Coronavirus - how is it/has it affected you?

[SocketRocket]

But again I say, clarify what you mean by “too early”.

We’ve all been totally brainwashed by the daily figures. Thousands upon thousands of infections, a couple of hundred deaths, however many in hospital who have tested positive. And it is precisely because of those daily figures that so many people are now absolutely bricking themselves about the easing of restrictions.

I would be really interested to see if the reluctance to see restrictions go was the same if we no longer saw these daily figures published. Whilst I accept the data is out there for those who who want to dissect it, the daily figures quoted in the news (infections and deaths) have long since lacked context and, to me at least, are largely meaningless.

I thought I had answered that a few times. It's too early while infection rates and associated hospitalisations are so high. I would suggest that when rates return to that of last summer then we should reconsider restrictions. That's around 2K hospitalisations, 30 K infections a day, <50 deaths.
Also when the Scientists reccomend the time is right.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

What did you guys do with people that were positive with SARS? When I was in hospital a few times from 2015 to 2017 I always had a test when arriving for stationary treatment.

We've not had a SARS as far as I'm aware but the protocol would be isolation in a side room and full PPE

 

[Billysboots]

I thought I had answered that a few times. It's too early while infection rates and associated hospitalisations are so high. I would suggest that when rates return to that of last summer then we should reconsider restrictions. That's around 2K hospitalisations, 30 K infections a day, <50 deaths.
Also when the Scientists reccomend the time is right.

And therein lies the danger of relying on the daily figures which have little context. The virus has evolved. 30,000 infections a day now are not comparable to 30,000 infections a day last summer, when a different strain was dominant.

 

[Foxholer]

That’s pretty much exactly what you said!
...

Twaddle!
Inferred or implied, perhaps - though that's pushing it. Or, much more likely imo, that's how you interpreted it!
But certainly not 'pretty much exactly what (he) said'!
Here's a copy of the post btw.

The vulnerable have been able to manage their risk in public feeling pretty safe in the knowledge that any viral infection they might pick up is very well understood and for which there are very effective vaccines and treatments - that is not yet the case for coronavirus and covid.

And yes we need the economy to recover and perform well...that does not require us to drop ALL viral spread mitigations, when some are of limited or no inconvenience, and why now...when waiting just a few months with see warmer weather and less spread of the current variant in the community.

And your question about 'how long' was also answered in SILH's post - the bit in bold!

 

[Billysboots]

Twaddle!
Inferred or implied, perhaps - though that's pushing it. Or, much more likely imo, that's how you interpreted it!
But certainly not 'pretty much exactly what (he) said'!
Here's a copy of the post btw.

And your question about 'how long' was also answered in SILH's post - the bit in bold!

Take the blinkers off. You don’t have to take issue with everything I post simply because it is me who posted it.

SILH wants to wait until there are effective vaccines, effective treatments, and until more is known about Covid. His post was quite clear. Given we have two of the three, we’re left waiting for more to be known. How much more do we need to know, that was my point.

I’m not going to keep saying it, merely for you to take issue, once again, with the poster rather than the post.

 

[SocketRocket]

And therein lies the danger of relying on the daily figures which have little context. The virus has evolved. 30,000 infections a day now are not comparable to 30,000 infections a day last summer, when a different strain was dominant.

The major considerations are the ones your not mentioning. Deaths and Hospitalisations, in my opinion they're still too high to cast away all restrictions at this time.

I also said I would like to hear the opinion of SAGE before we take the next step.

You are not going to agree with my opinion on this and I'm not with yours so there's not much point in us both reiterating them.

 

[Swango1980]

It's impossible for me to give a definitive right or wrong about lifting restrictions. Whatever my opinion, I don't have the medical professionals and statisticians to back it up, and so I have to trust any decision will have support from those types of people.

My opinion is it WILL have their backing. And, given restrictions will inevitably be lifted at some point before Covid is eradicated, maybe next month is the right time? Maybe last month was? Maybe next year? Whenever it is though, it will always be too soon for some people, so this conversation is always likely to happen when the time comes. As a person with no access to advice from experts, it feels like it is a good time to lift all restrictions. Compared to where we were last year, it feels so much better. I've known quite a few who recently got it, some with medical conditions, and all have said it was like a light cold for a couple of days. I appreciate it isn't a cold, but I suspect if restrictions are lifted, then there is confidence that the vaccine is working, and the latest variant is significantly milder than the other variants that may be rare now. Then again, maybe more restrictions won't be lifted after all, if anything gives cause for concern.

 

[Foxholer]

Take the blinkers off. You don’t have to take issue with everything I post simply because it is me who posted it.

SILH wants to wait until there are effective vaccines, effective treatments, and until more is known about Covid. His post was quite clear. Given we have two of the three, we’re left waiting for more to be known. How much more do we need to know, that was my point.

I’m not going to keep saying it, merely for you to take issue, once again, with the poster rather than the post.

Never the poster! Only ever the content!
And I agree that there are effective vaccines and it also seems (I can't verify) that are effective treatments and that enough is known about Covid. His suggestion was a delay of a/the few months till the weather gets warmer and, at least if it follows the pattern of other variants, the number of cases reduces significantly. I'd reduce that to end of March or April, but the current point does seem to me to be too early.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

Just because it isn’t a rule anymore doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to wear a mask if you want to. I’ve just been into the village. Current rule here is masks are no longer required outdoors. People are still wearing masks.

People can just make their own choices.

At the risk of going around in circles, we know already what you have said here.

But the "debate" is whether mask wearing should continue to be required in certain areas, like public transport, supermarkets, a little longer , say until the fine weather.
This is on the basis that wearing masks protects not only the wearer but others as well. Places like public transport , supermarkets, cannot be avoided by some people whose health makes them vulnerable to infection. Why remove their present level of protection now at a time of high infection rates.
For the want of awaiting springtime?
It smacks of dogma overriding empathy. And it is such a little inconvenience .We should be better than that.

The question of isolating and its effects on business/employment etc is a different matter.

 

[theoneandonly]

Jeez bring back the the Brexit thread ??

 

[Swinglowandslow]

But again I say, clarify what you mean by “too early”.

We’ve all been totally brainwashed by the daily figures. Thousands upon thousands of infections, a couple of hundred deaths, however many in hospital who have tested positive. And it is precisely because of those daily figures that so many people are now absolutely bricking themselves about the easing of restrictions.

I would be really interested to see if the reluctance to see restrictions go was the same if we no longer saw these daily figures published. Whilst I accept the data is out there for those who who want to dissect it, the daily figures quoted in the news (infections and deaths) have long since lacked context and, to me at least, are largely meaningless.

Blimey, Billy, re your last paragraph. Why are they largely meaningless just because they are reported? And continue to be.?
They are facts, continued facts. They are people , and they are as relevant to their families as the figures of the first month's victims of the pandemic were to their families.
I'm being as careful now as I have been throughout precisely because the figures are high where I live, much higher than previously.
When they go down, as they will , then I'll ease back into normality because we will be much nearer herd immunity, and better treatments etc ( of which you speak), but for me at my age an infection will be a much larger risk than most. The later I get it, I figure the better my chances - likely lower viral load etc..
So why push now for removing slight inconveniences instead of waiting a couple of months, say?

( As I have said elsewhere, isolating is another question)

 

[Blue in Munich]

We've not had a SARS as far as I'm aware but the protocol would be isolation in a side room and full PPE

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sars/

There has not been a reported case of SARS since 2004. When work on a COVID vaccination started there were fears expressed that it would not be achievable because one hadn’t been developed for SARS. It would probably be nearer the truth to say that one hadn’t been developed because SARS no longer appeared to be an issue.

 

[Billysboots]

Blimey, Billy, re your last paragraph. Why are they largely meaningless just because they are reported? And continue to be.?
They are facts, continued facts.

As I said much earlier in this thread, they are facts which lack any context whatsoever.

They will remain meaningless to me until such time as the number of deaths reported include detail such as age group, vaccination status, underlying conditions and so on. For news outlets to simply say x number of people have died within 28 days of a positive Covid test tells us, with respect, very little about this pandemic.

I know the data is squirrelled away out there somewhere, I am referring to the numbers reported in the press/media.

 

[Hobbit]

As I said much earlier in this thread, they are facts which lack any context whatsoever.

They will remain meaningless to me until such time as the number of deaths reported include detail such as age group, vaccination status, underlying conditions and so on. For news outlets to simply say x number of people have died within 28 days of a positive Covid test tells us, with respect, very little about this pandemic.

I know the data is squirrelled away out there somewhere, I am referring to the numbers reported in the press/media.

The data is on the ONS website. If you need that data to form a more meaningful conclusion for you, it’s there. Ignore the media if it’s meaningless. Simples.

 

[Imurg]

Dramatic reduction of mask wearing in Tesco this morning...I was probably in the minority...

 

[Billysboots]

The data is on the ONS website. If you need that data to form a more meaningful conclusion for you, it’s there. Ignore the media if it’s meaningless. Simples.

I know it’s out there. And it’s not too much to ask surely for the press to use that data to add context. But that doesn’t suit the agenda they’ve had from day one.

 

[Tashyboy]

Took me mum Out today. First time
In months due to Covid and hospitalised. Been to Boundry mills and Dunelm. I wish we were still in lockdown ?

 

[Swango1980]

I know it’s out there. And it’s not too much to ask surely for the press to use that data to add context. But that doesn’t suit the agenda they’ve had from day one.

And that's probably a big issue. Most people get their info from the press.

At the start of Covid, making the population fearful was what was required to encourage them to follow the restrictions. It was needed at the time, and the press love that, and so they went to town. Negative stories sell, and nothing gets the public going more than discussing negative issues.

However, when it is time to come out of restrictions, the opposite was / is required. The population need to generally feel confident, comfortable and positive about getting back to normal, especially after many have lived in fear for quite some time (understandably). The media are shocking at this, it just is not in their interest. It doesn't fit their agenda, nor sell their papers (I'd love to know how many newspaper headlines in the last few decades are negative stories, compared to positive ones). If analysis of 1000 official stats show positive results, the press will ignore them all, or find 1 that could be interpreted as negative and focus on that.

So, I agree with Billy. I have zero faith in any of the press, including mainstream, giving us honest news, or at least fair opinions. Personally, I'm not going to research the official stats myself, what's the point? If it is mandatory to continue with certain restrictions, then I'll accept it and comply. If they are relaxed, I will accept that and see that as positive news. So much negativity in last 3 to 4 years to be honest, so I'm taking any positive signs that come my way very seriously.

 

[Billysboots]

And that's probably a big issue. Most people get their info from the press.

At the start of Covid, making the population fearful was what was required to encourage them to follow the restrictions. It was needed at the time, and the press love that, and so they went to town. Negative stories sell, and nothing gets the public going more than discussing negative issues.

However, when it is time to come out of restrictions, the opposite was / is required. The population need to generally feel confident, comfortable and positive about getting back to normal, especially after many have lived in fear for quite some time (understandably). The media are shocking at this, it just is not in their interest. It doesn't fit their agenda, nor sell their papers (I'd love to know how many newspaper headlines in the last few decades are negative stories, compared to positive ones). If analysis of 1000 official stats show positive results, the press will ignore them all, or find 1 that could be interpreted as negative and focus on that.

So, I agree with Billy. I have zero faith in any of the press, including mainstream, giving us honest news, or at least fair opinions. Personally, I'm not going to research the official stats myself, what's the point? If it is mandatory to continue with certain restrictions, then I'll accept it and comply. If they are relaxed, I will accept that and see that as positive news. So much negativity in last 3 to 4 years to be honest, so I'm taking any positive signs that come my way very seriously.

Spot on. In the main I now see life going on all around me in much the same way as it was pre-pandemic. Busy pubs and restaurants, the golf clubhouse back to its normal routine, and shops doing a decent trade.

There is still reasonable take-up in the wearing of face coverings in confined spaces, especially on public transport, which I use several times a week. And before anyone asks, yes, I am one of those who respects fellow passengers by wearing one.

What I see on this forum is a lingering reluctance to return to a way of life which most now seem to be enjoying. I see suggestions that we should wait a few more weeks, or until the weather is warmer, more is known about Covid, and so on, before we return to something like normality. But I don’t see members at my golf club having to self isolate en masse because of Covid. Same goes for my local pub. Occasionally someone will disappear for a few days, having to self isolate in line with current guidance, not because they are symptomatic.

I do not for one moment dispute the fact that people have died as a result of Covid. And when I say the daily figures are meaningless to me I’m not saying that death is meaningless, merely that the numbers quoted lack context and, as such, meaning.

Beyond this forum, and this thread in particular, I rarely hear Covid mentioned any more. I absolutely understand that there are people both here, and in the wider community, who remain cautious. That is their right, and one which I respect. But equally I would ask that people respect my opinion, that being that the removal of all restrictions is now appropriate.

The most telling post here in some considerable time was added by Homer yesterday. Here is a fella who has seen more than most of us the impact of Covid and yet even he now opines that the time is right for us to start getting on with life. That must surely tell us all something.

My intention now is to draw a line under my involvement in this thread. My opinion is well known, and I have little wish to cross swords any further with other forum members who hold opposing views. Life is too short, and I enjoy dipping into these boards. I don’t come here to argue, despite some of the more strongly worded responses.

I apologise to anyone who I may have offended or upset with my comments. Stay safe and well all, and continue to do what is right for you.

 

[RichA]

Spot on. In the main I now see life going on all around me in much the same way as it was pre-pandemic. Busy pubs and restaurants, the golf clubhouse back to its normal routine, and shops doing a decent trade.

There is still reasonable take-up in the wearing of face coverings in confined spaces, especially on public transport, which I use several times a week. And before anyone asks, yes, I am one of those who respects fellow passengers by wearing one.

What I see on this forum is a lingering reluctance to return to a way of life which most now seem to be enjoying. I see suggestions that we should wait a few more weeks, or until the weather is warmer, more is known about Covid, and so on, before we return to something like normality. But I don’t see members at my golf club having to self isolate en masse because of Covid. Same goes for my local pub. Occasionally someone will disappear for a few days, having to self isolate in line with current guidance, not because they are symptomatic.

I do not for one moment dispute the fact that people have died as a result of Covid. And when I say the daily figures are meaningless to me I’m not saying that death is meaningless, merely that the numbers quoted lack context and, as such, meaning.

Beyond this forum, and this thread in particular, I rarely hear Covid mentioned any more. I absolutely understand that there are people both here, and in the wider community, who remain cautious. That is their right, and one which I respect. But equally I would ask that people respect my opinion, that being that the removal of all restrictions is now appropriate.

The most telling post here in some considerable time was added by Homer yesterday. Here is a fella who has seen more than most of us the impact of Covid and yet even he now opines that the time is right for us to start getting on with life. That must surely tell us all something.

My intention now is to draw a line under my involvement in this thread. My opinion is well known, and I have little wish to cross swords any further with other forum members who hold opposing views. Life is too short, and I enjoy dipping into these boards. I don’t come here to argue, despite some of the more strongly worded responses.

I apologise to anyone who I may have offended or upset with my comments. Stay safe and well all, and continue to do what is right for you.

I'm a cautious, mask wearing commuter with vulnerable friends and an elderly father.
For what it's worth, I agree with you.
It's a dreadful thing to say, as they are all somebody's mother, father, son, daughter, friend or other loved relative - but the daily statistics have become as meaningless as the weather forecast or football results. Read it, move on.
When I hear people close to me ask, "What were the numbers today?" I find myself just sighing.
Maybe the waiting lists for treatable conditions have become more relevant, but there's little I can do about those too and seeing the stats will probably just depress me even more.