ADs and their pampered poodles

[BogRollBOGOF]

Here we are again, gaining sequels even more rapidly than the Fast and the Furious...

That's lovely to hear Tabby.
A sense of purpose is so important.

That's great news @tabbystar
I've my jab tomorrow @trustthegenegenie

Our local paper ran a story yesterday about how up to 40% of cases in the local hospital were infected whilst in hospital throughout the pandemic. Ranges from about 18% to 38%.

I honestly don't see how people aren't more cross about this, particularly as it points out that if you are in hospital for something already the chances are you will be more susceptible to the virus.

What surprised me was that they don't use lateral flow tests when people are admitted (I know they're not 100% reliable) so still having people hanging around for the time it takes the pcr test to come back. Apparently they're getting those "soon".

But, as always on Social Media the comments are priceless.

• "well its a contagious infection its going to spread whatever you do, so just stay at home" errrrr isn't it going to spread whatever you do? +"up to 40%? That could just be 1%. That's a tiny percentage so keep to the rules and you won't end up in hospital anyway. If not, you can get a hugely deadly virus and take it somewhere people are genuinely sick" firstly, 1% is a tiny percentage, isn't it roughly the ifr of covid, so it's not a hugely deadly virus. Secondly are you saying covid doesn't make you genuinely sick?

And it goes on and on.....

Morning all. @LivinLaVidaLoki - I've stopped engaging with numbers. They change every day and mean nothing. Even Lockdown Sceptics annoyed me today with their doom and gloom of "it'll last forever because the vaccinations aren't happening fast enough".

I've booked a summer holiday, a June weekend at Dogfest with DD and a September weekend away with my friend. It's so lovely to have things in the diary to look forward to. I am just holding on to the hope they may happen.

Ugh. I’ve woken up full of doom this morning. Made the mistake of having a quick look at the headlines. Easter before restrictions are eased, SAGE wanting everyone locked up indefinitely vaccinated or not. Really, what is the point of going on like this!!

Phew found you all.

@Iheartmysmart

Ugh. I’ve woken up full of doom this morning. Made the mistake of having a quick look at the headlines. Easter before restrictions are eased, SAGE wanting everyone locked up indefinitely vaccinated or not. Really, what is the point of going on like this!!

Stop looking at the news - I have come to the conclusion it is the only way to come out of this with any semblance of mental health intact.

@Wilberforce42

Phew found you all.

Did you have that slightly panicky feeling @Wilberforce42? Lost in a sea of crazy on MN with no port of calm! I hear you.

French students protest about the toll on their mental health. It's nice to see people SPEAKING OUT about this, having effectively been silenced with "but people will die."

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55716340

@Iheartmysmart

Ugh. I’ve woken up full of doom this morning. Made the mistake of having a quick look at the headlines. Easter before restrictions are eased, SAGE wanting everyone locked up indefinitely vaccinated or not. Really, what is the point of going on like this!!

I did this too this morning and now regret it. I even said yesterday I needed to stop reading the news. We're at home today. The weather's bad so home schooling won't be easy as we'll keep losing connection. I'm trying to be grateful for the school days I've got and I am but reading things like 'it'll be Easter' before anything opens just makes me feel sick. I can see my hours being reduced if we keep frightening people as they won't come. Surely they can't do this to the economy.

Has anyone see the front page story about schools going back in phases (it's the Times I think). Likely to be London and the south east returning first. Not sure how I feel about them phasing it. Great for the kids who get to go back but what happens if in some of the other areas rates never go 'low enough' for schools to go back. Are we just planning to throw those kids under a bus. I mean some areas like Leicester have never really had their restrictions lifted at all.

Iheartmysmart me too. The Guardian is a shitshow this morning, just an absolute misery fest.
Then I looked at the sharply dropping cases and felt a bit better. Weirdly they didn't think to mention that though.
I need to stop reading the news and visiting the covid board. But I have this weird thing where I worry something will sneak up on me and give me a nasty surprise if I don't keep the bad news in sight.

You’re right, definitely need to stop reading the news especially as some of it is pure speculation. I think I’m just looking for a tiny spark of hope but there isn’t one.

I booked a last minute day off work for today with a thought that I might go for a nice walk with the dog but it’s absolutely pouring with rain and to be honest I can’t be bothered. Hate feeling like this, it isn’t me.

I did see the news about schools. And Steve Chalke from the Oasis Foundation saying Easter at the earliest. Children need to return as soon as possible. They can’t be expected to live like this for much longer.

@Seriouslymole absolutely! I made the mistake of venturing ‘over there’ and made a rapid retreat and panicked when I couldn’t find this thread!

I think I'd rather see schools phase back than risk another national stand-off like last June/ July. Admittedly my region seems to be at its peak with local rates of growth tailing off or declining, so that should be feeding into the lagged data by half-terms.

As for the "Leicesters" where rates remain high, I think the political pressure to return will be higher if most of the country is back than held-off. We have at least had a precedent where schools have been "open" through the autumn with rising rates often higher than the range of data we're looking at now.

There was inequality of access to school in the autumn term from isolations closing bubbles, but at least it was more specifically targeted where there was a need, and damages less than blanket closures although I am aware that there is often a trend that this is concentrated in more disadvantaged areas. However shutting down everyone else is not going to mitigate the personal hinderence to those pupils.

I think the shit will hit the fan spectacularly if they let London and SE schools back before the rest of the country. There's already a huge amount of resentment in a north-south divide following the fact that the Christmas stuff was in a response to the infection rate in the SE going crazy, and a view from certain very vocal cities in the North that they feel particularly harshly treated over all of this - plus the North is well ahead with vaccinations.

I'm hoping if it happens that that will be the straw that finally breaks people's unquestioning screeching and support of this - as a lot of parents are close to break point with the homeschooling and working crap anyway. I just fear they'll manage to socially nudge it into blaming those taking up spaces in schools to dodge it.

Most of the news is 99% speculation, at least on this.

Corona is actually quite a slow-moving story, news-wise, but they've all got 24-hour rolling news cycles to fill.

So fill them they do -- with stuff that gets clicks and shares, which is unfortunately mainly negative stuff and speculative punditry.

The Guardian has become one of those 'Cor, isn't it awful' prurient sort of news sites. I only go on to read Marina Hyde's column these days.

Found another thread on here that I can safely read Good News part 6. I am training myself to keep away from everything except this one, the good news one and films and tv because it’s all too much at the moment.

I made the mistake of checking the news yesterday. Lots of wrong headlines announcing 1610 people died in the last 24 hours of coronavirus . Why can’t the news clarify that the deaths happened over a number of days and that it includes death by any cause within 28 days of testing positive? People are contracting COVID 19 in hospital and given that many people enter hospital with life threatening conditions it’s not fucking surprising that ‘any death within 28 days of testing positive’ is so high.

Yes it’s horrible that people die but seriously why are the media and government hell bent on controlling through fear? What will they do when fear doesn’t control us anymore? Use force? I can’t believe the horrific situation we are in (and it’s not because of a fucking virus it’s because of our response to the COVID-19 virus)

Also I am now stopping myself from referring to COVID 19 as ‘the virus’ . Other viruses do exist!

Rant over 😎

Just for you lovely ADs

fb.watch/37JMty3gdo/

Sorry, it's entitled Quarantine the Musical

We all have to accept mortality. Ironically, I suspect our medical advances have made us less accepting of such. Thus, rather than death being a natural part of life, it is seen as a failure.

Our building at work was lit up blue for the NHS one night last spring. A colleague of mine suggested that we also project the words "Remember you are mortal." Sadly she didn't get her way!

Brexit cured me of my news habit
I think I've actually sat through the news about 5 times since 23rd March, it's so mawkish. I follow what happening with radio bulletins and articles, so I'm not unaware of what's happening. I just don't need repetitive, emotionally charged airtime filling. DH is following a range of international stories via youtube, interesting although some has strong editorial bias, but there is a lot going on in the world beyond the entrances of a struggling general hospital.

Carol Midgley has a nice thing in the Times: "No, naysayers — button it please. Yes you, the people hitching up their trousers, blowing out their cheeks and saying gleefully: “February? Nah. No chance, mate. Schools won’t open until after Easter. Earliest. Probably May, actually. If then.” Shut up. Even if you think this, keep it to yourselves and don’t prick our hope bubble. Hope is all we have. You might be getting off on these lockdown strictures, Matt Hancock and Chris Whitty your spanky dominatrices, but some of us are ready, if it’s safe, to be let out of the handcuffs now." It made me think of you all.

In other news, my parents are getting vaccinated on Saturday at weirdly specific times (I think my Mum's is at 2:29pm - presumably because they're in 3 minute slots). Woohoo!

I have to stop looking on other threads on here. I was feeling relatively OK and now it's "well I will be happy to be locked down until September". FFS.

I am not happy at all to be locked down, I'm fed up with the toll it's taking on my offspring and it doesn't bloody well work.

And breathe. Sorry.