From what I can see via Google the Govt appears to have stopped reporting on this after January. Odd?
They stopped doing a lot of things in January! They were too busy making model's.......I think Boris was on with a bus, dont know if he got it finished mind.
So I see..... The latest Public Health England (PHE) report published at 2pm on 30 January 2020, shows that seasonal flu continues to circulate across the UK, although activity is decreasing. Maybe they’re just too busy?
I guess we can all draw our own conclusions. I’ll assume that all flu deaths are being classed as coronavirus deaths because it’s easier that way.
Flu season has just about finished and it’s been a pretty benign one this year, apparently. And fortunately. The first death attributed to coronavirus in the UK was end February. Plenty of data on flu this season https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/weekly-national-flu-reports-2019-to-2020-season Interesting stuff on the all cause mortality report link on the same page. Massive spike week of 9 April. We have been in ‘excess death’ over expected figures in England for the last 3 weeks, except for those aged under 15.
Ellers, I resolved a while back not to respond to your posts because your logic is generally so twisted that it's impossible to have a sensible argument with you. Twice now I've fallen off that particular wagon, and I regret it, but I'll do my best to stick to that resolution in future. However, you've obviously spent a lot of time over this post, so it deserves a response. Anyone who makes reasonable criticisms of the government's handling of this crisis, you describe as indulging in 'political point-scoring', yet the political bias in your own posts is plain for all to see - indeed the post to which I am currently replying is dripping with it. Criticism of the government is legitimate and necessary, it is not just point-scoring and it is not unpatriotic. Of course, the government should also be praised when it get things right and I think that the Chancellor's response, whilst not without flaws, was a good one. You've made some personal attacks on me in your post by dredging up some posts that I have made in the past, to which I should also respond. Firstly, you accuse me of not being concerned about others' safety because I don't stick to what I consider to be daft isolation rules. As I've already explained, I'm careful to avoid getting too close to people when I'm out, but I think that the guidelines are over-restrictive and are interpreted too literally by many. What's wrong with going out more than once a day, or sitting on a park bench when you are out, or driving to visit parents, all whist maintaining the appropriate distance? I have never knowingly endangered anyone. You've carefully cut part of my post about the doctor who had sent an open letter to Johnson criticising the lack of adequate PPE for NHS staff. This poor man died of the virus and I was outraged at the fuss being made about Johnson whilst dedicated people such as this doctor were dying. I don't wish Johnson harm, and my post was probably over the top, but I stick by the sentiment behind it. I did indeed say in the early days that the reaction to the virus in comparison to a 'regular' flu epidemic was exaggerated and I still believe this to a point. I can see that it was necessary to avoid everyone getting the virus at once, thus bringing the NHS to a standstill, but I was attracted to the herd immunity approach (as were you, I thought). As Trump said, 'why make the solution worse than the problem?' There were 28,000 deaths in this country from the 2014-15 flu epidemic and 10,000 so far attributed to Covid-19, yet there were no extreme measures back then, or even a campaign to get us to wash our hands more often as far as I can recall. I don't believe that the lockdown will actually prevent a significant number of deaths, it will merely delay them. The numbers of deaths caused by the economic fallout, however, will be far greater in my opinion. Yes, there will be an inquiry, but why shouldn't people speak out now if they feel that the government is getting it wrong?
Here’s something we need an analysis on: Since the pubs, bars, clubs, sports venues and restaurants have been shut booze sales in supermarkets have risen by 20%. Does this rise offset the amount of public boozing we usually do, or are we actually drinking less overall?
Judging by the eating thread it's likely that we're drinking a bit more than usual, I am for sure, usually we go dry during the week and a couple of bottles of wine over the weekend, now the odd G & T is being snuck in during the week......