Coronavirus

Islander said:

So Boris has commissioned a review into the 2m distance for social distancing, which is due to be completed by the 4th July, the next date on the timeline for easing lockdown restrictions.

Of course it's arguable whether such a review is needed - all the evidence, both for and against decreasing the 2m guidance, already exists. It's pretty much just a decision that needs to be made. But I guess giving it a deadline is a good thing - coinciding this deadline with the relaxation of more restrictions could work out well for theme parks and the like if it is reduced, as it'll suddenly make operation easier.

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No doubt they will change it from 2m to 1m ready for the pubs re-opening. Which means that all of these companies that have spent a load of money on signs/stickers etc. to help enforce a 2m social distance have to do it all over again!

I think I am starting to give up with society as a whole now. Absolutely ludicrous scenes in London on Saturday by people who claim to be protecting our country or whatever. Protect it by following the rules about social distancing and mass gatherings! And the scenes at the Nike shop on Oxford Street this morning are somewhat mind boggling with people literally scrambling to get inside. A company as large as Nike should have had the resources to put better measures in place.

I can't think of anything worse than going shopping today!

As I keep saying people may knock it but I’m glad of the approach wales has taken. It’s straight forward with no deadlines to meet. All the English government keep doing is in my eyes is giving in to pressure and then keeps chopping and changing the rules to keep people quiet. Some people may be ok with that approach and that’s fine not everyone thinks the same. The 1m distance as much as it seems a good idea for all sectors but it seems so rushed so they don’t have to pay out for any business that can’t reopen. That’s the overriding word I hear when I speak to family in England and people where I live in wales. Everything just seems so rushed to meet deadlines or public’s pressure that it’s just getting silly now. Obviously just my personal opinion

Mr Pearse said:

As I keep saying people may knock it but I’m glad of the approach wales has taken. It’s straight forward with no deadlines to meet. All the English government keep doing is in my eyes is giving in to pressure and then keeps chopping and changing the rules to keep people quiet. Some people may be ok with that approach and that’s fine not everyone thinks the same. The 1m distance as much as it seems a good idea for all sectors but it seems so rushed so they don’t have to pay out for any business that can’t reopen. That’s the overriding word I hear when I speak to family in England and people where I live in wales. Everything just seems so rushed to meet deadlines or public’s pressure that it’s just getting silly now. Obviously just my personal opinion

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It's clear to me that central government care more about pretending to handle this well then actually doing so, hence the delay between the public transport rule being announced and put into effect. Just a couple of days was needed.

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The economy is now being prioritised over containing the virus, of that there is no doubt.

What is actually surprising to me is that the number of cases has continued to fall despite this (up to this point). It will be interesting to see whether that trend continues.

But Boris Johnson's leadership throughout this crisis has to come under serious scrutiny; ironically, I think he has been dealt a pass for the most part because he himself got so ill. That seems to be changing now, with serious questions being asked.

imanautie said:

It's clear to me that central government care more about pretending to handle this well then actually doing so, hence the delay between the public transport rule being announced and put into effect. Just a couple of days was needed.

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Many many people are quick to knock the welsh governments approach because we are not following England. But they have been clear and told us what the plans are going forward and that they are sticking to the plans regardless. As Drakeford said why put all the hard work into getting the infection rate down to then throw away over night. It takes time and patience to get it under control. Things may be harder here in wales but it’s understandable.

D4n said:

What is actually surprising to me is that the number of cases has continued to fall despite this (up to this point). It will be interesting to see whether that trend continues.

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I think (and this is purely conjecture), that’s down more to how quickly people’s attitude to the crisis changed when we started reaching a peak.

When numbers were climbing and climbing, people soon realised just how serious the situation is, and compliance with social distancing, hand washing etc I bet rocketed. Of course there were plenty of exceptions, eg crowded beaches, but on the whole I think once the numbers started spiralling, people took things more seriously, and this helped to curb the outbreak.


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D4n said:

The economy is now being prioritised over containing the virus, of that there is no doubt.

What is actually surprising to me is that the number of cases has continued to fall despite this (up to this point). It will be interesting to see whether that trend continues.

But Boris Johnson's leadership throughout this crisis has to come under serious scrutiny; ironically, I think he has been dealt a pass for the most part because he himself got so ill. That seems to be changing now, with serious questions being asked.

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I don't disagree regarding the economy, but something in the back of my head tells me Boris is still fixated on this idea of herd immunity, and this is his way of getting people out there to catch it and get the immunity to the virus. I'm concerned that this plan is incredibly dangerous and could easily backfire badly.

Jonathan said:

I don't disagree regarding the economy, but something in the back of my head tells me Boris is still fixated on this idea of herd immunity, and this is his way of getting people out there to catch it and get the immunity to the virus. I'm concerned that this plan is incredibly dangerous and could easily backfire badly.

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At least someone else is thinking it. It definitely seems like he is secretly heading for herd immunity without telling anyone. To go from 2m social distance with the bare minimum open to then go to 1m with most things open within a few weeks don’t seem right to me.

I don't think that is the approach that is being taken, it is clear now that herd immunity will overwhelm the NHS and lead to even more appalling death figures.

I accept that it is tough getting a balance between public health and the economy. We are re-opening things at a slower rate than many European countries, however I still feel that another 2 or 3 weeks of full lockdown before the initial easing could have made this all a bit easier and brought numbers down to be more inline with what is being seen on mainland Europe.

New strain to throw into the mix?
Seafood market again.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1191520.shtml

The virus has already mutated since the initial cases in China, as didn’t they say that Europe has a completely different strain and the USA has a different strain again? These mutations are nothing to worry about; they won’t affect a vaccine or treatment, as the scientists have come out and said that COVID-19’s mutations are not drastic enough to affect development.

Mr Pearse said:

As I keep saying people may knock it but I’m glad of the approach wales has taken. It’s straight forward with no deadlines to meet. All the English government keep doing is in my eyes is giving in to pressure and then keeps chopping and changing the rules to keep people quiet. Some people may be ok with that approach and that’s fine not everyone thinks the same. The 1m distance as much as it seems a good idea for all sectors but it seems so rushed so they don’t have to pay out for any business that can’t reopen. That’s the overriding word I hear when I speak to family in England and people where I live in wales. Everything just seems so rushed to meet deadlines or public’s pressure that it’s just getting silly now. Obviously just my personal opinion

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That’s quite an easy strategy to take though when someone else is paying, Boris missed a real trick here and a chance to kick devolution right into the long grass permanently, what he should of done is stopped furlough in Wales and Scotland unless they followed the UK guidance.
Right now both Wales and Scotland are having their cake and eating it and as a result I can see both trying to seek independence again, not a chance that would of happened if the taps were turned off.

BigT said:

That’s quite an easy strategy to take though when someone else is paying, Boris missed a real trick here and a chance to kick devolution right into the long grass permanently, what he should of done is stopped furlough in Wales and Scotland unless they followed the UK guidance.
Right now both Wales and Scotland are having their cake and eating it and as a result I can see both trying to seek independence again, not a chance that would of happened if the taps were turned off.

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But the strategy is working? That’s the thing people seem to forget is that with the way we done it we have got our r rate down dramatically. It’s all about how you keep it down. I know people want to think it’s political but it’s not it’s about what’s best for the future going forward. So what’s the solution for wales and Scotland we just abandon all the hard work done so far and rush to get rid of lockdown in England?. Everyone has different strategy’s to get through this and this method is working.

Mr Pearse said:

But the strategy is working? That’s the thing people seem to forget is that with the way we done it we have got our r rate down dramatically. It’s all about how you keep it down. I know people want to think it’s political but it’s not it’s about what’s best for the future going forward. So what’s the solution for wales and Scotland we just abandon all the hard work done so far and rush to get rid of lockdown in England?. Everyone has different strategy’s to get through this and this method is working.

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Don’t get me wrong I’m not happy with the way lockdown was eased off in England but some economists were predicting we would run out of money by the end of July if we didn’t get the economy moving again in May/June.
I’m also not happy other regions of the UK were allowed to basically sit on their backsides whilst the biggest one had to risk everything to pay for that.

BigT said:

Don’t get me wrong I’m not happy with the way lockdown was eased off in England but some economists were predicting we would run out of money by the end of July if we didn’t get the economy moving again in May/June.
I’m also not happy other regions of the UK were allowed to basically sit on their backsides whilst the biggest one had to risk everything to pay for that.

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End of the day it’s not by choice to sit around and do nothing. If you look at our restrictions we are still under tight restrictions do you really think that is done by choice?. Sometimes it can’t be helped yes the economy is suffering but human health is more in more important to keep it going.

Rob said:

No doubt they will change it from 2m to 1m ready for the pubs re-opening. Which means that all of these companies that have spent a load of money on signs/stickers etc. to help enforce a 2m social distance have to do it all over again!

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It's only an issue if you've got 2m signs, in which case you could keep it at 2m if you want. Everybody else just needs to put more tape/'stand here' markings halfway between the existing ones.

Rob said:

And the scenes at the Nike shop on Oxford Street this morning are somewhat mind boggling with people literally scrambling to get inside. A company as large as Nike should have had the resources to put better measures in place.

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This is where the HSE should get involved. Serve an improvement notice on them and if things don't improve, a prohibition notice forcing them to close until they get their house in order. Companies would soon manage the social distancing better if it affected their bottom line.

Mr Pearse said:

Sometimes it can’t be helped yes the economy is suffering but human health is more in more important to keep it going.

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But without an economy we don't have a healthcare system. The two are connected.

I think, throughout all of this, and with all the changes coming, it's important to look at the raw data, and realise that deaths from Coronavirus are still going down. Not at the greatest rate, but it's still absolutely a downward trend, and since the peak around the early half of April, that hasn't changed.

The R rate in Wales is similar to other parts of England (unsure what the overall rate is for England) which I find quite interesting. Obviously a lot of variables in the figures however the R rate in Wales isn't quite as amazing as the Welsh press are trying to make out. Numbers are still on a downward trend in England so I don't quite get the whole 'well Wales is doing it better' argument.

It's very much a juggling act of economy vs public health and realistically this virus is not going anywhere anytime soon, we have to meet a halfway point where the economy is restarted and public health is protected as much as possible, without overwhelming the NHS and triggering a second complete lock down. We won't know the best tactic until this time next year.

Personally I find Wales is risking running the economy into the ground and inadvertently causing more strain on our health care system through non-covid related illnesses. I'll give them a slight benefit of the doubt until they give an update this week as to what's next.

My main criticism of the UK as a whole is the lack of enforcing lock down in the first place and the whole thing being very wishy washy. Boris has lacked clear leadership and decisiveness.

Yes we have a massive risk of an economic crash. But we have to balance how to manage to infection rate and how to keep down. The welsh government has set out their intentions for the next few months and they are not changing plans except for ease when the science says best. Yes it’s all a risk but only time will tell we have never been through this situation before.

Living not to far from the Welsh Border, and also working in Wales, with many people who also live in Wales, it seems they are following the English Laws and sticking 2 fingers up at the Welsh Assembly.
Also, yesterday, I took a stroll along Boundary Lane in Chester, where one side of the road is in England, and the other side in Wales