Coronavirus

[DarkFruitsRam7]

9 minutes ago, Tamworthram said:

My Dad is 91 and therefore in Band 2. He doesn’t get his vaccine until this Friday.

I’m on the wind up.

[sage]

1 hour ago, DarkFruitsRam7 said:

I assume you’ve had your vaccine, considering you’re in Band 3, @sage?

You will be in band 6 if you don't stop being cheeky you whippersnapper. ?

[BIllyD]

Seen some interesting stats today, in terms of pure numbers of deaths, this is the worst year since 1918 - the final year of WWI and the Spanish Influenza. More than 600,000 people died in England & Wales in 2020. That's more than any year in WWII (inc military deaths).

Imagine what it would have been without lockdowns etc...

[ariotofmyown]

Interesting article hear asking why there is still no real plan for Covid, both for ending lockdown or being able to live with it. We really are blessed by some special leaders.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/13/scary-covid-leaders-no-plan-to-control-pandemic-cycle

[G STAR RAM]

26 minutes ago, BIllyD said:

Seen some interesting stats today, in terms of pure numbers of deaths, this is the worst year since 1918 - the final year of WWI and the Spanish Influenza. More than 600,000 people died in England & Wales in 2020. That's more than any year in WWII (inc military deaths).

Imagine what it would have been without lockdowns etc...

You've missed some very important parts of the report...

"On one hand, excess deaths are at their highest since World War Two, while on the other, death rates, once age and size of population are taken into account, are at their worst level for a little over a decade 'only'.

How should that be interpreted?

Excess deaths are basically a measure of how many more people are dying than would be expected based on the previous few years.

Clearly, 2020 saw a huge and unexpected rise in deaths because of the pandemic, just as World War Two led to a sudden jump.

But in determining how much those jumps affected the chances of dying, a measure known as age-standardised morality, which takes into account the age and size of the population, is important.

It shows the pandemic has undone the progress made in the last decade or so. That is significant - especially given this has happened despite lockdowns and social-distancing measures to stop the spread of the virus.

But it also helps put the death toll over the past 12 months in a wider context."

With regards to lockdown, I doubt they have done anything to death numbers, they have not been proven to prevent deaths, just push them forward.

Who knows, if more people had got the virus in the summer rather than winter we may actually be looking at a lower death toll.

[G STAR RAM]

19 hours ago, G STAR RAM said:

So as a single adult, I am expected to sit in my house and see absolutely no other adult until the Government say I can?

Sorry but that is not a life that I am prepared to live regardless of the rules or how badly the virus is spreading.

@Eddie I am sorry that this post makes you angry. 

Having thought about it, I agree that you are right that it is selfish of me not wanting to spend another 3 months (at least) of my life bolted up in my house without seeing another adult.

I sincerely apologise.

[GboroRam]

50 minutes ago, sage said:

You will be in band 6 if you don't stop being cheeky you whippersnapper. ?

Aren't you foster carers? Some authorities are treating us as band 2, although I'm not very comfortable being so high up the priority list so I've not pushed it. That said the amount of professionals you have to deal with is staggering - and the children still get face to face contact, despite largely being from families that, lets say, perhaps don't adhere to the rules all the time.

[sage]

6 minutes ago, GboroRam said:

Aren't you foster carers? Some authorities are treating us as band 2, although I'm not very comfortable being so high up the priority list so I've not pushed it. That said the amount of professionals you have to deal with is staggering - and the children still get face to face contact, despite largely being from families that, lets say, perhaps don't adhere to the rules all the time.

I am a foster carer. I have asked the question and Notts County Council don't consider us a front line social worker. Personally I'm not sure how much more front line social care you can get. 

[GboroRam]

1 minute ago, sage said:

I am a foster carer. I have asked the question and Notts County Council don't consider us a front line social worker. Personally I'm not sure how much more front line social care you can get. 

Considering roughly every month we meet 2 children's social workers, a supervising social worker, plus as many of their stand-ins as they need (they seem to be off sick/on holiday more often than average), a health visitor, a LAC nurse, at least 3 taxi drivers - plus 3 children all meeting their parents (only one socially distanced) - one attending school like normal, and we're told it's all perfectly safe - I don't feel it, personally.

[Archied]

8 minutes ago, G STAR RAM said:

@Eddie I am sorry that this post makes you angry. 

Having thought about it, I agree that you are right that it is selfish of me not wanting to spend another 3 months (at least) of my life bolted up in my house without seeing another adult.

I sincerely apologise.

It seems to me that a lot of the time the people first in line to call people selfish are amongst the most selfish themselves, Eddie has made it very clear that unless he can have his freedom back nobody else should and you see that a lot ,

eddie has been able to successfully shield and keep himself safe for a year ? 
 

I would love a beer or a glass of wine but I know it’s gonna kill me so haven’t had one in 25 years , much as I would love alcohol to be banned for all I realise that’s pretty selfish on my part despite the indisputable number s of deaths ,illness , mental illness violence , strain on the nhs , strain on the police service and shear misery it causes ??‍♂️

[Eddie]

12 minutes ago, Archied said:

It seems to me that a lot of the time the people first in line to call people selfish are amongst the most selfish themselves, Eddie has made it very clear that unless he can have his freedom back nobody else should and you see that a lot ,

eddie has been able to successfully shield and keep himself safe for a year ? 
 

I would love a beer or a glass of wine but I know it’s gonna kill me so haven’t had one in 25 years , much as I would love alcohol to be banned for all I realise that’s pretty selfish on my part despite the indisputable number s of deaths ,illness , mental illness violence , strain on the nhs , strain on the police service and shear misery it causes ??‍♂️

I just want people to follow the rules. Someone saying that they are only going to when it suits them is only going to kick the problem down the road, and it's that more than anything that makes me very resentful ('angry' isn't really the right word). Similarly, I resent being described as 'selfish' when basically I'm doing the right thing, the thing I've been told to do when clearly some others couldn't care less.

The problem is, when the rule-breakers are at the top, they set an example for others to follow, and that's how you get a "Why should I?" society.

I wouldn't say that the last 10 months have been 'successful' by any stretch of the imagination. The mental strain has been immense, and I don't think that I will be quite the same person afterwards. Far from it.

[Wolfie]

1 hour ago, ariotofmyown said:

Interesting article hear asking why there is still no real plan for Covid, both for ending lockdown or being able to live with it. We really are blessed by some special leaders.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/13/scary-covid-leaders-no-plan-to-control-pandemic-cycle

Unhelpful and alarmist tosh IMO

Yet anopther one asking for details of fixed targets of case numbers etc & when we can relax. What if case numbers are low but due to a new strain, deaths are still high or case numbers amongst older people are still high?. It's not possible to fix numbers in this situation.

The plan is to protect the vulnerable with the vaccine & relax restrictions on everyone else. The end goal being that this may end up being like the annual flu virus vaccinations (but wider) and life can get back to normal.

To claim there is no plan because Govt can't say "right, when cases are back to less than 1000 a day, we can all go about our business" is just wrong and just helps perpetuate the hindsight BS

As I've said many times. There are just too many variables. Everything is shades of grey.

[Stive Pesley]

1 minute ago, Eddie said:

The mental strain has been immense, and I don't think that I will be quite the same person afterwards. Far from it.

I have to believe that we will get back to where we were (for my own sanity) but I think it will take a long time. Even seeing crowds or strangers shaking hands on TV shows gives me a vaguely uncomfortable feeling these days.

I always make Mrs Pesley a photobook for her birthday of the best bits from the previous year. Started doing the 2020 book last night and I can't even describe the emotions I went through, watching the year unfold. It really hit me what an extraordinary time we're living through - and how strong we've all been. Even though we probably don't feel like we have been.

[Comrade 86]

58 minutes ago, G STAR RAM said:

@Eddie I am sorry that this post makes you angry. 

Having thought about it, I agree that you are right that it is selfish of me not wanting to spend another 3 months (at least) of my life bolted up in my house without seeing another adult.

I sincerely apologise.

Seem to recall that @Eddie was roundly mocked by a few on here for stating that he felt like a prisoner in his own home. That's more relatable now I guess?

Your post does confuse me though as only very recently, you were adamant that you'd adhere to the regs with vaccines now being rolled out. What's changed?

[BIllyD]

1 hour ago, G STAR RAM said:

You've missed some very important parts of the report...

"On one hand, excess deaths are at their highest since World War Two, while on the other, death rates, once age and size of population are taken into account, are at their worst level for a little over a decade 'only'.

How should that be interpreted?

Excess deaths are basically a measure of how many more people are dying than would be expected based on the previous few years.

Clearly, 2020 saw a huge and unexpected rise in deaths because of the pandemic, just as World War Two led to a sudden jump.

But in determining how much those jumps affected the chances of dying, a measure known as age-standardised morality, which takes into account the age and size of the population, is important.

It shows the pandemic has undone the progress made in the last decade or so. That is significant - especially given this has happened despite lockdowns and social-distancing measures to stop the spread of the virus.

But it also helps put the death toll over the past 12 months in a wider context."

With regards to lockdown, I doubt they have done anything to death numbers, they have not been proven to prevent deaths, just push them forward.

Who knows, if more people had got the virus in the summer rather than winter we may actually be looking at a lower death toll.

I was hoping that someone would put that, as it's an interesting point of discussion. Taking into account population increases etc I believe that it's still the highest since 2003. 
 

Im sure you are also aware of the medical advances that we have had in this time and thankfully, a big reduction in things like heart disease, cancer etc...which outweighs the difference in deaths v average population.

As for the lockdown and deaths being lower in the summer, not sure I can buy into that one. The R rate under lockdown is 1, without 3 and that is not the new variant. Without doing the maths, common sense tells me that wouldn't have been the case.

 

[G STAR RAM]

15 minutes ago, 86 Hair Islands said:

Seem to recall that @Eddie was roundly mocked by a few on here for stating that he felt like a prisoner in his own home. That's more relatable now I guess?

Your post does confuse me though as only very recently, you were adamant that you'd adhere to the regs with vaccines now being rolled out. What's changed?

Thats because he was saying he was under house arrest when he wasn't. 

He also lives with his wife, not alone. 

Nothing has changed, as far as I am aware I am still abiding by the rules?

[G STAR RAM]

3 minutes ago, BIllyD said:

I was hoping that someone would put that, as it's an interesting point of discussion. Taking into account population increases etc I believe that it's still the highest since 2003. 
 

Im sure you are also aware of the medical advances that we have had in this time and thankfully, a big reduction in things like heart disease, cancer etc...which outweighs the difference in deaths v average population.

As for the lockdown and deaths being lower in the summer, not sure I can buy into that one. The R rate under lockdown is 1, without 3 and that is not the new variant. Without doing the maths, common sense tells me that wouldn't have been the case.

Yes, the report does say that this has set us back over a decade. 

Now the year has done it would be interesting to see a comparison of deaths by cause over the last 5 years, to see if the 'increase in cancer, suicides etc' argument can be put to bed or not. 

Common sense tells me that flu kills more people over winter than it does in the summer months and it therefore is possible that the same could be the same with Covid.

[Comrade 86]

1 minute ago, G STAR RAM said:

Thats because he was saying he was under house arrest when he wasn't. 

He also lives with his wife, not alone. 

Nothing has changed, as far as I am aware I am still abiding by the rules?

I think that's a pretty uncharitable way of looking at it and I've asked what's changed because your recent posts infer clearly you're unwilling to acquiesce to any extended lockdown. Anyway, doesn't really matter. Just thought I'd ask

[BIllyD]

1 hour ago, G STAR RAM said:

@Eddie I am sorry that this post makes you angry. 

Having thought about it, I agree that you are right that it is selfish of me not wanting to spend another 3 months (at least) of my life bolted up in my house without seeing another adult.

I sincerely apologise.

It must be very tough for you having no friends or family within the allowed radius, have you moved into the area recently or do you just struggle to make new acquaintances ? Is this something that also impacts you on a regular basis, it must be very difficult at the best of times not having anyone close by that you can go for a walk or enjoy a pint or something along then lines.
 

I think sometimes we miss the bigger picture of people living alone needing the company of others. I am sticking to the rules because technically I'm classed as vulnerable, but I'm also lucky to have lots of friends and family close by if needed. I can understand why, people like yourself who haven't got any mates living close by, might feel to have to travel a bit further to meet them.

I think you mentioned your local pub, maybe that would be a way in the future to meet some new people....

[BIllyD]

8 minutes ago, G STAR RAM said:

Yes, the report does say that this has set us back over a decade. 

Now the year has done it would be interesting to see a comparison of deaths by cause over the last 5 years, to see if the 'increase in cancer, suicides etc' argument can be put to bed or not. 

Common sense tells me that flu kills more people over winter than it does in the summer months and it therefore is possible that the same could be the same with Covid.

I'm not disputing the fact that summer would be a better month, if that could be said, than say winter to catch it. But I'm sure you knew I was referring to the numbers, if 10m v 1m have it, then regardless of the month, you will have more deaths. 
 

When I have time I'll have a look and see if the dears by cause has been published yet, it will also be interesting to see the death rates in somewhere like Florida at the moment, where the weather is a bit more akin to ours in the summer.