Is it just me or is this board getting a bit quieter?

[bumbleymummy]

That’s a good sign, right? :)

The eggs have been beaten and the patatas have been boiled for the Spanish omelette.

But still no evidence regarding the amazing magical abilities of masks.

I wonder why?

@TheKeatingFive

Sensible and moral countries introduced masks to children as a positive fun thing.

Gaslighting

Right. Saving lives and protecting health - something very positive - is... gaslighting...? Ok.

Welsh and Scottish children are managing just fine. English aren't special or different.

As the parent of two Scottish children in senior school, some are managing "just fine". Others really aren't fine at all. Many don't wear masks because they can't cope.

@Tealightsandd

Children also like to copy their parents. Mum or dad has a fun doggy face or dinosaur mask. Child wants to be like mummy or daddy.

Such concern for UK children. Yet anti vaxxers are 'protesting' outside schools, intimidating and scaring the children.

Regardless of primary, England didn't even bother with secondary. Welsh and Scottish children are managing just fine. English aren't special or different.

No anti vaxxers shouldn’t do this - and I’ve said as much on here.

And you are wrong re secondary they did have a period in class and longer time in communal areas, some still are.

Right. Saving lives and protecting health - something very positive - is... gaslighting

Telling four year olds masks are fun is absolutely gaslighting in my book.

Without any actual evidence this is making a difference.

We are a bit of an outlier, n'est-ce pas?

Presumably, the attitudes & behaviours encouraged by the "irreversible" freedom day have something to do with that .And the delays in vaccinating teens.

I am just hoping we won't be paying a high price for going into autumn & winter with relatively high rates (? could rates settle or even fall substantially, could we avoid having problems with flu + covid etc)

@IcedPurple

The eggs have been beaten and the patatas have been boiled for the Spanish omelette.

But still no evidence regarding the amazing magical abilities of masks.

I wonder why?

Porque no hay...

We are off for tapas tonight. Albondigas, mejillones, gambas pil-pil. YUM. Without a mask.

@KingsleyShacklebolt

Children in Spain were confined inside - many of them in apartments - for 7 weeks.

SEVEN WEEKS. Please let's not hold up locking up kids inside their houses for 7 weeks as something to aspire to.

I speak fluent Spanish and dip in and out of Spanish language newspapers and websites. Their track and trace system was widely held up to be total crap as each autonomous region was doing its own thing, some better than others. The only reason they had to lockdown SO hard in March 2020 was they were in such deep shit with care homes in particular - if I recall correctly the national/regional governments had to step in and run care homes as the infrastructure was so poor.

So let's not paint Spain - or anywhere else for that matter - as this utopia where everything's lovely and the government is amazing. It's back to that similarly shite argument that the UK is the laughing stock of the world and the rest of Europe can't wait for the next installment about how we are coping. The reality is they don't care.

Exactly this.

It's been extremely eye opening what sacrifices people were happy to demand of small children for the 'greater good'

Our dinner is late thanks to this thread!
Ok I'm off to cook for real this time. Have a good evening all (and don't forget your masks).

Tea have a nice omelette

But you’re a terrible dodger of simple questions ;

@herecomesthsun

We are a bit of an outlier, n'est-ce pas?

Presumably, the attitudes & behaviours encouraged by the "irreversible" freedom day have something to do with that .And the delays in vaccinating teens.

I am just hoping we won't be paying a high price for going into autumn & winter with relatively high rates (? could rates settle or even fall substantially, could we avoid having problems with flu + covid etc)

I'd argue that your graph just proves that we're testing at a much higher rate. If as @TheGrumpyGoat says it costs 17 euros for a LFT test in Spain, of course you're not going to test if you haven't got symptoms. For our family to test twice a week that'd be 170 euros - far too expensive. So they're not catching all those asymptomatic cases which we are.

Not saying one approach is better than the other but it makes comparison almost impossible as you have one country where everuyone's being told to test twice a week, another where people aren;t testing at all.

Masks are said to reduce infection rates by 20-25%.

Not completely but enough to make a difference.

Prob worth having for people who aren't exempt - prob worth having in secondary schools at least, where teens are squished into tiny rooms, at least when they're not actively interacting with a teacher/ presenting information etc. At least till they're vaccinated.

Not many countries have 4 year olds in masks, do they?

@TheKeatingFive

It's been extremely eye opening what sacrifices people were happy to demand of small children for the 'greater good'

Yes that good old ‘greater good’ demonstrated recently at fuel stations all over the UK.

Case rates are necessarily the best measurement though - for example are cases are hugely above France yet are deaths and hospitialisations are 3x as much. Higher yes. As high as cases show - not necessarily

@Tealightsandd Secondary wore then in England from going back in March until after May half term. Some secondaries are still wearing them now - it is a local decision that has been taken up. No at the moment there isnt an overarching requirement but some certainly still are.

And it was about wearing masks correctly - lots of people dont. Germany use FPP3 masks - they work. Others not so much, and not if worn incorrectly

@TheKeatingFive

It's been extremely eye opening what sacrifices people were happy to demand of small children for the 'greater good'

Isn’t it! Adults don’t hold back in that regard. Well some.

A great shame imo.

@KingsleyShacklebolt So Spain magically had money for tests in July/ August but ran out in September did they?

Masks are said to reduce infection rates by 20-25%.

"Said to"?

Or have been shown in rigourous real world experiments to do so?

twitter.com/EssexPR/status/1447922661422735380?s=20

Or have been shown in rigourous real world experiments to do so?

And among four year olds?

according to scientific consensus, though it's complicated

www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02801-8

To be clear, the science supports using masks, with recent studies suggesting that they could save lives in different ways: research shows that they cut down the chances of both transmitting and catching the coronavirus, and some studies hint that masks might reduce the severity of infection if people do contract the disease....

most scientists are confident that they can say something prescriptive about wearing masks. It’s not the only solution, says Gandhi, “but I think it is a profoundly important pillar of pandemic control”. As Digard puts it: “Masks work, but they are not infallible. And, therefore, keep your distance.”

@TheKeatingFive

Or have been shown in rigourous real world experiments to do so?

And among four year olds?

I'm not arguing 4 year olds should wear a mask (unless they want to)

I'm not arguing 4 year olds should wear a mask (unless they want to)

Yes but another poster is.

Good to see this is included among her 'simple and easy' mitigations though.

@MarshaBradyo

Wouldn’t we see greater disparity in numbers England v Scotland if a mask mandate did that much?

EXACTLY

You see, I imagine we would be less liable to having a "fire breaker" if cases weren't so high going into the autumn.