Coronavirus Thread

[st albans fox]

24 minutes ago, StanSP said:

So a minister does something unlawful and because they're worried about the reputation as a result of it, it's alright?

He’s not speaking about reputation- he’s speaking about commercial issues - 

 

but I know from experience that the processes were far from fair and open and certainly not transparent ......

[Spiritwalker]

1 hour ago, Dunge said:

I think while it’s important for all this to come out in the wash, I don’t blame him for not divulging the details of contracts at the time, even if it was unlawful. The last thing the government wanted or the country needed at the time was for people to find out how desperate they were over PPE and how much they were willing to pay for it.

The public would be sympathetic if the government were paying over the odds for desperately needed PPE.

They might be less sympathetic if it comes out that friends of Ministers have been given preferential treatment 

when these contracts have gone to tender and have been making vast profits from this disaster.

[Dunge]

41 minutes ago, StanSP said:

So a minister does something unlawful and because they're worried about the reputation as a result of it, it's alright?

No, that’s not what I mean. I mean if people became aware how much we were willing to pay and the shortcuts we were likely taking on contracts then we become a sitting duck for extortion. Plus I doubt there will have been one set price we were paying everyone for the PPE, so if reliable Source X is getting paid (eg) £5m per shipment and questionable Source Y is getting paid £15m for the same, Source X would likely ramp up the price of future shipments that we may still have been desperate for.

[Dunge]

2 minutes ago, Spiritwalker said:

The public would be sympathetic if the government were paying over the odds for desperately needed PPE.

They might be less sympathetic if it comes out that friends of Ministers have been given preferential treatment 

when these contracts have gone to tender and have been making vast profits from this disaster.

Yeah, and I do agree it’s fair to review them now. I was more responding to the point on Hancock acting unlawfully by not divulging the details at the time.

[Leicester_Loyal]

Sounds like the furlough scheme is due to be extended until summer in the next couple of weeks.

[Corky]

1 minute ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Sounds like the furlough scheme is due to be extended until summer in the next couple of weeks.

Not surprised if they are going for a gradual reopening.

[Thefox81]

2 minutes ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Sounds like the furlough scheme is due to be extended until summer in the next couple of weeks.

Glad they are doing that. Im furloughed and just want to return to work but not having to worry (as much) about money and bills makes sleeping a little easier.

 

On a side note have they said what is happening to those on benefits that had an increase due to covid? I remember something about it pre xmas i think. Im not clued up on that sort of thing but it seems to have gone quiet. I know a few people on various benefits but im not sure if they even know.

[CosbehFox]

3 hours ago, Dunge said:

I think while it’s important for all this to come out in the wash, I don’t blame him for not divulging the details of contracts at the time, even if it was unlawful. The last thing the government wanted or the country needed at the time was for people to find out how desperate they were over PPE and how much they were willing to pay for it.

That would suggest a competitive process which there wasn’t in most cases 

[UpTheLeagueFox]

2 hours ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Sounds like the furlough scheme is due to be extended until summer in the next couple of weeks.

 

2 hours ago, Thefox81 said:

Glad they are doing that. Im furloughed and just want to return to work but not having to worry (as much) about money and bills makes sleeping a little easier.

If furlough is being extended, hopefully they do the same for the self-employed.

It's been extremely helpful for those eligible although I'd rather being out working both jobs like the old days.

[The whole world smiles]

17 hours ago, UpTheLeagueFox said:

I don't think many people had great faith in the Govt with the vaccines but blimey they're smashing it big time.

I think the government got a massive helping hand from the scientists regarding the Oxford jab being available and easy to store and administer. And it's a shame that people see it as a victory for politics and not science. 

 

But I would be absolutely slating them if they had got this wrong so credit where its due they have played there hand very well. And it's brilliant for the country. 

[foxestalkisfullofidiots]

17 hours ago, StanSP said:

No credit to the NHS, Geoff?

 

 

Geoff is as Tory as they come, he’s been desperate to give Boris credit for something.......anything 😂

[Charl91]

To be fair to the Government, if the vaccine rollout had gone horribly wrong, they'd be getting all the criticism, so it's only right that they should get some of the credit for it going well.

 

I hope when history looks back on this though, the success (hopefully) of the vaccines doesn't absolve them of the absolute mess they've made through most of this pandemic. I'm glad they seem to be getting something right, but for the most part their governance has been a shambles.

[Leicester_Loyal]

27 minutes ago, Charl91 said:

To be fair to the Government, if the vaccine rollout had gone horribly wrong, they'd be getting all the criticism, so it's only right that they should get some of the credit for it going well.

 

I hope when history looks back on this though, the success (hopefully) of the vaccines doesn't absolve them of the absolute mess they've made through most of this pandemic. I'm glad they seem to be getting something right, but for the most part their governance has been a shambles.

Spot on. 
 

Hence there’s no way they’ll be getting my vote at the local elections in May (or whenever they do happen). 

[Dunge]

40 minutes ago, The whole world smiles said:

I think the government got a massive helping hand from the scientists regarding the Oxford jab being available and easy to store and administer. And it's a shame that people see it as a victory for politics and not science. 

 

But I would be absolutely slating them if they had got this wrong so credit where its due they have played there hand very well. And it's brilliant for the country. 

I see Boris as a gambler. He gambled on being pro-Brexit (despite infamously writing out two articles, one pro and one anti, before choosing which one to publish) and he ended up being PM. He gambles every time he uses flowery language whenever a microphone’s stuck in front of him. It’s why he makes so many gaffes. His government gambled on the UK creating its own track and trace app and it turned out rubbish. His government also gambled on ploughing money into the Oxford vaccine and the gamble paid off where it hasn’t for the French.

 

Some might say bold. Others might say reckless. I say... it’s a tactic, I suppose. Ultimately, his political tombstone will probably be etched with the details of a gamble gone wrong somewhere along the line. Live by the sword, die by the sword.

[Countryfox]

I mentioned months ago about no cases of flu being registered and also a funeral director commenting on a death certificate being wrong ...  and immediately got shot down in flames.  Obviously this conspiracy theory is getting wings now.  The article also points out that since last spring the certification of death could be made by one doctor and not two (including one who knew the patient) as before which may have a bearing on this. 
 

 

[PAULCFC]

Looking forward to seeing my dad for the first time in a year.He's in a home suffering dementia....not sure he'll remember me.

[FoxesDeb]

16 minutes ago, PAULCFC said:

Looking forward to seeing my dad for the first time in a year.He's in a home suffering dementia....not sure he'll remember me.

Ah that's tough, definitely harder on the family than on the person in my experience. Hope it goes well for you both 

[Legend_in_blue]

36 minutes ago, Countryfox said:

I mentioned months ago about no cases of flu being registered and also a funeral director commenting on a death certificate being wrong ...  and immediately got shot down in flames.  Obviously this conspiracy theory is getting wings now.  The article also points out that since last spring the certification of death could be made by one doctor and not two (including one who knew the patient) as before which may have a bearing on this. 
 

 

There's data out there to confirm this.  Flu is virtually non existent currently.  There's also an argument to suggest that because people have locked themselves away when it does come back, it'll come back worse.

[PAULCFC]

9 minutes ago, FoxesDeb said:

Ah that's tough, definitely harder on the family than on the person in my experience. Hope it goes well for you both 

Cheer's for that!It's a bit hard at the moment because my mum(his wife) passed away just before the pandemic,which i know sounds harsh was a bit of a blessing because she was house bound and i don't know how either of would have coped with it(me being an only child)I guess i'd feel happier if he didn't know who i was,because being selfish that would make things a bit easier!

[PAULCFC]

1 minute ago, PAULCFC said:

.

 

Edited 20 February 2021 by PAULCFC
double post

[Thefox81]

1 hour ago, PAULCFC said:

Cheer's for that!It's a bit hard at the moment because my mum(his wife) passed away just before the pandemic,which i know sounds harsh was a bit of a blessing because she was house bound and i don't know how either of would have coped with it(me being an only child)I guess i'd feel happier if he didn't know who i was,because being selfish that would make things a bit easier!

All the best man 💙💙💙

[SpacedX]

1 hour ago, Legend_in_blue said:

There's data out there to confirm this.  Flu is virtually non existent currently.  There's also an argument to suggest that because people have locked themselves away when it does come back, it'll come back worse.

It would appear that social distancing and improved public hygiene have together resulted in attenuated seasons of flu virus infection and the low levels that we are experiencing. My role is frequently person facing within a diverse international environment. I usually experience two to three viral infections a year, the last one being Novermber 2019 and throughout remote working which was imposed the following March, I haven't had so much of a sniffle. In spite of this, there are many possible reasons that cases might be down this year. People could be reluctant to seek medical treatment, and it may be that fewer tests were conducted as resources were diverted elsewhere.

 

Regarding scarcity of the flu virus there are two possible scenarios. The first is that the virus might be evolving more slowly than usual. This is significant, because it means the strains we encounter next season wouldn’t differ that much from the ones that circulated last year, and infections might be less severe. The lower the circulation, the lower the rate of mutation. However, in reality, in the absence of causal data, it simply isn't known for sure if social distancing has led to fewer flu infections worldwide or just as I suggested, a fall in the number recorded. The second scenario, assuming that it hasn’t, this then means that the rate of its evolution might be the same. As social distancing in relaxed in response to the Covid-19 vaccination, parts of the world that currently have fewer flu cases could indeed as you suggest be hit hard by snapback. And what will happen to these other pathogens in the wake of the Covid-19 vaccine? If there's no transmission of other respiratory pathogens, that means people are not getting immunity to them. Important to stress here though, that the myth that isolation and social distancing compromises and weakens the immune system of an adult is precisely that, a complete fallacy...it is simply vulnerability through lack of exposure to these strains that is the issue, not the functioning of the immune system itself.

 

[oxford blue]

1 hour ago, Legend_in_blue said:

Flu is virtually non existent currently.  There's also an argument to suggest that because people have locked themselves away when it does come back, it'll come back worse.

Flu can only circulate if there is social contact, and it it is far less virulent in terms of spreading compared to CV, so it is unsurprising little flu this year.  It would seem to me the flu vaccine is likely to be less effective next winter (as scientists will not have data regarding likely prevalent virus), and that there will be more flu, unless another lockdown. The flu vaccine is usually based upon the strain circulating In Australia, which again is very low:

 

From Department of Health:

• Impact – Given low case numbers of laboratory-confirmed notifications for influenza, it is likely that there is minimal impact on society due to influenza circulation in the 2020 season.
• Severity – There is no indication of the potential severity during the 2020 season. In the year to date, of the 21,266 notifications of laboratory confirmed influenza, 37 (0.17%) laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated deaths have been notified to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.

It will, therefore, be much harder to forecast how flu virus will mutate, and prepare vaccine.

[z-layrex]

[Leicester_Loyal]

 

Everything should be open from the end of May (IMO), let’s get this horrible episode finished.