Coronavirus Death Thread

[Jimmy Floyd]

German food is great when it's about minus ten outside. Otherwise, nah.

[Lewis]

Isn't everything beyond Belgium absolute muck? The way they approach marzipan is enough to write them off before you get to their rotten savouries.

[Kikó]

I've got a picture on my phone of boiled pork knuckle from somewhere in Berlin. While it was fucking amazing, if someone served you something looking like an aborted fetus in the UK, you'd be closed within a day.

At least the beer is good.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

German food is great when it's about minus ten outside. Otherwise, nah.

Same with Polish food.

Far too many soups and boiled potatoes with meat.

[Kikó]

Isn't everything beyond Belgium absolute muck? The way they approach marzipan is enough to write them off before you get to their rotten savouries.

They do a good steak and chips (fries).

[Spikey M]

Same with Polish food.

Far too many soups and boiled potatoes with meat.

The sin there is boiled potatoes. The only reason a potatoe should go near boiling water is either to make mash or before roasting. Boiled potatoes in and of themselves are shit.

New potatoes is obviously an exception, but you still need enough butter to swim in to make them worth it.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The sin there is boiled potatoes. The only reason a potatoe should go near boiling water is either to make mash or before roasting. Boiled potatoes in and of themselves are shit.

New potatoes is obviously an exception, but you still need enough butter to swim in to make them worth it.

Absolutely agree.

They even call try to call them mash but they'll bash them a bit and it doesn't even see a bit of butter/cream/milk.

Genuinely horrific.

[Raoul Duke]

Dutch food is mostly horrific, aside from pastry-type stuff which is decent

[7om]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-56359403


First Minister Mark Drakeford told the i newspaper he did not see life returning to normal in 2021.


The co-chairwoman of the TAC, Fliss Benee, said it was a crucial moment in the course of the pandemic.
"We are sitting at a knife edge, where if we start to unlock too fast then we will be in a period of exponential growth that could bring us easily back to the sort of levels of hospitalisations and deaths we saw in January," she said.

[Don]

There's much to lol at but the state of that whale barely seeing her students through the PPE is a particular highlight.

[Spikey M]

I genuinely don't understand how they think that unless they think a) the risk of a VARIANT getting around the vaccines is a probability or b) the vaccines don't work.

Why do they never provide their 'work'?

[Shindig]

The thing I saw the other day about the Kent variant felt a little dodgy. The article was on about how it's deadlier by "30%- 100%" and then no other numbers to back it.

[Don]

Reliance on numbers would have given us back 16 months of our lives. No numbers just vibes.

[Spikey M]

The thing I saw the other day about the Kent variant felt a little dodgy. The article was on about how it's deadlier by "30%- 100%" and then no other numbers to back it.

That stat is an absolute lie. There are some loops you can jump through to make it work, but 13 in 1000 dying instead of 10 in 1000 dying is not 30 fucking percent more deadly.

[Yevrah]

Yep, that one will not die.

And if someone doesn't think life will return to normal in 2021, I can't see how they ever think it will.

[Shindig]

They found that the Kent variant led to 227 deaths in a sample of 54,906 patients, compared to 141 among the same number of closely matched patients who had the previous strains.

0.4% fatality rate. That's not something to shit the bed over.

[Jimmy Floyd]

It's nearly all over, and the disappointment of many is fucking palpable. I'm loving it. There are various academics, unions and left wing politicians whose whole state of being depends on a huge rise in cases, hospitalisations and deaths in the next month. Watch them completely lose the plot, EU-style, when it doesn't happen.

Drakeford said yesterday that the thought of foreign holidays resuming 'filled him with horror', what sort of a slug do you have to be to think that phrase, let alone say it.

[randomlegend]

That stat is an absolute lie. There are some loops you can jump through to make it work, but 13 in 1000 dying instead of 10 in 1000 dying is not 30 fucking percent more deadly.

The media have been presenting medical stats in that exact way for years. I'm fairly sure I've brought it up on here before to point out what an issue it is. Especially as most science/health journalists have zero scientific background and understanding of what they are reporting.

[7om]

Absolute risk vs relative risk. It’s a twat-move but technically not wrong.

[Mellberg]

Yeah, I saw the argument at the time and agree it's sensationalist, but it is 30% more deadly.

[Kikó]

https://ir.novavax.com/news-releases/news-release-details/novavax-confirms-high-levels-efficacy-against-original-and

100% protection against severe disease
Final analysis in U.K. trial confirms 96% efficacy against original strain of COVID-19
Efficacy against variants confirmed in U.K. and South Africa

Open the clubs.

[Queenslander]

This is my local public hospital about 5min drive away.

I can smell a 3 day snap lockdown!



BREAKING: COVID-19 case identified at PA Hospital.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital has been placed into lockdown effective immediately after a positive COVID-19 case was detected today (12 March 2021).

All non-essential visits to patients will not be allowed. If you must attend PA Hospital, you will be required to wear a mask. The Emergency Department will remain open, but if you’re able to receive care at a nearby hospital or at a GP, please do so.

Staff will wear masks at all times. Patients will be required to wear masks at all times unless it is not clinically appropriate. Non-urgent outpatient bookings and elective surgery will be postponed.

The person, a staff member at the PA Hospital, had contact with COVID-19 positive patients in the early hours of 10 March.

The person was infectious whilst in the community on the 11th and contact tracing is underway. It is likely public exposure sites will be identified and communicated tomorrow.

All patients, staff and families this person interacted with are being identified and appropriate actions are being taken.

The hospital is actively working to ensure the safety of staff and patients on campus while contact tracing is undertaken.

Anyone with any COVID-19 symptoms should get tested immediately and isolate until you receive a negative result.


The comment section is so fucked.


https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=4024409127590234&id=523586527672529&sfnsn=mo

[Shindig]

Boring statistic time: Based on 2019's numbers, we now have 27m adults left to vaccinate. We'll get there by the end of July but the second doses are really eating into the progress.

[Magic]

No, you don't need to do anything mate.

[Queenslander]

16000 square kms is in the naughty corner

[Jimmy Floyd]

We'll piss all adults by the end of May.

[Bob Sacamano]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56382608

They've absolutely fucked it

[Don]

It's a lazy Saturday at Don towers, what is this talk of another substantial wave in Italy and Germany...

i) is seasonality not a big enough factor to protect against it slightly? At least to prevent levels seen in previous wave?
ii) is their vaccination progress so bad that it'll come with associated deaths or is it just cases they're shitting themselves over?
iii) lol

[Jimmy Floyd]

i) only slightly. Their cases are still rising nonetheless and they're on double our deaths (Italy, this is). Bear in mind also we've already been clobbered by the Kent variant and they haven't.

ii) yes, it's that bad, even if they are now just starting to crank it up, it's too late to stop deaths from the recent case rise. They have four simultaneous problems compared to us: 1. supply, because they fucked up the procurement; 2. distribution, which is where the good old NHS has a massive advantage over the decentralised systems they have there; 3. their populations simply don't want the vaccine to the same extent as ours does, for reasons that continue to baffle me to this day. 4. their dosing strategy proved less effective.

% of population to have received at least one dose as of 12/3:

UK 36.47%
Spain 11.45%
Italy 10.64%
Germany 10.58%
France 9.91%

iii) lol.

[Spikey M]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56361840

Happy Mothers Day Jim.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Every day is Mother's Day in the EU, especially for the Austrian Chancellor, who it turns out has eyes like James Dean and ears like Wiener Schnitzels.

[Spikey M]

France blaming AstraZenica for the lack of supply whilst sitting on a pile of unused vaccines is great fun.

https://i.redd.it/np0c4nkpn0n31.jpg

[Dquincy]

1370778794139734020

[Spikey M]

Lol

[Spikey M]

1370833851837079553?s=19

She's a goldmine.

[Dquincy]

:lol:

I thought it was a parody account at first.

[mo]

She's deranged.

[Shindig]

What's her PhD in? Homeopathy?

[mo]

Poetry, I think.

[Lofty]

https://youtu.be/3uRCcEoGWxs

The highlight of her career.

[mo]

Well, if I'm being generous, I'd say at least she doesn't double down on her assertion. But still, thick as mince.

[Lewis]

She made her name with a book about eating disorders that over-stated deaths from/with them by something like a thousand times, but the vibes were right so the facts/logic weren't important.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Another example of an over-exposed thicko mouthing off everywhere. I'll start with 'Anyone who likes to talk a lot should be sacked from their job' and we'll workshop the theory as we go along.

[Boydy]

Belfast does have 5G as well.

[randomlegend]

Belfast does have 5G as well.

That proper made me lol

[Magic]

Is it not 3 that does it though in which case she's right.

[Yevrah]

It's hilarious that Hungary are only ahead of other EU nations on that list because they turned to the Russian vaccine.

A year of mass death and disruption on the continent while Brits are revelling in an economic boom and lauding it up holidaying all over the World could spell some serious trouble for the EU.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Working for an exporting company, my current spidey sense is that the EU are about to start making life as difficult for us as possible in terms of selling into the bloc, possibly in very aggressive terms.

[Shindig]

On the one hand, we had a month or two a head start and they have to split their doses across several countries. On the other hand, they really, really could've taken a more proactive approach instead of waiting for the EU to thumbs up everything.

[Baz]

Seems the link to booking your vaccine here has become widespread and any old Tom, Dick and Harry is booking on.

Why it’s not a personal link for each patient, who knows? Well, I do, but I won’t badmouth shit helens!

[Yevrah]

Plans to keep indoor hospitality venues closed for weeks longer than non-essential shops in England are facing a legal challenge from a leading restaurateur.

Hugh Osmond, the founder of Punch Taverns and a former director of Pizza Express, and Sacha Lord, Greater Manchester's night time economy adviser, have submitted a claim for a judicial review to the government.

They believe there is "no evidence or justification for the prioritisation" of non-essential retail over hospitality, and said it could have a "potentially indirectly discriminatory effect" on young people and people from BAME backgrounds working in hospitality.

The letter to the government's legal department argues that hospitality venues are safer than non-essential retail, and that they are essential for local communities and mental health.

Under the prime minister's roadmap for unlocking restrictions in England, non-essential retail will open no earlier than April 12. But indoor hospitality venues will not open until at least May 17.

Some serious boxes being ticked there.

[Spikey M]

It has just dawned on me that we're currently locked down, with less cases than there were whilst we were at Pepper Pig World last September. And we have a vaccine now.

Madness.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Our unlock is genuinely unbelievably slow, especially where outdoors is concerned. My estimation now is that the final day of 100 deaths has been and gone, maybe yesterday or Friday.

They've been too slow to react to reality at basically every stage of the pandemic from day one onwards, and it continues.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I'd rather be in lockdown than Peppa Pig World.

[Spikey M]

I'd rather be in lockdown than Peppa Pig World.

We are almost at the stage where I'd disagree. Almost.

[Shindig]

What baffled me was an ONS professor warning us of a spike in August. By then, everyone will have had the jab offered to them. Every single one of us. 3 more months of this feels like agony and you know Boris won't move it earlier.

[Yevrah]

Our unlock is genuinely unbelievably slow, especially where outdoors is concerned. My estimation now is that the final day of 100 deaths has been and gone, maybe yesterday or Friday.

They've been too slow to react to reality at basically every stage of the pandemic from day one onwards, and it continues.

Who do you consider to be 'they'?

[Kikó]

It has just dawned on me that we're currently locked down, with less cases than there were whilst we were at Pepper Pig World last September. And we have a vaccine now.

Madness.

But it's obvious why. We've had the experience of what happened last time and now have a vaccine which we're rolling out. There's very little point in having a rise in cases when we've almost crushed the numbers and we're running through the vaccine priority list. It's just a couple more months and then we have the clubs.

[Spikey M]

What baffled me was an ONS professor warning us of a spike in August. By then, everyone will have had the jab offered to them. Every single one of us. 3 more months of this feels like agony and you know Boris won't move it earlier.

He would if there was public demand for it. As things stand, it feels like most people would opt for another year of this shit given the choice.

[Yevrah]

But it's obvious why. We've had the experience of what happened last time and now have a vaccine which we're rolling out. There's very little point in having a rise in cases when we've almost crushed the numbers and we're running through the vaccine priority list. It's just a couple more months and then we have the clubs.

We're going to get a rise in case when we open up, whenever that may be, it's the deaths that matter and we could have pub gardens and restaurants open now and it would barely move that needle.

[Spikey M]

But it's obvious why. We've had the experience of what happened last time and now have a vaccine which we're rolling out. There's very little point in having a rise in cases when we've almost crushed the numbers and we're running through the vaccine priority list. It's just a couple more months and then we have the clubs.

I'm not saying Peppa Pig World should be open necessarily, but the case numbers do not fit with the level of lockdown we're under.

That "data not dates" line was horse shit.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Who do you consider to be 'they'?

The government/SAGE/whoever makes these decisions. In a word, Boris.


But it's obvious why. We've had the experience of what happened last time and now have a vaccine which we're rolling out. There's very little point in having a rise in cases when we've almost crushed the numbers and we're running through the vaccine priority list. It's just a couple more months and then we have the clubs.

The rise in cases will come when we eventually open up everything for a free for all, but you don't have to open everything at once. There is no reason still to be in full lockdown. You should have been back playing football a month ago. Outdoor rule of six / outdoor table service at pubs etc should be open now. Their approach is just caution for the sake of caution.

[Kikó]

Perhaps a bullshit slogan again but it makes sense to open parts of society up and see the impact it has. We're 30%+ of the country vaccinated, it's the last few weeks of a shit inconvenience. I'd rather wait the few weeks than go straight back into another lockdown.

[Yevrah]

That "data not dates" line was horse shit.

Not necessarily, it just only works one way.

And for me, it's not the government's fault this is taking an age, it's experts, scientists and academics that have put us down this road. You could argue the government shouldn't be listening to them as much as they do, but then you'd have the rabid hordes of those that refuse to question people in those fields accusing the government of all sorts. So we are where we are.

[Yevrah]

Perhaps a bullshit slogan again but it makes sense to open parts of society up and see the impact it has. We're 30%+ of the country vaccinated, it's the last few weeks of a shit inconvenience. I'd rather wait the few weeks than go straight back into another lockdown.

The most amusing thing about a our staggered release, which dawned on me the other day, is that there isn't enough time between each stage of loosening to properly assess the impact the last one caused.

It's a sham to appease said groups above and the rabid hordes that slavishly follow them.

[Spikey M]

Perhaps a bullshit slogan again but it makes sense to open parts of society up and see the impact it has. We're 30%+ of the country vaccinated, it's the last few weeks of a shit inconvenience. I'd rather wait the few weeks than go straight back into another lockdown.

But there's no reason why we would. That 30+% is almost entirely from within the most vulnerable areas of society.

[Yevrah]

But there's no reason why we would. That 30+% is almost entirely from within the most vulnerable areas of society.

Some scientists, experts and academics think we would and that's enough for people. They're wrong, but their voice is a powerful one amongst the educated.

[Dquincy]

The most amusing thing about a our staggered release, which dawned on me the other day, is that there isn't enough time between each stage of loosening to properly assess the impact the last one caused.

It's a sham to appease said groups above and the rabid hordes that slavishly follow them.

5 weeks for each phase isn't it? That should be enough time to see the direction of travel in terms of deaths/cases/etc...

I'm with Kiko, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but do not see a reason to rush it. To do so would be irresponsible (from a government perspective).

[Shindig]

Whitty was talking the other week how they staggered the stages long enough to see the impact. With the rapid flow tests, we can see quickly what bringing the schools back does to transmission.

[Yevrah]

1. It's not 5 weeks for each phase.
2. Test results aren't a measure of whether we roll this back

[Manc]

Yev 2-0 Science.

[Magic]

Kiko's move to being a mid-60s woman with underlying health conditions that wants to lockdown forever is something else. Especially when you consider he's living with his in-laws in Fife. U ok m8

[Kikó]

Stop trying to push your own soiled underpant wearing onto me. I've no real desire to have a locked down environment for longer than necessary but can understand why *now* at the this point, the governments approach actually seems at its more rational.

[7om]

I agree with Yev to an extent there that we are probably fast approaching (or already at) the point where cases are not the metric we look at. It’s hospitalisations and deaths. Barring a disaster variant, I can’t see how deaths won’t stay in the double digits or hopefully lower.

[Shindig]

I agree but they're cases first before they hit the ward, usually. With Kent sweeping the world, we should be in a decent spot.

[Yevrah]

It's not even me saying it, I'm going by the government's roadmap announcement.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56158405

https://i.postimg.cc/nLvjcWgW/117140622-lockdown-easing-v2-640-nc.png (https://postimages.org/)

Point 3. there. So if a load of school children test positive, that in and of itself won't derail the roadmap.

[phonics]

I have to say, having lived abroad for the majority of my life and being the anti-establishment guy I am, I’ve never felt that the UK has done something better than over here but this vaccine rollout has me raging. I am legally obligated to pay 400 quid a month to an insurance company and I’ve been to the doctor once in 10 years and even then I had to pay for my prescription. Now you can’t even get me a vaccine before October?

[7om]

I have to say, having lived abroad for the majority of my life and being the anti-establishment guy I am, I’ve never felt that the UK has done something better than over here but this vaccine rollout has me raging. I am legally obligated to pay 400 quid a month to an insurance company and I’ve been to the doctor once in 10 years and even then I had to pay for my prescription. Now you can’t even get me a vaccine before October?

:harold:

[Dquincy]

1. It's not 5 weeks for each phase.
2. Test results aren't a measure of whether we roll this back
How's your maths?...


Phase 1 - 8 March

5 weeks later...

Phase 2 - not before 12 April

5 weeks later...

Phase 3 - not before 17 May

5 weeks later...

Phase 4 - not before 21 June

[Yevrah]

My maths is fine, I'm counting 29th March (as that's when the fun starts and people will be in each other's houses all over the shop) as a step. Why the government haven't I don't know as, raves aside, it's game over for police enforcement at that stage.

[Dquincy]

For me it's when the restaurants open and indoor events. That's really going to improve things imo. 'Things' being our way of life.

The rest I already do and have done since the first lockdown.

Be interesting when the population are asked to go back into the office full time. Some people are going to kick off.

[Shindig]

The only thing that stops me going back to the office is the workload almost requires me to not give a shit half an hour, every hour. I don't see me going back until I have to hand the equipment back and get my marching orders.

[Kikó]

My missus has already had their ceo saying everyone get back to London for the 29th. This will be quickly forgotten by many.

[Dquincy]

My missus has already had their ceo saying everyone get back to London for the 29th. This will be quickly forgotten by many.

That's interesting. Is she in the banking sector. My wife's sister works for one of the big lenders and they're trying to get everyone back into Canary Wharf asap, much to her dismay.

[Yevrah]

They haven't publicised it much, so in case anyone here isn't aware, we're allowed in each other's gardens from 29th March.

[Kikó]

That's interesting. Is she in the banking sector. My wife's sister works for one of the big lenders and they're trying to get everyone back into Canary Wharf asap, much to her dismay.

Nope, but her boss is obsessed with everyone being back asap despite sales being at their best.

We've been told June (and we're going to 2 out /3in split likely).

[Spikey M]

None of you are allowed in my garden. Fuck off.

[Waffdon]

Nope, but her boss is obsessed with everyone being back asap despite sales being at their best.

We've been told June (and we're going to 2 out /3in split likely).

I’m hoping the Council stay with WFH for the next year at least. They’re saving a fortune with everything pretty much running as normal so here’s hoping.

[Spikey M]

I think WFH is going to be the way of the future. My work has already announced shutting down all but one of our offices (the one we own) and going "agile". Which basically means "work from home but you can book a desk for a couple of hours if you really must".

The only threat is the government taking some form of action to incentivise going into the office. WFH is bad for too much of the economy. Public Transport and restaurants would take a big hit alone.

[Lewis]

A few hundred thousand redundancies will do it.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Mass working from home will be a disaster and not just for Costa Coffee. You can't build teams or relationships or anything if you never meet face to face. You can 'get the job done' but it's bollocks.

The two blokes in my team who have been WFH during the pandemic (while I heroically soldier in for them) have both turned into complete wetwipes since WFH.

[Spikey M]

A few hundred thousand redundancies will do it.

They're coming either way.

WFH should be maintained just to fist the train companies if nothing else.

We can dona whip around and furlough Lofty.

[Spikey M]

Mass working from home will be a disaster and not just for Costa Coffee. You can't build teams or relationships or anything if you never meet face to face. You can 'get the job done' but it's bollocks.

The two blokes in my team who have been WFH during the pandemic (while I heroically soldier in for them) have both turned into complete wetwipes since WFH.

I hold the death of socialising more responsibile for that. I don't miss the office one bit. I'll happily work from the spare room for the rest of my days if I can meet up with a mate after work, or go to a family barbecue at the weekend.

[Don]

We've had 2 days WFH per week written into our new contracts and flexibility to do more has been spoken about. Rest assured, the ship has sailed, our kids won't even know of the concept of a commute.

[Jimmy Floyd]

You can keep your current job going on it, sure, but what if you wanted to move jobs, move industries, whatever, and it's all just another set of zoom faces and a slightly different email system with no relationships, no talking around work/getting to know each other, no chat with colleagues or proper management or anything other than pre-arranged web calls with agendas? That state of affairs won't hold, for business, regardless of how much office outlay they'd like to shed for the bottom line. Not in a million years.

[Don]

Relationships can still be built (as this place shows). Office chit-chat and 'proper management' are the sorts of things that need to be discarded as the shift happens but for the next decade or two, it'll be a mix of home and office working until the VR headsets are fine-tuned.

[Dquincy]

No way is this the death of the office. Office working is needed (admittedly not all sectors). For instance, how are you to mentor graduates and newbies when not in the same office as them?

Also, quality control of work output and staff workload is a lot harder to monitor with WFH.

I admit the public sector will do WFH, but they are a different animal compared to a private company chasing the £££.

[Yevrah]

Jim's right, trying to build a team over Teams would be far harder than face to face.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Public sector stuffed shirts ticking boxes, I can't comment on that. For any organisation that has to be dynamic, or has to build something new or different or creative, rather than just maintaining a rota for mowing the grass verge alongside the A62, no chance, you'll need a physical workplace and you'll need most people to be at it most of the time.

I'm pretty sure that will still be the case well beyond VR or any other technological milestone you care to think of. The internet's made life easier but it hasn't eliminated the basics of human social behaviour.

[Shindig]

Part of me misses the office bullshit. Seeing people day-to-day that are complete and utter messes complain and struggle about basic things. We got an email on Friday about the coffee maker in the meeting room FOR MEETING ATTENDEES ONLY! I would've loved to see that strop or the guilty parties not giving a fuck.

[Dquincy]

Agree with shinners. Plus when you get a fitty working in your office, it really boosts morale.

[Manc]

Returning to the commute will be a bitch. Jim doesn't know how lucky he is. Thankfully I'll be half in the office half at home.

[Shindig]

Yeah, it really, really does.

Also, the hot chocolate from that machine is really fucking nice and I don't care who knows it.

[Boydy]

No way is this the death of the office. Office working is needed (admittedly not all sectors). For instance, how are you to mentor graduates and newbies when not in the same office as them?

Also, quality control of work output and staff workload is a lot harder to monitor with WFH.

I admit the public sector will do WFH, but they are a different animal compared to a private company chasing the £££.

We had two grads start towards the end of last year and they're doing grand.

[Spikey M]

We've also had some new starters and they've been fine. We've all spent some time with the one joining our team and we have a Teams grpup and WhatsApp group that we use to stay in touch through. Plus, I regularly call my work mates under flimsy pretext to have a chat and they do too.

WFH won't completely take over, there will always be the need for people to meet up, but it has alot to offer. The future is "flexible".

[mugbull]

We had two grads start towards the end of last year and they're doing grand.

SWE jobs can easily be work from home but that ain’t apply to other industries fam

[Don]

Just to clarify, the point at issue here is not that we're suggesting KFC workers will be WFH and sending our bucket meals through Zoom.

[Queenslander]

Western Australia has opened its borders to all of Australia for the 1st time in almost a year. :cab:

Im sure it has nothing to do with Labors landslide victory in the WA election over the weekend.

Social media is telling me that plenty of you know who types want to keep the state borders closed until zero covid.

[SvN]

We had a new starter just when they told people to get back home in October, and it's been challenging. I'm looking forward to returning back to the office.

I'm going to allow 2 days from home per week, as the past year has proven that we can still largely get the job done when working remotely.

[Queenslander]

Or the Gabba you dense carnts.



Bid to transform Lang Park and Brisbane Entertainment and Convention Centres into mass COVID-19 vaccination hubs


https://www.abc.net.au/radio/brisbane/programs/breakfast/bid-to-transform-lang-park/13248312

[Raoul Duke]

The most difficult thing with returning to the office will be when everyone is able to do so - now it's "all out" it's easy but as soon as you start getting 70/30 splits in a team at all different times/days then it'll be a nightmare.

Obviously it just needs some common sense factored in, but...

[Luke Emia]

We had been doing split days in the office so two of us would come in AM and then three would come in PM since January. It's been a colossal ball-ache, cases are quite low again here now though so we are all back in the office today with the benefit of lateral flow tests as well.

[John Arne]

I think they idea that WFH will be more prominent post-Covid is a bit off. If like here, things will return to normality very quickly - WFH will become a thing of the past, never to be mentioned again.

[Spikey M]

Antigua VARIANT ���� :cool:

[Manc]

I think they idea that WFH will be more prominent post-Covid is a bit off. If like here, things will return to normality very quickly - WFH will become a thing of the past, never to be mentioned again.

Not a chance.

[Shindig]

Our lot will stay remote unless there's a reason to push us back into the office. Mainly if we get phone work.

[Spikey M]

I think they idea that WFH will be more prominent post-Covid is a bit off. If like here, things will return to normality very quickly - WFH will become a thing of the past, never to be mentioned again.

My work is literally closing offices down to allow for it.

[Ian]

We'll be 'remote first' supposedly, so presumably largely back in the office on odd days when a customer or some wanker of a board member is visiting and they're not capable of understanding that we exist if they can't see us.

[Kikó]

I think they idea that WFH will be more prominent post-Covid is a bit off. If like here, things will return to normality very quickly - WFH will become a thing of the past, never to be mentioned again.

I agree with this. I think the discipline, or lets say the necessity of having to have virtual meetings will subside and the inefficiencies of travelling to meeting rooms will be forgotten. Tbh, I like the split and want to have the ability to chose between the office and home. Majority of the people I directly work with are based in other countries so this has actually improved the experience.

[SvN]

I know for a fact that at least 2 or 3 of my guys will still come in nearly every day, because they're so fed up working at home, and have been for about 9 months.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The one thing that could be done better (and doesn't happen at my place) is the flexibility to have the odd day at home here and there, let's say if a man's coming to fix the washing machine or whatever. Employers shouldn't be making you burn annual leave to deal with that, if they want happy employees.

Take this morning though, one of my wetwipes Teamses me to say 'Could you please get these documents together for me, I can't do it from home' i.e. can you please do some of my fucking work for me because I haven't got my shit together and prepared properly for my week working from home. That will always happen to some degree if you're having people in and out and all over the place. If you're in the office, you can firefight most things pretty easily.

[Magic]

My work is literally closing offices down to allow for it.

And they'll be buying them again when productivity plummets.

[Kikó]

Productivity is not linked with "being in the office" you Neanderthal.

[Spikey M]

And they'll be buying them again when productivity plummets.

We're all responsible for our own workload. There's nowhere to hide.

[Baz]

I know for a fact that at least 2 or 3 of my guys will still come in nearly every day, because they're so fed up working at home, and have been for about 9 months.Unless it’s because of domestic abuse or childcare reasons, sack them for being absolute mugs.

[Spikey M]

Second.

[Don]

I imagine reduced hours will be the next likely advancement we'll see. The beauty of these marks of progress are that when one area, be it software engineers or public sector wankers commit to it, the rest are largely obliged to follow :drool:

[Kikó]

I imagine reduced hours will be the next likely advancement we'll see. The beauty of these marks of progress are that when one area, be it software engineers or public sector wankers commit to it, the rest are largely obliged to follow :drool:

Oh IT'S ON - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/15/spain-to-launch-trial-of-four-day-working-week

[Dquincy]

Productivity is not linked with "being in the office" you Neanderthal.

Disagree.

[Magic]

Productivity is not linked with "being in the office" you Neanderthal.

For service teams and customer support/success teams, being together is imperative. Of course, you'd know nothing about that.

[Magic]

We're all responsible for our own workload. There's nowhere to hide.

Suggest you do some further reading. Group work is essential.

[Spikey M]

Suggest you do some further reading. Group work is essential.

I reckon I know more about my job than you do to be fair.

[Jimmy Floyd]

'Spain trials 4 day working week' a doubling from the 2 days they currently manage, if my customers are anything to go by.

[Magic]

I reckon I know more about my job than you do to be fair.

Nothing to do with your job.

[Kikó]

Disagree.

Says more about you/your company than anything else.

[Magic]

Or about his line of work? Ironic the man who works in an industry founded on individualism and fucking people over is questioning quince.

[Spikey M]

Nothing to do with your job.

How my work has performed during WFH and the decision to make it permanent is nothing to do with my job.

[Shindig]

The only thing I've found wanting about remote working is when you need to train. You have to be really good at explaining shit when you can't see what they can. Screen sharing apps can avoid that headache, mind.

[Kikó]

Or about his line of work? Ironic the man who works in an industry founded on individualism and fucking people over is questioning quince.

Well yeah that's what I said, it says more about him/his company :cab:

Obviously, not everything can be done remotely and there are advantages of in-face interaction v remote but if you already work with a disparate, international workforce, this is just an extension. I'm sorry I can't work in the team-focused engineering gig like you.

[Magic]

How my work has performed during WFH and the decision to make it permanent is nothing to do with my job.

Do you feel part of a team? Similar to Shinners, doing headless chicken processing work requiring nothing over and above that is fine from home. Because it's just as shite in an office.

[Magic]

Well yeah that's what I said, it says more about him/his company :cab:

Obviously, not everything can be done remotely and there are advantages of in-face interaction v remote but if you already work with a disparate, international workforce, this is just an extension. I'm sorry I can't work in the team-focused engineering gig like you.

You said it in a negative, sneering way. I don't work in a team, or engineering.

[Kikó]

They're just words on a screen, the interpretation is all yours.

[Spikey M]

Do you feel part of a team? Similar to Shinners, doing headless chicken processing work requiring nothing over and above that is fine from home. Because it's just as shite in an office.

My work just isn't team oriented. I manage a patch and aside from referring the odd thing to my manager nobody else factors into it.

[Kikó]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EwhLYPHWQAcxiJk?format=png&name=900x900

But lockdowns don't work etc.

[Don]

Is anyone still denying the effect of lockdown? Team Sauna are just saying everyone under that hump and above the grey line is very likely to be a good-for-nothing waste of space.

[mugbull]

Oh IT'S ON - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/15/spain-to-launch-trial-of-four-day-working-week

"Iñigo Errejón" looks like a high school class president

[niko_cee]

I'm sure some Brighton mob (Advertising? Insurance?) have been doing 4 days weeks for donkeys years.

Ah yes, [recruitment] consultants, of course. (https://www.mrlcg.com/resource-download/4-day-week-the-results/)

Seems it was a trial/gimmick.

[Magic]

Lockdowns don't work, vaccines do.

[Yevrah]

I mean, they obviously do work, but as Jim so aptly put it, they're not a sustainable public health policy.

[Spikey M]

Lockdowns don't work, vaccines do.

Lol

[Shindig]

Had a walk around town earlier. Every independent coffee shop bar one seems to have gone under.

[Jimmy Floyd]

This domino run of European governments now suspending the Oxford vaccine because 37 people out of 5 million have had blood clots since taking it (not necessarily linked to having taken it) out of 'the precautionary principle' is absolutely unbelievable. Holland and Germany the latest to do so.

Do they literally want to kill their own people?

[John Arne]

Not a chance.

Well, clearly not "not a chance" given that there's lot of places already returned to normality (in relation to work and wfh). I would agree with what Jimmy said in that it's easier to get time off (essentially wfh) - as in, child is sick, so I'm working from home today, whereas in the past, may not have even asked the question.

[John Arne]

This domino run of European governments now suspending the Oxford vaccine because 37 people out of 5 million have had blood clots since taking it (not necessarily linked to having taken it) out of 'the precautionary principle' is absolutely unbelievable. Holland and Germany the latest to do so.

Do they literally want to kill their own people?

I haven't seen the numbers - but I saw one tweet suggesting that all the total number of blood clots is in line with what you would expect, regardless of vaccination. These countries must be seeing different numbers??

[Jimmy Floyd]

I don't think anyone knows what they are seeing or doing. We've used millions and millions and millions of those jabs and nothing has happened.

France done it now. Hurrah!

[Yevrah]

I can only assume they're absolutely desperate for THE GREAT BRITISH vaccine to be proven unsafe so that they have something, nay anything, to show that our vaccination rollout isn't a barnstorming success vs. their absolute shambles.

It's utterly pathetic.

[John Arne]

https://www.businessinsider.co.za/astrazeneca-insists-vaccine-is-safe-after-7-countries-suspend-use-2021-3


It said it reviewed safety data from 17 million people who got the shot in the UK and EU, and found fewer clot-related adverse effects than would be expected in any group of that size.

It said that among the 17 million there had been 15 cases of deep vein thrombosis (blood clots in the veins) and 22 of pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lungs).

This is "much lower" than what would expect in the general population, and it is similar to what was observed with other Covid-19 vaccines, the company said.

The number of cases of blood clots reported in the general population would be in the "hundreds", Ann Taylor, AstraZeneca's chief medical officer said in the statement.

[Lewis]

Back when Euroscepticism was a fringe belief confined to Nigel Farage on Question Time and the Telegraph blog pages (the untouchable highpoint of online newspapers) the whole precautionary principle mindset of the European Union was one of the main reasons to be against it. Pharmaceuticals, genetically-modified foods... We could be ballin' on all this stuff now, but in normal times farmers and dickheads will ruin it, so who knows.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The best explanation I can find, reading around this, is that they are all just shitting the bed in formation. It'll be a costly shit as if you're not vaccinating x number of people a day, then approximately x/7000 will die.

[Shindig]

Can we have them back, then? We haven't reported any clots, have we?

[Spikey M]

I just went for a deep dive in AntiVaxx Twitter.

Spectacular stuff.

[7om]

The clotting thing is absolute nonsense, just as THE DATA has indicated. But don’t let that stop total twats like Macron from jumping on it. He’s gutted when he has to endorse it.

[Spikey M]

AstraZenica should just out-petty them and offer to forego the contract. They're not profiting on it anyway, so fuck 'em.

[Dquincy]

They're just words on a screen, the interpretation is all yours.

To be fair, it came across a little 'catty'. But I'm willing to work past this. In fact, I forgive you. I've taken the higher road (unlike you, you complete cretin!!).

Aaah, friends.

[niko_cee]

This domino run of European governments now suspending the Oxford vaccine because 37 people out of 5 million have had blood clots since taking it (not necessarily linked to having taken it) out of 'the precautionary principle' is absolutely unbelievable. Holland and Germany the latest to do so.

Do they literally want to kill their own people?

The whole thing is getting to existential threat levels of incompetence now, but, as always, the response is to make the threat actually worse by doubling down on the original stupidity.

Also, isn't covid strongly associated with clotting problems? So watch as clotting events go up as vaccinations go down.

[Shindig]

https://www.hra.nhs.uk/planning-and-improving-research/application-summaries/research-summaries/coagulation-markers-in-patients-with-severe-covid-19-covid-19/

It would appear so.

[Spikey M]

It's my wife's Nan and Grandads funeral tomorrow and the rules are all sorts of fucked up. Nothing much outside of what you'd expect, but it hits you harder when it's real world.

She'll be on her own (I have the kids), surrounded by her loved ones, all masked up, all crying, nobody is allowed to console you. Nobody can even talk or sing. You're allowed to say "Amen". That's it.

[Lewis]

Keep them in the freezer until June.

[Don]

Did they think about holding a vigil instead? Would have been able to lay on a spread and all sorts that way.

[Spikey M]

There's not enough local police officers to make it worthwhile.

[Jimmy Floyd]

We'll look back on things like how we handled funerals during this with a lot of shame, or at least we should do.

[Don]

Just spent the best part of an hour down a youtube rabbit hole reminding myself of what a pub and live music is. When's the earliest I can make it to an operational Belfast?

[Shindig]

Do you have any friends in the paramilitary?

[Boydy]

Just spent the best part of an hour down a youtube rabbit hole reminding myself of what a pub and live music is. When's the earliest I can make it to an operational Belfast?

You stay the fuck out.

[Spikey M]

Clearly not Shinners.

[Magic]

We'll look back on things like how we handled funerals during this with a lot of shame, or at least we should do.

We should, but I feel the majority will see it as a 'sacrifice' for the greater good. Those are the same people that would happily run a concentration camp.

[Shindig]

My boomer family's old and large enough it probably would've degenerated into a vicious cycle of weekly funerals.

[Magic]

Role of Sage to be reviewed over fears scientists hold too much power


Panel that set the course for some of the pandemic’s most controversial policies may hold ‘too much sway’ over ministers

:harold:

[Spikey M]

Yev 3 - 0 Science

[Kikó]

Complete buck passing by saying "it woz Sage that made us do it".

[Spikey M]

Disagree there Keeks. They're being OTT right now and voices from within Sage have still been calling for more and warning of new waves in August that make no sense at all.

[7om]

Yev is running rings around SAGE.

[Magic]

Complete buck passing by saying "it woz Sage that made us do it".

:harold:

Pure parody account now.

[Kikó]

You?

The government are responsible for the decisions they make. SAGE are advisors, not decision makers.

[Kikó]

Disagree there Keeks. They're being OTT right now and voices from within Sage have still been calling for more and warning of new waves in August that make no sense at all.

There will be waves, whether they are significant enough to care about well that's a different story.

[Yevrah]

Complete buck passing by saying "it woz Sage that made us do it".

It was either ignore them while people were dying in their thousands and risk the ire of the millions of people in this country (and by far the vocal majority on Twitter) that daren't question anything someone from a scientific background says or go with them and have an easier life. Now I'd obviously have preferred if we did the former a bit quicker (as we seem to be now while deaths are much lower - a far easier gig), but without a Thatcher type figure at the helm that was never going to happen.

If we're going to put SCIENCE at the forefront of our society then it simply has to be subject to the same scrutiny every other system is and let's be fair, it has made some awful, awful calls throughout this.

[Spikey M]

You?

The government are responsible for the decisions they make. SAGE are advisors, not decision makers.

You employ advisory boards for their advice. What's the point if you're not going to follow it? And, why can you not hold advice givers responsible for giving bad advice?

The Government won't be coming out of this smelling of roses either. They were a shambles for the entirety of 2020, but Sage have had a shit show too.

It was their advice not to bother with masks early on. Just wash your hands lads. Happy Birthday to you.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Today is the one year anniversary of Caprice being right in her TV debate with a scientific expert, what times they were and what times they still are.

1239512626134224896

[Yevrah]

You employ advisory boards for their advice. What's the point of you're not going to follow it? And, why can you not hold advice givers responsible for giving bad advice?

As I've been saying for a while now, SCIENCE can't be questioned, let alone held culpable for anything. Which is a dangerous trajectory to be on.

[Yevrah]

Today is the one year anniversary of Caprice being right in her TV debate with a scientific expert, what times they were and what times they still are.

1239512626134224896

"Sarah is the expert"

"Masks make no difference at all"

Chuck Caprice into the fold and it's just delightful.

[Spikey M]

Today is the one year anniversary of Caprice being right in her TV debate with a scientific expert, what times they were and what times they still are.

1239512626134224896

She was on one of the Jeremy Vine episodes I watched a while back. She is exactly what you would expect from a Channel 5, day time TV doctor. Thick as pig shit and as smug as the dog rolling in it.

[Kikó]

It was either ignore them while people were dying in their thousands and risk the ire of the millions of people in this country (and by far the vocal majority on Twitter) that daren't question anything someone from a scientific background says or go with them and have an easier life. Now I'd obviously have preferred if we did the former a bit quicker (as we seem to be now while deaths are much lower - a far easier gig), but without a Thatcher type figure at the helm that was never going to happen.

If we're going to put SCIENCE at the forefront of our society then it simply has to be subject to the same scrutiny every other system is and let's be fair, it has made some awful, awful calls throughout this.

Scrutiny is fine and analysing what decisions and advice was followed and whether it was based in the correct principles should happen so we can learn ahead of the next pandemic. It will, and still should absolutely, be the government who make the ultimate decisions whether it be to properly prepare the agencies which are enabled to tackle these pandemics (such as having PPE) or the appropriate actions subsequent (lockdown, airport closures, masks). The SCIENCE as you like to call it, will always be tempered by what is proven at a point in time (e.g. effectiveness of masks).

Twitter is irrelevant in all this.

[Spikey M]

Scrutiny is fine and analysing what decisions and advice was followed and whether it was based in the correct principles should happen so we can learn ahead of the next pandemic. It will, and still should absolutely, be the government who make the ultimate decisions whether it be to properly prepare the agencies which are enabled to tackle these pandemics (such as having PPE) or the appropriate actions subsequent (lockdown, airport closures, masks). The SCIENCE as you like to call it, will always be tempered by what is proven at a point in time (e.g. effectiveness of masks).

Twitter is irrelevant in all this.

Can we not!? :uhoh:

[Ian]

I'm sure the government's actions on this will be properly scrutinised by a ruthless team of Matt Hancock's favourite neighbours.

[Magic]

Scrutiny is fine and analysing what decisions and advice was followed and whether it was based in the correct principles should happen so we can learn ahead of the next pandemic. It will, and still should absolutely, be the government who make the ultimate decisions whether it be to properly prepare the agencies which are enabled to tackle these pandemics (such as having PPE) or the appropriate actions subsequent (lockdown, airport closures, masks). The SCIENCE as you like to call it, will always be tempered by what is proven at a point in time (e.g. effectiveness of masks).

Twitter is irrelevant in all this.

"the next pandemic"

He's desperate for another one. Absolute deviant.

[Spikey M]

I mean, they are a real threat and increasingly likely with a growing population. Especially with poor countries/people expanding into Jungles and wild areas. In the last 100 years alone we've had Spanish Flu, Hong Kong Flu, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, Sars, HIV, Ebola, Covid and probably others I've forgotten.

There will be more. But still... can we not. :uhoh:

[Magic]

"Blame the laughfricans" bit harsh. In fact, apart from Ebola none of your aforementioned pandemicy type things were anything to do with poor countries or untamed wilderness.

[Spikey M]

Contact with infected animals is the obvious link. Be it at a market or by moving into areas that increase the likelihood of contact.

And it's not just Ebola that came about via contact with wild animals. HIV did too (if you believe the official story) and the farms that caused the Bird Flu and Swine Flu outbreaks were in the arse end of nowhere. And, so was the suspected source of the Spanish Flu (which should be called Yank Flu).

[Yevrah]

What's the unofficial story on HIV?

[Spikey M]

What's the unofficial story on HIV?

The Polio vaccine was contaminated. There is some evidence to suggest it could be true. Whether it actually is and whether it is solely responsible is another matter.

(I don't personally believe it. I think HIV just came about at the same time as the Polio Vaccine and the link was made in people's heads.)

[Kikó]

"the next pandemic"

He's desperate for another one. Absolute deviant.

Er, why do you think they prepare for these events? You prepare for the worst situation and prepare scenarios to deal with them.

[Kikó]

The Polio vaccine was contaminated. There is some evidence to suggest it could be true. Whether it actually is and whether it is solely responsible is another matter.

(I don't personally believe it. I think HIV just came about at the same time as the Polio Vaccine and the link was made in people's heads.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_polio_vaccine_AIDS_hypothesis

The link has been refuted.

[Spikey M]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_polio_vaccine_AIDS_hypothesis

The link has been refuted.

I don't doubt it. I was just being mindful of my audience (Magic). Had I just said HIV came from people living alongside (and eating) animals we'd be on page 5 of Q-Anon material by now.

[Ian]

Sounds like BOFFIN chat to me. Just blame it on the gays or the foreigns or the gay foreigns and be done with it.

[Magic]

Er, why do you think they prepare for these events? You prepare for the worst situation and prepare scenarios to deal with them.

They don't, clearly.

[Magic]

Sounds like BOFFIN chat to me. Just blame it on the gays or the foreigns or the gay foreigns and be done with it.

Forrins.

[Jimmy Floyd]

HIV came from people eating monkeys, then someone building a road through Zaire which took the monkey-eaters from the Maniema over to Kinshasa and from there it went to North America, and then the world.

[Shindig]

Reviewing SAGE just sounds like something they would do as the situation calmed down. Ah, the first line of the Telegraph's article:


The role of Sage is likely to be reviewed once this pandemic is over, government sources have said ...."

:lol: Okay, what do the Daily Mail say about this?


Britain's top scientific advisory committee will be reviewed over fears it holds too much sway over the Government's decisions, it was claimed today.

No timescale yet very definite.


Much of the criticism has been aimed at SAGE's pessimistic modelling of the crisis, which forecast an astonishing 500,000 deaths in the first wave and warned of 4,000 Covid victims per day this winter.

I'll give them that much. Those worst case scenarios involved no lockdowns or restrictions whatsoever. I'm not even sure about that 500,000 deaths. "We'd be lucky to get away with 20,000" is the quote I always think about.

[Yevrah]

500,000 deaths and 4,000 a day were clearly based on us doing nothing/not locking down again so I'm fine with those. I have more of an issue with the batshit stuff they've been coming out with since, which would only make sense if we didn't have a vaccine.

[niko_cee]

Hang on a second, the Pfizer jab has the same basic prevalence of these clots (ie none really, but some) as the AstraZeneca one? Unfathomably lol if true.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I saw a quote from the Italian regulator (friends with the German comedian) earlier saying the suspension was political. They've passed into the twilight zone I think. Except Belgium, oddly.

[niko_cee]

I'm well used to the concept of the EU acting in/prioritising it's own interests (ahead of those of its members or their citizens) but this seems a bit arse about tit to have the member states prostrating themselves on the high altar of ever closer union.

I saw Ian Dale earlier cheekily conspiring [without conviction] that this was evidence of the power of the Pfizer lobby in Brussels, as they stand to make a mint out of it.

I also like the one about the EU originally being sceptical of German motivations in vaccine procurement [ie they wanted to blow the whole budget on the one they invented] so they went down the bargain basement AstraZeneca route.

It's all gone fully through the looking glass.

[Spikey M]

The nose is off and the face is being spited.

[Jimmy Floyd]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EwmCwhzXMAAwfAA?format=jpg&name=medium

:charm:

[niko_cee]

At least the Italian take (it's a political decision) is honest.

That just makes no sense at all, although I suppose that depends on what you are trying to protect public confidence in.

[Magic]

Bludgeon about to give us no hope whatsoever.

[Shindig]

One weird trick to make complaints about your slow rollout disappear. They'll okay it in a week, rollout faster than ever and then pretend this was a good idea. Then they'll be asking people to come forward in another week's time as they sit on spares for the rest of eternity.


The European Union medicines regulator has reiterated there is "no indication" that the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid jab causes blood clots, after several countries paused their rollouts.

I thought you guys were tight? :D

[7om]

So the MHRA, WHO and now the EMA have all said there is no link between blood clots and the vaccine. Which begs the question why have all these countries suspended using the Oxford product and in a coordinated fashion?

These people are fucking idiots. Not only have they shown themselves to be incompetent (again) but they could have also damaged confidence in covid vaccination programs as a whole.

[Magic]

Hahaha she's went one better than BoJo because she knows she's under huge pressure and has made a total cunt of it. FUCK YOU TURDGEON.

[Shindig]

Tories call for earlier opening of 'safe exercise spaces'

Just go outside, Ruth.

[niko_cee]

Only allowing pubs to serve alcohol outdoors in Scotland is trolling of the highest level.

[Spikey M]

9/10 Scots spend most of their time drinking outdoors. It's just usually at bus stops, in graveyards or under railway bridges.

[Yevrah]

So the MHRA, WHO and now the EMA have all said there is no link between blood clots and the vaccine. Which begs the question why have all these countries suspended using the Oxford product and in a coordinated fashion?

These people are fucking idiots. Not only have they shown themselves to be incompetent (again) but they could have also damaged confidence in covid vaccination programs as a whole.

I was conflicted as to whether we should leave the EU or not. My heart said leave (the bureaucratic mess), but my head said stay (you have a good life, don't rock the boat). It's incredible how little time it's taken to swing that.

If we ran the vote again today I can't imagine we'd even be in 'it's close, should we have a second referendum?' territory.

[Jimmy Floyd]

All my poncey ways told me that remain was the best option, but I voted leave simply because the fundamental truth of the EU is that it's an attempt to use a one size fits all approach for 25+ completely different nations/economies/cultures, and it struck me that there would definitely come a point further down the line when we wouldn't want to be rolled up in that particular dungball.

I didn't think it would come anywhere near this soon.

[Shindig]

I was conflicted as to whether we should leave the EU or not. My heart said leave (the bureaucratic mess), but my head said stay (you have a good life, don't rock the boat). It's incredible how little time it's taken to swing that.

In fairness, a crisis like Covid will do that. Something tells me a Britain still tied to the EU would take the early gamble on jabs, though. It was an absolute necessity.

[Yevrah]

It's hilarious that we were told we'd be irrelevant if we left, when all that's happened so far is we're lauding it over a bunch of petty, vaccine dodging, science-denying twats.

[Yevrah]

In fairness, a crisis like Covid will do that. Something tells me a Britain still tied to the EU would take the early gamble on jabs, though. It was an absolute necessity.

We may well have done, but we'd have been flying squarely in the face of the EU on the issue of a generation (maybe more) had we done, at which point, one has to wonder, why are we in it again?

[Spikey M]

I was conflicted as to whether we should leave the EU or not. My heart said leave (the bureaucratic mess), but my head said stay (you have a good life, don't rock the boat). It's incredible how little time it's taken to swing that.

If we ran the vote again today I can't imagine we'd even be in 'it's close, should we have a second referendum?' territory.

Could have written this myself. Wouldn't need a seconds thought now.

[Don]

Shut up, you bunch of gammons. This island really is a fascist cesspit. We need to reimagine the debate. Your words are violence. I don't want men to apologise, I want them to recognise they don't have access to our bodies.

[Magic]

She's allowed colleges back on April 5th... That's the start of the 2 week Easter break. :D

[Don]

I get the whole 'let's just follow England but shift the dates a few days and rebrand it' approach but did I hear right that she hasn't said end of restrictions in end of June but rather, your Level 0? Scots gonna be running down to English clubs like mad.

[7om]

Taz on the ropes here. Hang on, son.

[Don]

Clocks go forward in less than 2 weeks. I believe I have it in me to see out the next 12 days.

[niko_cee]

Au revoir La France (https://www.france24.com/en/france/20210316-france-investigating-new-coronavirus-variant-detected-in-brittany)

[Dquincy]

UK covid deaths/1mill population = 1,845

Brazil covid deaths/1mill population = 1,318

Which one effectively locked down for a year? :harold:

It was all a waste of time.*



* I know we'll never know the answer to this and comparing countries isn't an exact science. But it still offers indications.

[Spikey M]

Hot countries do better. It really is as easy as that I fear.

[Queenslander]

The anti-vax mob are hounding the QLD Government about AZ vaccination. Be amazed if we get even 50% done this year now that our spastics have faces to point too.

[Queenslander]

Hot countries do better. It really is as easy as that I fear.

There has to be something to that as down here both people who had the UK strain had been in the community for over 24 hours with zero community transmission.

[phonics]

The EU AstraZeneca thing is the ‘we will say masks do nothing to keep demand down’ all over again but 1000000 times more dangerous.

[Dquincy]

Hot countries do better. It really is as easy as that I fear.

I thought they had previously debunked the theory that weather and temperature have little impact on covid transmission.

[Spikey M]

I thought they had previously debunked the theory that weather and temperature have little impact on covid transmission.

If it isn't the weather directly, then it will be a compound factor of it. Better weather = more time outside = less spread. Or the Vitamin D theory is correct. Or being outdoorsy makes you less likely to be a fat cunt.

[Kikó]

UK covid deaths/1mill population = 1,845

Brazil covid deaths/1mill population = 1,318

Which one effectively locked down for a year? :harold:

It was all a waste of time.*


* I know we'll never know the answer to this and comparing countries isn't an exact science. But it still offers indications.

So the lockdown is causing the virus to spread?

Spikey hits the nail anyway, outdoor transmission is lower for the virus which is why we should the outdoor clubs.

[Shindig]

Quincy, this may come as a shock to you but Britain's 11 times more densely populated than Brazil. 725 Brits per square mile, 65 Brazilians.

[Queenslander]

They have got some cracking poor communities.

[Spikey M]

Their average age is only 35 apparently, too.

[Queenslander]

Africa factor.

[Dquincy]

So the lockdown is causing the virus to spread?

Spikey hits the nail anyway, outdoor transmission is lower for the virus which is why we should the outdoor clubs.

No, the implication being that the lockdown has done little to curb the mortality rates and virus spreading. Brazil's cases are lower than UK per capita.

[Dquincy]

Quincy, this may come as a shock to you but Britain's 11 times more densely populated than Brazil. 725 Brits per square mile, 65 Brazilians.

Nope, that is clear. But your figures assume all parts of Brazil are habitable and all communities are equally spread over Brazil. This not the case when you consider the shanty towns and slums that are densely populated.

It's food for thought and I thank you all for listening.

[Spikey M]

Not all of the UK is habitable either. Look at Kent for example. :henn0rz:

[Dquincy]

Garden of England, mate.