O/T. The Government's handling of Covid

[Andy_Faber]

Hmmm...I’m sure the usual suspect(s) will just accuse me of ‘Boris bashing’ - and I have to admit I’d love to - but it seems we now have the worst Covid figures in Europe.

Tbf Johnson, Hancock and Co. have earned a great deal of kudos from their delivery of the vaccination programme and indeed it has, as I have previous acknowledged, provided a rare ray of light amongst their otherwise dire performances on virtually all other fronts.

Now, IF we actually do have the worst Covid figures in Europe, it seems that ‘The Government’s Handling of Covid’ can only be described as yet another screw up and just one more false dawn.

You're looking at the 'figures' that suit your agenda again rA, you need to look at things in the round. UK's deaths per capita is 0.28 per 100,000, 'Europe' as a whole (which includes UK) is 1.45, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece are all worse than UK. Tick In the Box to Madamster and his management of things in T'T Neths, currently 0.23

AND 80% of UK deaths are of folk who haven't been jabbed (I'll resist the temptation to say 'serves them right' because there are no doubt some amongst them unable to take the jab)

[Andy_Faber]

Germany, who seek to ban UK residents from visiting their country, are running at 8 covid hospital beds occupied per million population,UK equivalent 2.54, France incidentally at 6

[Andy_Faber]

You also ignore that the new cases are based on UKs daily testing being FOUR times France's, FIVE times Italy's and EIGHT times Germany's. I'd call that test coverage a success

[ramAnag]

I’m not actually ‘looking at figures’ at all, AF...and I don’t have an ‘agenda’...I simply want a return to normality as much as every one else.

Because you’re who you are and not, usually, a ‘point scorer’, I’ll take your word as regards the more detailed figures you’ve provided. My comment was simply a reaction to what I’d just seen on the News - please let’s not hammer the BBC for that - and their graph showed Covid cases declining at various rated across Europe while they were rising alarmingly in the UK, particularly in relation to the Indian (Delta) variant.

For reasons you are familiar with you will understand my desire to be able to visit close family in two particular areas of the world that we are currently unable to enter. That is the closest I have to an ‘agenda’ but I remain sympathetic to the Government’s quandary as regards international travel. Beyond that...it’s not an ‘agenda’...but yes...it is my opinion that as regards issues from Brexit and Ireland to Crime, the Royal Yacht, personal behaviour and many aspects of their handling of the pandemic, all we have seen is a Government and a PM that are hopelessly unfit for purpose, but that’s, largely, for another thread.

[Andy_Faber]

I’m not actually ‘looking at figures’ at all, AF...and I don’t have an ‘agenda’...I simply want a return to normality as much as every one else.

Because you’re who you are and not, usually, a ‘point scorer’, I’ll take your word as regards the more detailed figures you’ve provided. My comment was simply a reaction to what I’d just seen on the News - please let’s not hammer the BBC for that - and their graph showed Covid cases declining at various rated across Europe while they were rising alarmingly in the UK, particularly in relation to the Indian (Delta) variant.

For reasons you are familiar with you will understand my desire to be able to visit close family in two particular areas of the world that we are currently unable to enter. That is the closest I have to an ‘agenda’ but I remain sympathetic to the Government’s quandary as regards international travel. Beyond that...it’s not an ‘agenda’...but yes...it is my opinion that as regards issues from Brexit and Ireland to Crime, the Royal Yacht, personal behaviour and many aspects of their handling of the pandemic, all we have seen is a Government and a PM that are hopelessly unfit for purpose, but that’s, largely, for another thread.

All the figures are from the same, reputable. source

Point taken about the ability to see loved ones, but it takes two to tango so you need confidence that you destination countries allow you in (and allow you to stay without penalty). My daughters are booking Mallorca as we speak, Mrs F and I have booked a VERY long stay in Greece in the autumn and are bumming round UK in our new camper van til then!

You'd be surprised if we ever talked it out how similar our opinion of HMG is, the main diff IMO is that I accept the will of the people unless and until they decide on a change of administration next time round (no matter who's in power). A 'make the best of a bad job' sort of approach

[Trickytreesreds]

The only figures that count are death rates.
Yes our testing is a lot more than many countries. They will therefore detect COVID alot more.
Yet considering that most of those will not even know they have it, nor feel any effects. It's a false alarm scream.

As said before, the 12.3 million hospital backups now does concern me.
If just 0.5% of those die, as I'm sure many will be serious conditions. You can add another 61 000 to those death figures.
The vulnerable have been jabbed, this has to stop now.
Sounds harsh I know. But is grandma of 90, more important than 25 yr old mum?

We are already breaking the so called lock down in so many ways. The worst of which is planes flying. More countries gone green today.
Lift it, its over.

[Andy_Faber]

Not so sure its 'over' Tricky,especially wrt overseas travel. HMG are only in control of one end of the pipe, look at the Welsh fans banned from Amsterdam for instance.

I think however that HMG dropped a massive ******* not putting India on the Red list two weeks earlier and it's coming back to bite us now, especially as my (gotta admit limited) experience of self-isolation compliance amongst those returning from India is that it is nil - I'm aware of a family in my parents RIP's old village who came back from India on a the wednesday before the red list announcement and hosted an open house for their property, which they were selling, on the following saturday! (I know this because it was my former family home and they informed me out of courtesy).

No idea why HMG missed this trick with India, you can't even wave the cultural sensitivities card on this one as Pakistan and Bangla Desh WERE put on this list. Just a decision that HMG got wrong IMO

[ramAnag]

No idea why HMG missed this trick with India, you can't even wave the cultural sensitivities card on this one as Pakistan and Bangla Desh WERE put on this list. Just a decision that HMG got wrong IMO

Hmmm...nothing to do with ‘cultural sensitivities’...all to do with keeping those we are keen on creating major trade ‘replacement’ deals with ‘sweet’...i.e. we need India...we don’t ‘need’ Pakistan and Bangladesh.

How can it be over, Tricky? This country has worse figures as far as the Indian/Delta variant is concerned than anywhere else in Europe. Yes, of course our vaccination programme is helping, or appears to be, but we really can’t blame other nations for being reluctant to accept visitors from a place increasingly perceived as ‘Plague Island’...and, like AF, I speak as someone extremely keen to visit Southern Europe in early autumn.

[Andy_Faber]

Hmmm...nothing to do with ‘cultural sensitivities’...all to do with keeping those we are keen on creating major trade ‘replacement’ deals with ‘sweet’...i.e. we need India...we don’t ‘need’ Pakistan and Bangladesh.

How can it be over, Tricky? This country has worse figures as far as the Indian/Delta variant is concerned than anywhere else in Europe. Yes, of course our vaccination programme is helping, or appears to be, but we really can’t blame other nations for being reluctant to accept visitors from a place increasingly perceived as ‘Plague Island’...and, like AF, I speak as someone extremely keen to visit Southern Europe in early autumn.

Yes there may be something in the trade deal thing, something doesnt add up

Its not over, far from it, but as my stats from yesterday show there aren't really any countries not still stuck in the plague pit, we have some worse indicators, some better, I trust the scientific reports not the news media

[ramAnag]

Yes there may be something in the trade deal thing, something doesnt add up

Its not over, far from it, but as my stats from yesterday show there aren't really any countries not still stuck in the plague pit, we have some worse indicators, some better, I trust the scientific reports not the news media

I too trust science over media excitability...but I think you have to be aware that, in the same way as there is the responsible news media and the totally irresponsible politically driven news media, some scientific commentators are in the ‘pocket’ of Government while others are entirely objective.

Unfortunately the scientists aren’t all singing from the same ‘hymn sheet’...for my part I’ll listen most closely to those who remain independent and have no links to Government and no vested interest in telling us all how well they and HMG have done.

As an example...I’ve had two doses of the AZ vaccine and no problems. I may be going to benefit shortly because, over here, I’m considered as ‘fully protected’ as it is possible to be. I have very close family in the eastern U.S. and in that particular part they don’t recognise the AZ vaccine at all and don’t dispense it. Who’s right? They can’t both be...but surely the science should be the same on both sides of the ‘pond’.

Sh*t...they’ve just said on Sky I can’t go to Afghanistan or Mongolia...all my holiday hopes dashed then!