Quote Originally Posted by KerrAvon View Post
We don't know that Omicron is mild. South Africa has a much younger population then the UK. There isn't enough UK data yet.

To talk in respect of risk to individuals is to miss the point. We do know that Omicron is far more transmissible than earlier strains. That means that a lot of people are going to get it over a short period of time. Even if only a small proportion develop serious illness that could risk overwhelming the ability of the NHS to provide care (bearing in mind that a lot of NHS staff could be affected).
Yes, I dispute the 'just a cold' thing anyway - as mentioned we had a quarter of staff down with it this week and whilst it is heartening that the symptoms are milder than previous strains, most were in bed for at least a couple of days and reported it more like a very unpleasent virus/mild flu. As well as the threat to the NHS we also have to bear in mind the impact on business and services generally in being able to function. It's all well to look for encouraging signs in how the virus is developing, and hope that these are what happens, but the threat to normal life is very much there, and it seems a no brainer to me to take all precautions we possibly can.

Anyone know a Cambridge pub with a beer garden??