The government's easing of lockdown was predicated on a world-beating test, track and trace system . The government has let society down, not the other way round.
As long as some Tory somewhere is making a boat load of cash from this 'world beating' track and trace then I'm sure the great british public will be satisfied.
Always ready to deflect criticism away from the government by blaming the public, eh? 'Very poor' is an understatement, it's a farce. I heard one of the tracers on the radio today saying that she's been given just two calls to make in six weeks, one of which went unanswered and the other one hung up. Nevertheless, she's been offered overtime this weekend!
please log in to view this image Gary Conway @gazcon 2003: *surgical* masks admitted to have a max safe life of 20 minutes re SARS, vendors threatened with massive fines for claiming protective benefits... 2020: Any old rag will magically stop sub-microscopic Covid. please log in to view this image Farce mask: it's safe for only 20 minutes smh.com.au This was published 17 years ago Farce mask: it's safe for only 20 minutes Retailers who cash in on community fears about SARS by exaggerating the health benefits of surgical masks could face fines of up to $110,000. NSW Fair Trading Minister Reba Meagher yesterday warned that distributors and traders could be prosecuted if it was suggested the masks offered unrealistic levels of protection from the disease. "I'm sure everyone would agree that it is un-Australian to profiteer from people's fears and anxieties," Ms Meagher said. Advertisement "There appears to be some debate about whether surgical masks are able to minimise the effects of SARS." Ms Meagher said her department would investigate any complaints about false mask claims which concerned the public. "Penalties can range from fines of up to $22,000 for an individual or $110,000 for a corporation," she said. Health authorities have warned that surgical masks may not be an effective protection against the virus. "Those masks are only effective so long as they are dry," said Professor Yvonne Cossart of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University of Sydney. "As soon as they become saturated with the moisture in your breath they stop doing their job and pass on the droplets." Professor Cossart said that could take as little as 15 or 20 minutes, after which the mask would need to be changed. But those warnings haven't stopped people snapping up the masks, with retailers reporting they are having trouble keeping up with demand. John Bell from the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, who owns a pharmacy in Woollahra, Sydney, said mask supplies were running low. "At the moment we don't have any because we haven't been able to get any in the last few days," MrBell said. "In the early stages it was unbelievable; we'd get people coming in all the time." Mr Bell agreed with Professor Cossart's assessment regarding the effectiveness of the masks. "I think they're of marginal benefit," he said. "In a way they give some comfort to people who think they're doing as much as they can do to prevent the infection." That seems to be the mentality of travellers to Asian destinations, who are buying and wearing the masks while overseas. Rosemary Taylor, of Kirribilli, arrived in Sydney from Shanghai last week after a two-week holiday in China. Ms Taylor and travelling companion Joan Switzer had worn the masks during the trip home, even though they had been warned they were of little value. "We were told you need 16 layers on your mask for it to offer 95per cent protection," Ms Taylor said.
So....not just members of the government (and some Not606ers ) that don't know the rules....now the Mayor of Luton and two councillors have had to resign after attending a party. Setting a great example as part of the significant local BAME population
Just had to drive through Bradford to pick up some money that was owed. Looks like business as usual in all honesty. I do have a question though, if anyone can help. I'm going out to a pub on Sat afternoon, celebrating a babys arrival with about 15 friends. We have been designated a table outside but this pub comes under the Bradford jurisdiction despite being some distance away. Any help??
Have a look on the Bradford Council website Labour run so the advice will be unequivocally 100% clear and concise
Not deflecting, simply giving my opinion that there is more to most of these problems than just blaming the government.
376 posts crying about people legally going to the beach suggests otherwise. Purely my opinion, of course.
Interesting piece on Newsnight about the possibility of decisions about new lockdowns being based on unreliable testing data. The PCR tests being used have a false positive factor of 0.5%, which sounds satisfactorily small, but it means that if 1,000 tests are done in one area on any given day, and there is one actual Covid infection amongst the 1,000, the sample might give six positive results. More testing, more positives. Reported new cases are rising, but hospitalisations and deaths are not, thankfully, so why are we locking down again?
My opinion, not scientifically tested of course, but we've probably killed off the majority of people who would be hospitalised with the infection in the first big wave, hence the drop of daily deaths. Releasing those who had been shielding from their imposed sanctuaries may now lead to another rise in hospitalisations and deaths though....
It is true that the virus has split into thousands of variants, all of which are covered by the test. But these are mostly harmless because as every biology student in the 2nd semester knows evolution is not targeted and therefore the virus is almost certainly becoming harmless with each mutation. Meanwhile even virologists on television know and announce this, but they still have to propagate the wearing of masks to avoid being deported to the conspiracy corner. As everybody can check on Euromomo, there was a mortality in our latitudes only in the first weeks of March. https://www.euromomo.eu/
Oh dear oh dear Butthuber...more misinformation from you and your 2nd semester biology student Viruses are continuously changing as a result of genetic selection. They undergo subtle genetic changes through mutation and major genetic changes through recombination. Mutation occurs when an error is incorporated in the viral genome. Mutation give rise to about one mutant virus in several hundred to many thousand virus. Only mutations that do not interfere with essential virus functions can persist in a virus population (sometimes the mutation will kill the virus, so it never propagates). Mutations can be deleterious to the virus (eg slows down growth, makes it susceptible to antivral drugs) , neutral, or occasionally favorable to the virus. Increase its reproduction rate, make it more infectious. Recombination occurs when coinfecting with other viruses exchange genetic information, creating a novel virus.Mutations can produce viruses with new antigenic determinants. The appearance of an antigenically novel virus through mutation is called antigenic drift. Antigenically altered viruses may be able to cause disease in previously resistant or immune hosts. So some mutations cause nothing some cause the virus harm....burt some make the virus "better at its job"...and so worse for us humans. So you are again wrong and it what us scientists fear...that Covid will change into something worse. More infections, a more deadly killer , we are still thinking it kills less than 5%, what if it killed 25% of ALL people it infected!!!
