Covid - coming out of Lockdown 3 - no politics, less opinion and more facts and information.

[Hobby]

It's a request, not a rule or the law, so how do you propose we "enforce" it, Bernard? Also how do we enforce social distancing when we have no control on who travels? 

[hayfield]

12 hours ago, Bernard Lamb said:

You only have to look at a short extract from PMs question time today to see that the case for mask wearing has been destroyed. The message that came across today seems pretty clear to me. 

I still wear one in shops and most people I know wear one when entering a cafe or pub until they are seated. I do not see this continuing for very long.

Train companies are still promoting the wearing of masks but after a trip involving several trains from different companies at the weekend I found little sign of any encouragement, let alone enforcement and the only one still showing concern for social distancing was Greater Anglia. Ironically in an ancient EMU with superb ventilation due to open windows.

Bernard 

 

Still plenty of folk in the supermarket yesterday wearing masks, but a lot more without mainly older retirement age customers

 

We visited a bathroom shop on Tuesday, only 3 of us in the store we did not wear a mask. I think now its as much thinking of not wanting to offend/reassure others as protecting ourselves, but we do not use public transport/mass meeting places etc. I think I would feel safer wearing masks in these places

[Reorte]

15 hours ago, Bernard Lamb said:

You only have to look at a short extract from PMs question time today to see that the case for mask wearing has been destroyed. The message that came across today seems pretty clear to me. 

I still wear one in shops and most people I know wear one when entering a cafe or pub until they are seated. I do not see this continuing for very long.

Train companies are still promoting the wearing of masks but after a trip involving several trains from different companies at the weekend I found little sign of any encouragement, let alone enforcement and the only one still showing concern for social distancing was Greater Anglia. Ironically in an ancient EMU with superb ventilation due to open windows.

I've not done much train travel since the pandemic started, but I've had a couple of (short) trips in the last few weeks. Masks on trains seemed to be less common than in the supermarket, even though the case for them is stronger on trains.

[alastairq]

Cannot comment [hooray?] as I haven't been on a train for more than 15 years now.

[boxbrownie]

16 minutes ago, alastairq said:

Cannot comment [hooray?] as I haven't been on a train for more than 15 years now.

Blimey, that really is a slow timetable down your way 

[alastairq]

46 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

Blimey, that really is a slow timetable down your way 

Got fed up with waiting, so went back home!

[Quarryscapes]

FInally got my 2nd jab - I didn't arrange it, I was texted by BCUHB who had arranged it for me in Tremadog last Sunday. With no sign of anything imminently happening in Dolgellau I went, stood in a queue for 40 minutes and was jabbed. The nurse was surprised it had taken this long to get a 2nd jab, I've been holding out to get done in Dolgelau like the first I said. She said, oh we're there on Friday! Typical! And yes, just seen on Facebook now that there is finally a clinic in Dolgellau tomorrow. 

 

Oh well it's done now, shame it took 3 hours out of my day rather than 45 minutes but there you go. 

[Ian Hargrave]

Covid is still casting its shadow.This time over what could be a great cricket  occasion. The head coach of the Indian side,Ravi Shastri has tested positive on the eve of the final and decisive test match at Old Trafford which should start tomorrow. Naturally,he mixed with all team members after their stunning victory at The Oval and today’s training session has been cancelled as a result.  The potential consequences either way,play or cancel,are a disaster for the sport. This has truly been a great test series and has infused new life into the sport. India demonstrate such passion and elegance into their game. Fingers crossed for all….players and spectators alike. It costs a lot of money to be there.

But it’s worth every penny. Last month I gave my grandson with of course his father and myself a day at the First Test of the series at Trent Bridge.We only watched half a day’s play as our weather intervened. Never mind,we all enjoyed the atmosphere and occasion…especially that moment when,fired up by the crowd with chants of “Jimmy”,Anderson had Vikrat Kohli caught behind first ball. Not a bad birthday present for a 15 year old mad on cricket.He’ll not forget that.

[Ian Hargrave]

According to the BBC news app. the tourists have reported no new cases,so the match is set to start on schedule.Now all we need is fine weather and a superhuman performance from an England team which,the Headingley test apart,has been distinctly underpowered. If they ever get there,God help them in Australia…

[Ian Hargrave]

Having been double jabbed by April….at home as it happens due to my late wife’s terminal illness….I did not receive any official passport/notification.Thought nothing of it at the time as I had other matters to attend to. However,the world moves on and now the rules for attendance at events in public places such as concert halls demand that you show your pass before gaining entry.  So panic yesterday evening when I received an email informing me of the requirement for five events I’m booked for next week. What to do ? No time to ask GP practice…difficult enough to approach now .  Online appears the only way. So off I go on my mobile.You need NHS number and email address for starters.After a couple of false starts I get to the last step..the visual identification step. Took photo of plastic driving license forwarded it and waited for acceptance.It arrived within ten minutes on the phone. A bit clunky yes but I got there.

[Ian Hargrave]

12 hours ago, Ian Hargrave said:

According to the BBC news app. the tourists have reported no new cases,so the match is set to start on schedule.Now all we need is fine weather and a superhuman performance from an England team which,the Headingley test apart,has been distinctly underpowered. If they ever get there,God help them in Australia…

Stop press .Test Match cancelled.More Covid in Indian team group

[APOLLO]

A friend of my wife is a Thai college lecturer in northern Thailand who is married to an English teacher. He is seriously ill (non covid related) but happily recovering in hospital here in Wigan. She had the Sinopharm jab(s) over in Thailand a while ago and arrived here just before Thailand went Red. She did the necessary 10 days or so self isolation at home. She enquired re a top up vaccine and went yesterday to our local walk in vaccination centre and was given a first dose of Pfizer. Again well done NHS.

 

Of interest she flew (expensively) with Swiss Air via Zurich as no flights via Dubai etc were available. There were only a couple of dozen people on the flight to Zurich and less onward to Manchester. All passengers were masked and spaced apart. How long can airlines go on with loadings like this ? She had no problem with immigration (queues etc) at Manchester.

 

Brit15

[boxbrownie]

1 hour ago, Ian Hargrave said:

Having been double jabbed by April….at home as it happens due to my late wife’s terminal illness….I did not receive any official passport/notification.Thought nothing of it at the time as I had other matters to attend to. However,the world moves on and now the rules for attendance at events in public places such as concert halls demand that you show your pass before gaining entry.  So panic yesterday evening when I received an email informing me of the requirement for five events I’m booked for next week. What to do ? No time to ask GP practice…difficult enough to approach now .  Online appears the only way. So off I go on my mobile.You need NHS number and email address for starters.After a couple of false starts I get to the last step..the visual identification step. Took photo of plastic driving license forwarded it and waited for acceptance.It arrived within ten minutes on the phone. A bit clunky yes but I got there.

I just filled in a form online and received a paper “passport” a few days later, no image/face identification was needed……have they changed the system now, mine was only about two months ago.

[Ian Hargrave]

59 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

I just filled in a form online and received a paper “passport” a few days later, no image/face identification was needed……have they changed the system now, mine was only about two months ago.

 
I’m afraid I didn’t have the option of waiting a few days for the post to arrive. I was caught flat footed. Besides atm postal delivery is varied. 

[Dunsignalling]

Post round here seems to be back to reliable on the whole. Ditto Parcelforce, who delivered a packet about 0930 that I only ordered yesterday afternoon. Letter post turned up about half an hour later, whereas up to last week it was usually early afternoon.

 

Hopefully it'll last and represent a real step on the road to more of life feeling normal again.

 

John

[boxbrownie]

6 hours ago, Ian Hargrave said:

 
I’m afraid I didn’t have the option of waiting a few days for the post to arrive. I was caught flat footed. Besides atm postal delivery is varied. 

I understand that bit, but it was the picture identification that puzzled me…..nothing about that when I applied, I assume it covers the same reason for having one, mine is just an official A4 letter stating when I was jabbed.

 

note, spellcheck changed “jabbed” to “jaded” when I first typed……maybe spellcheck was actually correct? 

[beast66606]

Today I received my parcel to provide samples for another ONS driven research study into anti-bodies and how long they last so that's 2 lots of swabs and 1 blood test I donate to enable the scientists to see how the antibodies are holding up, and that's aside from the twice weekly test me and the Mrs do as she works in a school, I not keen on some of the restrictions which we've had, and may well have again, but at least I'm doing my bit to assist in the vaccine development.

[John M Upton]

Well, the Government just binned their Vaccine Passports plan by the looks of it.

 

Another day, another U Turn.  That is half the problem, lots of conflicting wibbling and no clear direction.

Edited September 12, 2021 by John M Upton

[alastairq]

6 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

Another day, another U Turn.  That is half the problem

 Would you rather the Govt. were completely intransigent in their decisions instead?

''Rightly or wrongly, this is the way we're going!''

 

Or would it not be better that they are ready & willing to change direction, in the face of new, or cogent, argument ?

[woodenhead]

15 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

Well, the Government just binned their Vaccine Passports plan by the looks of it.

 

Another day, another U Turn.  That is half the problem, lots of conflicting wibbling and no clear direction.

They've been testing the notion of passport vaccines since Spring, they knew they would be unpopular and would only use them if there wasn't a big enough uptake in vaccinations - a sort of get it done or else for the younger people.

 

Also given the tax increase announced this week that does impact lower paid and younger people, they cannot afford another unpopular policy just at the moment.

[Hobby]

I really wish people wouldn't keep using the "u turn" phrase for cheap jibes. It's a fluid situation that requires the government to change their policies all the time. If there's one thing we've learnt it's that what may look like a good idea at one point in time may not be later on.

 

It's easy to criticise when it's not you who has to make the decisions, the press and keyboard warriors are experts at that! 

[Nearholmer]

Yes, I’m not overly interested in fixed, inflexible tactics, but what I’m very interested I is cogent explanations when the tactics change. Why are Covid passports now a bad idea, when not long ago they were a good one? Does anyone actually understand what part “the nighttime economy” actually plays in Covid transmission, hospital cases, and deaths? That sort of thing.
 

 

[Hobby]

I don't think anyone has said they are a "bad idea", just not necessary at this point in time. Two different things.

[Hobby]

We've had the "explanations" discussion before, in my view we pay our experts and politicians to do a job and I don't expect them to come along with detailed explanations for everything they do, yes there will be some explanation required in some cases and they've given them in the past. Also the difficulty with such explanations is how much detail do they give, I am not, nor pretend to be, an expert or have any detailed knowledge of the science behind what they do, that's what I pay them to do, so for me a full explanation would be a waste of my time and theirs.

 

However at the end of this there will be a full review and we'll all make up our own mind how they handled it at the next election. Until then I see no need for detailed explanations for all of their actions on a daily basis like it would seem the Press and Social Media do. In some respects I wish we could go back to the days pre social media and 24 hour news, life was far simpler!

[woodenhead]

Another way to look at this, what did it cost Boris to get his Social Care package voted in.

 

In the days since the vote they are abandoning the passports, talking removing PCR testing for double jabbed returnees to the UK and also ending the powers the Government had to call and extend lockdowns.

 

Interesting timing if you ask me.

Edited September 12, 2021 by woodenhead
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