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Coronavirus - how is it/has it affected you?

Lord Tyrion said:
My cousin is currently in Gran Canaria, different island but similar set up. He has been there about 10 days, got another 3 weeks to go. He has been very wary back in the UK but he said he feels very safe out there. It's outdoor living, where transmission is at its lowest, masks where required etc. Based on his experience I'd say go, enjoy yourself.

Please don't shout at me if Spain and the islands go on the red list when you are away though ?
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If memory serves me right someone went to Mexico last year ? my point at the time was.The governments of both country’s let you fly. They say it is safe. So why not? It is exactly the same now. That said just because you can, don’t mean you have to. 3OTT hits the nail firmly on the head. It’s a head over heart situation. At the moment Covid is rife in the UK. At the moment is it safer in the Canaries. Recharging batteries in the sunshine away from the threat of COVID. Yes please.
I have flown to both Poland and Lanzarote this year and both times the flights with Ryanair and Jet2 were fantastic. What was comforting was there countries attitude to COVID. Nigh on everyone wears masks and the levels of cleanliness were second to none.
 
I note the BBC story live now that "a major report showed the protection from catching covid started to wane 10 weeks after the booster".

So expect another booster at the end of February I guess ?
 
Crazyface said:
Shoot me down, I don't care, need to vent. 50% of NHS staff off coz of covid. How? They wear all the protective stuff don't they? They are aware that there is a problem, aren't they? So thgey wear this stuff outside of work and take precautions, don't they? So how are they catching it? 50% of supermarket staff haven't cleared off on a jolly extended xmas holiday, and they are in more contact with the public. Why? I'll tell you why. They don't get paid load of dosh. They are mostly on part time contracts and need the bloody money. The NHS is staff by people who aren't from this country, so we are told. How wonderful they are. Where are they now? 50% off!!!!!! Also, the local NHS staff were whooping it up at an xmas party a week ago. How do I know? Coz my wife was at the same do but with a different company. It's all lies. Don't believe all you read. Loads are gpoing off with stress and we know of one auxillery who has jumped on the bandwagon and got a month off with stress. We know them and what they do. Stress my bum. They've just seen an opportunity and grabbed it. It's these people who will have us locked down. Well not me. They'll not stop me this time. Not EVER AGAIN. I've been to work mask less for the last two weeks and not caught it. It's all a joke.
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Well, there's only 1 word appropriate to that tirade!...

Twaddle!
 
PNWokingham said:
yet again more sanctamonioius rant, rant, rant, telegraph and government bashing and knocking other experts and focussing on what you see as the mistakes of previous lockdowns when everyone was learning. Taking the focus of the core current issues that 1. lockdowns and further measures are not relevant at this time given the data and 2. that doctor doom and many of the other pencil-pushing civil sevrants are serving up unnecessary fear from totally pie-in-the-sky projections that you obviously think are perfectly ok. Nothing more to say but no doubt you will respond as you have to have the final say!
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Bye.
 
road2ruin said:
I wonder if this obsession with daily numbers (120,000 today) will continue every year? When flu is back (assuming it hasn't be cured in the last 2 years) will we have an exciting daily update to tell us how many people have that?

Cases is meaningless now and should be scraped and replaced with daily hospitalisations. That figure should be broken down into those who are in with Covid and those who are in because of Covid. Those figures are much more beneficial in terms of seeing what type of s**t we’re in.
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As the numbers/day are horrendous - and increasing markedly, I believe it's right to be 'obsessed' - at least currently. Once they 'settle down', then perhaps....

Hospitalisation data is vailable here https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/healthcare Though not figures of with v because of, possibly because not counted separately.
 
Foxholer said:
As the numbers/day are horrendous - and increasing markedly, I believe it's right to be 'obsessed' - at least currently. Once they 'settle down', then perhaps....

Hospitalisation data is vailable here https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/healthcare Though not figures of with v because of, possibly because not counted separately.
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Not that horrendous, patients on ventilator at mid October levels having been much higher, patients in hospital still lower than in mid November. Cases are one thing, admissions are another but depend on length of stay.
 
Foxholer said:
As the numbers/day are horrendous - and increasing markedly, I believe it's right to be 'obsessed' - at least currently. Once they 'settle down', then perhaps....

Hospitalisation data is vailable here https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/healthcare Though not figures of with v because of, possibly because not counted separately.
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But with Omicron being so transmissible yet far less severe in terms of illness what do cases actually tell us bar the former? Does it really matter other than being used as the Sword of Damocles hanging over us as a threat of future restrictions?

Surely the only thing matters is whether these cases translate into hospitalisations/ICU visits and deaths. As things that these figures are, at present, pretty flat given the sharp uprise in case numbers. The reason they’re not giving these figures so much is that they don’t serve the purpose of keeping people in check. I appreciate that there is a lag in the data so things could still go pear shaped but, so far, the evidence is that it shouldn’t.

The other issue that needs to be resolved going forward is this protection of the NHS. At present it’s not the overwhelming due to hospitalisations that is the issue it is a lack of staff due to isolation. That needs to be sorted but shouldn’t be used as a reason to restrict people/businesses otherwise we’re going to be sat here next winter having exactly the same conversation.
 
road2ruin said:
But with Omicron being so transmissible yet far less severe in terms of illness what do cases actually tell us bar the former? Does it really matter other than being used as the Sword of Damocles hanging over us as a threat of future restrictions?

Surely the only thing matters is whether these cases translate into hospitalisations/ICU visits and deaths. As things that these figures are, at present, pretty flat given the sharp uprise in case numbers. The reason they’re not giving these figures so much is that they don’t serve the purpose of keeping people in check. I appreciate that there is a lag in the data so things could still go pear shaped but, so far, the evidence is that it shouldn’t.

The other issue that needs to be resolved going forward is this protection of the NHS. At present it’s not the overwhelming due to hospitalisations that is the issue it is a lack of staff due to isolation. That needs to be sorted but shouldn’t be used as a reason to restrict people/businesses otherwise we’re going to be sat here next winter having exactly the same conversation.
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Are you suggesting that isolation policy should be reviewed?
The, currently, 19k NHS staff isolating is only going to rise in number as the infection rate rises....
Eventually, there may not be enough staff to run ICUs or General wards..A&Es might only accept dire emergencies or even have to close.
The number of cases is going to more important in the next few weeks than a lot of people are thinking.
 
Imurg said:
Are you suggesting that isolation policy should be reviewed?
The, currently, 19k NHS staff isolating is only going to rise in number as the infection rate rises....
Eventually, there may not be enough staff to run ICUs or General wards..A&Es might only accept dire emergencies or even have to close.
The number of cases is going to more important in the next few weeks than a lot of people are thinking.
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I think there may have to be some NHS specific rules on isolation that could be relaxed. Given so many are asymptomatic couldn’t there be a way that they still come into work and are restricted to Covid wards? There will have to be something creative done as firstly we’re protecting the NHS to avoid overwhelming them and now we’re having to protect them because they don’t have the staff. It’s a problem that needs to solved that doesn’t involve restrictions on the general public.
 
DanFST said:
Quite a horrific statistic.

since 27th november:

7 omnicron deaths, average age 83
239 Suicides between the ages of 25-44

Not gonna bother replying to that nonsense above.
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Unfortunately they don’t count. Covid is the only thing that matters, so we must hide behind the sofa whilst everything else around us burns.
 
BiMGuy said:
Unfortunately they don’t count. Covid is the only thing that matters, so we must hide behind the sofa whilst everything else around us burns.
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You know, the more I see of the chaos, the luckier I feel given my circumstances.

I first went to my GP with abdominal issues in March and went down the two week fast track route for cancer investigation. From diagnosis to major surgery was a mere four months, and mine was only stage two disease. There will be thousands out there who have delayed GP appointments, referrals, cancelled appointments and so on, and the impact could be devastating.

Locally the NHS have been faultless. But it can’t last, surely.
 
Imurg said:
Are you suggesting that isolation policy should be reviewed?
The, currently, 19k NHS staff isolating is only going to rise in number as the infection rate rises....
Eventually, there may not be enough staff to run ICUs or General wards..A&Es might only accept dire emergencies or even have to close.
The number of cases is going to more important in the next few weeks than a lot of people are thinking.
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Yes, this is a very valid parameter for trying to keep the cases down.
The implication in R2R's post is that restrictions should be laxed, in which event cases will massively rise. Ok, so if they are all at home putting no pressure on the hospitals , no problem.
But it won't be like that. Among those cases will be a lot of staff of all sorts of concerns, vital concerns such as police, Ambulance, dustmen , industry etc etc, most importantly, NHS staff - as Imurg says, hospitals may not be able to function fully, and maybe not at all.

Unless you advocate that cases do not isolate, but carry on working!!!- yikes.

Add to that the hospitalisation of the unvaxxed. Omicron is still doing that to those persons. I am not overly concerned about them, they have had sufficient info and begging to be vaxxed, for me to have much sympathy, but they are being treated and taking up resources, vital resources.
Combine that with the lessening staff to provide those resources, and there is only one solution.
Cut the cases as much as you can.
One thing not publicised too much is - what is the estimate of the numbers of unvaxxed adults in the country at this time?. All potential hospital cases.

Next year we will be in a herd immunity scenario, I should think, like with flu, so the hospitals will cope ( as they still manage to do with flu), but , at the moment , we have to keep hospitals functioning
 
Billysboots said:
You know, the more I see of the chaos, the luckier I feel given my circumstances.

I first went to my GP with abdominal issues in March and went down the two week fast track route for cancer investigation. From diagnosis to major surgery was a mere four months, and mine was only stage two disease. There will be thousands out there who have delayed GP appointments, referrals, cancelled appointments and so on, and the impact could be devastating.

Locally the NHS have been faultless. But it can’t last, surely.
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Missis T found a lump less than 2 weeks ago. Saw the Dr the day, after Wednesday she was given the all clear. Turns out that going to the gym has given her muscle where her tits once was. Best Xmas pressie we have had in years. Anyway I am the first to rip our GP practice to bits coz at times they are rammel. I am not alone in that view. But in this instance they and the NHS have been fantastic. She was talking to her ex workmate yesterday who dropped off her pressie. His words “ the hospital is at breaking point” ☹️
 
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road2ruin said:
I think there may have to be some NHS specific rules on isolation that could be relaxed. Given so many are asymptomatic couldn’t there be a way that they still come into work and are restricted to Covid wards? There will have to be something creative done as firstly we’re protecting the NHS to avoid overwhelming them and now we’re having to protect them because they don’t have the staff. It’s a problem that needs to solved that doesn’t involve restrictions on the general public.
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So you want +ve Doctors and Nurses walking around hospitals?
You can't keep them all on covid wards and, to be honest, its not the covid wards that are the issue.
How can this be "sorted" without bringing the number of cases down?
And it's not just hospitals
Bucket loads of trains have been cancelled as there's a shortage of drivers due to isolating
Even footy matches getting postponed
We have to get the numbers down.
 
Imurg said:
So you want +ve Doctors and Nurses walking around hospitals?
You can't keep them all on covid wards and, to be honest, its not the covid wards that are the issue.
How can this be "sorted" without bringing the number of cases down?
And it's not just hospitals
Bucket loads of trains have been cancelled as there's a shortage of drivers due to isolating
Even footy matches getting postponed
We have to get the numbers down.
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I was just thinking out loud, just ideas….maybe not good ideas granted.

In terms of getting numbers down, that ship has sailed imo. We just have to hope that with the reduced severity that the hospitalisations etc stay relatively flat.
 
Vaccine escape - paper on vaccine escape, worse with Omicron that Delta. This is in Nature, and is peer reviewed, but is by a bunch of scientists and has not yet been confirmed by journalists in the right wing UK media.

The story of Omicron may be about the race to get boosters and hold case numbers with public health measures versus the growth in cases eating back into the vaccinated with waning immunity
 
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