Nicola Sturgeon. Never known a woman who glows with so much secret pleasure whenever she delivers bad news to the Plebs. She's really loving imposing these restrictions. 100 here, 200 there, 500 when there's an R in the month... The basic difference I suppose, between a liberal like Boris, who has so much disdain for rules he can't even be bothered to set an example and follow any himself, and the socialist desire to know what's best for common folk and tell them to do it - whether they want to or not.
Well, that's an honourable attitude to take. But it could cost us. If we put out a team with 5 or 6 players missing because of COVID19, and our opponents have a full strength team, we will get beaten. That's what you get for trying to do the honest thing. I very much suspect that some of the teams who called off their games in L1 and L2 last weekend could have got together 11 fit players with a couple more on the bench. But they knew they'd get mullered.
First time over 100,000 new cases today BUT, deaths are still holding steady week on week (in fact they have fallen nearly 20% compared to last Wednesday). Still need caution though as we haven’t reached the important two week period since dramatic rises in infections. South Africa figures also promising. Very short, sharp increase in infections due to Omicron and then a very sharp fall very soon after. Their deaths rose slightly, but they have a poorer vaccination rate than us. It actually looks quite promising tbh and I think the government were right (so far) not to go for any drastic restrictions, unlike much of Europe who are now going into panic mode. Yes, we are going to lose people who are unvaccinated, but really, it was their choice. Biggest problem for me is still the delays in cancer, stroke and age related treatments. Those people don’t deserve to suffer at the hands of the idiots who won’t have the jab.
Hospital admissions will be crucial. Even if not very many people die, which could be down to care for COVID patients getting better and ever better, if huge numbers of people fill up hospital beds (intensive care or not) it will place huge strain on the NHS, and worsen those delays in getting other people treated for non-COVID conditions that are threatening or ruining their lives.
Just been reading a hospital doctor who has to deal with the unvaccinated getting ill and begging for a jab. He has to tell them it's too late. You can feel his despair.
The sheer level of ignorance among some people regarding vaccines is depressing, when we have been talking about almost nothing else as a nation in the past year. A vaccine jab cannot cure you if you've already caught COVID19. All it can do is offer you better resistance to it, and some protection against becoming very ill with it, but only if A) you have two doses (months apart) B) you had your second dose three weeks before the virus tries to infect you. These simple facts have been repeated hundreds of times. Anybody who does not understand it by now must be plain thick. I guess terrified patients will sometimes beg doctors for impossible miracles. But we are hearing more and more nowadays that doctors and nurses are justifiably boiling mad with refuseniks. Pig-headed or just lazy stupidity causing huge avoidable suffering and stress.
There are still hopeful signs coming from actual health people (rather than twitter morons) that this strain isn't as damaging as previous variants, so this may all blow over 8though I imagine simple numbers will still cause a huge headache for the hospitals. Gotta look on the bright side though.
Most of us can feel grateful that it's beginning to look like Omicron is a nuisance only to most vaccinated folk. But as you say Ken it's hospitals, care homes and the like that will still really struggle right through this winter. That's guaranteed. The Government should do more to help NHS and other key medical staff. I certainly would not mind if the Supermarkets brought back exclusive hours for those workers, two or three days each week. And maybe they should get free use of public transport, that kind of thing. More practical than clapping once a week. These people really are heroes - but they are burnt out and really beginning to suffer.
Haven't been able to get any testing kits for 2 weeks now. The government's supplier says that they are available on the government's website, and if they aren't, then keep on trying.
Government double-talk. Testing kits are not available, but the authorities blandly deny it. When they are willing to tell big lies so casually, people become reluctant to trust anything they say. Interesting too that the isolation period is coming down. 7 days here (if you can get tested) 5 days in the USA. It seems isolation is now regarded as more of a problem to society than the virus itself. Better hope we never get a new variant that is as contagious as Omicron but as nasty as Alpha or Delta.
Over 180,000 new cases reported today - but that is a figure distorted by several days of 'catch-up' information being lumped in together. Figures out tomorrow and Friday may give a clearer indication of where we are. Assuming the late figures lumped together today are available 'as usual'.
I wonder how active the Delta variant is? We keep hearing that Omicron has milder symptoms, but Delta is still out there.
I believe it’s now 90% Omicron and 10% Delta but I think all these sorts of figures are open to some variance.
