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Coronavirus: Please use this thread for all COVID19 talk!

Discussion in 'Southampton' started by - Doing The Lambert Walk, Mar 12, 2020.

  1. Kaito

    Kaito Well-Known Member

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    Ian, I usually agree with most of the things you write but not this time. The country definitely does not need further restrictions or lockdowns. Our government has to start focusing on tackling some of the huge social and health problems made worse in the past 18 months by restrictions, lockdowns and financial loss. Further restrictions are only going to add to the huge number of issues we are going to face in society once the virus is more or less contained. It's just madness to add to them.

    The population of the world desperately needs vaccinating and the wealthy nations should be making sure the vaccine is distributed and administered to every country. Vaccinate the world and the virus will struggle to cause much in the way of disruption, but just restricting normal life here is insular thinking and it is ultimately doomed to failure. Continuing to bale out a holed dinghy without fixing the hole in the hull is only ever going to end one way so it's time to attack the virus worldwide with vaccination.
     
    #8021
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2021
  2. StJabbo1

    StJabbo1 Well-Known Member

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    The case for delay with useful links to more info, a reality check for those advocating the complete lifting of restrictions. Dr Chris Smith on BBC breakfast gave a clear description of the current situation in particular the Delta variant effect on increased transmissions.
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...d-restrictions-england-more-people-vaccinated
    Depressing in that travel restrictions will stay in place between England and the Netherlands delaying further our much needed visit to family and friends.
     
    #8022
  3. tomw24

    tomw24 Well-Known Member
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    Another lockdown? Behave. I understand the need to delay complete freedom but I will point blank refuse to comply with any additional restrictions added (which they won't be).
     
    #8023
  4. St. Luigi Scrosoppi

    St. Luigi Scrosoppi Well-Known Member

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    I'm skint, I'm lonely and missing my family and friends and I don't want any of them to die so I will continue to take care but I blame Johnson for this mess for not taking action sooner to isolate India.
     
    #8024
  5. StJabbo1

    StJabbo1 Well-Known Member

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    The responsibility goes back to allowing Cheltenham, Liverpool vs Atletico, the rugby and other gatherings add the gung ho shaking blowhard bluster from Johnson, the lack of a reliable test, trace and isolate program and the PPE fiasco, delays to implementing border controls and ignoring advice to lockdown earlier all caused unnecessary suffering and deaths. Those saying hindsight is a factor should understand the advice and experiences of other countries ahead of the UK were ignored.
     
    #8025
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  6. thereisonlyoneno7

    thereisonlyoneno7 Well-Known Member

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    No more lockdowns or restrictions, but maybe a 2-3 week delay of total relaxation.

    I keep banging on about it, but ban all non essential foreign travel and do the same with inbound and we’ve got this.
     
    #8026
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  7. StJabbo1

    StJabbo1 Well-Known Member

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    Mrs Jab has bee suffering from hay fever this year for the first time, as have other friends and family. She gets relief using Prevalin tablets and nasal spray we also bought an air filter which means doors and windows need to be kept shut. BBQ yesterday meant she was outside consequently suffering this morning. In doing some research on the increased numbers affected by pollen I found this not very good news. All the more reason to take care given she get her first jab 22nd June, second 28th of July. Thankfully the Delta variant has limited, about 15 cases, impact here in the Netherlands.
    https://www.wur.nl/en/Research-Resu...ted-to-increase-in-coronavirus-infections.htm
     
    #8027
  8. The Ides of March

    The Ides of March Well-Known Member

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    Living in a country that is heavily dependent on tourism, the National and regional governments will be loathe for any more lockdowns. The Valencia región has the lowest rate, while País Vasco the highest along with Madrid, whose regional PP Government allowed restaurants, bars and shops to remain during the worst of the pandemic, and where some of its citizens flouted the law with massive household parties. Any new lockdowns won't be until the autumn so that the tourist sector can fill its pockets again. At the time of writing the vaccination is underway. I receive my second jab at the end of July.
     
    #8028
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  9. The Ides of March

    The Ides of March Well-Known Member

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    As for the UK the messages are conflicting with oñe week Portugal being on the green list, and then put on the amber list days after people began their holidays.

    Asíde from that, there are complicacions for those in the músic industry. The partner of a friend is performing in Sevilla so she has had to return to London to get a visa from the Spanish Embassy in the UK, and will be required to undergo all the Covid tests before being allowed to fly to Spain. And I suppose she will need to quarantine now as she flew back yesterday, and again on her return to the UK. It just beggars belief.
     
    #8029
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  10. Ian Thumwood

    Ian Thumwood Well-Known Member

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    Kaito

    Good morning

    I understand what you are saying and I agree totally the a world-wide solution is crucial before anything is resolved nationally, even for so-called developed nations.

    t the moment, I feel it is imperative to protect the NHS and ensure that the doctors and nurses are not over-whelmed again. We need to ensure that the hospitals not only have sufficient capacity to deal with Covid but to also address all the other operations that have been put on hold. Although we have the vaccines, even if you consider them to be 85% effective against the delta variant the overall effectiveness of the programme will be diminished by whatever percentage of the population is not vaccinated. The suggestions are that two jabs are essential to provide any sensible level of protection. By a simple process of mathematics, it is quite clear that we are probably about 1/3rd of the way through where we need to be with the vaccination programme. I am not sure how this would express itself as a percentage if children are also considered.

    There will never be a "freedom day" as such. i think we will probably get to a point by the end of the year where everyone who wants to have two jabs will have had one and that we will probably be someway through offering people a third booster jab. This will be as near as we can get to "freedom day" but it will still be vulnerable to new strains of the virus coming from abroad. Non-essential travel will need to be curtailed for at least another couple of years whilst the rest of the world catches up with the vaccine roll-out.

    i can appreciate people being upset about not getting all their freedoms. i think Boris is wrong to suggest that there is some kind of "freedom day" as until we have global vaccination at a suitable level, we are going to run the risk of new variants. As I said last week, Nature magazine was reporting that they believed this is potentially a fifty year problem with normality interrupted by sporadic flare-ups. The important issues are to protect the vulnerable and ensure that the NHS is not compromised. I think people have more freedom than last year due to the vaccination and it is a matter of being patient and not ensuring that the safety of the population is not compromised by not putting potential future trading partners on the red travel list. Having an irresponsible PM like Boris in charge, unfortunately does compromise the safety of this country. Probably pretty evident by now that we would almost certainly have had restrictions lifted, albeit temporarily, if we had had someone more cautious like Sturgeon at the helm instead.
     
    #8030

  11. Libby

    Libby 9-0

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    The key at the moment is that hospitalisations are still far down on Winter. And those in hospital are less ill and spending less time there.

    Come 19th July we should have 75% of the adult population vaccinated. Job done and they cannot keep restrictions in place longer than that.
     
    #8031
  12. thereisonlyoneno7

    thereisonlyoneno7 Well-Known Member

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    I’m with Libby.

    We have been cautious, we’ve pulled off mass vaccination.

    Let’s learn to live with it rather than in fear of it.
     
    #8032
  13. ChilcoSaint

    ChilcoSaint What a disgrace
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    I agree, although as I said before, 75% shouldn’t be looked on as a magic number, the aim should be as close to 100% as possible.
     
    #8033
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  14. StJabbo1

    StJabbo1 Well-Known Member

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    I was just about to reply reiterating our dismay caused by travel restrictions when we heard my wife's uncle and aunt in Surabaya Indonesia have covid, the type and how it was contracted as yet unknown, currently at home isolating with the usual symptoms, not well at all. They both had 2 vaccine shots earlier this year. It highlights the strain international separations put families under. My mother in law in Jakarta had major thyroid surgery in February, it was touch and go for a while. Under normal circumstances we would have been there. Last year we lost a family members in England to cancer desperately sad not to see them during the illness or go to the funerals. We're not alone in this lockdowns worldwide have caused much suffering.

    The fixation with dates and the complete removal of restrictions is absurd as infection rise along with the chances of more virulent mutations. Travel restrictions, difficult as they are to bear will be in place for sometime to come and should have been imposed much earlier in many countries.
     
    #8034
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  15. Libby

    Libby 9-0

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    Oh for sure. But that 75% would surely cover the vast majoroty of those who are likely to be hospitalised with it and would leave mainly under 40s unvaccinated who really are at minimal risk.
     
    #8035
  16. tomw24

    tomw24 Well-Known Member
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    I do think they've made the right call by waiting 4 more weeks before ending all restrictions. It makes far more sense to wait a bit longer before ending restrictions rather than reinstating restrictions a couple of months down the line. By using this 4 week period to get all over 40's fully vaccinated it really should keep hospital numbers at a manageable level. However if restrictions carry on into late July and August the government can take their rules and shove them where the sun don't shine.
     
    #8036
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  17. VocalMinority

    VocalMinority Well-Known Member

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    The government seem to have the same objective, except they are not looking at % of people vaccinated as a target, but directly looking at the number of people getting infected and how many of them are getting hospitalized from it.

    I listened to the Boris' announcement, (first one I've listened to this year) and he's definitely preparing to let the virus sweep through the population. He said himself he's just trying to buy a bit more time to get younger people vaccinated so we have less unvaccinated young people spreading the virus to the elderly and vulnerable. They did stress the same thing i have been too. that a vaccinated vulnerable person is not 100% protected and when the virus spreads through the population a lot of them will still end up in hospital. They're just trying to keep that within manageable numbers at the peak. Getting young people vaccinated will help slow the spread and lower the number of people in hospital at any one time. That seems to be their main aim.

    So if you're young and unvaccinated, getting vaccinated will still contribute to protecting the vulnerable...
     
    #8037
  18. tomw24

    tomw24 Well-Known Member
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    At the end of the day younger people are more sociable and therefore more likely to spread the virus, especially as most are still unvaccinated. How much difference a month will make we'll find out but I just can't see a further delay in lifting restrictions.
     
    #8038
  19. ChilcoSaint

    ChilcoSaint What a disgrace
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    It should, but remember you don't need to actually suffer from the illness to carry and transmit the virus, and the more that happens the more mutations will occur.
     
    #8039
  20. Libby

    Libby 9-0

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    Yeah but that's going to happen regardless. The idea that this virus can be eliminated is fantasism imo. Some countries won't even reach 50% vaccinated for a start so it's always going to be around in one form or another.

    I suspect (years down the line) it'll end up like the flu where you get an updated vaccine for those vulnerable each winter.
     
    #8040

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