Off Topic Coronavirus

Kiwi - Do you think we might borrow Jacinda for a few months so we can lick this thing here too - our guy is not really getting it done.

 

Shame about the anti EU point scoring on here over the last few pages

 

Can Staines, Beth or someone ITK confirm if these comments are correct?
A message from a Jennifer Saunders
Lets get this in perspective the crayon eaters who are set on pulling Boris down.
Firstly THE GOVERMENT DOES NOT ORDER EQUIPMENT for the NHS, they supply the money. The lazy arse MANAGERS of the NHS are the procurement sources.
It's not the government that deals with the logistics for the NHS, it's yes you've guessed it the NHS, more piss poor NHS management (goverment sorted that by giving them the Army).
Two years ago there was a major exercise about the country being prepared for a possible pandemic, the government did NOT run that exercise, the NHS did, which they used their fantastic line "we can flex" so they were supposedly in a good place, add to that now Brexit with all the stockpiles that we had, they sat there and told the goverment we are ok. Did the MANAGERS then pre empt the 4 weeks pipeline ordering (thats how long it takes container ship to come from......CHINA)....
oh how did we end up in that situation, well you stopped ordering from local sources, mistake all the eggs in one basket, who did that, not the goverment the NHS procurement.
With the care homes now screaming out for PPE shouting at the goverment, oh wait the majority of care home are PRIVATE business's, 84% to be exact. It is not the responsibility of the goverment to order PPE for the private care homes, the others are COUNCIL led therefore which ever banner they are under it is down to them. There are all these people hiding behind the goverment when in reality it is those MANAGERS who have ****ed up. Not to worry though all our stirling journalists and crayon munching joe public who believe the tripe they publish, to bash the goverment, one because they didn't vote for Brexit and two because the toxic crayons have got to them.
The real joe public know our media are ****e in almost every quarter and the muppets that chuck the stones from the sidelines, you know the ones that are armchair virologist/stratergy professionals who could do oh so much better....NOT.
The goverment has made mistakes, but not as many as the media would have you believe, instead of trying to pull this country together it seeks to divide, we don't need this at this crucial time, stop reading the gutter press, the armchair freaks STFU we need to get through this and your insessant squeaking is nothing but oxygen waste.
Lets get through this and beat this, as it is not over yet, not by a long chalk.A message from a Jennifer Saunders

 

The use of capitals makes me think not but I’ll wait for an ITK.

Not replenishing our expiring stockpiles probably didn’t help.

 

How much you offering

 

Pretti Patel, Jacob Rees-Mogg, some union jack tea towels and half a packet of hobnobs

 

Did i see the Boris speech yesterday where he said it was vitally important to continue with the lockdown? Or did i imagine it?

Did he actually say we were ending the lockdown with immediate effect?

Just wondered because the roads this morning here are absolutely rammed with vehicles of every type. Not seen it this busy for months.

Maybe they're all just on the way for a much needed Greggs.

 

Leave the hobnobs out of the deal

 

Did Ellers have a gender identity change?

 

Dawn 'Ellers' French.

 

2.4m Australians have downloaded and are using their Health Department’s COVID19 tracker app. NHSX ‘the NHS’ in house digital team’ has been ‘trialling’ its own version of an app for what feels like several weeks. I’m pretty sure that the Aussies would let us just copy theirs, but not invented here syndrome seems to have kicked in. If ‘track, trace and isolate’ is the next phase (it should have been the first phase) and we are recruiting and training 18,000 people to do this, it would be handy to have the tech in place and for about 60% of the population to be using it.

The Aussies have had just 84 deaths from COVID19, despite having early cases from travelling Chinese. Given that their government is pretty inept (remember the fires?) and some measures were ignored (I remember pictures of crowded beaches) perhaps the fact that the first few months of the epidemic occurred during the summer has helped.

After a very slight relaxation of the restrictions in Germany (some small shops reopened) the infection rate is rising again.

 

Turns out that the government's counting of PPE items delivered is a little disingenuous. They've been counting cleaning equipment, disinfectant and paper towels as PPE and even counting a pair of gloves as two items. More seriously, Panorama also suggested that the downgrading of Covid-19 from it's previous classification as an HCID (high consequence infectious disease) was because this would mean a lower level of PPE was required, and because they knew they didn't have enough of the good stuff. Pretty damning.

 

But not surprising. Everything is to mislead the public.

 

So a big thanks for those that stood forward and put their ideas, views and concerns forwards.

The one thing that the question proved was that the answer was a massive, and complicated answer, that recognises that the answers risk lives. Whichever way it goes, it is almost certain that we will see continued loss of life.

As Beth rightly, and with sound knowledge and understanding of the virus workings, pointed out this virus won’t allow us to undertake a ‘herd immunity’ approach. It has to be controlled. New York City says it believes 24.7% of its city has had the virus and look at their horrific death toll (17,303).

So, not being one to just ask the question, here’s my views.
1. We are not ready to ease our level of restrictions. I am confident we won’t be making any changes before end-May. While pressure on the government may push them to begin changes from June, I don’t see how it can be before end-June (unless the data/science/experts says so).

2. We need our UK wide tracker App out there. Australia has adapted the Singapore version. Looks like it is suitable for the job. Yes people will challenge civil rights and big brother. But what else can we do in the world right now to protect family, loved ones, friends and colleagues. Get it in now. Insist on 40%(?) (whatever the number needs to be) daily usage (by population) before easing restrictions. This can provide proof of daily reporting and exposure. Critical for the ability to self-isolate, critical back to work choices and the ability to show you do not have symptoms (a risk assessment for yourself, your colleagues and makes you liable for your actions towards safety of others). I visit companies, so it would provide proof that I am OK to be on-site. It’s not 100%, but it provides control and risk mitigation. It’s not about the ‘it can’t be done’ criers - it has to be done.

3. When it does come down to where we begin easing restrictions. We are a service led employer country now (sadly). So I believe that we should begin with allowing manufacturing, construction and agriculture to return to work based on safe working processes and controls (eg fit-to-work, safe distancing). These sectors are approx. 22% of the UK workforce. Not all will be able to return and businesses may still need some forms of sliding-scale reduction in support from the government where they cannot work at 100% levels. Travel can be reduced with video conferencing (I am always amazed how much waste goes on for business travel to meetings, when video conferencing would be adequate). H&S guidelines can be provided. Ways and means are possible. Nobody knows their workplace like the employees.

4. Service led industries are the biggest areas where people can still work from home. They also give us our biggest challenge for safe work distancing. For travelling to work using public transport. However, with a prolonged ‘lockdown’ (UK stylie, as there’s no going back now) will hopefully have reduced the virus exposure; the ongoing manufacturing, construction and agriculture return will have added further weeks.so hopefully a scaled return will be possible. Again safe-working is paramount and will require change in the way office-based employees work. Safe-working should require proof of being ‘fit-to-work’ again this sector will be a high % capability of using the App and proof.

5. PPE. Testing. Nothing stops. Priorities for NHS and government. That’s just logic!

6. Border controls. Responsibility lies with those taking people into the country. We wanted border controls, so you better use it to at least test those coming in (with whatever is the best methods available at the time). All points of entry!

7. Keep on that vaccine. The world needs it. We need it.

As you all proved. There’s no easy answers. Which means no easy solutions. And these are only my simple thoughts from afar.

 

I loved the ITK bit.

 

Woody will be interested in that, he raised the downgrading ages ago. I thought it was a bureaucratic thing and a bit daft, but it could have been more sinister I suppose.

I saw a couple of minutes of the Panorama programme but I thought I saw the ranting Professor John Ashton and had to turn off quickly. This bloke might be 100% correct about everything but his screaming hatred and anger on behalf of others gets me down. And the fact is he’s not an expert on infectious diseases and has a pretty explicit anti Tory agenda and always has, even when (years ago) he was an NHS employee. Not a credible witness for me.

I’m quite prepared to believe that there were and are cock ups and cover ups about the preparations and supply of PPE. But the fact remains that worldwide there is not enough PPE to go round, they are having the same agonised discussions in Madrid, Milan and New York.

I think it’s safe to say that, however negligent the government may have been, the bureaucrats and NHS leadership have been equally a part of the problem. No ****ing challenge in these systems.

 

Proof of fact chap, or is it what the lying c*nts of the mainstream media are feeding you, please post a source of information !!

 

Haven’t got a clue who orders the equipment Nige, I just use the stuff.....Though to be honest, It sounds like it was written by someone who has their nose well and truly up the governments arse.....How dare anyone question government policy.....we should know our place and err.....STFU !!!!

 

Im gonna watch the Panorama programme later......any good ?

 

FFS.