Masks after 19th

[stuart]

Yesterday 48,000 cases. Hence rather more contacts notified by Test & Trace leading to massive amount of the workforce going into quarantine as the toll increases. So Boris has screwed business in the name of saving it.

But his next bright idea as trailed in the press today is basically reduce Test & Trace & quarantine. Will that work out well?

Just a thought. Fully vaccinated means a 90% reduction in risk against the predominant Delta variant. But we are seeing a forty fold increase in infected people (soon to be hundred fold?). Does this put the fully vaccinated person at greater risk than a non-vaccinated person a couple of months ago? Answers on a postcard to Boris. He likes those.

Another puzzle - has anyone seen the minister for vaccinations since the rate plummeted? And why does Boris keep saying we are the most vaccinated country in the world when anyone who can read a chart knows very different?

I pity both Whitty and Vallance for having to stand alongside Boris when they clearly are not on the same page. However, I do admire them for staying in the room to try and mitigate the sub-optimal decision making - just as Anthony Fauci bit his lip through the reign of the last President to try and do some good.

Stuart

[JGD]

The Grainiad has this report on the evening of 16 July.

Ministers shelve plans to tweak Covid app as cases in England surge

Critics including health advisers and Tory backbenchers say government has lost control of the ‘pingdemic’

Ministers have shelved proposals to urgently overhaul the Covid contact tracing app in England as cases surge, prompting claims they have lost control of the so-called “pingdemic” days before restrictions are dropped.

As the number of people “pinged” and told to isolate rose 46% in a week to more than 520,000, the knock-on effects ballooned and prompted concerns that growing numbers will delete or ignore the app.

The head of NHS Providers warned that the number of health workers being told to self-isolate was “significantly impacting” patient care while South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS foundation trust asked staff to postpone their holidays due to the “extreme pressure” of patients suffering Covid, which rose from two to 80 in a month.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... land-surge

[syd]

These situations have to be based upon realistic assessment of the data.
It's essential to avoid the ideology spouted by the #JohnsonVariant and driven by HM Tory party which has been taken captive by the right-wing ERG and prevent abandonment of the only measures that have proven to be effective to date. [Question: who do ERG think will benefit from this demagoguery? Do ERG care a jot about those deaths that have accumulated already and that numbers will undoubtedly rise? Is it self-interest or for the benefit of someone

My take on the situation

1. The surge in cases will put pressure on the nhs so electives will go to private hospitals owned by friends of the tories and not go back to the nhs. Witty said the nhs was an emergency service in an unguarded moment so this is the final push to privatisation. The heath secretary is a fan of ayn rand and the institute in her name has this view about healthcare

The solution? Remove all controls. Recognize each citizen’s right and responsibility to pay for his or her own health care, and return to insurers the entrepreneurial freedom to come up with innovative products.

2. An ongoing pandemic will hide any damage caused by brexit.

3. The people who are most likely to die or get ill are not tory voters and theyve already killed 120k disabled people with their austerity policies so i dont think theyre too bothered. People in deprived areas are 4 times more likely to die of covid. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1728

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/heal ... 57306.html

[Ghlpc]

Splendid. It's that sort of rugged individualism that has made this nation what it is.

. Southgate may disagree. He's our leader now

No, I won't continue to wear one after the 19th, and hopefully never again!

Well youre free to choose let me know how you get on.

I've read that the vaccine rollout has stalled as the govt bought too much AZ which cant be used on the under 30’s and is out of pfizer until spring 2022 so its going for herd immunity/ distraction. They cant admit this failure as the vaccine was the only thing keeping them popular. This is a purely political move and Johnson and javid will sacrifice a 100k more lives to stay popular. And it will be the poor and vulnerable who will suffer so you can be “free”.

I hope its worth it

I'm getting on just fine thank you, as it seems most of the country is now too.

[stuart]

Well youre free to choose let me know how you get on.

I'm getting on just fine thank you, as it seems most of the country is now too.

I had to use the Overground yesterday. About 10% were not wearing masks. Mostly amongst the demographic most likely to be infected. And they clearly are unaware or don't care about the questioning glare of others. Hence being in a vulnerable group I shall continue to minimise my travel on public transport.

So Ghplc do enjoy your freedom to avoid a minor inconvenience. Please do remember it does come as a cost to other people's freedom.

Stuart

[Ghlpc]

Well youre free to choose let me know how you get on.

I'm getting on just fine thank you, as it seems most of the country is now too.

I had to use the Overground yesterday. About 10% were not wearing masks. Mostly amongst the demographic most likely to be infected. And they clearly are unaware or don't care about the questioning glare of others. Hence being in a vulnerable group I shall continue to minimise my travel on public transport.

So Ghplc do enjoy your freedom to avoid a minor inconvenience. Please do remember it does come as a cost to other people's freedom.

Stuart

Stuart,

I wear masks on TFL as per the rules of travel. I would say the figure is closer to 15% - 20% not wearing masks in my experience tbh.

It's no longer a legal requirement to wear face coverings in indoor settings, so I do not.

I also believe in civil liberties and freedom of choice.

So I'm not sure what I'm doing that makes you think my actions impacts on other people's freedoms?

[stuart]

I wear masks on TFL as per the rules of travel. I would say the figure is closer to 15% - 20% not wearing masks in my experience tbh.

Thank you. Good to hear. As for the percentage I think this is highly variable depending on time of day amongst other factors. Given the non-wearers are mostly but not entirely young the FreedomPass patronised services are likely to yield higher compliance and be less busy which is a godsend.

I would just say that I take my guidance from the international science/public health consensus rather than the law (which can be an awful arse at times). Indeed I wish politicians and political journalists would adopt a lower profile during this pandemic. They do have an important role to play but one can't help thinking they are overplaying it especially backbencher armchair 'experts' (aka CRG) attempting to influence policy.

I think most have more confidence in the people who stand either side of the minister in press conferences. Probably wish they had more freedom to say what they really think than what is expedient to maintain their role.

Stuart

[squashst]

I wear masks in transport and in supermarkets as it is considerate to do so. That said, I wonder how useful masks are as their effectiveness is severely diminished by taking them on/off, touching them etc. How effective is a blue mask hurriedly put on / off when getting on / off bus / going into shops. This is before whether they cover nose, whether washed etc etc. So I I suspect masks are better than nothing, but not a total protection by any means.

Jab, jab is the most important I think, That's not perfect either, but the best available.

I think we are going into a world where it will not be as risk free as pre Covid for many years, perhaps never. Hopefully, the virus will become less severe over time, but there will be peaks / trough (see the Spanish influenza pandemic where the impacts probably rolled on for at least 5 years or so).

I am 59, mild asthmatic (inhalers, no hospital visits), double jabbed. Enjoying back playing squash / racketball at the club in Lawrie Park Road and having the occasional beer / restuarant visit. I go to museums / galleries. I won't travel abroad this year, partly as the definition of a "super-spreader event" is being stuck for 5 hours in passport control, but I will go to Scotland in September. But then I don't have elderly parents etc so my "risk appetite" is perhaps more relaxed than others.

In summary I hope I am relatively considerate, but I do try to live a relatively normal life (but understanding there are risks).

[squashst]

I should say on masks I go for the behind the head version rather than over the ears, partly as I have hearing aids , glasses. I find them more convenient and there is less of the taking the mask out of the pocket etc, I can wear the mask a little bit like a crevatte or snood. and pull up when required. It also has a good nose clip which helps re fogging glasses. I have 2 or 3 so wash on a weekly cycle.

[Robin Orton]

Me too, for similar reasons. I detached and lost a pair of expensive hearing aids (insured fortunately) whilst struggling with a behind-the-ears mask. But I keep my behind-the-head version in my pocket which I vaguely assume, perhaps wrongly, is more hygienic than leaving it round my neck