Coronavirus

Joint Statement from all four nations Chief Medical officers:

Following advice from the Joint Biosecurity Centre and in the light of the most recent data, the 4 UK Chief Medical Officers and NHS England Medical Director recommend that the UK alert level should move from level 4 to level 5.

Many parts of the health systems in the 4 nations are already under immense pressure. There are currently very high rates of community transmission, with substantial numbers of COVID patients in hospitals and in intensive care.

Cases are rising almost everywhere, in much of the country driven by the new more transmissible variant. We are not confident that the NHS can handle a further sustained rise in cases and without further action there is a material risk of the NHS in several areas being overwhelmed over the next 21 days.

Although the NHS is under immense pressure, significant changes have been made so people can still receive lifesaving treatment. It is absolutely critical that people still come forward for emergency care. If you require non-urgent medical attention, please contact your GP or call NHS 111.

Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty

Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr Frank Atherton

Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, Dr Gregor Smith

Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland, Dr Michael McBride

NHS England, National Medical Director Professor Stephen Powis

[jfman]

Originally Posted by Stephen

About time too. She was my local MSP and should have been charged when the incident happened.

Suspect a resignation and a stern word from plod would have been enough at the time.

[joglynne]

These are the guidlines for the new enhancement level four lockdown in Scotland from midnight to-night

• Stay at home with leaving only permitted for essential purposes and only leave for an essential purpose, ie for caring responsibilities or essential shopping
• Work from home unless impossible
• Businesses must do everything possible to allow work from home look at moving as much as possible to being done from home
• Shileding people who cannot work from home shouldn't work at all If you are shielding and you cannot work from home, it is advised that you do not work at all
• Outdoor gathering rules to change from six to two people from two households
• No travel in or out of Scotland unless essential
• No communal worship

Despite the new rules, people can still:

• Exercise outdoor as much as they want
• Attend a wedding (with a max personnel limit of 20)
• Attend a funeral (with a max personnel limit of five)

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/13...s-Scotland-evg

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by joglynne

These are the guidlines for the new enhancement level four lockdown in Scotland from midnight to-night

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/13...s-Scotland-evg

No communial worship, but 20 of you can go to church for a wedding. Makes sense.

[jfman]

Originally Posted by Pierre

No communial worship, but 20 of you can go to church for a wedding. Makes sense.

You don’t get many January weddings in Scotland. It’s minus 3 outside not really kilt weather.

[heero_yuy]

Originally Posted by jfman

You don’t get many January weddings in Scotland. It’s minus 3 outside not really kilt weather.

Well not regimental.

Originally Posted by jfman

You don’t get many January weddings in Scotland. It’s minus 3 outside not really kilt weather.

So they would be inside instead, which is surely even worse ?

[jfman]

Originally Posted by Paul

So they would be inside instead, which is surely even worse ?

My point was that the number of weddings would be extremely small therefore it's deemed to be an acceptable risk for the few instances to which it applies. It will, for example, be more than offset by the closures of schools where dozens of gatherings of 20 or more happen every day in one secondary school.

The number of weekly services attended by 20 people would be far greater aggregating to possibly thousands (tens of?) of worshippers making it a far greater risk.

It's never been about one activity being inherently safer than another. Having a main meal doesn't make a pub that serves food safer, neither does an earlier shutting time. However if you put enough inconveniences in place eventually some people just don't bother.

---------- Post added at 20:07 ---------- Previous post was at 19:26 ----------

Schools move to blended learning from tomorrow.

[papa smurf]

New cough in town so it's back to square one

[Pierre]

Boris, cowering to guess work instead of facts.

There is no data, that primary schools are a hotbed of infection.

Bellend.

[jfman]

Originally Posted by Pierre

Boris, cowering to guess work instead of facts.

There is no data, that primary schools are a hotbed of infection.

Bellend.

There's no data that they're not either - both school age groups are now higher than average with the ONS data and growing. Closing both have the effect of reducing the all important R number.

The myth that schools are safe was just that - a myth - to keep them open to allow parents working from home to get on with working.

Unfortunately they could only pretend for so long.

I'm sympathetic to those who have to deal with their children at home, but at the same time the Government could and should have done more to inform people and scheduled these gaps rather than clung on by their fingernails until the very last day.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by jfman

There's no data that they're not either.

Not a philosophy I would live my life by.

[nomadking]

Testing positive doesn't necessarily mean somebody will reach the stage of being infectious. That is the problem with testing of schoolkids. Although the question remains, where are the schoolkids picking it up from?

Vaccines and immunity would be pointless otherwise. There is a window of time(days) between reacquiring the virus and the immune system kicking into action again.

[jfman]

Originally Posted by Pierre

Not a philosophy I would live my life by.

Nice selective quotation, Pierre.

And in actual fact in the pandemic it's a sensible precautionary action to stop the NHS being overwhelmed. The data will inevitably support schools bring the cause as infections drop in Tier 4 areas that have, to date, seen increases.

---------- Post added at 20:47 ---------- Previous post was at 20:44 ----------

Originally Posted by nomadking

Testing positive doesn't necessarily mean somebody will reach the stage of being infectious. That is the problem with testing of schoolkids. Although the question remains, where are the schoolkids picking it up from?

Option A: Their parents who in turn caught it in non-essential retail.
Option B: Schools where there's no requirement to distance, no masks and poor ventilation. Plus cramming kids onto school buses to get there.

Now I'm no expert but one of those scenarios has all the reasons I'm not allowed to go into work.

Vaccines and immunity would be pointless otherwise. There is a window of time(days) between reacquiring the virus and the immune system kicking into action again.

Can only hope they are the answer, otherwise home schooling is going to go on a lot longer.

Originally Posted by Pierre

Boris, cowering to guess work instead of facts.

There is no data, that primary schools are a hotbed of infection.

Bellend.

Age 2 to school year 6 children have the 3rd highest infection rate, after school year 7 to 11 and school year 12 to age 24.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulat...o-had-covid-19