Tiering up the Covid elimination strategy

[dancemom]

Sadly the end was not as close as we thought so new thread required ....

All kids are supposed to wear masks all day unless they're outside. My hearing is pretty good and I've learned this year how heavily we rely on lip reading to supplement what we hear. As a pp said, I'm constantly having to move to the back of the room to hear what pupils are saying. Trying to annotate a lengthy poem, or a similar activity is nigh on impossible as they struggle to hear my normally fairly well projected voice.
Plus after the past 8 months of complaining of being freezing, the school is now boiling and the mask really doesn't help.

I can not wait to get rid of them.

@Cis I agree masks do muffle speech. It must be very difficult in your setting. In my role as a vet I’m having to ask pet owners a few times what their animals problem is. It’s definitely not moaning about hearing, it’s a fact that many settings are very difficult with mask speaking and it is important to be clear what’s being said. So rail away many understand. A crabbit poster on here chooses to dismiss this offhand, ignore don’t engage 🤷‍♀️

@Coquohvan It mist be impossible when you can't easily communicate with the patient or the person.

Dd is taking 2 languages, masks are definitely a hindrance when it comes to both listening and speaking

[quote Cismyfatarse]@Coquohvan It mist be impossible when you can't easily communicate with the patient or the person. [/quote]
If only Dr Dolittle was real 😂

@Coquohvan Would the Pushmepullyou need 2 masks? Could it get Covid at both end?

There's a bizarre story today about a domestic cruise ship being forbidden from making its planned stop in Scotland. All passengers were UK residents, fully vaccinated and testing negative, the cruise was all properly socially distanced and at a fraction of capacity, and the ship only went round the UK, so all perfectly allowed by any other means of transport.

Apparently the logic was that domestic cruises are only allowed when ALL of Scotland is at tier 1. I've tried to find this rule in the SG guidance and I can't. Though obviously that doesn't mean it's not there, buried in a report on dolphins or something.

But if that is the rule - why? How is it different from the same UK residents travelling round the UK by train, or similar? Or indeed people coming to the football without having the show a test or anything. The cruise company obviously weren't aware of the rule, and the local companies who were ready to do tours etc when people disembarked must be devastated. This is pretty poor communication by the SG, surely. And not a good look for Scotland.

@ResilienceWanker that's bizarre. Perhaps they can dress up as football supporters then they can apparently do as they wish.

Yeah they should've said they were going to the Fanzone

That is really weird @ResilienceWanker. Especially on the day when it's revealed that football fans won't be required to show proof of a negative test or vaccination to enter the stadium or the Fan zone because of 'ethical issues', despite the other Euro2020 venues requiring this (including in England), and despite there apparently being no ethical issues in requiring people to take tests before and after travelling (or is that optional too??). That cruise ship, consisting of entirely UK passengers who are all required to be vaccinated and/or tested for COVID, which hasn't stopped anywhere outwith the UK (which as you say you can freely travel by other means), is surely a much less risky prospect than the Euros, yet this is banned!

Quite apart from the messaging, which is clearly terrible, the inconsistencies are becoming a bit farcical now.

Precisely! It's the inconsistency - especially with the football - that gets me. These "ethical issues" with testing the fanzone people? How are they different from, for example, the requirement to test before being allowed to visit relatives in care homes? I mean, I know the stakes are higher for care home residents - but then surely people have more of a right to see their relatives that they do to watch the footie without having to consider "ethical issues" ?! And yes, requiring proof of negative tests to reenter your home country doesn't infringe on people's rights either, apparently. And testing for eg travel to the islands, in schools and so on (I know those are voluntary). I really can't understand why they haven't made testing a requirement for the fanzone. It's not that they have any interest in appearing less "cautious" than England or anything.

Is it defo no alcohol? They are advertising for bar staff on FB and Twitter?

It infuriates me that it's one rule for football and everyone else can go swing!!!!!

Completely wrong and goes to show the message of 'We only do things in interest of public health I won't apologise for protecting people' etc etc is actually a crock of shite!

@IsurviveonCoffeeandWinein2021

Is it defo no alcohol? They are advertising for bar staff on FB and Twitter?

From the Fanzone website FAQs:

"Beverage Garden: Food and beverage can be ordered through the official QR code. Alcohol will be sold and must be consumed inside authorised areas only."

So I'm not sure where this idea that it will be alcohol free is coming from, when the official website still says it will be available. Unless they've changed the rules and not updated it?

@IsurviveonCoffeeandWinein2021

Is it defo no alcohol? They are advertising for bar staff on FB and Twitter?

Wine and beer only apparently

Can you imagine a mass of footie fans deprived of booze? That could be explosive!

I agree we should invest in a football strip and go and cause some havoc!

Thanks @Y0uCann0tBeSer10us and @hilbil21 I thought that. Just seen on here today that it was apparently not the case.

In more positive news, the UK has very high levels of COVID19 immunity, with about 80% of people having detectable antibodies (so likely an even higher proportion with some immunity but may have lost detectable antibodies). This will make it very difficult for the virus to take hold, even with increased mixing. Scotland still a good 7% adrift from the rest of the UK with lower immunity overall, but increasing at roughly the same rate now. Perhaps the free for all at the Euros is a cunning plan to increase herd immunity... 😉

"About 8 in 10 adults in the UK had antibodies to coronavirus by 17 May, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics.
The figures are 83% for adults in Wales, 80% in England and Northern Ireland and a slightly lower 73% for Scotland.
They're up from 77% for Wales, 76% for England, 75% for Northern Ireland and 69% for Scotland - the week before."

The cruise ship thing makes NO SENSE. But then again, when has the Scottish government ever done things which make sense?

I can just see them with their wee pursed lips and the passive aggressive "just because you can doesn't mean you should". How DARE people be blatantly flouting themselves on something as frivolous as a cruise ship??? Outrageous!

Never mind the fact that cruises bring huge amounts of money into communities like Orkney. Covid - even when there is a complete absence of covid - is the only thing which matters.

The cruise ship story is ridiculous. It’s across the U.K. media, so people will interpret what they want from that action. Welcome to Scotland.

Another punch in the guts to Scottish tourism. Shameful.

In the latest bizarre twist in the fan zone saga it emerges that the people running the Fan Zone had offered to put in place a testing regime, but our National Clinical Director said no!

Stranger than fiction!

My god it gets worse. Think someone mentioned it up thread but I don't think anyone would have an issue testing before the fanzone. The sooner JL fucks off the better. Odious man

Did anyone hear Humza being questioned on Fanzone yesterday? I heard bit on car radio where he said they couldn't make testing mandatory as it would disadvantage people who are digitally excluded. He then went on to talk about all the safety measures including Glasgow city council EMAILING all ticket holders to encourage them to take test, use of QR codes🤷🏼‍♀️

The less testing the better now.

Ffs, that means I’ve agreed with JL on something. I feel dirty.