How are you all doing?

[mikeyB]

If I were to walk 10 miles they’d stop my PIP mobility.

 

[zoombapup]

Interesting, thanks.

That u-turn on herd immunity would be one of the things which unsettles me most. I mean, they didn't realise the implications out of the gate? The very first WHO reports I saw back in Feb made things abundantly clear. I have to think that they just ignored them, bizarre as that seems.

Expect you're right on yr last point - was thinking that the other day - but optimistically maybe it will serve as a cautionary case study on how to screw things up in circles where it matters.

Good question, but I think it was probably just wilful ignorance. I've seen several academics come out and say that locking down is NOT the right way to respond to this, even though if you want to save lives it is the only rational option until we have treatments and cures. So maybe they cherry pick the competing "advice" in the sage meetings until someone at imperial comes out with a model that shows that say a quarter million deaths could be expected and it matches what is being seen in the NHS and they finally understand that precaution is politically savvy and do the lockdown.

I have no doubt that Cummings et al would happily sacrifice 10x more than current death count if they could politically get away with it, but luckily the situation is bad enough they couldn't keep following that course. Nevertheless, there's plenty of Tories and they are being supported by some academics and health "experts" that want to end the lockdown, even though the fundamental situation hasn't changed at all (no treatments, no cure).

Normally I'd expect incompetence to be the default for government mismanagement, but in this case I think it was also in part ideological. So incompetent managers following an ideologically informed (and poor) policy.

Let's hope they shape up with the next phase, although I'm going to continue self isolating until I'm happy that I'll not catch it if I go out to work etc. I don't trust them at this point and advise everyone else to think the same.

 

[Docb]

Let's hope they shape up with the next phase

Fat chance whilst the whole thing is treated as a PR exercise.

 

[Eddy Edson]

Fat chance whilst the whole thing is treated as a PR exercise.

I just caught the G's live feed of Jenny Harriess et al being grilled by Hunt ... Geebus wept. Apparently it was right to stop test/trace/isolate on 12th March even though it wasn't her decision but it's right to try to start doing it again now. Also, the UK is not South Korea. And you can't blame her for eg doing nothing to stop a large public sporting event in March because she didn't have the power to stop it. Etc etc etc.

You can't get rid of the politicians right away but you (actually, they) can replace or sideline smurfs like her if she is in fact as useless as she appears to be.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Good question, but I think it was probably just wilful ignorance.

I think that's probably mostly the case. Apparently SAGE has quite a few modellers, and I think it's plausible the group as a whole was thinking in terms of a new flu (since that's what most people have been expecting so they had shiny flu models to spin up), and in South Korea they were thinking in terms of a new SARS or Mers.

We were still really slow in pivoting once it was obvious we were wrong, and that seems more likely a political failure. It also seems we were slow in allowing smaller labs to do testing (as in the US) and it looks like we're heading with the same centralised approach to contact tracing (I'd have thought just funding local authority public health departments would be more effective since it's part of what they do, so they can presumably hire and train people to do it more).

 

[SB2015]

Our shed which we were expecting in three weeks arrived yesterday. It has already had two coats of paint and will be up by the end of today. I am on duty feeding and providing cups of tea and making encouraging noises.

Very exciting and then there will be the fun of:
- organising the shed with our bikes and paniers,
- which will clear the lobby so we can organise that and move the garden chairs in
- which will clear the garden shed so we can .....
One job just leads to another.

 

[trophywench]

I'm a bit confused as to why an Australian thinks a UK deputy Minister for Health has more influence on what the Government chooses to tell the country, than she does.

I personally am not at all familiar with ANY of our Government's Job Descriptions and hence can't comment.

 

[zoombapup]

I think that's probably mostly the case. Apparently SAGE has quite a few modellers, and I think it's plausible the group as a whole was thinking in terms of a new flu (since that's what most people have been expecting so they had shiny flu models to spin up), and in South Korea they were thinking in terms of a new SARS or Mers.

We were still really slow in pivoting once it was obvious we were wrong, and that seems more likely a political failure. It also seems we were slow in allowing smaller labs to do testing (as in the US) and it looks like we're heading with the same centralised approach to contact tracing (I'd have thought just funding local authority public health departments would be more effective since it's part of what they do, so they can presumably hire and train people to do it more).

I'm pretty sure I read that part of the problem was that local authority health departments aren't really a thing anymore and have been subsumed into centralized PHE instead. At least that was my reading of the report. It was basically saying that local test and trace was unlikely because there is nothing local at any sort of scale anymore. It's all been centralized and privatized. Which isn't really that far fetched, although no idea if it's true.

 

[eggyg]

I’ve had a couple of good days, a bit more buoyant. Missing my walks down the river and seeing the long tailed tits’ and dipper’s nests. The weather has been good and got some sun on the decking this afternoon. Still confused about the whole shielding thing, almost two weeks after NHS England announced that splenectomy patients were to be put on the shielding list after mistakenly been left off, the clinically extremely vulnerable list still hasn’t been updated but the vulnerable list has and we’ve been taken off it! I haven’t had a letter or text, when I spoke to nurse at GPs last week whilst in for my pneumococcal jab, she said nothing was on my file but it could take weeks to update. I don’t need them per se, as I don’t need the priority shopping delivery slot or the food parcel. I just need clarification, as when the lockdown is eased, I’m sure they will let us out in the big wide world in stages. What stage will I be? I don’t appear on any list ( well I do for the diabetes) for my spleenlessness! It’s a confusing and unsettling time. I am tempted to go out for a walk but Mr Eggy won’t entertain it and has put his foot down. That’s me told! 🙂

 

[mikeyB]

This is the legislation regarding notifiable diseases. The game is not see how the government is acting out the legislation, but to see how they are not. COVID-19 is a notifiable disease in the current list of notifiable diseases, one of which, Campylobacter, I have experienced.

Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984

An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to the control of disease and to the establishment and functions of port health authorities, including enactments relating to burial and cremation and to the regulation of common lodging–houses and canal boats, with amendments to give effect to...

www.legislation.gov.uk

 

[YMFB]

I’m a bit chuffed, email from my DN today following me sending my readings for April & May.

“Thanks for the levels and I would say that we are there as the levels for the last 2 mornings have been in the 6's so 16units of Humulin I seems to be about right at the moment and rest of the day are also really good. I would suggest staying on the current amount of insulin and tablets and see have things go over the next few weeks.

You can find that levels may stay stable for a while but then after a while might start to creep up again and if they do you can then increase the insulin dose again”

I started on 8 units and increased 2 every 3 days, there was a suggestion I might reduce my Gliclazide if the afternoon readings dropped below 5, but they seem to have stabilised just above.

Just celebrated with a G & T

 

[Ivostas66]

Popped into work (school) today to pick up some data from another teacher for the centre assessed GCSE grades. I have lost count of the times I have nagged my department to keep the monitoring table/ spreadsheet up to date over the years. They never really understood why until now - now we have a strong and substantial body of evidence from which to come up with centre assessed grades for our students who sadly won't have the opportunity to sit exams.

School was ghostly quiet. Most buildings locked and only about 15 students in - mostly vulnerable students and a handful with both parents working in the NHS. No-one knows what will happen or how on earth we will cope in schools, but judging by the behaviour of those kids who were in when released for a break (boys being boys and leaping on each other, girls walking around the field arm in arm) social distancing is going to be all but impossible when students and staff eventually return! I made sure I kept my distance from everyone. My Doctor recently advised that I should not be in school as the children currently there would be the ones most likely to be carrying and spreading the disease due to the nature of their parents jobs (he said he wouldn't want his children to come into contact with anyone with type one diabetes at the moment).

 

[SB2015]

I’ve had a couple of good days, a bit more buoyant. Missing my walks down the river and seeing the long tailed tits’ and dipper’s nests. The weather has been good and got some sun on the decking this afternoon. Still confused about the whole shielding thing, almost two weeks after NHS England announced that splenectomy patients were to be put on the shielding list after mistakenly been left off, the clinically extremely vulnerable list still hasn’t been updated but the vulnerable list has and we’ve been taken off it! I haven’t had a letter or text, when I spoke to nurse at GPs last week whilst in for my pneumococcal jab, she said nothing was on my file but it could take weeks to update. I don’t need them per se, as I don’t need the priority shopping delivery slot or the food parcel. I just need clarification, as when the lockdown is eased, I’m sure they will let us out in the big wide world in stages. What stage will I be? I don’t appear on any list ( well I do for the diabetes) for my spleenlessness! It’s a confusing and unsettling time. I am tempted to go out for a walk but Mr Eggy won’t entertain it and has put his foot down. That’s me told! 🙂

Nice nails

 

[SB2015]

Popped into work (school) today to pick up some data from another teacher for the centre assessed GCSE grades. I have lost count of the times I have nagged my department to keep the monitoring table/ spreadsheet up to date over the years. They never really understood why until now - now we have a strong and substantial body of evidence from which to come up with centre assessed grades for our students who sadly won't have the opportunity to sit exams.

School was ghostly quiet. Most buildings locked and only about 15 students in - mostly vulnerable students and a handful with both parents working in the NHS. No-one knows what will happen or how on earth we will cope in schools, but judging by the behaviour of those kids who were in when released for a break (boys being boys and leaping on each other, girls walking around the field arm in arm) social distancing is going to be all but impossible when students and staff eventually return! I made sure I kept my distance from everyone. My Doctor recently advised that I should not be in school as the children currently there would be the ones most likely to be carrying and spreading the disease due to the nature of their parents jobs (he said he wouldn't want his children to come into contact with anyone with type one diabetes at the moment).

It is hard to imagine how any school would manage self distancing.
I hope that your students get the grades that you feel they deserve.

 

[eggyg]

Nice nails

Ha ha! I only did them yesterday. First time my feet have been “ out” for a while!

 

[SB2015]

Ha ha! I only did them yesterday. First time my feet have been “ out” for a while!

I think of it as summer plumage.

 

[Stitch147]

Today has been a great day. Social distancing VE day street party. About 12 households out since about 2.30. listened to Churchill's speach at 3pm, then some music, BBQ food, then watched Blackadder on a screen. Met a lot of neighbours that I hadn't met before. It's been a fantastic day.

 

[SB2015]

So pleased that there was fine weather for the celebrations that people had planned.

Making the most of the gardening today, as it is likely to be a little cooler tomorrow.
We had a pair of goldfinches in the garden yesterday. Our fish have regained their confidence to come up when fed, after a heron had popped in for breakfast (we have wires around the edge of the pond now so the heron can not walk in), our bike shed is up and painted so we can now organise the inside.

Made a tablecloth for our new garden table yesterday, along with serviettes.
Just the cushions from our old chairs to remodel and recover but that can wait for a cooler day.

 

[Barbie1]

Did my second 10k run this morning. Feeling slightly sore, but happy, because first one was 11 months ago and life got in the way rather to enable me to repeat it until now. I was a bit late this morning so had to keep stopping to get out of the way of other walkers/runners/dog walkers on the narrow footpaths I used to enjoy following so much.

But isn’t it nice that we actually smile and exchange pleasantries with far more people when we pass than we ever did before? I am determined to maintain that when this is all over!

 

[Eddy Edson]

So from tomorrow here in South Australia outdoor seating is starting again at cafes & restaurants, with some kind of appropriately-distanced indoor activity permitted in a month's time if all goes well.

We're also allowed to travel wherever we want to in the state, but borders to the rest of the country & world remain closed, presumably until they have also eradicated the damn virus (we've had no new cases for over two weeks now, and just one still recovering).

I think bars and clubs will be the tricky things. Lots of people really want to go to loud places and shout in each others faces again but it's just about the worst thing you can do. See what happened in Seoul yesterday when they had to close down all the bars and clubs again after a couple of days, after one guy spread infection through a bunch of them.

The govt should be putting together ad campaigns educating people not to gab in each others faces. That's how this thing spreads. And optimistically, maybe they'll be a reversal of the trend towards louder & louder restaurants and cafes where shouting in each others faces is the norm.