Increasing number of cases

[AutumnAlmanack]

Could anyone please explain to me why it is that the UK is recording such a high number of daily cases, and rising, whereas the rest of Europe and elsewhere seem to be showing a steady decline in numbers? It really baffles me!

I never understood why walking around an office or pub or restaurant you wear a mask but sitting down you remove it. Does sitting down give you a protective forcefield? You are sat in a room with the same people for at least a few hours. Popping on a mask to walk out of the door can’t be having that much impact?

This is anecdotal but I'm in Cyprus ATM. Mask wearing is big and miss in the hol gel amongst all nationalities.

Off the beaten track the Cypriots don't seem to be wearing masks at all.

@Puppylucky

I really don't understand this People are getting (non Covid) sick argument as support for mask wearing /restrictions generally. Do people think they can evade sickness for ever? The longer we hide from germs /viruses etc the weaker our immune systems get and the worse the consequences.

Exactly. Previously no-one stayed in isolation or wore masks when flu/colds were going the rounds. Most of us survived (including the elderly). Why the rush to continue mask wearing/isolation when it was not necessary before (not in earlier pandemic virus's ) 1967/69 etc.

The sort of measure taken by Israel and other countries that have managed to keep infection rates far below that of the UK

This Israel?

Like Colin Powell, my mother has multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. She has had a booster but we don’t really know how robust her response or her immune system in general is.
She’s 83. She can’t stay indoors for the rest of her life—this is the remitting stage when she actually feels reasonably well.

I’m grateful when I see people still wearing masks.

@Delatron

I never understood why walking around an office or pub or restaurant you wear a mask but sitting down you remove it. Does sitting down give you a protective forcefield? You are sat in a room with the same people for at least a few hours. Popping on a mask to walk out of the door can’t be having that much impact?

It's because tables etc in restaurants/schools are distanced. So, sitting down, you're the requisite 2m distance but walking past their table or pissing in the next urinal you might inadvertently gob on them.

Tables aren’t distanced anymore

@Rabblesthecat

Tables aren’t distanced anymore

They are where I am.

@GoldenOmber

The sort of measure taken by Israel and other countries that have managed to keep infection rates far below that of the UK

This Israel?

Yes - you can compare Israel with the UK very easily on the site you used (the UK is in red):

@Geamhradh

Ok but I thought spread was close contact indoors for 15 minutes or more. Not walking past someone briefly for a few seconds.

Tables not distanced here. So in a London restaurant I could have touched the lady next to me on either side of me. I did pop my mask on to go to the toilet (even though don’t need to anymore) I really didn’t get that close to anyone in that 30 seconds I walked through the restaurant.

Yes - you can compare Israel with the UK very easily on the site you used (the UK is in red)

That’s raw numbers. Not a very useful measure when you’re looking at countries with hugely different population sizes.

If you go by raw numbers though, I’m sure you’re happy that the UK is doing so much better than the EU?

@Geamhradh

It's because tables etc in restaurants/schools are distanced. So, sitting down, you're the requisite 2m distance but walking past their table or pissing in the next urinal you might inadvertently gob on them.

It's bonkers Covid theatre that I no longer partake in. 2m isn't a magic distance. One hour sitting 2.5m from a group of strangers is clearly massively more "risky" than a brief 5 second pass by at 1m as you got to the loo.

[quote Warhertisuff]@Geamhradh

It's because tables etc in restaurants/schools are distanced. So, sitting down, you're the requisite 2m distance but walking past their table or pissing in the next urinal you might inadvertently gob on them.

It's bonkers Covid theatre that I no longer partake in. 2m isn't a magic distance. One hour sitting 2.5m from a group of strangers is clearly massively more "risky" than a brief 5 second pass by at 1m as you got to the loo.[/quote]
It seems to be working where I am, along with other restrictions, so I'm good with it. Dd's school have all desks distanced and so far no cases since 9/9 when they started back. 1000 kids and 97 teachers. It's a huge relief.

@Delatron

I never understood why walking around an office or pub or restaurant you wear a mask but sitting down you remove it. Does sitting down give you a protective forcefield? You are sat in a room with the same people for at least a few hours. Popping on a mask to walk out of the door can’t be having that much impact?

It's a bag of s*e

@Florianus, on the world in data graphs, if you scroll down there are similar graphs of non raw data (cases X million etc) and some adjusted for population differences.
(Don't tell the BJbots, but they still show Israel as having done significantly less bad than the UK. At all stages, in all data fields. )

The 27 countries of the EU with their ~500 million people having more total new cases than us with our ~68 million population is us doing so much better?

@PersephoneJames

The 27 countries of the EU with their ~500 million people having more total new cases than us with our ~68 million population is us doing so much better?

Well, no, obviously it isn’t. Which is why you compare rates per 100,000 of population, not raw numbers.

That’s why I was confused! I don’t think there’s any metric in which the uk is performing well - that’s not to “bash” the uk.

I’m so worried about a U turn on another lockdown.

@PersephoneJames same but have to hope he's right..

"SAGE member Prof Neil Ferguson, an architect of lockdown, warned: “Coming into the winter, there may be a Plan B which needs to be implemented, which involves some rolling back of measures. But I doubt that we’ll ever get close to lockdown we were in January of this year.”

[quote Geamhradh]@Florianus, on the world in data graphs, if you scroll down there are similar graphs of non raw data (cases X million etc) and some adjusted for population differences.
(Don't tell the BJbots, but they still show Israel as having done significantly less bad than the UK. At all stages, in all data fields. )[/quote]
Yes, only a ‘BJbot’ could spot any stage here at which Israel had a higher case rate than the UK.

@Iggly @MarshaBradyo i posted this on another thread

I attempted to get my second vaccine and was refused it because i was told they cant mix them. My first was Moderna and the same clinic are now doing Pfizer. I was told "oh you can get it done here (mentions town an hours bus ride away or £35 taxi ride away. £35 EACH WAY ) Sorry Cant afford it They cant have it all.

And our public transport is dire. Bus to another town tonight didnt turn up People waiting for over an hour.

@Windows01 Soz

twitter.com/Peston/status/1450361764764438528?s=20

Robert Peston
@Peston
·
14h
Level 1:
.
@annietrev
confirms on Today that “kind support of Nimco" in a childcare bubble - with Nimco Ali looking after Wilfred as her God parent - was why
@NimkoAli
had Christmas with
@carrielbjohnson
and
@BorisJohnson
. She insists no rules were broken
Mark Newman
@Mark_BeerArt
·
14h
Level 2:
But the bubble is for the sole purpose of child care. Did they really invite a close friend round on Xmas day, just so she could look after the child. While they tucked into Xmas dinner. Honestly , it is like the eye test again.
ProudGranny24
@ProudGranny24
·
13h
Level 2:
Many members of the group for widows and widowers to which I belong would have liked some ‘kind support’ last Christmas. Especially those for whom it was their first year without their loved ones

But they didn’t find a rule they could use as a loophole

Its is very worrying we do much higher than Europe

Didn't javid say he be happy with 100k cases and we not reached that yet.
We were 60k cases in January .