Omicron New Variant Thread 2 *title edited by MNHQ at OP's request*

[Thewiseoneincognito]

Continuation of the last thread

Things aren't looking better for Johnson this evening:

NHS @NHSuk 2h
We are aware of an issue affecting access to the NHS COVID Pass on the NHS App and website. This is being investigated as a priority and will update as soon as we can.

NHS @NHSuk 9m
We are continuing to investigate the current issues with the NHS COVID Pass and will provide an update as soon as possible. We apologise for any issues this may have caused and appreciate your patience as we work to resolve it.

Good.

The Telegraph are reporting this as follows:

Don’t go to work, but do go to parties, says Boris Johnson
Immediate backlash at ‘irrational’ new Covid rules after Prime Minister moves England to Plan B

How do you actually get the public to take things seriously with omicron in this context?

January is going to be a multicar pile up isn't it?

Taking it seriously has been and gone.

Seems like the work from home is perfectly timed. Everyone can go out and get wasted every night until Xmas and “work from home” the next day !!

I think the timing was miscalculated though. So much of this I am not getting boosters/we are heading for lockdown comes from a complete mistrust in the Government.

At least if we have Sunak or Gove you would know what they stood for. DS is currently obsessed with Hamilton and Boris Johnson is totally Aaron Burr in this. All he wants is to be in room where happens and he has no beliefs (when I say obsessed I mean obsessed)

Bno news @bnodesk
France reports 61,340 new coronavirus cases, the biggest one-day increase since October 2020 and the fourth-highest on record

France's recent case curve is pretty damn scary actually atm.

Thats with vaccine passports and in theory Delta rather than Omicron being prevalent.

I do not like the numbers I'm seeing.

Again expect more reflections on the likes of France in the next couple of days. Thats not going to work well for the government's case.

I don't see how we avoid a lockdown in January at this point, unless it turns out omicron is significantly less of an issue than any scientist is projecting atm.

And im really not fancying how well a lockdown is going to work now either in the context of the revelations of the last couple of days.

@bumbleymummy

0 hospitalisations from omicron in the U.K. princess. Zero.

Mostly in younger generation at the moment

I do hope it turns out to be milder, but that's far from proven

I’ve tried to stay away from here the last few days, the dark clouds soon dissipate after a day or two off the MN Coronavirus threads but this announcement of Plan B suggests to me we may be in for a bumpier ride over the coming weeks/months.

@bumbleymummy

0 hospitalisations from omicron in the U.K. princess. Zero.

There was a point where that was true with OG covid, Alpha, and Delta, too.

And then it wasn't.

We seem to be at the stage of sort of randomly chucking policy members at the virus and hoping some of it sticks.

Dr so and so from who advisory committee simply said we need to do all we can to stop it jumping from person to person.
So in spaces where you cant distance especially, mask worn properly, ventilation ventilation ventilation.
And try and sd as well.
They never mention ventilation but if windows and doors are open or opened every so often it will shift the particles. I'm furious that these simple measures seem lost?

Also some anecdata.
When one dc had covid, didn't si in the house and was with dad day in and day out, no one else caught it.
Second dc had it, did si in room but again we didn't catch it.
Dc1 has come from from school with a cold and cough and we all have it

Am I misunderstanding? You can show a negative lateral flow test as an alternative to a vaccine passport, so vaccine passports won’t be compulsory anyway?

@HeddaGarbled I'm so glad you've raised this as I'm also confused by my understanding of this .
Can anyone share their thoughts ?
Or is it just me and and Hedda?

Hearing comments from house this morning various MPs - lobs of socialism from one with socialists backing it - wonder how many Cons will vote against

Vote not until next week

Is “lots of socialism” a quote Marsha? What do you mean?

Yes you can show "proof" of a negative LFT as an alternative to being vaccinated. Expect it's not actually proof at all because you simply have to scan the barcode of an LFT and enter the result as negative. Anyone who wants to avoid testing or vaccines can easily do so. And vaccinated people not even being encouraged to test themselves. Loads of hassle for hospitality for no gain at all as far as I can see.

@peridito

Thank you. I was starting to think I must have misheard. I’m sure Boris said evidence of a recent negative lateral flow test could be used as an alternative to a vaccine passport, and it was in the BBC reporting yesterday evening, but this morning it’s not mentioned anywhere and everyone’s frothing about vaccine passports.

@Firefliess

Thank you. That’s what I think too.

So all the frothing about vaccine passports is nonsense, isn’t it?

[quote HeddaGarbled]@Firefliess

Thank you. That’s what I think too.

So all the frothing about vaccine passports is nonsense, isn’t it?[/quote]

Yes. These "new restrictions" are virtually meaningless. This IMO is more of a general rebellion against Johnson.

@JanglyBeads

Is “lots of socialism” a quote Marsha? What do you mean?

Yes quote - MP said restrictions were socialist backed by socialists (Labour) didn’t catch name.

Looks like without all Cons, Labour will get vote through

Not sure about mandatory vaccination and Labour - Rayner atm speaking R4

Is any one suggesting that mandatory vaccine should be a goer in the UK? I haven't heard that suggested seriously anywhere yet.

By Boris Johnson during yesterday's presser. He said that there now needs to be a discussion about it.

@Firefliess Yes you can show "proof" of a negative LFT as an alternative to being vaccinated. Expect it's not actually proof at all because you simply have to scan the barcode of an LFT and enter the result as negative. Anyone who wants to avoid testing or vaccines can easily do so

yes ,that was my first thought ,easily falsified .And my second thought was that you may be incubating and having a negative test.

And just heard reported on Radio 4 that contacts of people with Omicron don't have to isolate but take daily LFT tests .

That's a big change isn't it ? Or am I going bonkers thinking that until yesterday contacts of new variant had to isolate?

And how is contact defined ?