Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Covid-19 pandemic

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    0 deaths and 188 new cases in Ireland today. 76 cases in Dublin, which is a huge drop, but Cork, Donegal and Louth are seeing worrying increases.

    Comment


      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54241580

      4 level high and rising...

      Comment


        4,368 - that's the magic number*

        *today's new UK cases.

        Comment


          Yet infection rates have dropped in 28 London boroughs:

          Coronavirus infection rates appear to have dropped across London,?with all but five boroughs reporting a decrease on last week’s figures. The figures – covering the seven days to September 17 – are based on tests carried out in Government laboratories and in the wider community. The sharp drop in confirmed positive cases comes amid concerns over the national testing system as

          Comment


            https://twitter.com/hugogye/status/1308069545274376194?s=21

            Comment


              Good to see there's a letter in the BMJ from some prominent academics in support of virus suppression as a counterpoint to the widely reported letter from Carl Heneghan and his herd immunity collective.

              https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/09/21...ent-5079217714

              Comment


                Originally posted by Paul S View Post
                Yet infection rates have dropped in 28 London boroughs:
                They haven't, really. That article is based on the government figures only, but as was discussed a few pages back the most recent ONS survey actually reckons London currently has both one of the highest and quickest rising infection rates in England, though it's definitely peculiar that this isn't reflected in the test results (maybe people in London are struggling to get tested? But that's pretty much the case everywhere at the moment.)

                Comment


                  And one of the main signatories on Heneghan's letter, Karol Sikora, has been a bit naughty it seems...

                  https://twitter.com/secretspartacus/status/1308095926532177921

                  Comment


                    That Bjorn Meyer tweet about the letter too. I love it. He knows what he's talking about.

                    Burned.

                    Comment


                      Has anybody explained to the government that the “R” rate increases when there is increased interaction amongst people? They don’t appear to have worked this out yet.

                      Comment


                        So despite being repeatedly told by the Speaker that policy announcements are to be made in the House and not in the media, most of them seem to have been briefed in advance tonight:

                        Pub closing time 10pm, starting Thursday
                        Also table service only, with legal powers to prosecute pubs that don't comply, including ?1,000 fines for not enforcing 2m distancing where applicable
                        Return to mass attendance of sporting events suspended
                        Wedding attendance limits halved from 30 to 15
                        People to be told to work at home where there is no negative impact on the employer

                        And bad news for savers - National Savings to reduce the interest rate on two of their main accounts to 0.01% and significantly reduce the payout on the Premium Bonds partly because the public is saving too much - ?9 billion saved in July, 9x the normal July figure. Commercial lenders expected to follow suit.

                        Comment


                          Textbook smug Tory face

                          Comment


                            Originally posted by Walt Flanagans Dog View Post
                            Return to mass attendance of sporting events suspended
                            Is that for grassroot games as well or just professional sport? I can't seem to find anything about that, everyone is focusing on the pubs.

                            Comment


                              Originally posted by Fussbudget View Post
                              Is that for grassroot games as well or just professional sport? I can't seem to find anything about that, everyone is focusing on the pubs.
                              The Guardian reporting it in their sports section here - looks like they mean professional, but the article goes on to mention the crisis in grassroots sport as well.

                              Comment


                                Ta!

                                Comment


                                  Quote from this article: https://www.theguardian.com/science/...o-tackle-covid

                                  Gupta and colleagues say we should think beyond coronavirus, taking account of the deaths that will occur from other causes because people are too anxious to go to their doctor or the NHS cannot treat them.
                                  Can anyone explain this logic to me? Surely if we let Covid spread more, then more NHS resources will be taken up by Covid, and there will be less space for the NHS to treat other people? I can't see how the above is an argument to let Covid spread.

                                  Comment


                                    In Victoria the Murdoch media (and the PM) mobilised against the Labor premier Daniel Andrews over restrictions designed to suppress the second wave. This attack has been relentless with the same questions day after day at media conferences, many op-eds decrying his "dictator like" tactics, etc, etc. Latest survey showed 62 per cent of Victorians still backed his efforts.

                                    I have rarely seen the media (even the Murdoch contingent) so constantly out of step with public opinion. The TV and newspapers seem full of people wanting restrictions lifted or relaxed while every ordinary person I speak to wants them retained. Is it the same in the UK?
                                    Last edited by Uncle Ethan; 22-09-2020, 07:17.

                                    Comment


                                      Perhaps not as much but yes, it is out of step.

                                      Edit: I mean I think that there is more support for back to normal from the public but the media has been equally relentless in pushing the agenda.
                                      Last edited by Snake Plissken; 22-09-2020, 07:19.

                                      Comment


                                        Mexico is the seventh country to report 700,000+ cases and has recorded 73,697 deaths, a death rate of 570 deaths per million population, worse than France, better than Sweden.

                                        Comment


                                          27,502 new cases in the UK in the last week.

                                          Comment


                                            Which is more cases than Australia has reported during the entire pandemic.

                                            Comment


                                              For the last two days Europe has reported more new cases than South America. It's been a couple of months since that happened before.

                                              Comment


                                                Originally posted by Lang Spoon View Post
                                                There really aren't school buses as a matter of course in Dublin. The worst thing about early morning buses when I lived in the city was the high school kids polluting the aisles.
                                                This is true, but the massive majority of schools aren't in Dublin, or a city. And even within dublin most kids attend the school closest to them, simply because getting around is such a massive pain in the balls. School busses here are for people who live more than two miles from the school, and they're heavily subsidized, but not free. But the people inside that two mile limit have to make their own way to school. A fair few of the kids that you see on the morning busses are within that perimeter Introducing school busses within dublin would have a number or attractive benefits, but it is extremely difficult to see how they would work. Getting the minority of people who travel beyond their nearest school to give that up strikes me as an absolutely massive amount of work, for nothing but trouble, and it would lead to a lot of other problems further down the line. The concept of school districts and catchment areas is not without its problems when applied to urban areas.

                                                Comment


                                                  New measures expected to be in place for six months. Higher fines and more legal powers to enforce compliance, and the military on standby to help the polis.

                                                  ​​​​Schools and universities to stay open and apparently "the vast majority of the UK economy will continue to move forward". I suppose going over a cliff still involves moving forward.

                                                  Comment


                                                    Kuwait has exceeded 100,000 cases, but only reported 588 deaths (contrast with Egypt which has similar case numbers but nearly 10 times as many deaths).

                                                    Comment

                                                    Working...
                                                    X