how to get out of this mess

[syd]

Covid kills half of Sussex care home’s residents over Christmas. A care home in East Sussex has been devastated by Covid, losing half of all its residents to the disease over Christmas, fuelling fears the new, more transmissible virus variant sweeping the south-east of England is beginning to breach homes’ defences.

Some people don't recover

[f4monty]

I repeat I am not a covid denier however there are many shroud waving doctors who exagerate for the benefit of their departments over other rival departments in their hospital

Where is your proof? Please provide links to justify your claims.

[syd]

I repeat I am not a covid denier however there are many shroud waving doctors who exagerate for the benefit of their departments over other rival departments in their hospital

Where is your proof? Please provide links to justify your claims.

These clichés are exactly the same as I read on twitter. I blame the media which is fuelling this hatred of expertise and anything that bring us together like the NHS. Divide and conquer combined with misinformation will make it easier to sell off in the post Brexit free for all.

[stuart]

I'm in a vulnerable group. Yep, I 'm afraid of Covid and I know exactly why. But I'm even more afraid of others spreading disinformation and undermining the public. It gives sustenance to those in government seeking to influence decisions in their interest and not the nation. The result is I'm virtually imprisoned when more enlightened fact based decisions would have had more of us alive and well, damaged the economy less and allowing us all to lead a more normal life for at least some of the time.

There, I've had my say and hope that deniers will begin to realise that disinformation will be challenged hard here (Thank you Syd, Monty et al). So I hope that was your last.

Stuart

[broken_shaman]

I've heard a lot about claims of increased suicide, with no evidence offered to date.

Here is a chart showing how lockdown impacted on self harm admissions.



https://twitter.com/john_actuary/status ... 5960855555

And a very interesting illustration of covid compared to previous flu seasons, with regards to icu admissions.

https://twitter.com/jburnmurdoch/status ... 1303055364

And this is with the measures imposed, which must have had some downward pressure on admissions.

[syd]

I'm in a vulnerable group. Yep, I 'm afraid of Covid and I know exactly why. But I'm even more afraid of others spreading disinformation and undermining the public. It gives sustenance to those in government seeking to influence decisions in their interest and not the nation. The result is I'm virtually imprisoned when more enlightened fact based decisions would have had more of us alive and well, damaged the economy less and allowing us all to lead a more normal life for at least some of the time.

There, I've had my say and hope that deniers will begin to realise that disinformation will be challenged hard here (Thank you Syd, Monty et al). So I hope that was your last.

Stuart

Hey no problem Stuart. I had to use all my mental strength to not curse her out!! The news is infection rates in London are now 1 in 20. Its out of control.

[angela53]

It is so sad that we are all attacking each other on this forum during these difficult times
Fingers crossed that we get out of this mess before too long and that life gets back to normal
That is all I wish for

[angela53]

Hi Syd
Jut to let you know I believe you are one of the most sensible commentators on this forum

[angela53]

Despite the fact we may disagree

[angela53]

but that is healthy debate

[angela53]

By the way all my info comes from the office of national statistics

[syd]

London cases are 1 in 15 now thats 3 days since it was 1 in 30. its quite a serious of case of exponential growth but you wouldn't think so with the government’s lacklustre response and the absent opposition.

There should be a lockdown like In March so business is supported and “key workers” are not forced to risk their lives working at b&q ffs.

[JGD]

By the way all my info comes from the office of national statistics

In November, Dr Sarah Rasmussen, a Cambridge University mathematician, complained to the UK Statistics Authority that data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) about the risk to teachers was “unacceptably – and seemingly intentionally – misleading”.

Evidence showed that some teachers were 28% more likely to catch the Coronavirus than other key workers, but the data was “held up as evidence that teachers were not at any additional risk”. Dr Rasmussen’s subsequent work on this issue suggests that teachers were at an increased risk of infection.

She is one of many experts who have been warning about the transmission of the virus in schools and the risk to teachers and other school staff for months. Yet, the risk has been downplayed by the Government at every turn and the Department for Education has even made public statements about the risk to teachers using outdated and incomplete data.

It requires analysis that is balanced and with a skill set that can interpret data and anticipate and respond in a timely way to outcomes. And avoid being behind the curve, constantly.

Johnson has diminished the norms that Britain’s democracy and governance is built on. Johnson has subverted candid reporting of events in ways not seen by us before. To an extent we cannot see things for what they are and we are being rendered unable to interpret for ourselves what truth exists out there.

Lies, damned lies and statistics are what this Johnson led Government will offer up as its excuse for incompetency in measures unseen in UK political history.

When the Inquiry is held of course.

https://bylinetimes.com/2021/01/06/how- ... d-schools/

[JGD]

I repeat I am not a covid denier however there are many shroud waving doctors who exagerate for the benefit of their departments over other rival departments in their hospital

John Burn-Murdoch of the Financial Times produces yet another clear graph that shows historical data on flu ICU admissions back to 2013, including winter 2017-18, a record high.

This shows how England’s Covid winter compares to a bad flu season.

It de-bunks a common response to reports of hospitals struggling this winter is "it’s no different to a bad flu season!"

The red line in the final frames show the huge difference in numbers.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1347200811303055364

[JGD]

Here is the "hospitals are always full in winter" debunk.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1347200855376875523

[The Lady]

Here is the "hospitals are always full in winter" debunk.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1347200855376875523

Thank you for posting this, it is a scary comparison.

[The Clown]

Lockdown IS working - please keep staying at home, wearing masks and staying at 2m (which is quite a distance) and washing your hands.
It IS working - rates will start to come down if we just keep going.
Biden’s message of 100 days was a smart one - This won’t be over quickly we need to commit to book reading and hibernating and spring cleaning - staying at home until Easter will make a huge difference and we could get our Summer back!

[Holaquease]

Well said.

[vbsydenham]

This is a good resource for anyone reading this and concerned about the kind of misinformation that has unfortunately warped some people's grasp of reality - Covid-19 FAQ

https://t.co/JjPDTWdEYq

[stuart]

Good to hear from you again VB. Trust you are well and thank you for your link to dispelling myth with facts. Numbers are key to this.

Disappointed to hear on the radio this morning that your country had decided to postpone March's 2021 census until next year - presumably citing Covid-19. Bit of headscratching from our statistical lot as most will be returning it online and arrangements for those not able to do so by telephone hence very few will need a paper copy or a visit.

The pity because we won't be able to sync the results withh the rest of the UK for sometime after that. Planning the recovery from the pandemic will be seriously harmed if we are doing it on 10 year old data. I respect the success of Nicola compared to our Bumbling Boris - but I think a mis-step here.

Stuart