Boris News Conference at 5 pm today breaking news

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Sky now

@CurlyhairedAssassin

I’m in LIVERPool so took part in the schools asymptomatix testing run by the military recently. It turned up one positive case from a school of 1100. Judging by the drunken parties I’ve seen happening on social media I believe they’re not far wrong to say that schools are safe and it’s the household mixing that’s causing the issues.

People are fuckwits. It’s hard not to think of that section of society as less intellectually advanced beings.

But Liverpool have been in tier 2 for weeks with relatively low cases (although rising again like most and now back in tier 3) so it stands to reason schools won't be as affected as the south east with the new strain going through schools like a dose of salts by the end of term.

it does spread of course but your mum is more likely to die from it than a child is

"Boris didn't say it was the parties, he said it was the household mixing WITHIN schools"

Cool, so now all schools need to do is keep pupils in separate household bubbles. They have enough classrooms for that, right?

@GabsAlot

it does spread of course but your mum is more likely to die from it than a child is

Er, obviously . I was responding to the post saying it wasn't spreading schools.

@MissMarpletheMurderer

Judging by the drunken parties I’ve seen happening on social media I believe they’re not far wrong to say that schools are safe and it’s the household mixing that’s causing the issues

Boris didn't say it was the parties, he said it was the household mixing WITHIN schools. Anyway most parties don't have 200+ people drunk or otherwise.

I can't see why having a party of 50 people is seen as the spread but school bubbles of 200+ are definitely not spreading it. I understand that there is a different need between the two (kids need education, people don't need parties) but the deafness to the fact that schools are a big part of the transmission is astounding.

Schools going back in September (along with university) was when cases got out of hand in Liverpool as well, like many other places. There was very few official cases at the end of August and then it skyrocketed fast.

Schools and colleges were the main drivers of the second wave as soon as they opened up in September.

Watched BOJO on parliament recently they panned in on him right at the top of his head, he has lost so much hair it is falling out a result of covid has happened to many sufferers. I wonder if it grows back again. HIs voice has also changed sounds bunged up all the time I wonder if that congestion is down to covid.

No idea is son is supposed to go back on 3rd or another date, he is supposed to get two tests his uni. said on FB. Son tells me nothing. His father has said he is not driving to Leeds if the weather is as bad as when he brought him back.

Boris's hair is looking in poor condition and been worse since he was ill with covid.
It's obviously taken it's toll on him.
His been pushed harder than any other PM in a long while.
I m not a fan at all , but it must have been a very tough year for him and his cabinet and they haven't always got it right , not at all.
Been a year nobody will forget in a hurry.

I have no sympathy. If he's not up to the task he should stand aside for someone who is. It's a whole country's life, health and future ffs

On a human level I have absolute empathy for Boris, Matt and Gavin.

I quite like Matt and believe he wants to do the right thing even if he doesn't a,ways get it right - and sometimes it's because he's overruled.

Having looked dreadful which made my empathy spindles come out.

Then I remembered he's been MIA for 4 months so I cooled a little again.

@the80sweregreat

Boris's hair is looking in poor condition and been worse since he was ill with covid. It's obviously taken it's toll on him. His been pushed harder than any other PM in a long while. I m not a fan at all , but it must have been a very tough year for him and his cabinet and they haven't always got it right , not at all. Been a year nobody will forget in a hurry.

Whatever you are smoking it's some potent stuff.

1. no sympathy for a clown who willingly and knowingly puts lives at risk, disregards proper science because he doesn't understand it and give moeny to cronies.
2. he's been pushed. ffs every leader arounf the world has been. Out of the ones in western europe he is the only complete buffon and laughing stock. Others at least try to look/act like adults. Just look at any pictures featuring von der Leyen, Mercel, Macron, etc....
3. saying they haven't always got it right. PLEASE PLEASE give one example of when they DID? There is none.

I don't have any sympathy for the whole lot. They are in power, they have a whole set of gov officials working under them. They have/had the power to MAKE THINGS HAPPEN, to come up with a strategy, to do what's right. AND THEY CHOSE NOT TO.

Anyone making excuses for them is just as bad as they are.
It's not their kids out of education or in unsafe settings. It's not them in crowded wards. It's not their parents/relatives getting sick. They are not making compromises on a daily basis. They are jetting off to holidays and keeping safe out of parliament whilst they make people go into unsafe environments. They are the lowest form of human lifeform bar that of murderers.

If schools are so safe, have the government considered moving all clinically vulnerable people, businesses, pubs, shops, households etc into school premises ASAP? That way we can all go back to normal. And we can al live off school dinners.

@the80sweregreat

Boris's hair is looking in poor condition and been worse since he was ill with covid. It's obviously taken it's toll on him. His been pushed harder than any other PM in a long while. I m not a fan at all , but it must have been a very tough year for him and his cabinet and they haven't always got it right , not at all. Been a year nobody will forget in a hurry.

Boris wanted to be PM, stress, hard times and difficult decisions come with the job, even if it's been particularly bad this year.

@Kolo

If schools are so safe, have the government considered moving all clinically vulnerable people, businesses, pubs, shops, households etc into school premises ASAP? That way we can all go back to normal. And we can al live off school dinners.

I've started a thread in chat as a light hearted relief suggesting we open schools up for NYE parties as they are safe and it's mixing in households that's the problem!

I did make it clear I wasn't a fan of his or his Government ( never voted for them) but saying that they have always had a tough time isn't allowed clearly!
I loath the man personally but it has been unprecedented times and must have taken its toll on all of them as well as the front line staff and those poor sods in the NHS.
I've always stuck up for teachers too on their threads. They have had a tough year and a tough time of it too.

I'm in an area where primaries will be closed. If schools are safe, why are they closing mine?!!! If they're not safe, why are they not closing them in some other areas where numbers are going to increase, to stem the flow before it gets out of hand (they'll end up closing them for bloody longer). I'm not a fan of school closures, but am glad ours are closed as numbers are through the roof and it needed to happen (in absence of letting schools open in a safer way since September). Wonder what difference a week closure next to October half term would have done...we would not be in as big a mess now. Crazy.

If Gavlaar thinks that the high school I work in (Tier 4, 1800 pupils) will be able to test students prior to them all returning on 18th Jan, then he's dumber than I thought. And I thought he was pretty dumb to start with.

It won't happen.
Teachers and support staff have already said no to administering the tests, and the Head supports this.
We don't have the time and space to organise this.
We reorganised our school, and it took all summer, to adhere to the bubbles and staggered entrances/exits and holding areas.

The government haven't managed to get an efficient testing, track and trace up and running in 8 months.
But Gavlaar suddenly thinks that we can provide online learning, teach years 11 and 13, and crucial worker students, and set up effective delivery of a test (which is 50% effective at best) in an extra week.

Happy New Year to you to Gavlaar, whatever you're on, I want some.

I live in Australia now, it is so upsetting to see what you all have been going through.
We have counted our lucky stars that our isolation has helped us maintain a mostly Covid free existence apart from isolated flare ups, NZ is in a similar position.
What I don't understand is that the UK as a whole could have done the same thing, completely shut down its borders....I know the population is more concentrated but surely it would have been worth a try.

Boris's hair is looking in poor condition

What I don't understand is that the UK as a whole could have done the same thing, completely shut down its borders

As people are finding out and as demonstrated by the little problems at the port of Dover a few days back the UK set up means there's much more need of swift flow of goods etc to/from close it's neighbours than perhaps Aus and NZ are...a lot of that is down to population density, plus also the fact of industries rely on the "Just in Time" supply system.

A total closing of UK Borders back in maybe Feb/early March 20 might have slowed spread things down but it's kind of difficult to move food/goods etc in and out without some or many the people you need to facilitate that (the vehicle drivers, etc) also entering/leaving the country...IMHO it wouldn't have been sustainable for long without completely crashing large parts of the economy.

@Nixmini

I live in Australia now, it is so upsetting to see what you all have been going through. We have counted our lucky stars that our isolation has helped us maintain a mostly Covid free existence apart from isolated flare ups, NZ is in a similar position. What I don't understand is that the UK as a whole could have done the same thing, completely shut down its borders....I know the population is more concentrated but surely it would have been worth a try.

Australia is a very different country.

Its currently in the middle of summer and even in winter doesn't have much of the cold conditions the uk in many areas.

Its imports/exports are very different. Its not a question of things (including people) being shipped one day and arriving the next. And even where there is airshipping its coming from mainly from areas of the world which have very low rates of the virus.

What is telling is that Australia has had very few cases from abroad because its closed its borders and quarantined people. But those cases they have had, are mainly from Europe.

The industries which keep the Australian economy going are different to the UK. Its economically dependent more on lucrative mining unlike the uk. And that mining is highly mechanised and doesn't require humans to be in close proximity.

Why can't we be more like Australia? Because our economy is based on trade and interaction with our neighbours and the rest of the world to a much higher degree because of geography.

Our schools are smaller physically as we have less land. Same for housing and office space.

Its just completely different and like asking 'why can't you be more like your brother?' and replying 'because hes 6ft and im 5'2ft and got tits for starters'

No need to be quite so condescending RedToothBrush. As I said, Australia's isolation and for the most part lack of population density has been one of the factors which has worked in its favour. Imports and exports have continued. However, international travel is banned and returning citizens have had mandatory two week quarantine enforced. That is more what I was referring to.
Just as an aside, miners do work in close proximity here - and in large numbers. They also travel to and from the mine sites mostly by plane and there is no social distancing observed once on the plane. They were tested two days before starting each shift in a bid to keep the mine sites operational.