Tiering up the Covid elimination strategy

[dancemom]

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

600 odd cases isn’t great though

Stuck in L3 until next week. Uncomfortably high levels.

Just another week.

What a fucking shitshow.

They should have targeted Glasgow ages ago! It's never really dropped since easy mass testing came in.

Feel sorry for the businesses, don't know how many will follow it the greatest number of house party fines was also issued in Glasgow!

@ssd

641 new cases today, r number 1.3

Lets hope Glasgow moves into level 2

641 new cases
That's not good!

What the fuck has Glasgow ever done to annoy her.
To be treated so badly compared to the whole of the rest of the UK is unforgivable.All the poor people in the hospitality industry.

So they know that despite rising cases hospitalisations remain broadly stable. They also know that the demographic in hospital now is younger than previously and tends to be the unvaccinated. Yet they want more time to gather more evidence of what everyone else knows by now, that the virus isn't breaking through to the vaccinated vulnerable groups to any great extent and the NHS isn't even close to being overwhelmed. ('breathing a sigh of relief' is in fact what JL says). I have to wonder what exactly they're waiting for. Feel really bad for the people of Glasgow stuck in level 3 for 'just one more week' (where've we heard that before...), especially those in the North with hardly any cases.

You're right @Scottishskifun Glasgow should have been targeted months ago.

Last week I heard the Doctor in charge of vaccination rollout in Bolton being interviewed on TV about the situation there. She was describing the demographics of areas which THEY KNOW make it more likely to have higher Covid numbers. And guess which Scottish city fits that demographic......

When can we stop giving a shit about cases.....

I already have @Pootle40. Hospitalisation is the only measure which has any meaning.

@RaspberryCoulis

I already have *@Pootle40*. Hospitalisation is the only measure which has any meaning.

Me too. But I feel like government are clinging onto it as if we should continue to be afraid.....

Did she not say a week ago that it was the hospital cases that they were going on, not new cases........hospitalisations haven't shot up so did she just lie to us all. Been watching hospital numbers all week with some hope and am now absolutely gutted and sick of this. Off to reschedule a few nights away now.

FFS.

Absolutely agree that they should have had forethought about Glasgow and have complained to all my MSPs as such:...

Given that the Scottish Government are continuing to approve the lockdown for Glasgow, and that you all must surely recognise now that the trend will be for Glasgow to always have higher rates of infections relative to the rest of Scotland, what are you doing to ensure that Glasgow is not on restrictions for evermore?

I am a disabilities adviser - and when I recognise my students are unfairly disadvantaged compared to the main student cohort I pull out all the stops so that the impact of these disabilities are minimised, and that they have all the support they need to access and enjoy their courses like everyone else. I ensure extra support so that the playing field is levelled, and I anticipate their likely barriers in advance, so that I can proactively take steps for them so that they need not face unnecessary disadvantage.

What steps are you taking to ensure that the playing field is levelled for Glasgow? You know the region will always have higher rates of infection. Glasgow has had nearly 9 months of harsh restrictions now, there has been plenty of time to recognise and address this trend - why have more proactive steps not been taken so that we can participate in life equally like the rest of the country?

There's definitely been a back tracking in tone from earlier in the week when she strongly implied that if hospitalisations were stable (which she concedes they are) Glasgow would be moved down to tier 2. Who knows why she's lost her nerve, but I wonder if the latest ONS figures have her a bit spooked?

From the BBC:
"The figures show:

About one in 1,120 are estimated to be testing positive for coronavirus in England compared with one in 1,110 last week
One in 3,850 compared with one in 4,340 last week in Wales
One in 820 compared with one in 1,550 last week in Northern Ireland
and one in 630 compared with one in 1,960 last week in Scotland"

So not only does Scotland now have the highest prevalence in the UK, it's also had the biggest increase in the last week, more than tripling from the week before. Of course, if these people are all younger/low risk then you have to ask if this matters at all (personally I think not) but given how risk averse she is it might be part of the reason for the change in tone.

Risk averse is right. That probably does have a lot to do with it @Y0uCann0tBeSer10us.

I was involved with the PCR testing on the southside as a volunteer - knocking door to door. I can tell you that, despite encouragement, lots didn't see the need to take the test 'I don't have symptoms, I'm fine.' 'I had Covid recently so I don't need to' 'I get the lateral flow tests done through my work so I don't need to'.

But of course what this means is that the percentage of the tests that comes back positive is very high - of course it would, only those who feel like they might actually have Covid bother to do the test and hand it in/ send it back.

So it is really not an accurate measure of the real incidence of illness in the community, it's very, very skewed.

Well said @suggestionsplease1
We all know Glasgow has really struggled through this and continues to do so, mainly due to its demographics. A different approach is clearly needed.

And we really need to stop counting cases if hospital numbers are not going up.

That was related to your letter to MSPs @suggestionsplease1

@suggestionsplease1 the refusal based on having covid recently is correct. A PCR test within 90 days of having covid can bring back a positive result and result in isolation without actually being infectious.

Great letter though and I hope you get a reasonable response!

• 641 new cases of COVID-19 reported
• 25,939 new tests for COVID-19 that reported results
◦ 2.6% of these were positive
• 2 new reported death(s) of people who have tested positive
• 6 people were in intensive care yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19
• 90 people were in hospital yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19
• 3,196,051 people have received the first dose of the Covid vaccination and 1,971,006 have received their second dose

690,613 vaccinations in 🇬🇧 yesterday

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 223,510 1st doses / 374,042 2nd doses
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 21,244 / 28,721
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 8,014 / 22,698
NI 3,749 / 8,635

Fucking knew they were just messing with our heads with the up... now the down again.

It’s shite

[quote Scottishskifun]@suggestionsplease1 the refusal based on having covid recently is correct. A PCR test within 90 days of having covid can bring back a positive result and result in isolation without actually being infectious.[/quote]
Right enough - but it was also anyone who had ever had Covid who wouldn't take it and so that rules out a lot of negative returns which would have lowered the overall percentage.

I sent that letter last Friday and got the usual impersonal, standard response back that they will be sending out to all similar Covid letters 'understand you're disappointed, blah blah, stepping up testing and vaccinations, blah, hopeful..blah'

Does anyone else think that because Nicola Sturgeon lives in Glasgow she actually finds it easier to continue restrictions for the area ...'I know how hard it is, I live there too, I'm suffering as well... (note I am not quoting her) It almost feels like it gives her a bit of license to persist with this path compared to if another region was the focus where the population could say 'Well that's fine for you to say you don't have to live it'. She's well aware she doesn't have that friction to contend with and brings up her personal situation each time it continues.

"Does anyone else think that because Nicola Sturgeon lives in Glasgow she actually finds it easier to continue restrictions for the area ...'I know how hard it is, I live there too, I'm suffering as well..."

She doesn't though, does she? She still travels across the country every day and gets to interact with people, she doesn't have the feeling of being trapped or children climbing the walls because everything is shut... I don't even live in Glasgow, but I'm pissed off on your behalf and annoyed that she's gone back on her 'word' if you like, and is still considering cases above all else.

It is so unfair to punish hospitality this way.

I really do feel for the businesses who are in limbo for yet another week.