How out of touch can the prime minister be?

Clap for the NHS, clap for Captain Tom, support the Government who got Brexit done! That's what we all wanted, innit?

 

Doesn't need data accurate to the endth degree. Just seeing how its affected our doctors and nurses this morning on TV is enough for me. PTSD. Ain't the half of it. Some staff working non stop days/weeks on end. Nothing like they've encountered to such a degree before.

 

Wasn't my point mate. There are tragic consequences as you rightly say. Ultimately people are still dying and will continue to do so. When we come out of lockdown, It will be the irresponsible who may put us back there. Be it this shower of ***** or individuals not taking basic precautions.

 

Not saying the sympathy ain't there loko. But until we get the death rate down to an acceptable rate (preferably 0) and not rise again. Then further lockdowns won't be necessary.

For some To say this must be the last one and if death rates rise to an unacceptable level again. We live life as normal. cannot be an excuse not to take similar measures
till
The population have to learn to live with this for yrs (if scientists are right.) It would be prudent to take measures until it's safe not to.

These clowns have not only mismanaged. but put us on a longer timescale than necessary and could have been avoided.

Everyone keeps harping on about holidays this summer. Yet we may be the only country to be anywhere near ready to travel. As someone else mentioned. Israel may be the only destination outside the uk.

Having the vaccine does not make us immune from the disease. And stop us passing it on. What other country is prepared to take that risk.

Someone said the death rates were not abnormal between June and January.
Due to restrictions throughout that period suggest covid replaced other causes. According to reports at the time. ?

 

Never mind.

 

No worries mate - I didn't see it at first.

Cheers.

 

Read an interesting article in this weeks Economist which contrasted the fortunes of California and Texas - given they are the two largest states with 1/5 of the entire US population and have very different approaches to lockdown. Texas reopened even before Trump had suggested it, Texan schools have remained open since the autumn unlike in California where they remain largely closed and the state in lockdown. Despite these contrasting approach the death rates are not that different. Texas has 127 per 100k and California has 104 per 100k.
most public health experts agree Texas came out of lockdown too quick and led to many unnecessary deaths. Yet California has shown the limitations of long lasting, intermittent lockdowns - despite the never ending lockdowns in California they are still experiencing their highest death rates ever.
“As has been shown by the recent surge in California, the virus often wins no matter what you try and do as a government.” Says Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

 

Population density of California ~250 per square mile, Texas 100 per square mile. As Loko indicated it's possible to dress up stats however you want, given a specific motive. By tbe way I'd say a 25% greater death rate is possibly significant, however I'd have to do the appropriate stats tp verify that.

I think the whole lock down versus open everything is far more nuanced than most of us realise. It's some shade of grey rather than the black or white we'd like it to be.

 

Agreed, and population density is also a very dodgy “fact” as well to use. Personally I would say a 25% difference in deaths is disappointing given the damage lockdown causes.

 

California is currently under a more relaxed lockdown than the UK. Barbers/hairdressers and outdoors swimming pools are open along with a fair number of businesses - and even churches with some capacity restrictions. It had tighter restrictions while ICU beds availability was under 15% but this was lifted 25/1.

TBF, we'd need to see it on a county by county basis (or even smaller areas). There are massive differences in population density, ethnic diversity, relative prosperity, health insurance coverage, etc between South Central LA and Modoc County. Modoc was just a county in the northeast of the state picked at random.

LA might have a lot of rich people, but it has a hell of a lot of poor too - over 40000 are homeless - and plenty of other social problems. San Francisco has only had 350 Covid deaths, Santa Clara 1600, Alameda County (Oakland) 1000 - these are where the tech companies are based with their more affluent employees who can WFH.

This is good - from https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-coronavirus-cases-tracking-outbreak/



Most deaths are in LA, Orange County, San Diego and Riverside.

California is also roughly twice the size of the UK.