Watch out! Watch out! There's another variant about

[RosieLemonade]

Anyone feel like it's groundhog day. The press seem determined to petrify people.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-57296803.amp

What happened to the triple mutant Yorkshire variant or is that old news

It is not scaremongering and it is concerning.

However, maybe vaccine development is underreported. We are still making massive progress and it won’t take much now to tweak a vaccine to be effective against new strains.

It is up to us to develop thicker hides, not for the media to hold back on reporting inevitable reverses.

@colouringcrayons

It's always low numbers until the numbers get bigger. People understand the context.

Not sure they do actually.

Also, what are the numbers rather than the percentage? 59 this week and 41 the week before. Sounds a lot less doomy than 43%. But 43% makes the headlines.

"Tell that to all the people that are already dead....oh wait...."

What a fantastic gotcha.

Also, what are the numbers rather than the percentage? 59 this week and 41 the week before. Sounds a lot less doomy than 43%. But 43% makes the headlines.

The percentage matters a great deal, and for understanding this variant versus another variant more than pure numbers. If we had 100 yesterday and 101 today, that would suggest we are on a very flat trajectory - far less to worry about than a 43% increase.

Maybe it is you who doesn't understand the maths involved with mapping the trends? We need to know the doubling time.

@user456893987

What happened to the triple mutant Yorkshire variant or is that old news

Lancashire threw a wobbly over not having their own.

@colouringcrayons

Also, what are the numbers rather than the percentage? 59 this week and 41 the week before. Sounds a lot less doomy than 43%. But 43% makes the headlines.

The percentage matters a great deal, and for understanding this variant versus another variant more than pure numbers. If we had 100 yesterday and 101 today, that would suggest we are on a very flat trajectory - far less to worry about than a 43% increase.

Maybe it is you who doesn't understand the maths involved with mapping the trends? We need to know the doubling time.

Maybe posters should include both?

That would be including full context. No minimising. No overstating. This is what I mean by context.

How about you?

It is scaremongering because these new variants are not causing any increase in hospitalisation or deaths

The Indian variant is. Consistent rise in both for the past week.

Increasingly "scaremongering" and "the press reporting something I don't want to believe is true" seem to be conflated.

@Turquoisesol

Can someone explain to me what the reasons would be for the government to actively want perpetual lockdowns? Is there something in it for them that I misunderstand?

The almost total suspension of your civil rights under the Coronavirus Act, until they manage to get the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill on the statutes, which will remove the rest of them.

That's not really an explanation.

@user456893987

What happened to the triple mutant Yorkshire variant or is that old news

I'm still waiting for the teenage mutant ninja variant.

Maybe that's next?

@Needanewhat

It is scaremongering because these new variants are not causing any increase in hospitalisation or deaths

The Indian variant is. Consistent rise in both for the past week.

Increasingly "scaremongering" and "the press reporting something I don't want to believe is true" seem to be conflated.

Looking at BBC it says -21 for hospitalisation and deaths falling. Where are you looking

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-51768274?client=safari

@CrunchyCarrot

I'm utterly fed up with this now, the fear-mongering has to stop by the press and govt. We need to start getting back to normal. Where will it end, otherwise?

Providing facts and information is not about fear mongering.

Is it fear mongering to tell parents why children should be immunised against polio or measles? Is it fear mongering to warn people of the consequences of drink-driving , the risks of unprotected sex?

But do you get your information on those based on the press?

@tobee

That would be including full context. No minimising. No overstating. This is what I mean by context.

How about you?

I don't personally need to have both numbers presented every time because almost every day I feel pretty confident I know the ballpark we are in. I am not expecting 10,000 cases today, nor am I expecting 1,000. So a percentage is fine for me.

All the numbers are available so I don;t thing much is being hidden in terms of headline numbers.

Governmet do appear to be deliberately hiding info on school cases however.

@JaniieJones

It is called transparency. I actually want to know about variants and if one is becoming dominant or more specifically vaccine resistant because we all know that is the concern.

It's like Sept all over again, cases increasing but as hospital admissions aren't soaring , people think its all 'scaremongering' 🙄.

It's not like September at all. In September we didn't have vaccines. The vast majority of people in hospital with covid haven't had both doses. They're also younger (hence not having had both doses yet) and are not as likely to become very ill or die.

Fair enough for you maybe @colouringcrayons. But I was responding directly to your "People understand the context"

@tobee

Fair enough for you maybe *@colouringcrayons*. But I was responding directly to your "People understand the context"

The people who don't appear to understand are the PM and the government!

'People' understood the context better than the government back in March 2020, October 2020 and January 2021 imo.

"The people who don't appear to understand are the PM and the government!"

Yep

I realise I sound very grumpy every time I mention the government, this has happened with each (potential) wave!

Grumpy? How about incandescent with rage? Especially as it seems to make bog all difference with the electorate.

@tobee

Grumpy? How about incandescent with rage? Especially as it seems to make bog all difference with the electorate.

I'm too jaded to be angry today but yes I am that at times too.

I was pleased, but weirdly surprised, to see that the Cummings revelations at least seem to have reduced the Tory lead a little.

Everything has to be polarised when you have a populist government. No room for nuance.

Plenty of threads lauding the NZ and Australia strict border control. But then I read today how Natalie Portman's parents have been allowed to visit her in Australia. So how does that work then? And do I trust the media outlet that's telling me this?