Coronavirus

[Thameslink Rail]

The full rundown of the "new" tier system restrictions can be found here on the government website.

The rules for meeting others appear to be:
Tier 1: Rule of 6 indoors or out
Tier 2: Rule of 6 outdoors only
Tier 3: Rule of 6 in public outdoor spaces

One of the things I've never understood concerning the restrictions is, what's the bloody difference between meeting in a private garden or in a park?

Private gardens are generally smaller

 

[Dave]

The full rundown of the "new" tier system restrictions can be found here on the government website.

The rules for meeting others appear to be:
Tier 1: Rule of 6 indoors or out
Tier 2: Rule of 6 outdoors only
Tier 3: Rule of 6 in public outdoor spaces

One of the things I've never understood concerning the restrictions is, what's the bloody difference between meeting in a private garden or in a park?

They don’t believe people meeting in a garden won’t be tempted to use the toilet in the persons house basically.

 

[rob666]

Supervision.
Knowing other people may be watching increases conformity.
Being in a private garden means all kinds of naughty things might happen.

 

[Thameslink Rail]

Funny how we've got three answers to the same question. Chances are we are all right

 

[Burbs]

Point taken @Dave, hadn't thought of that.

Supervision.
Knowing other people may be watching increases conformity.
Being in a private garden means all kinds of naughty things might happen.

But the thing is, it's not like there's anyone patrolling parks or streets looking out for this. For all anyone knows you could be the same household and I've not seen anyone be approached to ask if they live together or whatever. Not saying I agree with it or not, just looking at the logistics.

 

[delta79]

I can see the harder to store (-80) Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines, being used for NHS staff and in patients as hospitals are equipped to store it.

And the AstraZeneca’s vaccine being easier to store, would be used in the community. As GP and medical centre have vaccination fridges already.
Also smaller vaccination fridges can be run off a vehicle or generator. Even refrigerated vans can store it safety.



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[Craig]

But the thing is, it's not like there's anyone patrolling parks or streets looking out for this. For all anyone knows you could be the same household and I've not seen anyone be approached to ask if they live together or whatever. Not saying I agree with it or not, just looking at the logistics.

Any relaxation to lockdown (since that's ultimately what the tiers are, it's not really being lifted) is all about minimising risk, so yup all three reasons above apply to an extent.

If you're in a private garden it doesn't sound such a big deal, but then what if someone thinks "it's cold, we'll all just pop inside for a little bit it won't make a difference". Or "If I just pop to the toilet it won't make a difference sitting inside for a little bit".

As Rob666 said, supervision is a big thing for outdoor public spaces. While it's not direct supervision, there's a psychological effect to being in a public space in that most will want to be seen to obey the rules. They're highly unlikely to be approached by anyone to check, but the possibility of that happening is also enough to put most off too.

I can see the harder to store (-80) Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines, being used for NHS staff and in patients as hospitals are equipped to store it.

And the AstraZeneca’s vaccine being easier to store, would be used in the community. As GP and medical centre have vaccination fridges already.
Also smaller vaccination fridges can be run off a vehicle or generator. Even refrigerated vans can store it safety.

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It's worth noting that Pfizer said the vaccine can be stored in dry ice packages which they've already developed for a number of days, so distribution without masses of refrigeration is possible but obviously still more difficult than the Oxford vaccine. Whether there's enough capacity in dry ice production is another matter though...

 

[Matt N]

To put into perspective how absolutely phenomenal the vaccine effort for COVID-19 has been, the current record holder for quickest vaccine to hit the market is the mumps vaccine, taking 4 years to develop. On average, vaccines take about 10 years to develop, with some even taking 20-30 years or even more.

With this in mind, what we are seeing now is history in the making for vaccine development; the fact that we are seeing not 1, not 2, but 3 vaccines for COVID-19 hitting the market after less than a year of development is a scientific breakthrough of epic proportions, and a testament to the true power of science & technology. And that’s without taking into account that they all have pretty high efficacy!

 

[Thameslink Rail]

To put into perspective how absolutely phenomenal the vaccine effort for COVID-19 has been, the current record holder for quickest vaccine to hit the market is the mumps vaccine, taking 4 years to develop. On average, vaccines take about 10 years to develop, with some even taking 20-30 years or even more.

With this in mind, what we are seeing now is history in the making for vaccine development; the fact that we are seeing not 1, not 2, but 3 vaccines for COVID-19 hitting the market after less than a year of development is a scientific breakthrough of epic proportions, and a testament to the true power of science & technology. And that’s without taking into account that they all have pretty high efficacy!

I really want to see the same happen with climate change, if we put the same effort into climate change then we should be able to solve it (and I believe that should be humanity's goal now).

 

[Matt N]

On a different note; do any of you know what the current self-isolation guidance is for if someone in your school has tested positive for COVID-19?

Only asking because my Computer Science teacher came into our class this morning saying she was unable to taste, and seemed to have a weakened sense of smell. She advised us all to sit towards the back, so we were probably sat more than 2m away from her, and I was personally wearing a face mask, but we were in there with her for around 40 minutes before she was escorted out by our headmistress.

Her test result isn’t yet known, but I was just wondering; if she tests positive for the virus, will me and all the others in my Computer Science class be considered “close contacts” and thus have to self-isolate? Or will the fact we were more than 2m away from her negate that?

Does anyone know, as I must admit I’m starting to get a little worried?

 

[Craig]

On a different note; do any of you know what the current self-isolation guidance is for if someone in your school has tested positive for COVID-19?

Only asking because my Computer Science teacher came into our class this morning saying she was unable to taste, and seemed to have a weakened sense of smell. She advised us all to sit towards the back, so we were probably sat more than 2m away from her, and I was personally wearing a face mask, but we were in there with her for around 40 minutes before she was escorted out by our headmistress.

Her test result isn’t yet known, but I was just wondering; if she tests positive for the virus, will me and all the others in my Computer Science class be considered “close contacts” and thus have to self-isolate? Or will the fact we were more than 2m away from her negate that?

Does anyone know, as I must admit I’m starting to get a little worried?

First off, your school REALLY needs to up it's Covid measures as that's ridiculous that she even came into work with a known symptom of the virus. Your school will liaise with Public Health England who will determine any isolation measures. Each case is different, however as you had a mitigation measure (mask) and were over 2 metres away it's unlikely you'd be told to self isolate, but you'll be asked to monitor for symptoms.

 

[Matt N]

First off, your school REALLY needs to up it's Covid measures as that's ridiculous that she even came into work with a known symptom of the virus. Your school will liaise with Public Health England who will determine any isolation measures. Each case is different, however as you had a mitigation measure (mask) and were over 2 metres away it's unlikely you'd be told to self isolate, but you'll be asked to monitor for symptoms.

Ah OK; thank you. I was merely wondering, as I must admit that from my end, I’m a little worried about the potential academic consequences of 2 weeks of self-isolation.

 

[Thameslink Rail]

My school is basically saying you must self isolate if you or someone you sit next to has Covid. We have just had our first year 13 case and so far three people have been told to self-isolate.

 

[AstroDan]

On a different note; do any of you know what the current self-isolation guidance is for if someone in your school has tested positive for COVID-19?

Only asking because my Computer Science teacher came into our class this morning saying she was unable to taste, and seemed to have a weakened sense of smell. She advised us all to sit towards the back, so we were probably sat more than 2m away from her, and I was personally wearing a face mask, but we were in there with her for around 40 minutes before she was escorted out by our headmistress.

Her test result isn’t yet known, but I was just wondering; if she tests positive for the virus, will me and all the others in my Computer Science class be considered “close contacts” and thus have to self-isolate? Or will the fact we were more than 2m away from her negate that?

Does anyone know, as I must admit I’m starting to get a little worried?

What the hell is your teacher playing at?

Re: General decisions - PHE call the shots and schools do as they're told.

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[James]

Weird. Where I live (Wales) I know of at least 4 schools near me where 1 confirmed case within a year group has resulted in the entire year group having to self isolate for 2 weeks.

I kind of assumed that was normal practice since it has been reported multiple times for several schools within my area, interesting to see how different parts of the country manage it!

But yeah @Matt N I find that rather worrying how it was handled. You teacher risking the health of their colleagues and students is appalling.

 

[Matt N]

But yeah @Matt N I find that rather worrying how it was handled. You teacher risking the health of their colleagues and students is appalling.

Once our headmistress caught wind of her being in school with COVID symptoms, she was directed out of school and to the nearest test centre pretty hastily and all of the areas she’d been in were very thoroughly sanitised.

I guess now I just have to play the waiting game and see whether her test comes back positive or negative, and what me and the rest of my class have to do as a result of this. The test results seem to be coming back pretty quickly these days, so I should probably know by tomorrow or Wednesday.

Even though I am at pretty low risk from the virus personally (in fact, my mum actually tested positive in April, effectively meaning that we all likely had it as a household, and I had no symptoms, despite making no effort whatsoever to distance from her), I must admit I’m somewhat nervous...

 

[Jonathan]

I would think that the chances of you having to self-isolate are pretty low, given you were asked to sit at the back of the classroom and were wearing a face covering. Frankly, it's pretty irresponsible of your teacher to be teaching when she had potential COVID symptoms, and your headmistress 100% did the right thing by having her directed off the premises and to a test centre as soon as she knew. I do hope for your sake that you know sooner rather than later.

 

[The Cardinal]

It's fantastic news about the vaccine but we probably have one of the most inconsistent governments in history. One minute it's all: Lock the country down but it's not really lockdown because of schools are open and most workplaces are still getting their staff in. The next they're claiming; you're out of lockdown but not really as most the cases in the country are skyrocketing - the tiers are back from before where you can meet in a group of six but you should stay at home even though the pubs and restaurants may or may not be opening in your area. Then we're told we have a vaccine that may or may not end things by spring, summer or winter.. Maybe 2022? I get that it's difficult for rational decisions but there's no strategy whatsoever except how Boris and his mates get their paycheck at the end of the year and claim they "saved" Christmas.

 

[rob666]

Was the room well ventilated Matt?
Apparently, a few open doors and windows can make a big difference.
My wife enjoys freezing everyone out at work with good ventilation.

 

[Rob]

@rob666 is right, lots is being made of hand, face, space but good ventilation of an indoor space is just as important! Obviously easier to do in the summer. It's one of the reasons the building I usually work in remains shuttered, the ventilation is non-existent!