O/T. The Government's handling of Covid

[Trickytreesreds]

Personally, we've all been jabbed(or those that chose to use some common sense)
This virus isn't going away, so I think we all have to live with it.
I understand the old/vulnerable still carry risk, but they would with a flu pandemic.
Lets be honest here, how many people have had 2 weeks off, everytime they've had flu or a heavy cold outbreak?
Not many I'm sure, seeing as most folks wouldn't get paid their full whack.
Many took the piss in the early COVID days.
I could name my cousin and his Mrs, who used COVID, to have a month away at their caravan on full pay.
They were loads like them as well.

Old/vulnerable stay protected, the rest get on with it.
NB, I still get tests sent to me to use with the slightest sympton. If it tests postive , I am to arrange the PCR test immediately and self isolate. A medic would be assigned to me and they want to give me new medication to try. I would monitored until testing negative.
I haven't had to activate this yet, so we'll see.

So to say the government has its eye off the ball is not entirely correct

[Geoff Parkstone]

...... but fits the agenda 😄

[ramAnag]

...... but fits the agenda ��

I don’t have an ‘agenda’ as you put it...anymore than you do.
You don’t give a stuff whether or not tests are ‘affordable’ because for you, like me, they are.

The fact is however that we cannot, imo, either at governmental or societal level, afford to adopt a head in the sand philosophy.
The virus is mutating which, I would have thought, calls into question the whole ‘herd immunity ’ approach.
If there is such a thing as ‘herd immunity’, where this particular virus is concerned, then why are people, especially those who work with the public in hospitals, schools etc getting it two, three or more times?

At the moment the sun is shining, the weather is warm and everyone is understandably happy to have a return to anything like normal, however no amount of nonsensical anecdotal rubbish or lowest common denominator stories about someone’s cousin should disguise the fact that we haven’t, yet, beaten Covid.

[Geoff Parkstone]

We will never "beat COVID" its like flu...... it wont go away. We can vaccinate every year, like flu, and covid, like flu, will mutate several times a year enabling it to stay potent, if seemingly at lower levels (so far).

I don't believe anyone is burying heads in sand, but rather we recognise that covid is something that we all have to live with, and battle against as best we can. Its not going away. We are not testing everyone with a cold, everyone with flu etc; we are not requiring self isolation of everyone with a cold or with flu. So why do you want to treat covid differently from those other SARS based viruses, with concomitant societal and economic disruptions lockdown and self isolation bring?

For sure COVID is more potent than other like viruses, but certain flu mutations were pretty nasty when first stumbled across - remember Spanish Flu? Well maybe not personally, but you know what I mean.

[Ramshank72]

We still need to take personal responsibility to not put others at risk. After all, you wouldn't drive your car (for Tricky, these are the strange contraptions you'd normally see with bricks underneath the wheel arches) down the pavement and justify it by saying that it's ok, the young and healthy will jump out of the way - or would you?
RA has a point, some guidance at least would be useful.

[MadAmster]

The general consensus over here is that keeping to the basic hygiene measures of washing your hands several times a day and not going to work if you have symptoms are the best way forward without disrupting private and business life.

[ramAnag]

We will never "beat COVID" its like flu...... it wont go away. We can vaccinate every year, like flu, and covid, like flu, will mutate several times a year enabling it to stay potent, if seemingly at lower levels (so far).

I don't believe anyone is burying heads in sand, but rather we recognise that covid is something that we all have to live with, and battle against as best we can. Its not going away. We are not testing everyone with a cold, everyone with flu etc; we are not requiring self isolation of everyone with a cold or with flu. So why do you want to treat covid differently from those other SARS based viruses, with concomitant societal and economic disruptions lockdown and self isolation bring?

For sure COVID is more potent than other like viruses, but certain flu mutations were pretty nasty when first stumbled across - remember Spanish Flu? Well maybe not personally, but you know what I mean.

You’ve answered your own question, ‘COVID is more potent than other like viruses’. In addition to which, a year ago it was killing people and it continues to mutate.

I completely agree with you about its similarity to flu and that it isn’t going away, but I also think the advice, such as there is, isn’t helpful and I remain concerned for those in the front line of social interaction...health workers, transport workers, teachers, shop workers etc...who seem to be contracting this thing time and time again from an increasingly complacent public.

In my own case...had I still been working could I have gone back to work after 4/5 days? Yes...I’d have been below par but...yes.
Would it have been sensible/productive for me to go back to work after 4/5 days when I had a further 6 days before I tested negative? I honestly don’t know. I don’t think so...and that’s the problem.

[Trickytreesreds]

We still need to take personal responsibility to not put others at risk. After all, you wouldn't drive your car (for Tricky, these are the strange contraptions you'd normally see with bricks underneath the wheel arches) down the pavement and justify it by saying that it's ok, the young and healthy will jump out of the way - or would you?
RA has a point, some guidance at least would be useful.

WOW, what a reply lol

1. The young and healthy are more at risk of being run down on the pavement, than COVID death
2. What guidance do you need other than what has already been given?
Unless you want a return to segregation/lock down/ full PPE. Protect the old/vulnerable by all means, but how the heck can you advise / defend on something already embeded in the general population like flu?
3. The non vulnerable have to live their lives as normally as possible. Otherwise, they/society/the country will fall apart.
4. At least we have cars in Notts(ebven wheel less). Now back on your horse,

[Ramshank72]

Ha, good reply. Well here you go:
1. The point was about self awareness of how your personal actions impact others, not about running down kids.
2. I don't, but if people aren't aware of their own responsibilities and the risk they pose others (see point 1), then some guidance would be helpful, eg "Don't go out until you've tested negative", even the crazy Dutch have something.
3. Agreed, and they should be able to do so without being unnecessarily subjected to risk. How will society cope when they are all needlessly ill, a lot of places are already closing / running reduced services.
4. Leave Silver out of it.

[Andy_Faber]

We still need to take personal responsibility to not put others at risk. After all, you wouldn't drive your car (for Tricky, these are the strange contraptions you'd normally see with bricks underneath the wheel arches) down the pavement and justify it by saying that it's ok, the young and healthy will jump out of the way - or would you?
RA has a point, some guidance at least would be useful.

There is guidance however, took me about 10 seconds to find it and a couple of minutes to digestit (the easy read version) and its existance was publicised back in spring when the restrictions were lifted. Taking your motoring analogy, drivers aren't as far as I'm aware ever told not to drive on the pavement, but assuming they work out that the pavement isn't the road they are effectively taught/tested on their ability to keep off the pavement ONCE (or for that limited pre-pass time) and then expected to retain that good practise through life.

In the same way, the public were expected to learn the basics of managing COVID over a limited period of time and commit that to memory. As with driving, so with Covid - a very small number will learn, retain and follow to the letter, a much larger number will learn, retain and develop their own rules from that (when did you last drive on a pavement? If never, you clearly haven't used Church Street in Kilburn!), Some will learn, retain and decide they know better and some won't even bother learning (aka the unlicensed driver/the 'hard to reach' vaccine avoider).

HMG (of many colours) have never to my knowledge forced a re-learning of the Highway Code so are taking the same approach with Covid as with something potentially as lethal

Maybe in a nanny state they would re-educate on both, not sure that would go down well or be affordable