Just playing Devil's advocate here but what happened to the consistent approach across the 4 Nations that was suggested on here? (don't worry I'm not aiming at you)

 

That's grand, wouldn't think that would be the case.

 

Whilst I can't speak on behalf of Great Britain, I've no problem with Northern Ireland pursuing a different strategy to the rest of the UK. Given its unique space within the union, and given that it's both on a different island and much more rural and densely populated than the rest of the UK (even in the bigger cities like Belfast or Derry), it makes more sense for us to take a different approach. Interestingly, although we've opened up much quicker than a lot of the rest of the UK, we've opened up a little bit slower than in the Republic of Ireland (complete harmonisation on an all-Ireland approach would have been a political hot-potato), but are closer to its approach than to GB at the moment.

Whilst I can't speak on behalf of Great Britain, I've no problem with Northern Ireland pursuing a different strategy to the rest of the UK

 

It will ultimately have similar results and similar raised level of risk though. Letting up to 6 people meet up outdoors with social distancing in NI is perhaps just as risky as letting schools back with social distancing on the 1st June and some workplaces back with social distancing now as in England. Either way the social distancing is pretty much unenforceable, loads of people will just see it as a free-for-all and there is a high likelihood that the r number will go back above 1 will lead to a second wave and/or the lockdown to resume again.

 

So the NI and England easing guidelines have been an equally big disappointment to me for differential reasons. Of all parts of the UK and Ireland region, it seems like Scotland has easily done best in its easing lockdown plans imo (although it hasn't published all the details yet). At least they are delaying until it is a bit safer to ease the lockdown restrictions. Well done Scotland!

Edited May 19, 20205 yr by The Snake

Trump says he is taking hydroxychloroquine to protect against coronavirus, dismisses safety concerns.

 

What the hell is on about?

Trump says he is taking hydroxychloroquine to protect against coronavirus, dismisses safety concerns.

 

What the hell is on about?

 

I was rather hoping he'd test out his injecting disinfectant theory.

Trump says he is taking hydroxychloroquine to protect against coronavirus, dismisses safety concerns.

 

What the hell is on about?

 

Yes it sounds dangerous to take such a medication with no current health conditions relevant to what it treats. I hope it isn't addictive, as addictive prescription drugs are a big issue. :(

Fingers crossed he goes straight for the bleach option

Train this morning was back to it’s pre-corona ways, for one stop anyway then it emptied out a bit. Firmest indication yet to me that Berlin is starting to return pretty much back to normal. Little bit worrying but the infection rates still seem to be under control with a handful out of outbreaks distorting the national picture.

 

Proof in the numbers won’t come for another week or so yet but I’d be surprised if the numbers did spike

Supermarket was a bit nuts yesterday. The queue outside was still spaced apart, but once inside the store people were ducking and weaving through the trolleys queued waiting for people to move & all but brushing past people who were waiting patiently.

 

Also a whole lot of people coming in with kids again which...gah. At least if you're going to bring a kid put them in the trolley seat, don't just let them run around like a little superspreader.

Monday morning trains and trams in Birmingham were still eerily quiet, a pleasant surprise considering a fair few big businesses based in the city have returned to office.

 

(EDIT - pardon me for not realising it's Tuesday :heehee:)

Edited May 19, 20205 yr by mdh

Honestly? Make masks and PPE out of trumps skin

Trump says he is taking hydroxychloroquine to protect against coronavirus, dismisses safety concerns.

 

What the hell is on about?

 

Hr has related shares in the company that manufactures it. Making himself richer. Plus he's bat-shit insane. Plus he's distracting from his ongoing weekly firing of everybody and anybody with a job that requires examining the truth and evidence and who might expose his corruption and lies. It doesn't even make any headlines, the media is too busy falling for his headline-grabbing antics.

If you took a random sample of 365 people, it is highly likely that none of them would own a stable. OTOH, it is fair to assume that there are several Tory MPs out of 365 who own a stable - in some cases, probably several stables. Sadly, none of them seems to be familiar with the concept of a door. The government has just realised that it might not be a good idea to have care staff working in several different care homes - thereby potentially spreading the virus freely - and has allocated some money to allow homes to pay staff extra to work exclusively at a single home.

 

The same government, of course, claimed to have ring-fenced care homes while, at the same time, sending patients straight from hospital into those same care homes, thereby increasing the risks once again.

 

Meanwhile, they are still claiming to be led by "the science" without actually letting anyone see that science. They keep promising to publish the evidence on favour of reopening schools "in due course". Why not now?

 

On the subject of scientists, they are now moving on to the next step of making those scientists the scapegoats for everything that has gone wrong. Therese Coffey, minister for Work and Pensions, has said "If the science was wrong, advice at the time was wrong, I'm not surprised if people think we then made a wrong decision". She is, of course, referring to the decisions that were different from the decisions made in just about every comparable country. Perhaps "the science" is somehow different in the UK from the rest of the world. Besides, to quote a well-worn phrase, advisers advise, ministers decide.

Yesterday I went on a bus for the first time in 12 days to go to Asda in Barking. Last time people sat one to a double seat and if there was no more room the bus just didn't stop. Now it seems the social distancing has gone out the window. People were sat next to one another and doubt they lived together. Had 4 bags coming home so a girl stood up for me but politely declined the seat and stood near the door.

I agree that it's time we saw the science now, especially about schools re-opening, as it's going to be chaos if they say some years will return on 1st June. Many parents just won't send their kids. Some council leaders have already written to the Education Sec.personally to say their schools won't be opening then no matter what he says. One was Bury where the R figure is now higher than in London.

I agree that it's time we saw the science now, especially about schools re-opening, as it's going to be chaos if they say some years will return on 1st June. Many parents just won't send their kids. Some council leaders have already written to the Education Sec.personally to say their schools won't be opening then no matter what he says. One was Bury where the R figure is now higher than in London.

 

Like I mentioned before, there is a wider problem now. You have those who want to return everything back to normal now and then some who probably would be worried about returning their children to school in September.

 

The problem we have as a society now is we are even more divided than Brexit. The data tells us the real story- it is still the vulnerable who are most at risk and our efforts should be to shield them, whilst we continue to get back to some form onf normality.

The problem is we have a government who it is impossible to trust. They have f***ed up so much so far that them saying ‘it’s safe to go back to school’ doesn’t actually fill anyone with confidence. Especially when all their kids are staying off until September. They have put money before health all the way through this crisis and that is why we are struggling to get back to normal now. They’re still lying and making up excuses for their previous lies instead of putting their hands up and accepting responsibility. It may be safe to open schools now, if that’s what ‘the science’ says, but a lot of people actually care about their children.

Trust has been part of the problem all along. It shows why it is such a bad idea to have a serial liar as PM. Thankfully, a lot of people had read enough about the virus to know that lockdown was necessary long before the government finally twigged. Therefore, they stuck to the rules - not because Johnson said so but because they could see the reasoning behind it. Ever since then, it has been a lot harder to see the evidence on which the government have based their decisions meaning that we go back to a suspicion that they are not telling the truth.

Yesterday I went on a bus for the first time in 12 days to go to Asda in Barking. Last time people sat one to a double seat and if there was no more room the bus just didn't stop. Now it seems the social distancing has gone out the window. People were sat next to one another and doubt they lived together. Had 4 bags coming home so a girl stood up for me but politely declined the seat and stood near the door.

 

Public transport is so risky at the moment. You would have been better walking or cycling I think.

 

 

Public transport is so risky at the moment. You would have been better walking or cycling I think.

 

It might have been difficult for him to manage if he had four bags of shopping though?

Wife's employers' daughter, 15, is at a private school in C. London and they're not going back until Sept. Lass actually wants to go back and her parents want her to too. Always amazes me how many extra weeks' holiday she has in a year too. Like 8 in summer, 4 at Xmas and Easter. Far too long. How do they get the syllabus in?