The UK may have got it right

[VioletRiemelt]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-57911032

Australians back in lockdown, while our restrictions are gone. Our exit wave could be over by September.

@Notonthestairs

Masks, spending money on ventilation in schools and colleges (for flu & CV) and the choice of vaccines for over 12 would be good.

What exactly do people mean by providing "good ventilation for schools..." Apart from opening windows and providing some fans, I'm not sure what else can practically be done.

@AnotherDayAnotherCake

Ask me again in September and my response will depend on whether my DC are allowed to go to school.

@AnotherDayAnotherCake our secondary is already starting a week later due to the (understandable) need to test on the first days. Do you remember the days when they used to put up stern statistics about how if you took your child out of school for a day they'd missed so much learning you would be jeopardising their future. Thankfully I am still wfh so can manage their extended break.

1 in 7 children isolating due to school cases last week. Cases rising. Zero confidence Autumn term will run without disruption & have a DC in year6 who needs to catch up before going to secondary.

@VioletRiemelt

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-57911032

Australians back in lockdown, while our restrictions are gone. Our exit wave could be over by September.

I think the U.K. has made plenty of mistake over the past 18 months, but I think the current policy is probably the best in the circumstances.

We have an exit strategy, albeit a tough one. Once we get through bus wave, we should be a strong position to move forward with widespread population immunity. Australia doesn't - its policy of harsh lockdowns every time a handful of cases are identified is completely unsustainable in the long term.

@VioletRiemelt

Given how many of us are crammed into our tiny island, our rates were always going to be high, along with an NHS on its knees.....

We're doing a lot of comparing apples and cheese to say you're the one saying we can't compare.

Our school, like many, is a figgy heat pit of infection, virtually ally no children in this last week through bubble closures. No ventilation, windows on safety catches due to elevation that barely open, a fan that doesn't touch the sides, so yes, no ventilation, just circulation of germs

If every country had been like Australia there would be no delta which is behind Australia current problems

Oh easily fixed then. Why didn't you pop over to india and ask them to space out a bit?

UK - 193 deaths per 100,000 population
AUS - 3 deaths per 100,000 population

UK - 90 cases per 100,000 population
AUS -

I wouldn’t say we have ‘got it right’ during the last 18 months no.
However I do wonder what Aus and NZ plan to do longer term. Their vaxx rate isn’t great and they have no immunity at all via catching it. Is it going to be coerced vaxx?
Are your going to be shut and locking down for many years to come?
If not and they do let people in and out, will they have a huge case and death surge then?
There is 0% chance of not having covid in your country even if every man woman and child were double vaxxed (esp if you are letting citizens in and out) It’s just a matter of time. Just don’t know what their longer term plan could be

I think Aus is in a difficult situation just now. There cases are not reducing despite weeks of lockdown in NSW. I don't know what the solution is for them to get out of it. They absolutely can't let Covid spread as not enough people are vaccinated.

We're pretty highly vaccinated in the UK and also pretty tired with the endless restrictions. Even though our case rates are sky high, and hospitalizations/ deaths climbing, vaccination has enabled us to ease things further. I just hope the govt has made the right call, although I think they were out of options. We have the least bad option just now although it's going to be a bumpy ride to say the least.

Tbh, I don’t think anyone has got it right. This virus is constantly adapting and evolving and fighting it is like trying to hit a moving target. All we can do is to mitigate the risk as much as we can whilst balancing the other factors at play. Many more people are going to get sick and sadly some will die. There’s no avoiding that, although we can do our best to try and keep the number of casualties as low as possible.

For sure we definitely haven’t got it right. Death rates absolutely beyond belief, and now a plan which is so risky in terms of generating vaccine resistant variants, that scientists say this is what they would do if they were actively TRYING to create a vaccine resistant variant.

It is absolutely beyond insane and one of the most selfish acts I have ever come across in my life.

Fate may be on our side, but equally our country could be responsible for putting the entire world back to stage 1 - all because a couple of back-benchers are too selfish to wear a mask, and our PM is too stupid and too spineless to stand up to him.

Welcome to Global Britain aka Plague Island.

[quote FixTheBone]UK - 193 deaths per 100,000 population
AUS - 3 deaths per 100,000 population

UK - 90 cases per 100,000 population
AUS -

Population density

UK - 700 people per square mile
Australia - 7 people per square mile

A virus transmitted by air being more problematic in very densely populated environment.?

Who wudda thunk it?

^UK Covid cost - £251bn
AUS covid cost - £166bn^

Are those figures right? UK populations is a lot higher than Aus so if you convert that to per person it looks as if its cost Aus more.

[quote FixTheBone]UK - 193 deaths per 100,000 population
AUS - 3 deaths per 100,000 population

UK - 90 cases per 100,000 population
AUS -

I would never say we got it right, of course we didn't.

I think everyone realised Australia were playing a difficult game though and that Covid will get everywhere eventually.

@InkKeepsRunning

For sure we definitely haven’t got it right. Death rates absolutely beyond belief, and now a plan which is so risky in terms of generating vaccine resistant variants, that scientists say this is what they would do if they were actively TRYING to create a vaccine resistant variant.

It is absolutely beyond insane and one of the most selfish acts I have ever come across in my life.

Fate may be on our side, but equally our country could be responsible for putting the entire world back to stage 1 - all because a couple of back-benchers are too selfish to wear a mask, and our PM is too stupid and too spineless to stand up to him.

Welcome to Global Britain aka Plague Island.

Why do people bang on about variants. We want it to mutate to a less serious disease.

My cousins live in a highly populated city in aus and their kids have had 14days off school in total since March 2020 due to the pandemic. The uk must have had at least 14weeks off. Not including the extra 10days for every bubble that bursts.

I suspect that's misleading re the population density though @JellyBabiesFan? Is that just a basic division of population by land mass? The reality is that most of Australian is not/sparsely inhabitiated and the large majority of the population leave in urban areas

And talk about population density is pointless. Their city's are just as populated as ours but they also have large areas of the country which is uninhabitable.

You're happy with 150000 (and rising) dead and millions (and rising) scarred by Long Covid, are you?

Surely most people live in cities in Australia though? It’s like saying Scotland is less densely populated than England. Well yes, if you average it out, but most people live in a few densely populated areas, some very densely if you’re think about the traditional tenement blocks.

With the greatest respect - this is a dumb thread. Comparing two countries then when everyone starts with the comparisons the response is 'oh no, you can't compare that aspect'. Either compare or don't compare.

And now the word compare looks stupid too.

@WeRTheOnesWeHaveBeenWaitingFor

Let’s hope so There is no public support for more lockdowns so I don’t think the government has a choice

Trust me, Australians are over lockdowns too.

Also lots of cases = lots of long covid as well as the variants previously mentioned.