Coronavirus - how is it/has it affected you?

What about this new strain that is being talked about since yesterday.... hope that the vaccine works for this too

Mr Hancock also revealed on Monday that an initial analysis of a new variant of coronavirus suggested it was "growing faster than the existing variant", which should serve as a "warning to us all" to stay "vigilant".
A further 20,263 cases and a 232 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were recorded in the UK on Monday, according to government figures.
 
What about this new strain that is being talked about since yesterday.... hope that the vaccine works for this too

The scientist on the BBC this morning, who is always brilliant and matter of fact and without agenda (Chris Smith) suggested the new strain has more spikes which get into the cells BUT that the indications are the vaccine will still be effective against it and that it doesn't make infected people any sicker - rather with more spikes it accesses the cells easier.

It's like this virus is a real crafty and nasty blighter trying to defeat us at every turn.
 
I’m in two minds about Xmas. I think the relaxation of the rules in the current situation is questionable but I’ve seen my mum once this year... :(

Pretty much the same. I know it is a bad idea but my wife has not seen her mum all year and both of us are just desperate to be able to chat with a few different people and have some social interaction. We are more concerned about passing it on rather than catching it but we have both agreed that we would leave it to my in laws to decide if Xmas is to go ahead as they are at a greater risk than my wife and I. They won't cancel as they are selfish like that, want everyone to visit them, always have an excuse not to head up this way (despite the fact that my wife and her brother both live in the east midlands and they have grandkids up here) but will passive aggressively hint that they never get to see anyone and it will certainly not be their fault if one of them picks up covid over xmas.
 
I don't understand why non essential retail isn't closed in Tier 3 and probably Tier 2. I know I know it's the last couple of weeks before Christmas and retailers would flip out BUT it's bound to be a huge source of spread as we all know how manic the town centres get in the lead up to Christmas. With the ability to get everything online I just think it makes sense to close them.

In one way it kinda doesn't matter what retailers are open, it mostly matters how many people visit a retailer and how many times they visit
 
Highest spend per capita is Northern Ireland followed by Scotland.

But guess where the highest figure is for the rest of the UK, and in some cases by quite a margin, yes it's London!

Education, transport(inc infrastructure) etc.

Yes but if London brings the most money in then it will have the most spent on it no?

Transport was built by the Victorians and just upgraded

For example the tube brings enough money in alone to run the buses and fund projects in London

This year even with bail out the tube will bring in enough to run the tube just not the rest it normally funds

Much like London. London brings in a quarter (almost) of the whole of the UK's GDP. Is it wrong to spend slightly more there? Whilst it still sends billions to other parts of the UK?

Not like London's keeping every penny it.makes
 
Yes but if London brings the most money in then it will have the most spent on it no?

Transport was built by the Victorians and just upgraded

For example the tube brings enough money in alone to run the buses and fund projects in London

This year even with bail out the tube will bring in enough to run the tube just not the rest it normally funds

Much like London. London brings in a quarter (almost) of the whole of the UK's GDP. Is it wrong to spend slightly more there? Whilst it still sends billions to other parts of the UK?

Not like London's keeping every penny it.makes
Obviously it will absorb the most in total but that is no reason why its share should be the greatest per head of population.
 
The North goes into tier 3, people have a moan, shrug their shoulders and get on with it.
London goes into tier 3, it's the end of the world :eek:
I still dont understand this type of perception? (Ie southerners whinge & northerners don't)

Most folk that i know down here have long thought we should be in tier three - and are now having a moan, shrugging their shoulders and getting on with it. And thats even though decent chunks of London are still lower than much of the country and certainly way lower than pretty much the rest of London. But we accept that it's just not possible or practical to divide London into the constiuent boroughs - ie in the same way that other areas got lumped together because it was not really practical to keep them separate

And yes, it will be tough on the economy - same as it was/is tough on the econony for the rest of the country..

Ps: I may live in London but I ain't from London...
 
How of London's GDP comes from office work? Or even just The City and Canary Wharf? In CW less than 7% of the workers are there, economically is still functioning normally, people are working from home or left London completely. I've been to the office once since this broke out, 75%-ish of business in CW were shut anyway, there's just no one there.

Londoners are arrogant, Politicians are arrogant. I can see why the North maybe annoyed.
 
I think that the annoyance from my point of view, and I am trying to be practical not political, is that the new move has put parts of Essex and Kent in Tier 3, which is exactly what was not allowed in Lincolnshire. We are told that the tiers had to be on county lines and not on individual authorities but that is exactly the opposite to what has been applied in the South East. Maybe that will change with the announcements tomorrow.
 
I still dont understand this type of perception? (Ie southerners whinge & northerners don't)

Most folk that i know down here have long thought we should be in tier three - and are now having a moan, shrugging their shoulders and getting on with it. And thats even though decent chunks of London are still lower than much of the country and certainly way lower than pretty much the rest of London. But we accept that it's just not possible or practical to divide London into the constiuent boroughs - ie in the same way that other areas got lumped together because it was not really practical to keep them separate

And yes, it will be tough on the economy - same as it was/is tough on the econony for the rest of the country..

Ps: I may live in London but I ain't from London...
i think it’s more about the way the National media reacts to it really. It’s not a personal thing. Much like when the weather is bad oop North compared to when it’s bad darn sarf ?
 
Medical Journals now coming out against the Xmas relaxation. Still not convinced that we will not get a press conference on Sunday night about this.
 
What's the vibe for the north east?
I have a feeling we will be stuck in tier 3 despite our case numbers falling rapidly.
I can't see us going to tier 2. South Tyneside are dragging us all down at the moment and stupidly the whole area is lumped together as one ☹.

Just a few days before the Christmas free for all, I think they will keep the lid on until the last minute.
 
Medical Journals now coming out against the Xmas relaxation. Still not convinced that we will not get a press conference on Sunday night about this.

They haven't listened to science throughout this pandamic I very much doubt they will now

If they change now they now a lot of people won't listen anyways

People like yourself might change their mind as it stands so why the need to make themsleves unpopular?
 
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