Coronavirus

[oddoneout]

Maybe if you are unhappy with what is on in that theatre you could go to another one?
It is a performance designed to manipulate.

The "U-turn" on the NHS surcharge for migrant health workers is also part of it.
I suspect (and even though I used to have a TQ9 postcode I don't think it's the aliens !) that this was the plan all along.
Make the government (and Johnson in particular) appear to be empathetic and caring... and lots of people are taken in by it, I'm afraid.

It's also a good way to deflect attention from the continued institutional incompetence.

[Dave2002]

It's also a good way to deflect attention from the continued institutional incompetence.

That is precisely what should be exposed, though Paul Nurse suggested on R4 recently that it’s not the immediate highest priority. We need to be careful about which institutions we comment upon. I know which one I mean and it is centred in a well known London Street.

What is needed is co-ordinated and effective action. It’s not an ideal world, though starting with the “leadership” we have does put the UK at a disadvantage.

[MrGongGong]

We need to be careful about which institutions we comment upon. I know which one I mean and it is centred in a well known London Street.
.

[LMcD]

A good spot to hold a hen party?

[MrGongGong]

A good spot to hold a hen party?

Or a hog roast with an ex PM ?

[DracoM]

From this a.m.'s Guardian:


Independent Sage warns against school reopening plan
Ian Sample Ian Sample
A group of senior scientists has warned that 1 June is too soon for schools to reopen safely and that more time is needed to set up an effective track and trace system to contain future outbreaks.

The independent Sage committee, chaired by the former government chief scientist Sir David King, say that new modelling of the coronavirus shows the risk to children will be halved if they return to school two weeks later than ministers propose. Delaying until September reduced the risk still further.

The extra two weeks would allow more time for infections to fall in the community and for crucial track and trace capacity to be built up so that new cases are found and isolated fast.

“It is clear from the evidence we have collected that 1 June is simply too early to go back. By going ahead with this dangerous decision, the government is further risking the health of our communities and the likelihood of a second spike,” Professor King said.

In a draft consultation published on Friday, the experts say local authorities must demonstrate low levels of infection and an ability to contain new infections before schools are reopened, with public consultation a “vital” part of the decision-making process.

The report urges authorities to consider summer camps and outdoor schools for educating children with community playing fields and sports clubs requisitioned for teaching purposes.

King said the decision of when to re-open schools was a “careful balance” but added it was vital for young people to get back to the classroom as soon as it was safe to do so. “The current climate is likely to disproportionately affect the most disadvantaged in society, therefore it is vital that the government also considers innovative ways to help those who need it most.”

Professor King established the Independent Sage committee amid concerns over the lack of transparency around scientific advice reaching ministers from the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), co-chaired by the chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance and England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Support for a fixed date for school return is vanishing quickly. What is needed now is local flexibility to determine when it is right for schools to open up to more pupils, informed by evidence of what is happening in their local area.”

[johnb]

That is precisely what should be exposed, though Paul Nurse suggested on R4 recently that it’s not the immediate highest priority. We need to be careful about which institutions we comment upon. I know which one I mean and it is centred in a well known London Street.

What is needed is co-ordinated and effective action. It’s not an ideal world, though starting with the “leadership” we have does put the UK at a disadvantage.

On this morning's Today programme, Paul Nurse was pretty witheringly about aspects of the government's handling of the pandemic. It is worth a listen:

The interview is at 2:10 in: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000j9jk

I am reminded of the Max Hasting's assessment of Boris Johnson at the time of the Conservative Party leadership election. It was something like The problem with Boris Johnson is that he thinks he is Churchill whereas in reality he is Alan Partridge".

[johnb]

Is there a breakdown by region ?

Where I live is about 2 weeks behind London
as are many other places

But, hey ho, it's only the provinces

For England, the confirmed cases tested by PHE and NHS labs is also available by the date of the sample at detailed area level.

The figures only include tests performed in PHE and NHS labs (e.g. Hospital testing etc) and do not include those performed via the drive through centres, posted swab kits, etc.

A csv file (which can be opened in Excel) can be download from the Coronavirus Dashboard: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/?_ga...441.1586449922

If that link fails (due to the URL changing) there is a link to the Dashboard on https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavi...umber-of-cases. Scroll down towards the bottom of the webpage.

The file contains figures for:
Nation: England only [correction]
Regions: England only
Upper tier local authorities
Lower tier local authority

To get an idea of what each category means one can play with the configurable table on the Dashboard webpage. The table is just below the main headline figures.

The data in the file "as is" is not in a useful order so I suggest sorting it:

Highlight the whole table, including the headings, then sort on:

"Area Type" - ascending (because the same "Area" can be in both Upper & Lower Tier Local Authority)
"Area Name" - ascending
"Specimen date" - ascending

You can then scroll down to the area you are interested in to see the case figures, both daily and cumulative.

[MrGongGong]

For England, the confirmed cases tested by PHE and NHS labs is also available by the date of the sample at detailed area level.

The figures only include tests performed in PHE and NHS labs (e.g. Hospital testing etc) and do not include those performed via the drive through centres, posted swab kits, etc.

A csv file (which can be opened in Excel) can be download from the Coronavirus Dashboard: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/?_ga...441.1586449922

If that link fails (due to the URL changing) there is a link to the Dashboard on https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavi...umber-of-cases. Scroll down towards the bottom of the webpage.

The file contains figures for:
Nations, including Scotland, Wales, NI
Regions: England only
Upper tier local authorities
Lower tier local authority

To get an idea of what each category means one can play with the configurable table on the Dashboard webpage. The table is just below the main headline figures.

The data in the file "as is" is not in a useful order so I suggest sorting it:

Highlight the whole table, including the headings, then sort on:

"Area Type" - ascending
"Area Name" - ascending
"Specimen date" - ascending

You can then scroll down to the area you are interested in to see the case figures, both daily and cumulative.

Thanks

[Bryn]

Copied from the Facebook page of a cousin-in-law (the wife of a cousin around 5 months older than me):

Today has been a grey day and I'm not just talking about the weather. The following is an insight into what our life is currently like here and it may surprise, shock or even upset you, but it is told to show you how we feel. Since the start of the Coronavirus things have changed, yes we post pictures of sunny days, bountiful veg, happy animals, living the dream, its not always like this. Our farm can only survive with the income from our holiday lets, so we need the tourism, at the moment like the rest if the country we have zero income, yes we sell some produce each week but this is not enough to live on. We have managed to take payment breaks but of course these have to be paid back, bills have to be paid, we are not naive to know that, but at the moment we and others on the island have good days but very quickly they can turn into bad days which make you think, how are we going to survive. Never have we had so much debt, and it looks like its going to increase. Never have we been so scared. What have we got into? What have we got our children into? When this started we very quickly knew we had to cut back on everything, so the first very, very hard decision was to reduce our outgoings, this meant reducing our animals, we culled 150 chickens and 5 pigs. I know you might be thinking how can they be so cruel but we had a simple decision, feed our children or feed the animals. We had enough finances to last 2 weeks! We are not alone, our freinds on Bryher are the same, with no income and no help from government (holiday lets are not seen as a business) people are thinking about losing their family homes, going bankrupt or losing their businesses. Seeing your close friends in tears with the worry is horrible, the worst,I hate it! We along with others are currently receiving food vouchers from our council so we can at least feed our family, do you know how that makes us feel? Fucking awful thats how. So whats the future? Will we be here in 6 months, 12 months, longer? Who knows. What are we going to do? Your guess is as good as mine. Sorry to put this on here but sometimes its good to get it off your chest. Going to bed, love to all x

Come on Charles Wales, these are families paying high rents to your Dutchy. Get in there and help them.

[Dave2002]

Copied from the Facebook page of a cousin-in-law (the wife of a cousin around 5 months older than me):



Come on Charles Wales, these are families paying high rents to your Dutchy. Get in there and help them.

Sad to see about the livestock culls. I hope that at least the carcasses were used in some useful way, but they might not have been.

This "reset" in a lot of our society is going to take a considerable amount of thought. Going back to the previous status quo is not necessarily a good idea, but it ought to be possible to avoid some of the worst problems if sensible and timely action is taken. Of course that may not happen ....

[johnb]

Copied from the Facebook page of a cousin-in-law (the wife of a cousin around 5 months older than me):



Come on Charles Wales, these are families paying high rents to your Dutchy. Get in there and help them.

What can one say? Such dreadful times for so many people.

[johnb]

There is one aspect of Covid-19 antigen (swab) tests that rarely, if ever, gets mentioned in the media: false negatives. It might be that journalists are reluctant to broach the subject in case doing so undermines the public's confidence in the tests.

Reports based on China's experience suggest that the swab/PCR tests for the virus have a false negative rate of around 30%, i.e. 3 in 10 of the tests of people who have Covid-19 come back negative. One report from the US suggests slightly lower rate of ~24% for false negatives.

(I remember reading the Covid-19 experience of Dominic Minghella in The Guardian some weeks ago. He told how he had been tested on three occasions and it was only the third test that came back positive.)

One of the difficulties seems to be collecting sufficient virus with the swabs, possibly because of poor swabbing technique - though there might be other factors. (My understanding is that lab testing of the swabs is very accurate indeed.)

These swab tests are currently all that we have that we have to test people for the virus, but surely it is important that people are aware of their limitations.

[Petrushka]

There is one aspect of Covid-19 antigen (swab) tests that rarely, if ever, gets mentioned in the media: false negatives.

Think this is what happened to someone I've known for most of my life. Felt unwell, suspected corona, entered hospital on May 9, in hospital until May 16, tested negative, sent back home that day, found dead by his next door neighbour on May 19.

[johnb]

Think this is what happened to someone I've known for most of my life. Felt unwell, suspected corona, entered hospital on May 9, in hospital until May 16, tested negative, sent back home that day, found dead by his next door neighbour on May 19.

That is truly tragic.