When will this shit end?

[efcfanwirral]

9 minutes ago, blackred said:

This lateral flow tests being the key to reopening venues is a load of bollocks.

As a punter I'm not going to shoulder the risk of losing out on ticket money in case I get a positive result (which the current vaccines won't necessarily prevent) - equally as a promoter who relies on selling out to break even, I can't afford to be refunding tickets unless prevalence is incredibly low. 

It might work for the Euros or Wimbledon, but for your average event it's not a solution.

Yeah i agree with this - if the virus is spreading in the community and things are open a lot will be testing positive ahead of the event. For some massive events maybe a waiting list could work but otherwise there'll be a lot of lost money from somewhere, which will put off both sides 

They just can't happen until everyone is vaccinated, as much as we want them to. I'd love to see socially distanced gigs like those in Newcastle last year but could the infectiousness of the new variant stop those this time? 

[xxialac]

It really pisses me off that the huge but barely competent public service agencies that pick up all the juicy contracts like G4S, Serco and Capita are going to be making supernormal profits through the crisis and thus have even more of a stranglehold on the market in future. 

[Zoo Music Girl]

1 hour ago, zahidf said:

Out of curiosity, what are peoples experiences of what people think the vaccines will acheive? Most people i know are expecting restrictions to be gone once most people have had their jabs. Is that what other people are finding from their mates/family?

 

just wondering if there will be a backlash if that expectation is,,, disappointed. 

Can only speak for my friends, family and colleagues but everyone's expectations seem to be pretty low. We have a family holiday booked in July in the UK that most of the group think probably won't happen (I kind of think it will). I think everyone I know has just been burned a bit too much previously to get their hopes up! 

And everyone with kids just wants the schools open as a priority. Which I agree with.

Edited February 16, 2021 by Zoo Music Girl

[balthazarstarbuck]

49 minutes ago, Havors said:

My worry is what the reaction will be come October when cases rise again... will they knee jerk or just trust the vaccine works well enough to reduce deaths and hospital admissions?  

Given how slow reactions have been during the pandemic so far, a lockdown being implemented too quickly is the least of our worries.

[gooner1990]

Just now, Zoo Music Girl said:

We have a family holiday booked in July in the UK that most of the group think probably won't happen (I kind of think it will). 

I personally think UK holidays should be ok from May onwards.  

[Zoo Music Girl]

4 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

I personally think UK holidays should be ok from May onwards.  

Me too. But in terms of people I know, the expectations seem to be lower than a lot in this thread for some reason. I think I'm one of the more optimistic among my social groups and that's saying something! 

[xxialac]

I'd be astonished if UK holidays aren't allowed by May. I even think international ones will be by then too (with PCRs etc).

[steviewevie]

1 hour ago, zahidf said:

Out of curiosity, what are peoples experiences of what people think the vaccines will acheive? Most people i know are expecting restrictions to be gone once most people have had their jabs. Is that what other people are finding from their mates/family?

 

just wondering if there will be a backlash if that expectation is,,, disappointed. 

believe it or not I am more optimistic than most friends and family I talk to about it...but then a lot of them aren't following it as much as me.

[xxialac]

Government has announced that if you test positive during quarantine £1,200 is added on to the £1,750 bill making it fifty quid shy of £3,000.

Remember these people have been not allowed to fly directly so are having to make an extra journey via a third country. And then the (non-existent) systems at the airport have them congregate with all sorts of people from different flights for hours before they get on a bus to the hotel.

Nice of the government to announce this extra charge after hotel quarantine is introduced. 

[Fuzzy Afro]

1 minute ago, xxialac said:

Government has announced that if you test positive during quarantine £1,200 is added on to the £1,750 bill making it fifty quid shy of £3,000.

Remember these people have been not allowed to fly directly so are having to make an extra journey via a third country. And then the (non-existent) systems at the airport have them congregate with all sorts of people from different flights for hours before they get on a bus to the hotel.

Nice of the government to announce this extra charge after hotel quarantine is introduced. 

I’m convinced most of this cost is just built in as a deterrent to travelling at all tbh. In ZeroCovid paradise New Zealand, you don’t have to pay at all if you’re a resident and commit to staying for at least three months. 

[st dan]

2 minutes ago, xxialac said:

Government has announced that if you test positive during quarantine £1,200 is added on to the £1,750 bill making it fifty quid shy of £3,000.

Remember these people have been not allowed to fly directly so are having to make an extra journey via a third country. And then the (non-existent) systems at the airport have them congregate with all sorts of people from different flights for hours before they get on a bus to the hotel.

Nice of the government to announce this extra charge after hotel quarantine is introduced. 

Wow - what exactly is the reason for the additional £1200? Like you say, just as likely to be picked up after landing than anywhere else!  

[st dan]

1 minute ago, Fuzzy Afro said:

I’m convinced most of this cost is just built in as a deterrent to travelling at all tbh.

Thinking logically I think you’re right - it’s essentially pricing people out of travelling abroad (except the rich). But without actually banning it altogether. 

[Copperface]

4 minutes ago, st dan said:

Wow - what exactly is the reason for the additional £1200? Like you say, just as likely to be picked up after landing than anywhere else!  

Cost of the average mini bar in those hotels.

[xxialac]

1 minute ago, st dan said:

Wow - what exactly is the reason for the additional £1200? Like you say, just as likely to be picked up after landing than anywhere else!  

For the extra days in the hotel. And yes, these people have already passed a PCR.

My point was more that it's a joke to announce this after the scheme launches. They've has 12 months to think about what hotel quarantine would look like.

If a small business did that, they'd be fined.

This government is late for everything and chronically dysfunctional.

[Lycra]

On 2/11/2021 at 10:26 AM, Ozanne said:

What’s your hospital like at the moment?

Very slow improvement with declining admissions enabling wards to be greenlighted to return to their regular day job but more patients in ICU, HDU & respiratory and still losing patients: 2 died on Sunday. There's an acceptance now Covid will be with us for the future as patients will be presenting on an on-going basis, though hopefully at a greatly reduced rate. See what the future holds & how cases are managed but spending 12hrs a day working in full PPE - masks, filter hoods etc is not a attractive career prospect 😐

Edited February 16, 2021 by Lycra

[st dan]

5 minutes ago, xxialac said:

This government is late for everything and chronically dysfunctional.

And a lack of intelligence being possibly their main downfall. 
I honestly don’t see any of them with the brains or foresight to plan ahead, or bring concerns to the table when introducing things like this. It’s like they just have a lightbulb moment and off they go. 

[xxialac]

1 minute ago, st dan said:

And a lack of intelligence being possibly their main downfall. 
I honestly don’t see any of them with the brains or foresight to plan ahead, or bring concerns to the table when introducing things like this. It’s like they just have a lightbulb moment and off they go. 

It's the classic overconfidence in their abilities, in combination with low level of abilities.

This one surely falls under the remit of the Home Secretary's office and Patel very much fits the above description.

[stuartbert two hats]

7 minutes ago, Lycra said:

Very slow improvement with declining admissions enabling wards to be greenlighted to return to their regular day job but more patients in ICU, HDU & respiratory and still losing patients: 2 died on Sunday. There's an acceptance now Covid will be with us for the future as patients will be presenting on an on-going basis, though hopefully at a greatly reduced rate. See what the future holds & how cases are managed but spending 12hrs a day working in full PPE - masks, filter hoods etc is not a attractive career prospect 😐

Do you think full PPE will be the norm forever?  Even if vaccinations get the mortality/morbidity rate to something similar or lower than influenza?

[xxialac]

Sorry it's got nothing to do with everything but I thought this was a fantastic photo worth sharing (taken this morning at the Aussie Open, credit to Dean Lewins/AAP)

Edited February 16, 2021 by xxialac

[Ozanne]

11 minutes ago, Lycra said:

Very slow improvement with declining admissions enabling wards to be greenlighted to return to their regular day job but more patients in ICU, HDU & respiratory and still losing patients: 2 died on Sunday. There's an acceptance now Covid will be with us for the future as patients will be presenting on an on-going basis, though hopefully at a greatly reduced rate. See what the future holds & how cases are managed but spending 12hrs a day working in full PPE - masks, filter hoods etc is not a attractive career prospect 😐

Thanks for the update mate. Still sounds very tough for all of you. Thanks again for you guys are doing, hopefully things continue to improve. 

[balthazarstarbuck]

9 minutes ago, xxialac said:

Sorry it's got nothing to do with everything but I thought this was a fantastic photo worth sharing (taken this morning at the Aussie Open, credit to Dean Lewins/AAP)

Great photo, and probably Covid’s favourite tennis player given the tournament he organised last year.

[st dan]

An interesting one 

[efcfanwirral]

 

20 minutes ago, Lycra said:

Very slow improvement with declining admissions enabling wards to be greenlighted to return to their regular day job but more patients in ICU, HDU & respiratory and still losing patients: 2 died on Sunday. There's an acceptance now Covid will be with us for the future as patients will be presenting on an on-going basis, though hopefully at a greatly reduced rate. See what the future holds & how cases are managed but spending 12hrs a day working in full PPE - masks, filter hoods etc is not a attractive career prospect 😐

do you think it's more likely that ICU nurses retrain to other medical roles in the hospitals (is that even possible?) or leave the medical field entirely?

[xxialac]

1 minute ago, balthazarstarbuck said:

Great photo, and probably Covid’s favourite tennis player given the tournament he organised last year.

He'll have the last laugh when he signs some massive sponsorship deals with Carex, Boots and the pharmas.

[Mr.Tease]

1 hour ago, Zoo Music Girl said:

Can only speak for my friends, family and colleagues but everyone's expectations seem to be pretty low. We have a family holiday booked in July in the UK that most of the group think probably won't happen (I kind of think it will). I think everyone I know has just been burned a bit too much previously to get their hopes up! 

And everyone with kids just wants the schools open as a priority. Which I agree with.

Last year I was hoping to be able to go abroad at some point this year. Now I've bargained myself down to hoping I might be able to go to the swimming baths at some point or have my sister and neice be able to stay over. 

At the other end of the spectrum, one of my friends still seems to think they're off to Mauritius for a holiday in a few weeks, which I find mind boggling! 

I think most people I know are most focused on/hopeful for being able to have friends and family round- not really arsed about pubs and shops etc. 

Edited February 16, 2021 by Mr.Tease