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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Time for the PB Nighthawks Cafe where the political conversati

SystemSystem Posts: 11,002
edited May 2020 in General

imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Time for the PB Nighthawks Cafe where the political conversation can continue

As ever at the moment politics are dominated by the continuing crisis and, of course, as its a Wednesday night time to reflect on the day’s PMQs. What is clear that Boris is facing a much more formidable opposition leader than Corbyn and he’s yet to get his measure. The PM’s position is not helped by the UK coronavirus comparisons with other nations.

Read the full story here


Comments

  • BigRichBigRich Posts: 3,489
    First
  • BigRichBigRich Posts: 3,489
    I've never done that before, (posted first) thought it would feel more speshall
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,393
    Last - to leave lockdown.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,393
    BigRich said:

    I've never done that before, (posted first) thought it would feel more speshall

    You get a star next to your name on a big chart on Mike's wall.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,038
    Newspapers saying an antibody test finally been approved. :smile:
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited May 2020

    Newspapers saying an antibody test finally been approved. :smile:

    I might be wrong, but I believe it is still a lab based one though. I don't think anybody has solved the holy grail of at home pregnancy test style ones that are super accurate.
  • AndrewAndrew Posts: 2,900

    Newspapers saying an antibody test finally been approved. :smile:

    This was supposedly why Johnson was happy to stick his neck on the line with 200k tests/day: he knew this was coming.
  • glwglw Posts: 9,535

    Newspapers saying an antibody test finally been approved. :smile:

    I might be wrong, but I believe it is still a lab based one though. I don't think anybody has solved the holy grail of at home pregnancy test style ones that are super accurate.
    I think it's the test.

    Hospitals and reference laboratories can run the test on Roche’s cobas e analysers, which are widely available around the world. These fully automated systems can provide SARS-CoV-2 test results in approximately 18 minutes for one single test, with a test throughput of up to 300 tests/hour, depending on the analyser.


    https://www.roche.com/media/releases/med-cor-2020-05-03.htm
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited May 2020
    glw said:

    Newspapers saying an antibody test finally been approved. :smile:

    I might be wrong, but I believe it is still a lab based one though. I don't think anybody has solved the holy grail of at home pregnancy test style ones that are super accurate.
    I think it's the test.

    Hospitals and reference laboratories can run the test on Roche’s cobas e analysers, which are widely available around the world. These fully automated systems can provide SARS-CoV-2 test results in approximately 18 minutes for one single test, with a test throughput of up to 300 tests/hour, depending on the analyser.


    https://www.roche.com/media/releases/med-cor-2020-05-03.htm
    It is still great news, assuming we can get enough of them. Everybody in the world will be wanting these bad boys.
  • glwglw Posts: 9,535
    Andrew said:

    Newspapers saying an antibody test finally been approved. :smile:

    This was supposedly why Johnson was happy to stick his neck on the line with 200k tests/day: he knew this was coming.
    It was hoped that other antibody tests would have allowed us to hit that target a while ago, but they were all duff.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    Men with low testosterone levels that contract COVID-19 are at far greater risk of dying from the virus, a study has found.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8312771/Male-coronavirus-patients-low-testosterone-levels-likely-die-COVID-19.html

    So what we are learning is we need to be on the roids while puffing away on 20 ciggies a day.
  • glwglw Posts: 9,535

    glw said:

    Newspapers saying an antibody test finally been approved. :smile:

    I might be wrong, but I believe it is still a lab based one though. I don't think anybody has solved the holy grail of at home pregnancy test style ones that are super accurate.
    I think it's the test.

    Hospitals and reference laboratories can run the test on Roche’s cobas e analysers, which are widely available around the world. These fully automated systems can provide SARS-CoV-2 test results in approximately 18 minutes for one single test, with a test throughput of up to 300 tests/hour, depending on the analyser.


    https://www.roche.com/media/releases/med-cor-2020-05-03.htm
    It is still great news, assuming we can get enough of them. Everybody in the world will be wanting these bad boys.
    True, but Roche are going to be producing a lot of tests even in the short term.

    Roche has already started shipping the new antibody test to leading laboratories globally and will ramp up production capacity to high double-digit millions per month to serve healthcare systems in countries accepting the CE mark2 as well as the U.S.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,038
    My local news has people clearly well over 70 delighted to be back in the garden centres buying plants.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,393

    My local news has people clearly well over 70 delighted to be back in the garden centres buying plants.

    Government ploy to cut the cost of pension provision.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,038

    My local news has people clearly well over 70 delighted to be back in the garden centres buying plants.

    Government ploy to cut the cost of pension provision.
    Well I'm not 70+, but I am going nowhere near any garden centres.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    I was wondering earlier about dentists...

    Nothing has changed in relation to the guidance offered by the various UK administrations on the provision of dentistry.

    https://bda.org/advice/Coronavirus/Pages/latest-updates.aspx

    Doesn't seem like anybody is going to be getting any routine treatment in the foreseeable future.
  • RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 27,013
    RobD said:

    Ah come on. There is something reassuring at sticking on a fab suit, nice shirt, tie, the whole smash. I'm not going the whole hog every day here at the Home Office Hamster Cage but have done a couple of times.

    It's the only way I've been able to get myself into work mode. Smart during the week, casual at the weekends.
    I'm in work gear every day now that I've gotten over the shock and reached a miserable acceptance (it is week 8 after all). Not the works every day, but there's something reassuring about double cuff shirts even if I'm only in my dining room Zooming with the CEO who for some reason works on his bed
  • AndrewAndrew Posts: 2,900


    So what we are learning is we need to be on the roids while puffing away on 20 ciggies a day.

    Cyclists, sprinters and weightlifters suddenly all found to be immune in massive coincidence.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 14,772

    Newspapers saying an antibody test finally been approved. :smile:

    Hopefully we will have better news from it than the antibody survey in Spain. The estimate there is only 2 million infections, which would be an IFR of 1.35% with only the deaths officially announced so far.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    Andrew said:


    So what we are learning is we need to be on the roids while puffing away on 20 ciggies a day.

    Cyclists, sprinters and weightlifters suddenly all found to be immune in massive coincidence.
    All the Tour de France riders have nothing to worry about.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274

    Newspapers saying an antibody test finally been approved. :smile:

    Hopefully we will have better news from it than the antibody survey in Spain. The estimate there is only 2 million infections, which would be an IFR of 1.35% with only the deaths officially announced so far.
    There are some huge disparities in the initial samplings. NY think 20%, London / Madrid just 10%.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,393

    RobD said:

    Ah come on. There is something reassuring at sticking on a fab suit, nice shirt, tie, the whole smash. I'm not going the whole hog every day here at the Home Office Hamster Cage but have done a couple of times.

    It's the only way I've been able to get myself into work mode. Smart during the week, casual at the weekends.
    I'm in work gear every day now that I've gotten over the shock and reached a miserable acceptance (it is week 8 after all). Not the works every day, but there's something reassuring about double cuff shirts even if I'm only in my dining room Zooming with the CEO who for some reason works on his bed
    Not having to iron shirts is one of the joys of WFH.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited May 2020

    RobD said:

    Ah come on. There is something reassuring at sticking on a fab suit, nice shirt, tie, the whole smash. I'm not going the whole hog every day here at the Home Office Hamster Cage but have done a couple of times.

    It's the only way I've been able to get myself into work mode. Smart during the week, casual at the weekends.
    I'm in work gear every day now that I've gotten over the shock and reached a miserable acceptance (it is week 8 after all). Not the works every day, but there's something reassuring about double cuff shirts even if I'm only in my dining room Zooming with the CEO who for some reason works on his bed
    Not having to iron shirts is one of the joys of WFH.
    What's an iron? Isn't that something you hit golf balls with? And if so, why are you using it on your shirts?
  • fox327fox327 Posts: 363
    There is also a home testing kit made by Abbott Immunoassay available, possibly for £99, which is said to be about as accurate as the Roche test. There is a video demonstrating its use, and showing a test tube being filled with blood after cutting one's finger with a gadget. There are private clinics that can do these kinds of blood tests at a higher price. It is recommended to wait for 14 days post exposure to COVID-19/onset of symptoms before having this test.
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,263
    English is my mother tongue but I've no idea what they're talking about? What is or are Mail Force PPE, and why should we care where they're made?
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 39,748
    edited May 2020
    What, the Mail is only concerned about care home deaths in Scotland? Mystifying.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 48,916
    I actually left the confines of the house and driveway today for the first time in EIGHT WEEKS! It was merely a short walk to the pharmacy to get mum her meds, but it felt so WEIRD, honestly! Seeing places so familiar after so long, walking past the local shops and roads and bus stops. Really weird feeling, though :)

    @eadric would hopefully approve of me wearing gloves and a surgical mask upon entering the pharmacy. Saw that they had yellow markings on the floor indicating 2 metre gaps, and that the counter was heavily modified with a bank-style glass or perspex screen with a small window where they hand over the prescription. I went late in the evening, and there was only one other bloke already waiting or browing possibly, but comfortably over 2 metres away.
  • isamisam Posts: 40,730
    ITV news at ten devoted the first ten mins or so to a survey they've conducted that shows BAME NHS workers think they have been put at risk by the management choosing them to treat Covid patients over white staff. Shades of 'institutional racism' .

    I find it a little hard to believe. Could it possibly be true?
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,274
    FPT:
    Pulpstar said:
    This is well worth a read. Great infectious disease modeller - can be scary though.

    Oh, I have definitely had that fictionitis - last December, I'm sure I have.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited May 2020
    isam said:

    ITV news at ten devoted the first ten mins or so to a survey they've conducted that shows BAME NHS workers think they have been put at risk by the management choosing them to treat Covid patients over white staff. Shades of 'institutional racism' .

    I find it a little hard to believe. Could it possibly be true?

    Isn't the make-up of front line staff in the NHS from BAME backgrounds dis-proportionally high compared to the general populous, so chances of being chosen to perform that role errh you know high.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,274

    I actually left the confines of the house and driveway today for the first time in EIGHT WEEKS! It was merely a short walk to the pharmacy to get mum her meds, but it felt so WEIRD, honestly! Seeing places so familiar after so long, walking past the local shops and roads and bus stops. Really weird feeling, though :)

    @eadric would hopefully approve of me wearing gloves and a surgical mask upon entering the pharmacy. Saw that they had yellow markings on the floor indicating 2 metre gaps, and that the counter was heavily modified with a bank-style glass or perspex screen with a small window where they hand over the prescription. I went late in the evening, and there was only one other bloke already waiting or browing possibly, but comfortably over 2 metres away.

    You haven't even been out for exercise @Sunil_Prasannan?
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 19,611
    I’m still looking at the nightly stats posted here and thinking, either this thing is really infectious and benign, or dangerous but very hard to catch.

    Or maybe, we just haven’t got a clue.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 48,916
    isam said:

    ITV news at ten devoted the first ten mins or so to a survey they've conducted that shows BAME NHS workers think they have been put at risk by the management choosing them to treat Covid patients over white staff. Shades of 'institutional racism' .

    I find it a little hard to believe. Could it possibly be true?

    Might explain high death rates among BAME NHS staff?
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,274

    I’m still looking at the nightly stats posted here and thinking, either this thing is really infectious and benign, or dangerous but very hard to catch.

    Or maybe, we just haven’t got a clue.

    Or moderately infectious and quite dangerous?
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 48,916

    I actually left the confines of the house and driveway today for the first time in EIGHT WEEKS! It was merely a short walk to the pharmacy to get mum her meds, but it felt so WEIRD, honestly! Seeing places so familiar after so long, walking past the local shops and roads and bus stops. Really weird feeling, though :)

    @eadric would hopefully approve of me wearing gloves and a surgical mask upon entering the pharmacy. Saw that they had yellow markings on the floor indicating 2 metre gaps, and that the counter was heavily modified with a bank-style glass or perspex screen with a small window where they hand over the prescription. I went late in the evening, and there was only one other bloke already waiting or browing possibly, but comfortably over 2 metres away.

    You haven't even been out for exercise @Sunil_Prasannan?
    We have a loft extension = 2 flights of stairs to run up and down :)
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited May 2020

    I’m still looking at the nightly stats posted here and thinking, either this thing is really infectious and benign, or dangerous but very hard to catch.

    Or maybe, we just haven’t got a clue.

    Or perhaps its a bit of both. Highly infectious in certain settings, but in others not at all. I mean going to a nightclub and 120 people (so far) getting it or the Nike conference in Scotland when half got it or Germany Carnival were 40% got it, suggests indoor mass gaterings are not a good idea.

    However, it is clear from the responses from the likes of Witty, they actually don't really know what all the transmission vectors are and exactly which are more riskier than others.

    They clearly think outdoors or areas with lots of ventilation are much lower risk. But beyond that there doesn't seem to be much certainty when it comes to how risky surfaces are, which types of surfaces, etc.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 23,926
    edited May 2020
    WFH news: mixed physical and remote meetings are hard (like PMQs?). For anyone with duff bookshelves filled with non-woke propaganda or Tony Blair's A Journey, I'm getting adverts for Xforce Vcam which claims to blur out your background. I've not tried it. DYOR.
  • isamisam Posts: 40,730

    isam said:

    ITV news at ten devoted the first ten mins or so to a survey they've conducted that shows BAME NHS workers think they have been put at risk by the management choosing them to treat Covid patients over white staff. Shades of 'institutional racism' .

    I find it a little hard to believe. Could it possibly be true?

    Might explain high death rates among BAME NHS staff?
    Well yes, I think that's what they were getting at!
  • alteregoalterego Posts: 1,100

    I actually left the confines of the house and driveway today for the first time in EIGHT WEEKS! It was merely a short walk to the pharmacy to get mum her meds, but it felt so WEIRD, honestly! Seeing places so familiar after so long, walking past the local shops and roads and bus stops. Really weird feeling, though :)

    @eadric would hopefully approve of me wearing gloves and a surgical mask upon entering the pharmacy. Saw that they had yellow markings on the floor indicating 2 metre gaps, and that the counter was heavily modified with a bank-style glass or perspex screen with a small window where they hand over the prescription. I went late in the evening, and there was only one other bloke already waiting or browing possibly, but comfortably over 2 metres away.

    You haven't even been out for exercise @Sunil_Prasannan?
    We have a loft extension = 2 flights of stairs to run up and down :)
    A politicians's answer, begging another question. I shall resist.
  • alteregoalterego Posts: 1,100
    isam said:

    isam said:

    ITV news at ten devoted the first ten mins or so to a survey they've conducted that shows BAME NHS workers think they have been put at risk by the management choosing them to treat Covid patients over white staff. Shades of 'institutional racism' .

    I find it a little hard to believe. Could it possibly be true?

    Might explain high death rates among BAME NHS staff?
    Well yes, I think that's what they were getting at!
    Just a little hard to believe? Chips on shoulders, hard to believe?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,038
    The case for Warren as veep:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/13/opinion/elizabeth-warren-vp-biden.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

    I'm not convinced. All sounds right, but what about when swing Trump supporters close their eyes and imagine Biden's health failing after a year. Will they effectively vote for Warren as POTUS?
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,328
    FPT
    MattW said:

    Cyclefree said:

    This is continuing to be a shitty horrible year.

    My nephew, the youngest son of my husband’s eldest brother, has died. In his early 30’s. By his own hand. He was depressed; his parents tried to help, despite having to self-isolate themselves. To no avail. They are devastated.

    How does a parent cope with this? What possible consolation can be given?

    It is the third death in as many weeks of someone close to us, two of them an indirect result of this virus.

    Please, God, no more of this.

    For those of you who do, spare a thought tonight in your prayers for him and his parents and those who loved him.

    All I long for when this is over is to see and hug my sons. It is three months since I have seen them face to face.

    Awful news. So sorry to hear it.
    Cyclefree, devastated by your news. I lost a nephew to suicide, so I know what it does to the parents.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 23,926

    I’m still looking at the nightly stats posted here and thinking, either this thing is really infectious and benign, or dangerous but very hard to catch.

    Or maybe, we just haven’t got a clue.

    Or perhaps its a bit of both. Highly infectious in certain settings, but in others not at all. I mean going to a nightclub and 120 people (so far) getting it or the Nike conference in Scotland when half got it or Germany Carnival were 40% got it, suggests indoor mass gaterings are not a good idea.

    However, it is clear from the responses from the likes of Witty, they actually don't really know what all the transmission vectors are and exactly which are more riskier than others.

    They clearly think outdoors or areas with lots of ventilation are much lower risk. But beyond that there doesn't seem to be much certainty when it comes to how risky surfaces are, which types of surfaces, etc.
    How hard are they looking? One thing mildly puzzling is that a well-connected DARPA fanboi has not set up a £100 million (say, the numbers do not really matter) fund for any even vaguely related research projects at any university at £1M a pop.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,038

    What, the Mail is only concerned about care home deaths in Scotland? Mystifying.
    I know. It's a real mystery. Really no idea why they could be focused on that. Really stumped me.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 23,926
    alterego said:

    isam said:

    isam said:

    ITV news at ten devoted the first ten mins or so to a survey they've conducted that shows BAME NHS workers think they have been put at risk by the management choosing them to treat Covid patients over white staff. Shades of 'institutional racism' .

    I find it a little hard to believe. Could it possibly be true?

    Might explain high death rates among BAME NHS staff?
    Well yes, I think that's what they were getting at!
    Just a little hard to believe? Chips on shoulders, hard to believe?
    Wasn't there an old study showing the posher a doctor's old school tie, the higher up the body he specialised (before they had lady doctors in any great numbers)?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    If there is any doubt how bad it is still out there,

    This was extended to the “end of June” but the government’s coronavirus recovery plan released on Monday revealed it was now “likely that the government will continue to advise people who are clinically extremely vulnerable to shield beyond June”.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/13/ministers-pressed-for-clarity-on-length-of-lockdown-for-most-vulnerable
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited May 2020
    A few weeks ago there was a debate about vulnerable people not being on the list and I said it was possible to approach the GP to get you put on the list. A few posters said this wasn't true...

    "The list has also risen to 2.5 million because patients not on the original list approached their GP to request to go on it, often because they were scared of contracting Covid as a result of going into work.

    ..people are added and removed from the shielding list regularly based on their GP’s clinical judgment, as they are best placed to advise on the needs of their individual patients during this time."

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/13/ministers-pressed-for-clarity-on-length-of-lockdown-for-most-vulnerable
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 47,787
    Even peers of the realm are having to cut their own hair.

    https://twitter.com/itvpeston/status/1260695093981437952
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited May 2020
    Germany's forthcoming coronavirus contact-tracing app will trigger alerts only if users test positive for Covid-19. That puts it at odds with the NHS app, which instead relies on users self-diagnosing via an on-screen questionnaire.

    Those who test positive will be given a verification code that must be entered into the app before it anonymously flags them as being a risk to others.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52650576

    Putting aside the Google / Apple API, the self-diagnosing aspect is of equal stupidity. I will give it less than 24hrs until some twat spends all day travelling around and around London, then in the evening claim they aren't feeling well. And 1000s of people then have to book tests / self-isolate.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,038
    TimT said:

    FPT

    MattW said:

    Cyclefree said:

    This is continuing to be a shitty horrible year.

    My nephew, the youngest son of my husband’s eldest brother, has died. In his early 30’s. By his own hand. He was depressed; his parents tried to help, despite having to self-isolate themselves. To no avail. They are devastated.

    How does a parent cope with this? What possible consolation can be given?

    It is the third death in as many weeks of someone close to us, two of them an indirect result of this virus.

    Please, God, no more of this.

    For those of you who do, spare a thought tonight in your prayers for him and his parents and those who loved him.

    All I long for when this is over is to see and hug my sons. It is three months since I have seen them face to face.

    Awful news. So sorry to hear it.
    Cyclefree, devastated by your news. I lost a nephew to suicide, so I know what it does to the parents.
    Very very sorry to hear your news @Cyclefree. Awful. Through my own situation I am in contact with parents desperate to help children with mental health issues, but supposedly isolated themselves.

  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,038

    Even peers of the realm are having to cut their own hair.

    https://twitter.com/itvpeston/status/1260695093981437952

    Who?
  • alteregoalterego Posts: 1,100

    What, the Mail is only concerned about care home deaths in Scotland? Mystifying.
    I know. It's a real mystery. Really no idea why they could be focused on that. Really stumped me.
    marketing?
  • alteregoalterego Posts: 1,100

    A few weeks ago there was a debate about vulnerable people not being on the list and I said it was possible to approach the GP to get you put on the list. A few posters said this wasn't true...

    "The list has also risen to 2.5 million because patients not on the original list approached their GP to request to go on it, often because they were scared of contracting Covid as a result of going into work.

    ..people are added and removed from the shielding list regularly based on their GP’s clinical judgment, as they are best placed to advise on the needs of their individual patients during this time."

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/13/ministers-pressed-for-clarity-on-length-of-lockdown-for-most-vulnerable

    May have had something to do with getting priority for grocery deliveries.
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,328

    I’m still looking at the nightly stats posted here and thinking, either this thing is really infectious and benign, or dangerous but very hard to catch.

    Or maybe, we just haven’t got a clue.

    Or perhaps its a bit of both. Highly infectious in certain settings, but in others not at all. I mean going to a nightclub and 120 people (so far) getting it or the Nike conference in Scotland when half got it or Germany Carnival were 40% got it, suggests indoor mass gaterings are not a good idea.

    However, it is clear from the responses from the likes of Witty, they actually don't really know what all the transmission vectors are and exactly which are more riskier than others.

    They clearly think outdoors or areas with lots of ventilation are much lower risk. But beyond that there doesn't seem to be much certainty when it comes to how risky surfaces are, which types of surfaces, etc.
    How hard are they looking? One thing mildly puzzling is that a well-connected DARPA fanboi has not set up a £100 million (say, the numbers do not really matter) fund for any even vaguely related research projects at any university at £1M a pop.
    To my knowledge, there is a lot of research going on on all aspects of COVID, including routes of transmission, infectious doses, and viability of the virus on various surface types for various durations in various temperature and humidity conditions.

    But pretty much everything I am hearing is that, despite the fact that multiple transmission routes are not only possible, but probably have all happened (ocular, faecal/oral, fomites, aerosol), large droplets from people in close contact and speaking/singing (particularly speaking and singing loudly) are by far the most significant route of transmission.

    I personally think that if we practiced good hand, speech and coughing/sneezing hygiene in general, and wore facemasks and practiced social distancing in indoor settings, we'd be pretty much where we need to be in lowering the R number to where it needs to be.

    But that is bad news for pubs, clubs, choirs and so on.
  • EPGEPG Posts: 5,996
    Dear Daily Mail: #englishlivesmatter
  • alteregoalterego Posts: 1,100

    Even peers of the realm are having to cut their own hair.

    https://twitter.com/itvpeston/status/1260695093981437952

    Hairy or not, Peston's opinion comes from where it's hard to judge hirsuteness.
  • isamisam Posts: 40,730
    Isn't 25% low for care home deaths? Stockholm is 44%, Canada is 88%
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,571
    Nearly Half of Men Say They Do Most of the Home Schooling. 3 Percent of Women Agree.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/upshot/pandemic-chores-homeschooling-gender.html
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,584

    Even peers of the realm are having to cut their own hair.

    https://twitter.com/itvpeston/status/1260695093981437952

    Who?
    Nicky Clark, I mean Morgan!
  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 12,880
    Nigelb said:
    It doesn't look like it would crash very well...
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709
    edited May 2020
    https://twitter.com/Politics_Polls/status/1260712136948322304?s=20

    A boost for Trump as the District voted for Hillary in 2016.

    It voted for Romney in 2012 and Obama in 2008 and was represented by a Republican until 2018 so suggests he is winning back fiscally conservative, wealthy California areas at least. While of little difference in the EC as Biden will carry California overall regardless it could boost his chances of winning the popular vote
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,279
    isam said:
    People not receiving their usual medical treatment?
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,584
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 23,926
    isam said:
    I refer the honourable gentleman (or lady) to PMQs:
    Keir Starmer

    I want to probe a little further the figures that the Prime Minister has given us. The Office for National Statistics records the average number of deaths in care homes each month. For the past five years, the average for April has been just over 8,000. This year, the number of deaths in care homes in April ​was a staggering 26,000. That is three times the average and an additional 18,000 deaths. Using the Government’s figures, only 8,000 are recorded as covid deaths, leaving 10,000 additional and unexplained care home deaths this April. I know that the Government must have looked into that, so can the Prime Minister give us the Government’s view on those unexplained deaths?

    [Prime Minister's reply omitted]

    Keir Starmer

    The Prime Minister says that solving the problem in care homes is crucial, but that can happen only if the numbers are understood, so I was disappointed that he does not have an answer to the pretty obvious question: what are those 10,000 unexplained deaths?

    https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-05-13/debates/7F8336E1-EDA2-4AF8-9923-A65B8A9B3F7E/Engagements

  • HYUFD said:
    I think Biden is a really weak candidate but,,, only 302 adults in total were polled from these 15 battleground states.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,835
    isam said:
    My father was one of those. He died Friday. He had renal failure and heart failure. He died at home with no pain except for the last 24 hours.
    Under normal circumstances he would have been in hospital. Wired up to machines surrounded by family and medical professionals. He would have known he was dying. But he didn't. Due to the unusual circumstances he thought he was on holiday in Czechoslovakia...
    We let him drift away.
    He could have been alive next week or next month. But it was only postponement.
    He died well. CV 19 is not a nice way to go.
    So yeah. He's probably an excess death. But it was a kinder one. And maybe better deaths is summat we can learn from this.
  • EndillionEndillion Posts: 4,960

    Germany's forthcoming coronavirus contact-tracing app will trigger alerts only if users test positive for Covid-19. That puts it at odds with the NHS app, which instead relies on users self-diagnosing via an on-screen questionnaire.

    Those who test positive will be given a verification code that must be entered into the app before it anonymously flags them as being a risk to others.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52650576

    Putting aside the Google / Apple API, the self-diagnosing aspect is of equal stupidity. I will give it less than 24hrs until some twat spends all day travelling around and around London, then in the evening claim they aren't feeling well. And 1000s of people then have to book tests / self-isolate.

    I agree that going the self diagnosis route is obviously stupid, but requiring a positive test result seems equally stupid, in the opposite direction. That route leads to lots of people who should be told they're at risk, not knowing for several crucial days because, "Oh, I'm probably fine" and "I didn't touch anything" and "I don't have time to get tested anyway". Not honestly sure which extreme I'd prefer, but clearly both are suboptimal.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,770

    FPT:

    Pulpstar said:
    This is well worth a read. Great infectious disease modeller - can be scary though.

    Oh, I have definitely had that fictionitis - last December, I'm sure I have.
    ARRRGGGHH

    I hate models like that.

    Immunity fades, it does not switch off. And even if you are 80% susceptible to the disease then your symptoms are likely to be far milder due to your partial immunity.

    Plus, the evidence from SARS and MERS is that antibodies are detectable (even if the numbers are much diminished) out even to 17 years.

  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,770
    HYUFD said:
    While that's true, until 2018 CA25 was Republican for the best part of three decades.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,279
    Why did the Democrats lose the seat in California?
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,770
    HYUFD said:

    https://twitter.com/Politics_Polls/status/1260712136948322304?s=20

    A boost for Trump as the District voted for Hillary in 2016.

    It voted for Romney in 2012 and Obama in 2008 and was represented by a Republican until 2018 so suggests he is winning back fiscally conservative, wealthy California areas at least. While of little difference in the EC as Biden will carry California overall regardless it could boost his chances of winning the popular vote

    This is part of Los Angeles County, out in the East of the City - it's Palmdale and Azusa and my favourite little ski resort, Mount Baldy.

    I would not exaggerate what this means. Eric Garcetti, the Democrat Los Angeles mayor just announced that while California might be relaxing the "Stay at Home" order, Los Angeles would keep it until the end of July.

    It's fair to say that this has gone down like a bucket of wet sick. (It is generally considered to be a sop to the powerful teaching unions, as the rest of California is considering starting the 2020 school year early, and the unions in LA are like "hey hey no way".)
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,770
    Andy_JS said:

    Why did the Democrats lose the seat in California?

    See my comments next to yours!
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,835
    Yeah thanks Eadric. Excess deaths like all other stats bandied about regarding this dreadful plague are probably slightly more complex, personal and nuanced than at first sight.
    My Dad died He would have died anyway. Price
    eadric said:

    dixiedean said:

    isam said:
    My father was one of those. He died Friday. He had renal failure and heart failure. He died at home with no pain except for the last 24 hours.
    Under normal circumstances he would have been in hospital. Wired up to machines surrounded by family and medical professionals. He would have known he was dying. But he didn't. Due to the unusual circumstances he thought he was on holiday in Czechoslovakia...
    We let him drift away.
    He could have been alive next week or next month. But it was only postponement.
    He died well. CV 19 is not a nice way to go.
    So yeah. He's probably an excess death. But it was a kinder one. And maybe better deaths is summat we can learn from this.
    Mate. Sympathies
    Thank you Eadric.
    In a strange way it was comforting.
    Just so long as he didn't die in the excruciating agony of the Rona.
    I feel somewhat blessed.
    That is merely one view of one "excess death "
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,279
    rcs1000 said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Why did the Democrats lose the seat in California?

    See my comments next to yours!
    Thanks, forgot to refresh.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,770

    HYUFD said:
    I think Biden is a really weak candidate but,,, only 302 adults in total were polled from these 15 battleground states.
    Really?

    And did they weight them properly between the states?
  • rcs1000 said:

    HYUFD said:
    I think Biden is a really weak candidate but,,, only 302 adults in total were polled from these 15 battleground states.
    Really?

    And did they weight them properly between the states?
    Sorry. There's a link to a PDF in the original story but I'm too thick to post it...

    But no, they didn't/They just clumped the whole 15 together.
This discussion has been closed.