Indian variant in London

[Tealightsandd]

Huge number of cases in London - and it's spreading rapidly. London is higher risk already due to density of population and being frontline of international travel.

The other areas with high rates of the Indian variant are doing surge vaccination. They've been sent extra supply and vaccines are being offered to all over 18s.

Why aren't Londoners being offered the same protection?

Bearing in mind (for the many who don't care about Londoners) that people are much more likely to travel to and from London across the country - potentially spreading it out elsewhere. So it's in the interests of the whole country to give London the same protection offered to Bolton and Blackburn.

[quote minniemomo]@Tealightsandd

I'm a Londoner who saw the light and moved away, London sucks the lifeblood out of the country, 10x more spend on transport, far higher on schools, wages far higher, buying up houses where we are as second homes and pricing locals out ... if you want to see suffering go north, see towns with 30%+ unemployment, no hope[/quote]
It sucks the life blood out of London. I have friends in the NE. Officially a very deprived area - but they have affordable housing and are happy as part of a settled community amongst family and support networks.

London is the only region of the UK that gives more tax than it gets back.

The reality is the focus on making money out of London sucks the life blood out of Londoners. There's no decent life without a home. The 'investment' in London has left many many Londoners stuck in slum private rentals and HMOs or forced out completely, away from their support networks.

Priced out? No one has been more priced out than Londoners. Two thirds of UK homeless families are in London. Two thirds!

I started this thread to ask for ALL areas of concern to be protected. Because of being at increased risk, not because of where the area was. It's certainly shown up a very nasty undercurrent of ignorant bigotry. If I had asked for London to have additional protection, it might be different... but I was merely asking for equal protection.

I cannot believe you are a Londoner. If you really were, you wouldn't be so ignorant about second homes. You'd know that one of the places that has suffered the most from second homes is.... London. And you'd also know that a large number of the second home buyers 'from London' are not in fact from London but are people who came to make money out of London before leaving again.

This thread is not where the nasty undercurrent of ignorant bigotry is. Thats on another thread.

This Guardian article includes the graph. Perhaps there's been a mistake (mix-up with Brent maybe?) but Bromley looks high?

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/13/covid-variant-found-in-india-may-delay-lifting-of-england-restrictions-minister-admits

According to further documents released by PHE, 31.9% of cases of the India variant B.1.617.2 were in London as of 12 May, 25.4% of cases were in the north-west of England and 12.1% of cases were in the East of England

So the highest numbers seem to be...in London.

On the issue of housing, I don’t understand why Londoners haven’t put more pressure on their local councillors to stop the mass development of housing to suit rich investors. All those decisions have to be approved by planning. It’s ridiculous that ordinary people can’t afford to live in their own city.

I think I've worked out the confusion. The graph shows percentage of Indian strain - out of all infections. So, eg. of all the infections in Bolton 55.2% are the Indian strain - and the rest are different strains, i.e. the UK or South African, etc.

Separately, the areas of concern - the areas with high and rapidly spreading rates of the Indian strain full stop include Bedford, Bolton, Blackburn, and London.

Maybe the strain likes places beginning with B.

Andy Burnham is calling for all over 16s in Bolton to be vaccinated. Is Sadiq Khan saying something similar?

I'd guess Sadiq has asked but perhaps it's not been reported? I know he complained earlier in the year, when London got a lower share of the vaccine at the start of rollout.

I think the prominent reporting of Andy Burnham is part of a wider PR campaign. He's clearly the media's chosen one. If he himself doesn't want Keir Starmer's job (and I think he desperately does), the media definitely want him.

I think in this respect he simply wants to stop the spread of this variant in Bolton, rather than play politics. He’s left Westminster and now has another term to serve as Mayor of GM. I’m sure he’s focused on the job in hand.

@Tealightsandd

inews.co.uk/news/politics/extra-vaccine-doses-in-indian-variant-hotspot-1000734

Some 'bleating' from the media @Lochroy

Looks like what I asked for - ALL areas of concern will be getting extra vaccines. Good call.

The government/media are being cagey about London's actual rates - and remember it's data has been split into individual boroughs (which will artificially lower the numbers) but it's clearly enough to worry the government. Presumably because if it gets out of control in London, It's a risk to the rest of the country. So many people travel in and out every day.

Infections from India variant are rising quickly in Bolton, Blackburn, Sefton, Bedford, London and Glasgow, raising fears over UK’s roadmap out of lockdown

Alongside London, the other area of concern in the south seems to be Bedford.

I’m not sure I follow your logic. Reporting the city as a whole would dilute the issues in boroughs that have a clear problem, due to the city’s large population. The govt website shows that as at today London has a rate of 19.1 cases per 100,000 people, that is much less useful for individuals than knowing for example that you live in Hounslow which has a case rate of 43.9 so should be more careful, or that you live in Camden which has a rate of 16.7.

Perhaps you're right LWOTT

@lurker101
London is a very interlinked city. Extremely interconnected. It's impossible to neatly separate the boroughs. The people living in Hounslow will be travelling on the busy tube and bus network to work in Camden everyday.

It is one city.

Anyway what people think on this thread is irrelevant. The government and the expert are concerned enough to report on London as being one of the areas of concern wrt the Indian variant and they are acting accordingly.

The irony of calling everyone bigots whilst stating that the rest of them (England? The UK? Europe?) suck the blood out of London.

Like you've said, people travel from London all across the UK. Everyone is at risk from this strain. Everyone. You want them to take vaccines away from other at risk people to give to you. They'll do that if and when the numbers suggest it's necessary, which it doesn't as yet.

I appreciate that it is highly interconnected, I’m simply saying that reporting it on an individual Borough basis doesn’t present the rate of infection as lower, and I don’t see how it can, however, it could vastly mask a major issue in a small area which would present a much greater risk given the interconnected city. London as a whole has a lower rate of infection than Milton Keynes, but we all know that’s not telling the true story because the pockets of very high infection are being reduced by the pockets of lower infection (and split over a huge population).

If you can explain to me how reporting it on a Borough basis reduces the rate/makes London look “lower risk” I would really appreciate it, because I’ve seen it touted on a few threads and I’ve never understood the logic, and want to know if I’m missing something basic (very possible 😂)

@DumplingsAndStew
You doing selective reading, or selective quoting?

In response to an ignorant poster accusing London of 'sucking the life blood out', I repeated her wording.

It's ok to say it about London but not the other way? More double standards about London??

Actually I think you're right @lurker101
The way you've explained it makes sense.

Thinking about it, I think the main problem with the individual borough reporting is psychological. It encourages people to see the boroughs as self contained, whereas they're not. London really is completely intertangled.

Regardless, it's clear that London (together with some other areas) has high and rapidly spreading numbers of the Indian variant - and is therefore an area of concern.

The figures quoted in the Guardian article indicate that London has the highest rates of the strain.

They should have yo cancel the restriction reduction.

In Scotland if you have 50 out of 100 000 you don't reduce restriction. In some cases it's increased till the virus is under control.

@Tealightsandd

Perhaps you're right LWOTT

@lurker101
London is a very interlinked city. Extremely interconnected. It's impossible to neatly separate the boroughs. The people living in Hounslow will be travelling on the busy tube and bus network to work in Camden everyday.

It is one city.

Anyway what people think on this thread is irrelevant. The government and the expert are concerned enough to report on London as being one of the areas of concern wrt the Indian variant and they are acting accordingly.

You do realise people in the north travel, too? I mean, granted, it takes longer on our horses and carts, but we still commute between cities for work. Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, the M62 corridor, all connected with dozens of smaller towns like Bolton and Bradford in between.

OP, you clearly don’t realise it, but you’re sounding like a stereotypically entitled Londoner.

Bolton and Blackburn have pretty much been in lockdown since March 2020. London was free of restrictions for most of the summer and autumn and even post the November lockdown. Aim to surge vaccinate both but prioritise the former.

I say this as someone who lived half my life in London and half in the north west so pretty unbiased.

@Tealightsandd

I'd say the poor vulnerable sods in London deserve a break too. They didn't get the protection of lockdown when they needed it (each time, lockdown came too late for London and only happened once the rest of the UK was threatened).

Fucking hell. The whole rest of the world knows London was one of the very worst hit, and remains at incredibly high risk - but still it's not allowed the same protection as elsewhere. It's a place for other people to make money out of but fuck protecting the actual residents.

Yes Bolton, Blackburn need extra supplies. As well as not instead of London. London is the frontline. Heathrow airport - 1000s of international arrivals daily travelling through London on busy public transport....and then out across the rest of the UK....

Omg You might as well be talking about Toronto in Canada “Everyone” in Toronto wants the rest of us to send our vaccines/staff. To hell with the rest of us. Toronto population didn’t follow guidelines, are now a tire fire, cry unfairness And “hardest hit in the world”.

Have we forgotten about India already?
Morgue trucks in New York?

It’s bad in many mAny places.

I guess it's a mistake to check out MN just before bed after working late...

More selective reading/quoting (motivated by ignorant bigotry, presumably). It says a lot about the posters.

So....again.. I posted asking for ALL areas of concern to be surge vaccinated. By coincidence, it transpires this is something recommended by th experts.

Now, as per the Guardian article posted upthread, London has the highest rates of the Indian strain. Other areas of concern include Bolton, Blackburn, Section, Bedford, and Glasgow.

I was then jumped on by toddlers having a tantrum because they think only the NW should get surge testing...because because they want to the only ones...stamps foot...

Some strange people out there. Oh well. Nevermind.

Now I see why people are so keen on the RTFT...

Yes indeed @LovePoppy
Omg indeed. It's strange isn't it. I post asking for London to be included as well as the other high rate Indian strain areas but apparently some posters think only their area should have this. It wouldn't affect them to include the other high risk areas. It's just because tantrum.

@Appyalpaca

Bolton and Blackburn have pretty much been in lockdown since March 2020. London was free of restrictions for most of the summer and autumn and even post the November lockdown. Aim to surge vaccinate both but prioritise the former.

Free of restrictions aka left unprotected. As per articles I posted upthread, London's 'freedom' came at the cost of the highest death of rates for March - December 2020, and continuing into January 2021.

Why does it affect Bolton and Blackburn is ALL areas at higher risk get the protection needed now?

That isn't just London btw. It's also Sefton, Bedford, and Glasgow.

You do realise people in the north travel, too?

Erm, where have I said otherwise?

Entitled Londoner? Wanting equal protection for ALL areas of concern is entitled. Right you go.

Blinded by ignorant bigotry. Sad.