@petewxyz saidAnother elephant might be the average age of those contracting the disease will have dropped after the easing of lockdown restrictions. It tends to be younger people who have returned to the service sector and they are more likely to out partying and ignoring social distancing rules. In my anecdotal experience from shopping etc the vast majority of people not wearing masks are under 30sh. Viruses mutate but I don’t think it’s wise to assume this one is any less dangerous for the old and those with underlying issues than it was when we were last told that there was nothing to worry by a handshaking unmasked PM.
There are other possible elephants, but there is no reason why the existence of one means another isn't there as well.
Maybe the country that does the worst at preventing spread gets the highest level of herd immunity and does better with new strains when they develop or when the same strain comes round again. Who knows how many were positive for the virus when admission ...[text shortened]...
The important thing is that hospital admission rates have dropped dramatically which is great news.
@shavixmir saidLet them hold a referendum on who should count the dead. That ought to settle the matter, once and for all.
Eventually, it’s best just not to argue with the English.
They know best when it comes flooding, they know best when it comes to brexit and they know best when it comes dealing with pandemics.
We have to accept their expertise in these matters.
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-Removed-I agree that we should be looking at the virus in a more calculating way than our lock everything down approach.
But we went from a position of everything will be fine apathy to near paralysis of the economy and I don’t think it’s a good idea to go back to the apathy phase without much more info.
I think we can open the economy whilst imposing ( yes i said imposing) social distancing and mask wearing etc. Currently we’re treating the ‘guidelines’ with the same adherence level as we treat eating and alcohol consumption ‘guidelines’.
@kevcvs57 saidI think that is very likely and the virus is probably out there being spread around in the healthy population who certainly appear very blasé about social distancing in the city centre and on local beaches. This begs the question as to why admission rates are so low when the elderly and vulnerable are no more isolated from the general population than they were at the height of admissions.
Another elephant might be the average age of those contracting the disease will have dropped after the easing of lockdown restrictions. It tends to be younger people who have returned to the service sector and they are more likely to out partying and ignoring social distancing rules. In my anecdotal experience from shopping etc the vast majority of people not wearing masks a ...[text shortened]... ues than it was when we were last told that there was nothing to worry by a handshaking unmasked PM.
I suppose the most negative hypothesis to consider would be that this is seasonal and we just don't pass it on between human beings as easily in the summer months.
I certainly know of one person in their 90s who tested positive during a completely unrelated hospital stay. They were asymptomatic and six weeks later tested negative. They were in a nursing home that believed it had a well constructed barrier with the outside world and but for this random finding they would have believed they had kept all their residents COVID free throughout via the measures they had taken.
@petewxyz saidBut older people do tend to practice social distancing especially from younger people. My young adult children wear masks when they are in the car with me as do I.
I think that is very likely and the virus is probably out there being spread around in the healthy population who certainly appear very blasé about social distancing in the city centre and on local beaches. This begs the question as to why admission rates are so low when the elderly and vulnerable are no more isolated from the general population than they were at the height ...[text shortened]... ve believed they had kept all their residents COVID free throughout via the measures they had taken.
I’m sure the virus has mutated but that doesn’t mean that the older more problematic strains have disappeared or that it won’t mutate again. The best way to stop it mutating into something even worse is to keep transmission rates as low as possible. Is there any possibility that it could mutate into an airborne.
Maybe it’s because of my age and health conditions but for me this pandemic is a long way from over and the economy comes a poor second to,my survival.
@kevcvs57 saidIt's going to be a massive call when somebody has to say it's over. I think the issue at the moment is determining the best way of knowing when we have arrived at that point. When viral epidemics end it doesn't mean the virus is gone. People will have episodes of illness with that virus in years when there is no epidemic. We are highly unlikely to get to the point where the virus can never be found in the community or becomes completely extinct.
But older people do tend to practice social distancing especially from younger people. My young adult children wear masks when they are in the car with me as do I.
I’m sure the virus has mutated but that doesn’t mean that the older more problematic strains have disappeared or that it won’t mutate again. The best way to stop it mutating into something even worse is to keep ...[text shortened]... but for me this pandemic is a long way from over and the economy comes a poor second to,my survival.
I think the debate at the moment is what the markers should be to say when things have arrived at an acceptable level of risk. How do we judge when the risks are no different to the risks that we live with anyway and will the measure be prevalence and trend for serious illness cases or prevalence and trend for positive test results in the community?