Coronavirus

[oddoneout]

Money so well spent.......

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53082294

...perhaps it includes beating out the dent in the Jag....
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53082877

How long before bits of it have to be painted out, as the UK ceases to be U?

[MrGongGong]

Via FB

1. Last week the govt said “we will work around the clock to ensure nobody goes hungry as a result of this crisis”

2. Then 4 days later the govt ended free meals for the poorest 1.3m children

3. So Marcus Rashford called for meal vouchers for hungry children during school holidays

4. But Boris Johnson’s spokesman said “the MP understands the issues” and refused to change the policy

5. So Rashford continue to campaign for meals to be provided

6. But Boris Johnson refused to do this as it would cost £115m to feed all those children

7. EasyJet got £600m in April

8. And the govt is spending £900,000 painting the PM’s plane with what cabinet sources called “an Austin Powers-style union jack”

9. Meanwhile, the Housing Minister admitted he knew he was breaking the law when he saved a billionaire Tory donor dodge £50m tax, - half the cost of feeding 1.3m children

10. And then Boris Johnson then said he hadn’t even heard about Rashford’s campaign, and did a u-turn

11. But then a Downing St spokesman said Boris Johnson HAD heard about Marcus Rashford’s campaign

12. And then Boris Johnson said he had DEFINITELY heard about the campaign all along, but didn’t offer any excuse why he still thought it was OK to let kids go hungry

13. In March, student nurses nearing the end of training were asked to forego exams and volunteer to fight Covid19 on the front line

14. This week their contracts were dropped, so from July they have no work, no pay and no qualification

15. And their July wage won’t be paid

16. Last week Boris Johnson said that after and 64,000 excess deaths, he would take “direct control” of Covid19

17. He immediately missed his own deadline for a review of the 2 metre distancing rule, and it was revealed he hasn’t attended a Cobra meeting for over a month

18. In one of last week’s best U-turns, Boris Johnson said immigrant NHS workers wouldn’t need to pay a £400 surcharge to use the NHS

19. This week a study found 95.4% of immigrant NHS workers are still paying the surcharge

20. Horse-racing became the first major sport to return

21. Matt Hancock is MP for Newmarket, and received tens of thousands of pounds of donations from racehorse owners, trainers, and Jockey Club bigwigs

22. The Jockey Club board includes Dido Harding and Rose Paterson

23. Rose Paterson is the wife of Tory MP Owen Paterson. The Jockey Club's biggest event, the Grand National is sponsored by Randox Health, to which Owen is an advisor. Randox was granted a £133m contract for testing kits without other companies being given the chance to bid

24. And Dido Harding was put in charge of the Covid-19 track and trace app, which most developers (and I am one) reckon could be done in 3 weeks, and has now taken 5 months. Its development cost is the highest worldwide, and described by scientists as “not fit for purpose”

25. Meanwhile campaigners are seeking a judicial review into why a pest control company with no experience of producing PPE and assets of just £19k was granted a £108 million PPE contract. It doesn't appear, at first glance, that Chris Grayling was involved.

26. Bob Stewart MP, a leading Brexiter, asked in Parliament for his “French Speaking dogs” (!) to continue to have freedom of movement after Brexit, something humans don’t get

27. Michael Gove said he would aim to ensure dogs keep freedom of movement - but replied in French

28. The EU launched a website to help travellers see coronavirus status, so we can travel safely and open up tourism

29. The UK declined to contribute data to the website

30. In the UK, 94% of tourism staff are not currently working, and tourism earnings are down 98%

31. As other nations relax their lockdown, Britons are forbidden from entering multiple European countries due to our high infection rates

32. After 3 weeks without a single Covid19 case, New Zealand reported 2 infections – travellers from the UK, obviously

33. It was revealed Matt Hancock failed for 11 months to respond to a report calling for an immediate injection of cash for social care, highlighting the risks of infections in care homes months before Covid19

34. At least 12,500 people have died of infection in care homes

35. Two of the govt’s most powerful civil servants have said there were no economic preparations for a possible global pandemic in the years leading up to the coronavirus outbreak, despite a 2016 simulation that prompted demands for a plan.

36. On Sunday Matt Hancock said there were "only" 36 recorded deaths, proving we are “winning”

37. Next day there were 233 recorded deaths. Matt has not commented on the winningness of this

38. The UK has 0.9% of global population, and 10% of the confirmed cases of Covid19

39. The govt said local councils would be responsible for “local lockdowns”

40. And then local councils had to explain to the govt that councils have no legal powers for local lockdowns, and even if they had, 26% has been cut from their budgets since 2010

41. Sadiq Khan asked for emergency funding to fill a £493m hole in his budget

42. Ministers anonymously accused him of “typical Labour mismanagement”

43. A group of Tory councils said they are about to go bankrupt

44. Ministers anonymously didn’t say a thing about that

45. An IMF report found a No Deal Brexit is now “a highly likely outcome” and that it will reduce UK GDP by 5% permanently

46. So Boris Johnson made a video celebrating Brexit as an opportunity to sell Penguin Biscuits to Australia. So we can all relax.

47. In response to the urgency and importance of #BlackLivesMatter, the govt immediately pledged to never, ever remove the statue of Churchill that nobody had suggested removing

48. And then, after a few days, Boris Johnson promised a new commission on race equality

49. There are currently over 600 recommendations from previous commissions on race equality between 2010 and 2020, which the govt hasn't implemented and has no published plans to implement

50. Then the govt appointed Munira Mirza to head the commission. She has previously called anti-racism a “neuroses”, written that “institutional racism is a myth”, “the UK has no problem with racism”, and that race equality “fosters victimhood”.

51. And then the former Tory party chair said the new commission was “designed be a whitewash”, and warned it would “find the answer they want to hear – there is no such thing as racism”

52. It's Tuesday. Not even late Tuesday

[Petrushka]

Via FB

For the first time in my life, I'd actually welcome a military coup!

[oddoneout]

Re: point 18, it is £400 rather than $400. Still shouldn't exist at all, but in a list of government factual/reality bypasses accuracy is important? Not least as it seems these days the only reading Tory MPs do is criticism of their activities, and any opportunity to rubbish what is said is seized on in a pointless attempt to distract from the substance of any such criticism.

[DracoM]

Still one heck of a list.............and we've all been witnesses of its development!

[oddoneout]

Still one heck of a list.............and we've all been witnesses of its development!

There are some experiments in which one doesn't wish to participate, and this testing to destruction is one such as far as I'm concerned, however useful it may be to those looking on from other countries.

[Bryn]

Via FB

Now have a go at the grandma.

[Dave2002]

Via FB

Ouch.

Not sure where all of this came from, but a lot of this seems to be correct.

Disgusting! - mostly!

[Dave2002]

I was critical of the recently reported "first clinical trial" against coronavirus. I probably shouldn't have been, as the cheap drug treatment could save lives. However, it perhaps won't save too many in the UK, as in order for the drug to be effective the patient has already to be a candidate for either oxygen treatment or ventilation. The trial apparently did not show any significant effect as a prophylactic, or for patients with mild symptoms - that is my understanding based on the reports.

Worldwide there could indeed be lives saved due to this, which is good.

The other good thing about this is that it does show that there are possible treatments, which taken together might be effective, though at the moment this particular treatment falls into the "this is better than nothing" category - it reduces the risk of a bad outcome, but does not eliminate it. I think that for patients in high risk groups, the likely outcome is still undesirable and maybe more probable. Better for them not to contract the disease.

[Bryn]

I was critical of the recently reported "first clinical trial" against coronavirus. I probably shouldn't have been, as the cheap drug treatment could save lives. However, it perhaps won't save too many in the UK, as in order for the drug to be effective the patient has already to be a candidate for either oxygen treatment or ventilation. The trial apparently did not show any significant effect as a prophylactic, or for patients with mild symptoms - that is my understanding based on the reports.

Worldwide there could indeed be lives saved due to this, which is good.

The other good thing about this is that it does show that there are possible treatments, which taken together might be effective, though at the moment this particular treatment falls into the "this is better than nothing" category - it reduces the risk of a bad outcome, but does not eliminate it.

Since dexamethasone works by suppressing the immune response, early or prophylactic use is not only ineffective, it is strongly counterindicated.

[Dave2002]

Since dexamethasone works by suppressing the immune response, early or prophylactic use is not only ineffective, it is strongly counterindicated.

So although it's good news, it does seem that HMG is clutching at straws to claim that it's "a world leader", and has managed this whole business effectively.

[Dave2002]

No comment ....

Greece has allowed brothels to reopen with a 15-minute limit per customer.

[johnb]

... and now it seems that the government has abandoned its go it alone track and trace app ("we'll show Johnny Foreigner what Global Britain can do) in favour of a decentralised app similar to what most other countries are implementing.

It really makes you want to weep.

Just how incompetent and self delusional can a government be.

[Bryn]

... and now it seems that the government has abandoned its go it alone track and trace app ("we'll show Johnny Foreigner what Global Britain can do) in favour of a decentralised app similar to what most other countries are implementing.

It really makes you want to weep.

Just how incompetent and self delusional can a government be.

A way must surely be opened up to charge Johnson, Raab and co. with mass manslaughter re their activities on COVID -19.

[ardcarp]

Greece has allowed brothels to reopen with a 15-minute limit per customer.

Oh come on.....