Borris heading news conference tonight at 5, do we think new restrictions coming?

[Loveatthe5anddime]

Just seen on Sky New there is a news conference tonight at 5, interested to know what will be said...

There hasn’t been the usual rumblings “leaked documents” etc so hopeful just an update, what do we all think?

@VikingOnTheFridge

I absolutely do not assume most people feel the same way as me! As I said upthread the public are split on covid.

What the public have never been split on, really is:

• the NHS
• strong leadership

This press conference was basically 'things are going to get worse in the NHS and, er, er, er'

[quote rrhuth]@VikingOnTheFridge

I absolutely do not assume most people feel the same way as me! As I said upthread the public are split on covid.

What the public have never been split on, really is:

• the NHS
• strong leadership

This press conference was basically 'things are going to get worse in the NHS and, er, er, er'[/quote]
In that case, what's the basis for the belief that it's not helpful for him to be seen not to be Doing Something?

I'm of the view that this is a lose lose situation for him whatever he does myself. There aren't any actions he could take that wouldn't lead to significant opposition, particularly as there'd be public unwillingness to consider any further restriction as a standalone policy rather than a slippery slope.

[quote rrhuth]@VikingOnTheFridge

I absolutely do not assume most people feel the same way as me! As I said upthread the public are split on covid.

What the public have never been split on, really is:

• the NHS
• strong leadership

This press conference was basically 'things are going to get worse in the NHS and, er, er, er'[/quote]
…And no new restrictions.

Which you listen for if you don’t want them.

@VikingOnTheFridge

Because the public like leaders to lead and have a plan. Trying to annoy no one doesn't work. You can't just keep your head down and hope it all blows over when it is the NHS declaring critical incidents.

[quote rrhuth]@VikingOnTheFridge

Because the public like leaders to lead and have a plan. Trying to annoy no one doesn't work. You can't just keep your head down and hope it all blows over when it is the NHS declaring critical incidents.[/quote]
This doesn't mean the public are going to be happier with any plan so long as it's a plan, though.

A lack of leadership is never popular, a lack of leadership around the NHS is even less popular, that is my view. I guess time will tell!

The public might not be 'happier' wrt covid, but they would be happier about leadership if he had something to say and a visible plan.

So anyway... a week before Christmas the modelling suggests we are heading to 3,000 deaths per day, swamped hospitals, and 1+ million infections per day unless the government implemented new restrictions urgently.

The government ignored this request, Christmas and New Year went ahead in England broadly speaking as normal. Some people though cancelled their Christmas parties and some people didn't go the pub quite as much.

And that is the behaviour change which has supposedly saved 3,000 people per day from dying??

The fact is the omicron surge hasn't killed 3,000 people per day because it was a more mild variant. There was good evidence this was the case at the time Imperial announced there was "no evidence". The key factor isn't behaviour change - it was dodgy assumptions.

@rrhuth

A lack of leadership is never popular, a lack of leadership around the NHS is even less popular, that is my view. I guess time will tell!

The public might not be 'happier' wrt covid, but they would be happier about leadership if he had something to say and a visible plan.

Again though, this doesn't mean that having changed anything today would lead to the public being happier about Johnson's leadership, or regard any changes as being a visible plan. People don't like poor policy either. Any new restrictions would also be seen by a segment of the public as doing something for the sake of being seen to do it, ie poor leadership. There's more than one way to be seen as ineffective.

@VikingOnTheFridge

I guess we will never get to compare with the parallel universe, but my view is that strong leadership is popular and people like leaders with plans. Have a nice evening anyway and I guess we will all be back to see how this progresses

If there are more photos I will enjoy reading about the fallout anyway!

I wasted 45 minutes of my life watching the press conference, as did Sir Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance taking part in it.

It was a press conference for the sake of being seen to be visible saying something. Journalists were struggling to find questions hence asking about other things such as transport finance in London.

Or it was a press conference to try to reduce the time in news bulletins for Keir Starmer's speech.

[quote rrhuth]@VikingOnTheFridge

I guess we will never get to compare with the parallel universe, but my view is that strong leadership is popular and people like leaders with plans. Have a nice evening anyway and I guess we will all be back to see how this progresses

If there are more photos I will enjoy reading about the fallout anyway![/quote]
I think we agree on the strong leadership and plans part, not on whether changing anything tonight would've amounted to either. As I say, I think it's lose lose for him at the mo.

The cynic in me thought the same about Starmer, I did read somewhere that this one had been scheduled for a bit though. Didn't check.

And I would add risk of long covid too to this tweet .

Potentially many people could become chronically ill from CoVid. A form of Long CoVid has many similarities with ME.

I have had ME 23 years following a virus, now severe, bedridden for these last 9 years. Not all people with ME become severe but even less severe forms can take people out of the workforce and have to go on disability benefits. Full recovery of ME low.

Financial Times article on long covid out today.

www.ft.com/content/ed89cad2-6f82-44f0-b01d-c4490e4a7372

Copying a tweet:

“Johnson says that it's a choice between Plan B and lockdown, which has its own harms. He ignores - again - the vaccines plus strategy adopted in many other nations and recommended by WHO. Ventilation in schools, working test and trace, support to stay at home if infected, use and provision of high quality masks, vaccination of children, etc would all keep cases - and hence hospitalisations and deaths - down while allowing us to continue living our lives. Instead we have minimal and inadequate restrictions with the inevitable results we see today”

He did dodge the mask questions in hospitals. Surely we can afford the N95 ones if staff want to use them instead of paper blue ones? He can’t keep saying we doing everything we can and then provide rubbish PPE.

I’ve got relatives in USA primary kids have been jabbed 5-12y for months and months. They have data on millions of children. Not sure what waiting for. No doubt next big story crisis to hit then shock big covid announcement

proving that he is 'in this country' and has not been away...not abroad....

@InCahootswithOrwell

I am just asking how that will play politically, because it is quite a flat message.

I don't think it was aimed at the public. I think it was aimed at the CRG. Even after Whitty showing the graph he attempted a WITH covid not OF covid for hospital admissions and threw in nosocomial infection as a term. There were a couple of other covid tropes in there too. I think it's his response to all the other Tory hopefuls vying for his job.

This

@MarshaBradyo, it does not have to be a binary choice between Plan B and lockdown. From the tweet I posted on this thread the govt are not following a vaccine plus strategy that would help to keep cases - and hence hospitalisation and death down - while allowing us to continue living our lives. Better ventilation in schools, working test and trace, support to stay at home if infected, use and provision of high quality masks, vaccination of children all not being done. Instead there are minimal and inadequate restrictions with the inevitable results we see today

Article advocating vaccine plus strategy in open letter to BMJ www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o1