Another Press conference

[screwcovid]

By BJ this evening
I can't take much more agghhh

Anyone else praying that schools WON’T close in Jan? Please god, not more home schooling 😱😱😱

@ClawedButler

I don't need to imagine it, *@reesewithoutaspoon*, I can remember it!

Me to born in the 60's I remember the rubbish piling up, the blackouts and the bodies not getting buried.

I've come to the conclusion that unless I live like a complete hermit, I will catch it. This is the same for everyone.

There's not stopping it, we just have to crack on.

Perhaps he is going to announce when the housebound are going to get their boosters. 2/3 are still waiting.

@Immaculatemisconception

I've come to the conclusion that unless I live like a complete hermit, I will catch it. This is the same for everyone.

There's not stopping it, we just have to crack on.

Exactly. Not even the vaccines will stop it.

They said on the news today "if you're in the london area and had a cough, sore throat and the sniffles. Chances are it was covid and not a cold"

Well fantastic then. We're all coping with it just fine then. So much so, most people are going about their daily lives assuming it's just a cold. Because it's mild enough to be mistaken for a cold. So stop the bloody fuss!

It's sounding grim people .. :(
I am so depressed to be honest , I know we are not at war etc , but it is the news nobody wants about how bad it could be and we were all hoping for a normal ( ish) Christmas.
I feel for the NHS staff , they must be so wrecked and tired and fed up.
It is sad for them.

I am still hoping it might not be as bad but the news today isn't sounding too optimistic so far.

We need to move Christmas to July.

It’ll be boosters/vaccines. It’s pretty much his only success story so he’ll want to say it as much as possible to deflect from the rebellion in his own party yesterday, the parties last year at Downing Street and his general shitness.

Chris Witty might have some interesting information about Omicron but I wouldn’t expect anything groundbreaking unless something major happens in the next couple of hours.

@the80sweregreat

It's sounding grim people .. :( I am so depressed to be honest , I know we are not at war etc , but it is the news nobody wants about how bad it could be and we were all hoping for a normal ( ish) Christmas. I feel for the NHS staff , they must be so wrecked and tired and fed up. It is sad for them.

I am still hoping it might not be as bad but the news today isn't sounding too optimistic so far.

I don't think it's as bad as you think, as most people aren't really ill with it. Some people don't even have any symptoms and others are having a mild sort of cold.

The rise in cases in South Africa has already peaked and numbers are falling.

It can't keep doubling at the rate Jennie Harries says. In a week it would have infected the whole population of the UK, which is clearly very unrealistic. It can't grow exponentially for the same reason.

@Immaculatemisconception

I've come to the conclusion that unless I live like a complete hermit, I will catch it. This is the same for everyone.

There's not stopping it, we just have to crack on.

I think a lot of people are concerned about what this means if they've got any plans in the next 10 days or so... at the moment, the longer you can prolong catching it, the better, for yourself, your contacts and the healthcare system...

Well fantastic then. We're all coping with it just fine then. So much so, most people are going about their daily lives assuming it's just a cold. Because it's mild enough to be mistaken for a cold. So stop the bloody fuss!

You do understand that it isn't mild for everyone?
Some people are asymptomatic, some people have mild illness, some people need to go to hospital but survive and some people need to go to hospital and don't survive.

I think a lot of people are concerned about what this means if they've got any plans in the next 10 days or so... at the moment, the longer you can prolong catching it, the better, for yourself, your contacts and the healthcare system...

I'm sure you're right, we've all got plans. However, Covid has zero regard for our plans. Unless you completely isolate yourself, you will catch it because it's highly infectious.

The rise in cases in South Africa has already peaked and numbers are falling.

Oh really is that encouraging at this point? Sounds it

@LiteralLateral

Well fantastic then. We're all coping with it just fine then. So much so, most people are going about their daily lives assuming it's just a cold. Because it's mild enough to be mistaken for a cold. So stop the bloody fuss!

You do understand that it isn't mild for everyone?
Some people are asymptomatic, some people have mild illness, some people need to go to hospital but survive and some people need to go to hospital and don't survive.

You're basing this on the Delta variant. We don't yet have the stats to say exactly how Omicron is affecting us but there's an awful lot of people claiming that it's more mild. I

Nope. It's not all or nothing. If you reduce your risk, you reduce your risk.
The black- and- white thinking is attractive but it's contributed to the mess we're in - antivaxxers etc.

Thinking we'll all get it eventually may be true but shouldn't drive people to take more risk at a time when the nhs is already overwhelmed.

I'm planning on mixing as little as possible in the next week, but not completely isolating.

@ClaudiaWankleman

It can't keep doubling at the rate Jennie Harries says. In a week it would have infected the whole population of the UK, which is clearly very unrealistic. It can't grow exponentially for the same reason.

It can't of course, it will eventually reach saturation. But if it infects the whole (or even most of) the population in a very short space of time then our healthcare system and all the poor buggers who get seriously ill are in for a very very rocky ride.

@Lipsandlashes

A milder illness is still devastating to the health service if enough people have it. How so? Do you regularly bother your GP or A&E with a cold or even flu? I know I certainly don't!

Honestly I don’t know why people don’t understand the figures.

We lose on average 17000 per year to flu even with vaccines and many more than that catch it. But we don’t all get it at the same time , thousands and thousands per day. It also does not cause multiple blood clots in every organ of the body. It is also rare to suffer ing term affects from flu.

If we had carried on at the peak we would have lost 365000 or more in a year.

Just look at the figures if thousands are catching it only a few may be seriously ill. Some of them will be fully jabbed , some will not ,but they could need longer term medical intervention. And the nhs will struggle.it’s the vast numbers that are important.

Many are posting just to make political points. Me I remember this is worldwide. We are not alone in dealing with this .

Btw RIP jethro

@MarshaBradyo

The rise in cases in South Africa has already peaked and numbers are falling.

Oh really is that encouraging at this point? Sounds it

A quick search brought up this. I'm sorry it's the Mail but they aren't renowned for reporting good news.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10312325/More-hope-ground-zero-Cases-Omicron-stricken-South-African-province-FALLING.html

I'm so bored of it now . Stick a Tom & Jerry cartoon on between Pointless and the news - it's about as useful and at least it will cheer us up.

People on here are not watching the same news that I am ! It sounds really downbeat
However, I appreciate that they have said all this before and we have the boosters and vaccine now too. It shouldn't be as grim as it's sounding , but it's hard to know who to believe as well. Even Boris Johnson said that mild doesn't mean we can be cavalier about it ( I know it's him though and he is a liar )
Have to see what they say , but people still won't believe it I suppose and it may turn out ok in the end?

@Quarantino

Nope. It's not all or nothing. If you reduce your risk, you reduce your risk. The black- and- white thinking is attractive but it's contributed to the mess we're in - antivaxxers etc.

Thinking we'll all get it eventually may be true but shouldn't drive people to take more risk at a time when the nhs is already overwhelmed.

I'm planning on mixing as little as possible in the next week, but not completely isolating.

Of course you can reduce your risk but the scientists are telling us that it's so infectious we're all going to get it.

I honestly believe the only way of avoiding it, is to become a hermit.

@Lipsandlashes

A milder illness is still devastating to the health service if enough people have it. How so? Do you regularly bother your GP or A&E with a cold or even flu? I know I certainly don't!

And neither do I. Like a lot of the population I'm young, healthy, and generally fit.

But if my father (who is elderly, has Parkinson's, cancer, and a dodgy heart) got flu, it could very easily kill him.

Now imagine every single elderly or vulnerable person like him in the country got flu around the same time. Even if only 5% of them need treatment that is an awful lot of people.

You're showing a basic lack of understanding of maths here.

@WineGetsMeThroughIt

But what they said in the beginning is still relevant. They need the facts and figures to see what percentage end up in hospital. What’s wrong with that? A few more weeks and we could be saying , yes all fine , mild symptoms, live with it.

But surely try and counteract the spread until they know?

According to “experts” this is going to be horrific or the turning point. Which expert should the government listen to?

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/weeklyprovisionalfiguresondeathsregisteredinenglandandwales

Most recent figures - week ending 03/12
11,392 deaths in England and Wales
792 mention Covid on death certificate, of which 658 have Covid as underlying cause.
1,983 mention influenza on death certificate, of which 377 have influenza as underlying cause