Coronavirus: COVID-19

[Tycow]

Lockdown 3: Lockdown Harder.

Or is this 4... I've no idea now.

[Alan Phipps]

UK England lockdown: Primary Schools to close but Nursery groups to remain open (for keyworkers only?) yet no mention about Infants' Schools. I'm confused.

[CBJ]

Primary Schools to close but Nursery groups to remain open (for keyworkers only?) yet no mention about Infants' Schools. I'm confused.

Infants Schools are equivalent to the first 3 years of Primary Schools, so they will be closed too.

[red assassin]

Can we just take a moment to appreciate what may be a new record in Boris' continuing efforts to perfect the abrupt policy U-turn?

BBC news, yesterday afternoon: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55521580 'Parents should send children to primary school on Monday if they are open, the prime minister has said, responding to concerns over rising Covid-19 cases. Boris Johnson said there was "no doubt in my mind that schools are safe" but did not rule out further closures.'

Literally 24 hours between "no doubt in [his] mind that schools are safe" and all schools in the country shutting. Amazing. I don't remember how long it took between the last "under absolutely no possible circumstances will we cancel Christmas" briefing and the "never mind lol, Christmas is cancelled" announcement, but I'm pretty sure it was longer than literally one day. I've lost count of how many times this basic pattern has repeated now: 1) Cases start rising; scientists and opposition leaders start calling for the prompt implementation of policies to curb the rise. 2) Boris loudly insists that no such policies will be necessary. 3) Cases continue to rise. Calls continue. 4) Boris loudly insists that no such policies will be necessary. 5) Boris implements said policies. Cases are now high enough that goto step 1).

[CBJ]

Indeed. It would have made it so much easier for everyone if he'd just bitten the bullet and made the decision earlier. Schools, for example, could have planned for a new term of online learning if this decision had been made before the holidays, when it was already blatantly obvious to anyone with half a brain cell that the situation was going to get worse. Instead the school staff were sent into a tailspin trying to prepare for a COVID testing system regime with no information and a half-baked plan for "remote assistance" from the military. To say nothing of the poor primary school kids who were prepared for a new term and then sent home again after one day. The one thing he did right was to cancel this year's exams well in advance, rather than leaving the year 11 children hanging for months like he did last year.

[felter]

The Teacher Unions, Schools and teachers are all up in arms. It urns out they had all got together and created a plan to make schools safer for both teachers and students. The plan they created had been sent into the Government many weeks/months ago, and the English government has done nothing. This is something I said months ago, when I said sending kids back to school is one thing but you have to have everything set up for them, and the English Government has done nothing, others even did the work for them, all they had to do was implement it but they just ignored it and did nothing. And now it's all pandemonium. Johnson is just another Trump, someone in a job that they shouldn't be in, just another idiot that lives for power, but either doesn't know how to wield that power correctly or just doesn't care if he does it right, just so long as he has it.

Watched an interview with an English teacher the other day there, asking why is it just England schools that are all over the place, when their compatriots in Scotland, NI and Wales are not having the same issues. Could be because of what I said above, the wrong person in the job.

[Tolmos]

The way officials are handling this reminds me of a common complaint that I hear about how people take antibiotics. If you are given a 14 day round of antibiotics, you are supposed to take the entire 14 days, even if you start to feel better. Failure to do so can just result in the symptoms bouncing back, creation of antibiotic resistant superbugs, etc. And yet people stop it early all the time, get sick again, go back and have to do more.

The countries that locked down hard and fast, mandated masks with relatively decent penalties for failure to comply, and all together took this seriously were able to return to business as usual. The rest of us take 5 out of 14 days of antibiotics, get sick again, and then rage that the doctors are failing us because they keep prescribing us more but we "aren't getting better".

Stay home if you can, wear a mask if you can't. It's not rocket surgery, folks.

[pjknibbs]

Can we just take a moment to appreciate what may be a new record in Boris' continuing efforts to perfect the abrupt policy U-turn?

Yes, but look at his cute floppy hair and happy grin--how can you possibly think anything bad about such a man? Leastways, that seems to be the attitude among his supporters, as far as I can tell.

Anyway, to keep it on topic, so we're in lockdown again. That means I'll be doing...exactly the same thing I've done for the last nine months; the only reason I've left the house over that time is for food shopping or to do a shopping trip for my elderly disabled mother, who lives alone 120 miles from me.

[Alan Phipps]

To follow up on my earlier confusion over Infants' Schools closure in England, it now turns out that the school that our 5 year old granddaughter goes to was indeed supposed to be open today. However, out of the 8 permanent teaching staff there, 2 called in sick and 3 cried off for personal reasons. So today and for the immediate future at least it is closed.

EDIT: It now appears that the school is officially closed anyway. It seems that the teachers and governors were just as confused as I was up until now.

EDIT 2: All change. It is now opening again but only for children of parents that are all keyworkers, which applies for my granddaughter.

[felter]

With all the fun and games that has been going on in America today/yesterday it has overshadowed the fact that America hut a new high with 3,775 deaths in a single day, while the UK also recorded 1,041 deaths, the first time it has been over 1k deaths in a single count, but I suspect that number was higher due to catch up from the new year. but none the less that's still nearly 5k deaths between America and the UK in a single day. Not a happy day.

[fiksal]

news from nearby Quebec - full on curfew till February (due to the virus)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal ... -1.5863426

[Gavrushka]

Having just reviewed my food delivery due on Tuesday from Tesco, I'm pretty sure the same group of muppets have been asking themselves 'what do we need too much of this time?' - Yeah, I get that certain items may be in short supply due to supply chain issues as a result of Brexit, but you just know the same idiots are out there again making sure they get too much, knowing full well that means others may have to go without...


I've to take mum to see the surgeon and anaesthetist on Thursday in preparation for a mastectomy next month. - She's 82, has heart failure too, and what's worrying her most is catching Covid-19 during the trip. I'd like to get angry she hasn't been vaccinated, but I appreciate the huge scale of the exercise, and I'm in a region which doesn't seem to have received any vaccine as yet.

[pjknibbs]

Surprised to hear that, Gavrushka, my 84-year-old mother got offered the vaccine almost immediately and got the first injection a few days ago.

[Gavrushka]

We're in County Durham, a village near Darlington, and as I understand it, no one in the immediate area has been offered a vaccination date yet.

[pjknibbs]

We're in County Durham, a village near Darlington, and as I understand it, no one in the immediate area has been offered a vaccination date yet.

So is she? She lives in Teesdale (won't say exactly where for obvious reasons).

[Gavrushka]

So is she? She lives in Teesdale (won't say exactly where for obvious reasons).

Where did she have it done? Darlington Memorial? - As far as I could see, they weren't one of the listed vaccination sites. - I know Newcastle was, but she couldn't travel that far. Thing is, mum had an appointment on New Year's Eve at the hospital, and we'd both half-believed she'd be called for a vaccination whilst there. Nothing was mentioned.

There's been no official communication from anyone. - I'd speak with her GP, but I can only imagine how many 'where's my vaccination?' calls they're having to field.

[RegisterMe]

Thing is, mum had an appointment on New Year's Eve at the hospital, and we'd both half-believed she'd be called for a vaccination whilst there. Nothing was mentioned.

The old lady neighbour of mine who I do some shopping for had a hospital appointment for something random. She got her first jab at the time just because she was there.

I'd hope they'd follow a similar approach everywhere else. Though perhaps if things are becoming more formalised...?

[Alan Phipps]

Were those with the first vaccine where the doses came in batches of almost a thousand and because of the thawing from -70' they had to be used on the day they were opened? I suppose that it might have been pot luck as to whether someone eligible was there for other reasons on just the days the vaccine batches were opened and needing to be used up.

[RegisterMe]

Were those with the first vaccine where the doses came in batches of almost a thousand and because of the thawing from -70' they had to be used on the day they were opened? I suppose that it might have been pot luck as to whether someone eligible was there for other reasons on just the days the vaccine batches were opened and needing to be used up.

Sounds plausible, and I don't know. It's also possible, I guess, that living in London might have played a part in it.

Anyway, @Gavrushka, can your GP not tell you anything? Somebody, somewhere, must have a list. I just hope it's not kept in an outdated version of Excel .

[pjknibbs]

Where did she have it done? Darlington Memorial?

Richardson Hospital in Barnard Castle.