Covid-19 Virus

It isn't petty though, it is deadly serious.

The government need to have their guidance followed otherwise there will be a free for all. Attempts to undermine the government at every step on here, in the wider media, harms the message. Moose saying that Boris said that everyone should go back to work is a lie, and cant go unchallenged.

However, I agree, this thread should be politics free, but you should direct your accusations to those who first want to use this tragedy to score anti government points

 

**** ! CV politics needs to go back into isolation immediately.

 

100% accurate Antibody test approved by PHE today. Should be available to be rolled out in large numbers.

 

Better late than never.

 

I don’t know what their plans are for it, but there needs to be a decent mechanism for recording every positive test alongside additional important data, otherwise it will be a waste of time.

 

Finding out who has had it will tell us a huge amount about the future of the virus. Michael Ryan of WHO suggests here that the level of infection in the general population is lower than expected. This may help us find out if he is too pessimistic.

The first 40 seconds deals with herd immunity and then goes onto general infection rates.

 

looks like a bus driver complete with badly fitting 3rd hand jacket

 

I really hope he’s wrong, its going to be fascinating to find out. My own hope regarding what he’s saying is that he works for the WHO, who cocked their initial response up massively so are now over compensating (and after all they’re the worlds health governing body, so their job is to ensure this is taken as seriously as possible). I’ve not heard much about that French case from December since? That gave me some hope the level of infection is actually much higher. A lot of reports suggest London is possibly around 20% though?

 

So called socialist uses 'bus driver' as an insult.

 

Quite right.
There's nothing like a tailor fitted jacket for those in the public eye

 

Screw all this politics nonsense we really need to focus on a daily roasting of public eye clobber

 

How much later than the normal time to produce an antibody test is it?

 

As I said in another post, the antigen test was pointless as you could contract the virus after being tested negative.

The antibody test was far more important as it would show if you'd had the virus - psst...SPOILER ALERT...that's what they did in South Korea and Germany...they have a very low death toll.

 

"Catholic Churches should reopen first" says idiot in red hat.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...eopen-before-others-england-wales-coronavirus

 

The collection baskets must be getting very dusty

 

FYI - it was a genuine question not a challenge..

I did not realise an antibody test was already being done in SK & GER as you say, I thought they were just doing a lot of testing "if" a person has it. Very strange that other countries like US / Italy / Spain / UK etc have not used the same test. Why were we still developing a test, when one already existed. - Again a genuine question not a challenge.

 

Are you sure?

 

For anyone interesting, this has now been updated with more data:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...scovid19infectionsurveypilot/england14may2020

 

Ok, apologies I misread it. South Korea were testing antibodies back in March.

 

Good news that a reliable antibody test has been developed. If 0.27% percent were infected in a 2 week period it does suggest a low % have had the virus and therefore have antibodies

 

My blood is currently retailing at £50 a syringe. After special forum discount, £48.

 

I suppose what will be really helpful is when this is repeated. We may get some idea of the decline in infections then, which should be fairly rapid.

We need a pretty low figure across the board for public confidence to return.

 

There’s been noise for months now about some tests working, some not working, some perhaps working but maybe not, con artists selling test kit, stuff not meeting EU standards etc... easier to unravel a plate of spaghetti

 

It would be interesting to know how many of those who tested positive were asymptomatic as a proportion of the whole.

 

It has been a strange situation. I live in Nottingham, and the main Nottingham hospital, The Queens Medical Centre, A&E has been almost deserted for weeks and other general medical wards have been under-used. I damaged my knee and went via "111" for an "urgent assessment"to a medical centre that is normally swamped, and I was the only person there.

The TV program you suggested we watched on the Royal Free and Barnet hospital was upsetting and thought provoking in many ways, but I was struck how generally relaxed the ICU wards were. The battle was with the virus rather than resources, with time to make decisions and with no sense of being stretched at all.

I can't help wondering if, with only 40% of ICU beds being used, the NHS emphasis was either too much on Covid-19, or they are keeping it on too long. Whether right or wrong, or if in hindsight they may have acted differently, I know those decisions would have been made for the right reasons based on what they knew at the time, 99% of the time, and that is my view with everyone making big decisions right now.

I hope that the inevitable, desperate search for scapegoats and someone to blame after all this takes that into consideration. It is very easy to criticise from behind a keyboard. Everybody seems to think they are experts without knowing all the data, pressures and circumstances at the time.

 

He wrote a Spectator article that has been popular.

The mistake for me is that it is not a moral question. It is a practical one. Forget all the modelling debates, we had a serious disease with numbers roaring off into the stratosphere. Only the lockdown could arrest that. Only a careful retreat can prevent that reoccurring. If we don’t there is a real risk the NHS could be overwhelmed and we would become out of step with the rest of the World as it takes action.

Now we have taken action the opportunity presents to modify it to be less blunt, to allow greater economic freedom and activity. But it can’t be wished away and some consequences, such as the decimation of international travel are not problems we can solve simply by unilaterally ending our lockdown.

However, we do need to urgently ensure that the NHS functions to treat all serious illness once more.

 

Not necessarily because that was for the period in lockdown so you would expect a low number of infections, that was precisely the point of it. It would probably be far more concerning if that figure was higher as far as easing lockdown was concerned. It just means lockdown worked.

Conversely cases in London are now down to 24 per day, but at the peak was up at 230,000 cases per day, which is 2.5% of London’s population in just one day.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.standard.co.uk/news/health/londons-r-rate-now-lowest-in-country-as-city-records-24-new-coronavirus-cases-a-day-a4441216.html?amp

edit: I can’t see how that 230,000 figure is correct but it’s what is stated in the article

 

Bas?

 

After several measured and sensible posts you bring us down by bringing Bas into the debate

 

Article has been updated: At the peak of the outbreak on March 23, the rate of infections in the capital was 230,000 a day. This dropped to around 10,000 on April 7 after the lockdown was enforced.

 

Wow. A hell of a drop.

 

A lockdown works. Who'd have thunk it?

 

I think that is part of their daily life. I lost my dad two years ago, he was in a coma for three weeks in ICU from which he never woke. I spent nearly every evening of those three weeks sat by his bedside. I get quite anxious and uptight being in hospitals even for nice reasons, when my daughter was born I was still itching to get out. So being anxious about hospitals and having had a call to say my dad was in ICU I was absolutely dreading going in and fearful it was going to be a hysterical scene of noise and gore.

When I got there it was incredibly calm and peaceful. There were about 8 beds in the unit, and one evening something was going on with someone so a curtain was pulled round and effort was made to not cause alarm for people visiting seriously ill loved ones. When the day came to withdraw my dads care and watch him die it remained peaceful, tactful and calm. Having done some fundraising for that hospital since it has become clear they were and are stretched even before this pandemic, but they do just get on with it.

I'm not saying this for any sort of sympathy by the way, but to give a balanced view of an ICE department from a medical layman.

 

Absolutely. But does it work because it's like putting out a burning match using a fire hydrant? That's the bit we're now going to find out. Calibrating it just right will take time.