vaughan45

Very true, although for some patients (not just Covid ones) I suspect the basic kit may not be sufficient. I seem to vaguely remember that when I had a medical emergency a couple of years the paramedics first priority was to get me into the ambulance so they could hook me up the various bits of kit. However due to nature of the incident my memory of it is somewhat sketchy as I was drifting in and out of consciousness.

Typo, now corrected thanks

I seem to remember one was also used for one of the driving sequences in 'Get Carter'

This figure has been reported for several days. As far as I remember the Mayor/GLA don't have direct operational or financial control of the London NHS, so I am uncertain how the additional funding released to the GLA as a result of declaring a 'major incident' will be used to relieve NHS hospital pressures. Although as Chair of the London Strategic Coordinating Group I assume he can redirect resources such as using fire service personnel to staff ambulances etc. Not sure where they will find the additional ambulance vehicles they need though, unless there is some form of strategic reserve or the ability to co-opt private ambulances. However another effect of this declaration may be to allow the GLA to request help from other local authorities / organisations outside of London as happened after the 2005 tube bombings (I was working for a local authority in Hertfordshire at the time and remember various services being put on standby in case assistance was requested), but as these authorities are overstretched themselves, so not sure what they would be in a position to provide. I see from the local media here in East Anglia, that local hospitals are taking patients from both Essex and London, much to the dismay of some locals who worry that as the prevalence here increases (there are some areas of Norfolk heading towards 1000/100K) there will be no capacity to treat them.

I seem to remember the series was made by Anglia TV, based in Norwich, so presumably they went for a 'local-ish' filming location where the then line traffic wasn't to heavy to get in the way of filming.

Unfortunately skim-read that as the burning of something rather different!

It should be remembered that Tier 4 is not the near total lockdown that was lockdown 1. Businesses other than non-essential shops and hospitality are still operating and if you are involved in actual physical production, construction or distribution you will not be able to work from home. Also the list of non-essential shops allowed to open is somewhat larger than lockdown 1, when garden centres, DIY stores Builders Merchants etc. were closed, at least in the first month or so. It also appears that some businesses that previously would not be considered essential are staying open as they are now stocking a small range of essential items in addition to their main business. Whilst I accept that many businesses may have been shut between Christmas and New Year, I am aware of some small to medium size businesses who have kept going during the 'holiday' period as they want keep working whilst they can, in case they are shut down by the creation of a new Tier 5, which I suspect would look more like lockdown 1.

Similar conundrum posed by all those ads from purveyors of party food & drink for New Years eve party celebrations?

Because they are much less likely to become seriously ill, need a hospital admission, need ICU or die from Covid-19. Yes, it may stop them passing the virus onto people in over 60s or the risk groups, but the effect would take a long time to work through the population. Also with all the parents who are anti-vaccine (think lack of MMR compliance), there is a strong possibility that many children would not be vaccinated. Having been involved with primary care, the level of resistance to vaccinations by parents is quite worrying. There tends to be less resistance from the older population, many of whom remember the mass childhood vaccination campaigns of the 50s & 60s that effectively minimised / removed diseases such a whooping cough, polio, diphtheria etc. that had previously been killers.

Unfortunately there is a growing proportion of the population who lack any common sense. It doesn't appear to be confined to any particular age group, social grouping or educational ability, it seems to stem from two particular traits. One is caused by living in a risk averse society which has left some individuals unable to see or evaluate the level of risk for themselves, the other is a is an entitlement belief e.g. if something goes wrong they howl for someone else to deal with it either through obtaining compensation or expecting external help. Lack of common sense, self-reliance and responsibility are in the ascendancy. As a side issue it is interesting how many individuals / businesses who have complained about / or avoided paying tax, now appear to expect tax payer support.

Quite so, I am still ensuring that items arriving from outside are put into quarantine for the recommended 3 days minimum or disinfected upon arrival. Important when you think how many letter flaps, gate latches and other letters/packets a postie touches when doing their round or how many people may have touched and then replaced items on supermarket shelves including loose fruit & veg. With respect to rules and tiers they are too complicated for many people. What is needed is simple messaging and a nationwide hard lock down for at least two months.

My understanding from medical colleagues is that the risk is higher with this latest mutation as you need less of it to actually cause an infection. However much still depends on the resilience of ones body and whether or not aerosols are as infective as droplets. I suspect time limits are less important than the number of others in the area you are visiting, so an hour of excise will be less risky in a rural area than an urban one. I also err on the cautious and at present am only leaving my property if I absolutely need to.

It would we interesting to know the age spread of those out and about. Looking at the various heat maps and charts the case growth for many areas still appears to be in the 15 to 40 age groups, who in theory are less likely to need hospital treatment. I understand that this will in time spread into the older age groups, but suspect HMG has already given up on trying to limit the cases and is just praying that vaccination progress / herd immunity kicks in. People who are at risk due to age or vulnerability will have to accept that life cannot carry on as normal and that they will have to remain relatively isolated until the spring at least or take a calculated risk.

An example from the USA model railroad scene maybe useful to illustrate the two approaches to the pared down concept. When Atlas introduced their 'Trainman' range, they used drive train designs etc. from their full-fat models, but fitted bodies that were correctly scaled, but had less detail / separate parts at a reasonable saving. A purchaser therefore had a model that would run well and was accurate in key dimensions where they could add extra detail themselves if they wished. A few of the wagons were older less detailed products from the full fat range and some were new tooling. Athearn however used the 'Roundhouse' name when they acquired the company to market a range of older less well detailed models, some of which had 'compromises', at lower prices with a limited amount of new tooling. It appears that with 'Clever Design' and the 'Railroad' brand Hornby primarily followed the Athearn route, although it should be added that the running of 1990's Athearn locos with central motors and all axles powered was streets ahead of the pancake motor design used in most 1990s UK models.

In general terms it's not the fault of the police or enforcing organisation, its down to politicians (from all parties) who increasingly (in the last 20 years or so) draft legislation that is almost unenforceable, e.g. not thinking about due process and methodology but responding to media and populist demands.

Well at least there is only one more day of madness, followed by National Infection Day Christmas Day before the move to Tier Four, then a short wait to follow the infection charts, I wonder who will get to no. 1. Just had a text from HMG/NHS advising that as I am in the extremely vulnerable group and moving to Tier 4 on Saturday, I should be reconsidering my Christmas Day plans. No need, out of an abundance of caution the plan is for it to be just SWMBO & me on Christmas Day. Having had to deal with one death this year, I rather not have any more.

Not necessarily, in my part of Norfolk the actions of some of my fellow locals won't assist in slowing the spread, so you only need one case for the genie to be out of the lamp. Personally I think Tier 4 is where the majority of the country should be if we hope to get ahead of the curve.

If I was in a belligerent mood I could say what is the point of conventional schooling anyway as the economic situation, the advances in AI etc. mean many will unfortunately not have jobs to go to, in which case a good grounding in life skills is probably what is required. But that is all considerably off topic.

Looking at the key trend drivers since lockdown 1, the three key ones where there were noticeable infection step changes were when pubs and restaurants reopened possibly aided by the Eat Out campaign, the return of schools in September and then Universities / Colleges slightly later. These all occurred before the change in seasons also added to the mix. The virus has been mutating constantly and it appears that this 'new' one was being seen in some test results as early as September. The only way to get a grip on this is for schools etc. to remain closed in January / February and for a speeding up of the vaccination campaign, although this won't occur until more vaccine types have been approved. These matters would hopefully mitigate against the growing non-compliance of the population. It is interesting to realise that if there was mass civil disobedience in more than a few areas of the country then HMG would have no way of controlling it as the police and armed forces are already overstretched.

It should also be remembered that the document linked too was produced by the CDC in the USA. Whilst I appreciate they quote some UK examples, it would be necessary to see the primary source of this information (and background notes) to verify the data is being correctly interpreted in this secondary document. All vaccinations carry some risk, particularly if the recipient has allergies (known or unknown) in the same way that the protection provided by the jab will never be 100% for all the population. The possibility of a reaction that can occur in a small number of patients is why recipients of any vaccination (seasonal flu etc.) are ask to wait a specified period, although many people don't. It is also the reason why regardless of who is administering the vaccination, there must always be suitably trained clinicians in attendance to mitigate the risk. Personally I would rather risk the jab, where the risk is minimal, than spend 15 minutes in a supermarket scrum where the risks of catching Covid-19 are considerably higher. Indeed it is interesting that HMG have reintroduced full 'Shielding' in Tier 4 areas and one of the key aspects of this is that the extremely vulnerable should not go food shopping due to the increased infection rate of the mutation. The last time this advise was issued was in lockdown 1, since then the advice has been to go at the quietest periods of the day.

Exactly.