IOM Covid removing restrictions

[quilp]

7 minutes ago, thommo2010 said:

Just seems all very coincidental that Boris gets a bit of backlash over the Christmas 5 day bubble and then suddenly this new strain is a massive issue...

This new variant mushroomed very quickly, it is a "massive issue" it's the nature of the beast. Totally unpredictable in its own way and the rate of infection probably couldn't be foreseen. The five-day bubble plan had to change to fit the circumstances. 

7 minutes ago, thommo2010 said:

it's almost like they don't want to say, 'you know what, maybe we got it wrong and we shouldn't have announced a relaxation over Christmas.

Maybe they shouldn't have but actions speak louder than words and is often quicker in getting the required response. 

7 minutes ago, thommo2010 said:

I called it near the time that Boris would do a u turn and cancel it, it's what he does.

Boris and the experts reacted accordingly to the circumstances, a u-turn had to be made. Can you suggest who, how or what would have done it better? 

7 minutes ago, thommo2010 said:

Maybe I am being a bit too cynical but when you have the likes of Scotland not going into their highest tier until Boxing day, giving near enough a week for this new strain to spread then it all looks a little suspicious.  

Is the new strain prevalent in Scotland? 

[Andy Onchan]

1 hour ago, TheTeapot said:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/educationandchildcare/articles/coronavirusandtheimpactonstudentsinhighereducationinenglandseptembertodecember2020/2020-12-21#student-behaviour

Turns out students took shit seriously on the whole, after all the wailing and gnashing of teeth. Probably cos they're theoretically fairly bright. Interesting little report.

 

Well, that's the theory at least ! 

[Andy Onchan]

51 minutes ago, Nom de plume said:

.... but now, the European nations decide to slam the door shut. How coincidental.

Yes, it's interesting that the media only show Barnowl and his immediates arriving for meetings in London & Brussels. What you don't see are the hoards of administrators, minimum of 30 from each side I'm told that attend side meetings away from the main conclave. A number in these groups were, until recently, allowed to roam the City. What's not to say that the visitors didn't bring it in with them. There'll be some interesting investigative media reports coming up in the months ahead.

[Banker]

Sounds like French are going to reopen for lorries etc shortly, probably because 000’s of French drivers stuck in Kent!

[Andy Onchan]

1 minute ago, Banker said:

Sounds like French are going to reopen for lorries etc shortly, probably because 000’s of French drivers stuck in Kent!

The drivers are more likely to be Bulgarian, Polish & Turkish rather than French.

ETA: and most of the deck hands on French fishing boats will not be French either.

Edited December 21, 2020 by Andy Onchan

[NoTailT]

1 minute ago, Banker said:

Sounds like French are going to reopen for lorries etc shortly, probably because 000’s of French drivers stuck in Kent!

Looks like it may be coupled with rapid testing of drivers prior to departure from UK.

[Banker]

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/border-policy-under-review-due-to-new-covid-strain/
 

talks about 10 days testing as well 

[Barlow]

9 minutes ago, Roxanne said:

Breaking news 1 - Quayle is currently reviewing border restrictions.

Breaking news 2 - Barlow may explode.

(Banker?)

[BenFairfax]

The new strain is already found all over UK:

https://beta.microreact.org/project/8sh1GX7UrhMbLiBXJSNz3V-cog-uk-2020-12-18-sars-cov-2-in-the-uk

It has obtained 17 mutations all at once, it will take time to investigate how these mutations affect both spread and associate disease. My understanding is that belief that this strain is more contagious is implied from its exponentially growth during recent UK lockdown (now 60%+ cases in South). That is, once this strain gets embedded into a community, it will need more draconian controls than was used to last UK lockdown to control its spread.

[Banker]

20 minutes ago, Barlow said:

(Banker?)

No Barlow😀

[The Old Git]

2 hours ago, thommo2010 said:

After seeing the palava it has caused I am willing to bet in the coming days a government official will come out and say that this new strain (which has been known about since September) isn't as bad as first thought. 

Virologists are saying it wasn’t known about in September. When it was recently noticed they’ve checked back on samples and can now find signs of it from September, but no one had noticed it then. 
 

 

Edited December 21, 2020 by The Old Git

[Blackajah]

4 minutes ago, BenFairfax said:

The new strain is already found all over UK:

https://beta.microreact.org/project/8sh1GX7UrhMbLiBXJSNz3V-cog-uk-2020-12-18-sars-cov-2-in-the-uk

It has obtained 17 mutations all at once, it will take time to investigate how these mutations affect both spread and associate disease. My understanding is that belief that this strain is more contagious is implied from its exponentially growth during recent UK lockdown (now 60%+ cases in South). That is, once this strain gets embedded into a community, it will need more draconian controls than was used to last UK lockdown to control its spread.

Let's hope our border force peeps are up to the job then and that absolutely everyone is being checked regularly.   

[NoTailT]

10 minutes ago, Blackajah said:

Let's hope our border force peeps are up to the job then and that absolutely everyone is being checked regularly.   

Of the ~30 something people I know who have had to self isolate having returned to the Island, only 2 of them were ever checked up on. Phone call or physical. The rest, absolutely nothing.

[Black Mirror]

5 hours ago, thommo2010 said:

France stopping the freight has nothing to do with covid and more to do with brexit.

This 'new strain' has been known about since September. A cynic might say it's simply a convenient excuse to cancel Christmas by Boris Johnson following some criticism.

Lockdowns in the uk don't work because all areas have different rules. If they were really serious about it they would close everything schools shops borders and tell everyone to stay indoors. I'm sure tge amount gone on furlough could have been funnelled into the nhs to help them cope.

Also interesting that tge specially built nightengale hospitals are still lying empty.

 

3 hours ago, Apple said:

Some people are scared. I take the point and the arguments are futile against the whims of this virus, its adaptability and the sometimes confusing messages sent out and the steps being taken by the government.

From what I read in several reports is that the new strain is out of control and until we can assess the full impact of that and whether the new vaccines have any effect on it we are all in the dark now.

I wish we had Dr Glovers reassuring messages to ponder and give us all some reason to think that things are going to get better, and soon. I'd feel a bit better then.

 

There are over 4,000 different strains of the coronavirus that we call Covid-19, as of today, and more will follow for sure. Some are more contagious; some have a higher fatality rate. In each country, a few of those 4K will have become more prevalent, each country has got its dominant strains. Yes, the "English virus" (as some stupid southern European outlets have called it) is more contagious among the English population; but this is nothing peculiar in respect to what is happening elsewhere.

The truth is that Boris needed an excuse to lockdown again and scare the English public into submission; conveniently as soon as Westminster parliament went into recess and the government can't be scrutinised. The public has got quite fed up with all the Covid restrictions; something catchy for the public imagination, delivering plenty of scary newspapers headlines, was needed urgently. So we now have got the English virus. It will deflate, predictably; but Christmas will be gone, which was the whole purpose of it. It does not take a cynic to see it.

The whole UK Covid response has been dictated by the immediate perception of the most urgent political need; rather than facts or logic. Boris understands nothing about Science and seems to believe in nothing.

 

2 hours ago, Nom de plume said:

Of all the places in the world, fighting the tentacles of the Covid pandemic, London & the South East just happen to develop a mutated strain of the virus, right at the flop in the EU negotiations, three times more virile than anything ever seen before, forcing our 'friends' across the channel to shun & distance us - who'd have thunk it.

It is all bullocks obviously. There are so many strains and it is to be expected that some will become dominant in a particular region. We haven't seen a shred of evidence that this strains is really more dangerous. Furthermore, Boris miscalculated and got the border with France completely shut, which wasn't his intention. Totally nuts.

[AcousticallyChallenged]

1 hour ago, Black Mirror said:

 

 

There are over 4,000 different strains of the coronavirus that we call Covid-19, as of today, and more will follow for sure. Some are more contagious; some have a higher fatality rate. In each country, a few of those 4K will have become more prevalent, each country has got its dominant strains. Yes, the "English virus" (as some stupid southern European outlets have called it) is more contagious among the English population; but this is nothing peculiar in respect to what is happening elsewhere.

The truth is that Boris needed an excuse to lockdown again and scare the English public into submission; conveniently as soon as Westminster parliament went into recess and the government can't be scrutinised. The public has got quite fed up with all the Covid restrictions; something catchy for the public imagination, delivering plenty of scary newspapers headlines, was needed urgently. So we now have got the English virus. It will deflate, predictably; but Christmas will be gone, which was the whole purpose of it. It does not take a cynic to see it.

The whole UK Covid response has been dictated by the immediate perception of the most urgent political need; rather than facts or logic. Boris understands nothing about Science and seems to believe in nothing.

Can we address the elephant in the room with your theory?

Your pretty graphs are based on taking no action. Remember, tiers were introduced in about October, levelling the daily counts out as time goes on. As more people got the virus, the restrictions culminated in a lockdown, which clearly did some good.

Now, if you look at hospital figures, and people admitted and discharged, the peak was around 18k in hospital in April. As of yesterday, the UK was at 16k or so, with 1.5k being brought in daily.

The deaths are falling because they're keeping people with COVID alive for longer, but each of those also needs the bed they are in for a significantly longer time too.

If this was a political thing, with the scary new strain being overblown, nowhere else would be banning travel from the UK.