October Becomes November Lockdown

[BlueThursday]

New thread

I suspect this will be the second of many

@Scotslassie1 this is semantics again about the money coming to people and businesses in Scotland rather than the scot govt.

I'm not sure why the UK government should pay for a decision to close businesses at a much lower level of infection. Places with similar levels to where I live are tier 1 in England and businesses are open.

All in pursuit of what?

Still waiting on the stats on how many are hospitalised or die from covid. 7 months later.

@Scotslassie1

Scotland spends much more than it receives in taxes thanks to the subsidy provided by the U.K. government.

What Sturgeon wants is to use English taxpayers’ money to close down Scottish businesses in pursuit of her delusional COVID elimination strategy.

She will now blame Westminster for the job losses that will follow. That was her plan all along.

N.S really should be explaining why she let cases rise in Glasgow with no action, leading to the central belt issue. She locked Aberdeen down at 73 ppl.

@Torvean32

N.S really should be explaining why she let cases rise in Glasgow with no action, leading to the central belt issue. She locked Aberdeen down at 73 ppl.

This! She needs to be held accountable for what's happening in Glasgow and Lanarkshire.

I really pray people start to turn against her in May.

She won't explain. She hadn't explained why they covered up the Nike conferences and why they discharged all those people into care homes.

I expect she'll "forget" like she "forgot" so many details around the Salmond case.

I think this demonstrates again why a UK wide strategy would be better with all the nations together deciding it, advised by a proper selection of specialists (not dentists or people with financial interest in outcomes).

I agree; this 5 tiers as opposed to 3 isn’t helpful at all

So much absolute drivel I'm quite gobsmacked adults believe this.

Ecosse are you on planet earth? You do know the SG have been saying there needs to be support after furlough ends for weeks. You do know the Tories voted against providing a food voucher for one meal each day during the holidays, for the poorest in society. You really think the UK Gov subsidises a whole country? Wake up! Scotland's, yes Scotland's wealth has balanced the books in England for years. That's not my words. That was said by Alastair Darling and there's UK Gov documentation which shows Scotland's wealth was deliberately covered up and if we were to keep it, we would be an ' embarrassingly wealthy country.' Words from the report.

We are not ever and I mean ever given money from English tax payers and we are not subsidised by England. Please go and do some research.

Scottish businesses should be entitled to what was announced yesterday by the chancellor. Instead, Scotland has to made do with what the UK Gov decides it can have ( from borrowed money that we'll pay back) NOT a cash gift as you seem to think. Billions have been spent on HS2 ( no benefit to Scotland) yet of course we need to pay ten per cent plus service costs back.
It really us like an abusive relationship and it saddens me that you and WaxOn appear to be of the opinion that Scottish businesses shouldn't have the support needed. We can't borrow. Our taxes go to WM. They decide how much we've raised is given back and when.
In terms of closing businesses, we are in line with the rest of the UK , it's England that's doing things differently. That's up to the PM.
And I'm going to have a lovely Friday so I'm off for today!

ZZZZZzzzzz

I’m feeling quite worried about the tier system to be announced today. Please don’t let them shut gyms - I’d gone proper mental during first lockdown and just getting some sanity and fitness back. I’m quite old and fat so it’s in my interests to shape up!

Just all so depressing and I’ve seen a really sad post from a Scottish hotelier. It must be so awful for them

I've just seen a post from a soft play owner. They have been closed since March and have never re-opened. They are desperate and the business won't survive until Christmas.

Which business can survive 7 months with no income, and ever chance they'll be told to close for another 3, 6, 9 months?

You can guarantee that the tier system will be inconsistent, full of contradictions and impossible to implement and enforce. It will spark thousands of "I live in alert level 3, work in alert level 2 and my mum lives in alert level 4" posts where people have no clue what they are supposed to be doing.

They really have lost the plot and are rapidly losing the goodwill of the public too.

I am starting to hope after the vaccine the world economy will have a massive boom and all the hospitality industry will recover (I know it’s not that easy, but still a nice thought - it will help those who do manage to stay open)

I took out temporary membership at a gym with an outdoor heated pool. It's been such a little luxury swimming outside and it feels almost like I am abroad. I would be sad if that little escape was shut down to me.
The clocks changing is a mournful thing too. Less daylight and it feels like nothing to look forward to and everything to worry about . Best get a chest light and at least I can run outside.

Edinburgh will doubtless be in the highest tier although our numbers are nowhere near as bad as Glasgow and caused by government and university deciding to tell poor students to come to halls

@Chickenandrice but there’s no guarantee there will be a vaccine.

That’s why I’m so worried about what the goal of all this is?

No one is telling us clearly. I think because they have no clue?

Poor business owners.

Yes wouldbegood it’s all a mess. If only we (or they) knew what the plan was

Even if a vaccine does come, to distribute it to all will be such a monumental effort that will take ages.
Even if they start from the most needy (the elderly, say), by the time it trickles down it will be ages and I doubt they will let everyone else free in the meantime.

I'm really worried about the various tiers to be announced. Bizarrely, probably most worried about the "lowest" one, which NS said would be "the closest to normality that we can reasonably expect to live with until we have a vaccine". So that will be the best we can expect for the foreseeable future. And the odds of that including things like theatre, choirs, school assemblies, normal meetings with no distancing etc I think are pretty low .

Of course I'm worried too about the top level, which could be more like lockdown, but at least there is the pretence that that will just be short term where imposed. But I do hope there are given levels/ rates or whatever, at which it would be introduced and relaxed. Otherwise areas could potentially be in it indefinitely which doesn't bear thinking about. Of course, I've got my fingers crossed Edinburgh isn't slung into it from the outset.

I'm a bit annoyed at her reasoning for the introduction of the top tier...
"When England published their [system] the chief medical officer in England at the time said he thought the top level was not enough to necessarily, in all circumstances, get the virus down. So we think we need one above that... "
Yes, that's true, but the current restrictions in the central belt are already tighter than England's tier 3 (albeit not quite as harsh as a full lockdown, apart from on the livelihood of bars, restaurants and leisure centres etc ) ...and the CMO as far as I know hasn't commented on these restrictions. So why do we need to go one further before the effectiveness of those has been established?

[quote rookiemere]Edinburgh will doubtless be in the highest tier although our numbers are nowhere near as bad as Glasgow and caused by government and university deciding to tell poor students to come to halls

Yes I’m so angry and frustrated. I feel we are led by incompetents.

I can’t even be arsed posting my views but needless to say my heart is weeping for the hospitality trade. Even more the lost lives to loneliness, poverty and depression.

Just want to say say 3 cheers to St Andrew's uni and its students they only have 5 active cases this week. They have also implemented a Can Do approach to activities which is a much more positive response than the panic in the beginning.

@Alittlewornout, such as?

That's great news alittlewornout ! Great to hear of a bit of positivity among all the gloom. I do feel so sorry for all the students this year - horrible to be being "blamed" for being disease carriers (on top of the age old complaints of being drunken layabouts etc etc etc in some areas) so it's good to hear things are looking a bit more positive for them.