Is this Second Wave hitting hard particularly UK? I think France has also gone into lockdown but things aren’t spiralling there, right?
Massively. Far larger than the first and we have less restrictions in place. No answer to this from the PM or any of his cronies.
3 Likes
Yes. I’m not sure though how much of that is people not following the same precautions from last spring though. I’ve got friends and family in Thailand (a lot of that is linked to an outbreak in one state which has spread into many others), and Japan, and they are telling us that things are worse there now than nearly a year ago. There was someone on the boards from Ireland I think recently saying it was much worse.
2 Likes
Testing before getting on the plane in the first place would have been a much better idea. You don’t need a doctorate to know that somebody who’s highly contagious will pass it on in a sealed environment regardless of what the airlines say. Probably at that point when everybody takes their masks off to eat. Even if you keep yours on, it’s still high risk.
UK just moved into 2nd place (ignoring China and Russia) with regard to daily death numbers.
1 Like
upsetting scenes
Still no new lockdown however curfews of 20hr or 18hr depending on departement borders are under surveillance (particularly that with the UK). The situation is worrying and a new lockdown is under discussion.
1 Like
Thanks. I heard about the curfews and misunderstood it as a lockdown measure.
1 Like
Sweden has to fire Tegnell. He is either incompetent or delusional. Yesterday in a press conference he was boasting about Sweden’s ‘extensivemonitoring’ and characterization of the covid variants found in and entering the country. He was providing assurances that the UK variant is not a concern for Sweden.
Sweden has found 12 cases of the UK variant…but they have only sequenced 135 samples. Denmark has sequenced over 11k. The UK has sequenced over 88k.
The US has sequenced 753. Canada’s number is fairly dire as well (probably more at provincial level, data is proving to move Fed-Prov very poorly), but at least our PH people are extremely worried about the UK variant.
4 Likes
Just saw this. The tweet discussion contains a link to the original report. FT is a reliable paper so am surprised to see this story there and assume there must be good reason for doing so. Unfortunately the story itself is behind a paywall so can not access it.
2 Likes
The estimate is ~5 months, with longer possible along a Weibull distribution. Not that different from what many thought was likely as early as June.
1 Like
It’s like a partial lockdown measure between 18hr and 06hr lockdown restrictions apply. For example if you work night shifts you have to have a ‘derogation’ (signed papers by you and your employeur). During the day it’s ‘life as normal’ with masks and distancing.
1st digression 135 euro fine (majoree to 375 euros if unpaid), 2nd violation (within 15 days) 200 euros (majoree to 450euros if unpaid) and 3rd violation within a month 6 mois d’imprissonment and fine of 1375 euros (maximum) any infraction above/over that can land you with 3 years (maximum) of ‘community work’.
Big deterent for the poor absolutely useless for the wealthy.
1 Like
I think this story on the BBC is linked to that:
2 Likes
Yeah, but despite of them being in strict lockdown since quite a few weeks, the numbers aren’t really going down, they are plateauing. That is concerning, and it seems to be the case of many countries right now.
Here, we are going back into semi-confinement for the first time since April. Numbers aren’t too bad compared with a few weeks ago, but the UK variant (thanks to some moronic tourists, and also thanks to our moronic authorities who decided to maintain skiing installations open in the first place) seems to gather pace at a frightening rhythm here: double of cases each week, despite already strict distancing measures. That’s the reason we go into semi-confinement again. A pre-emptive measure.
The skiing installations remain open. The schools too. 
2 Likes
Your sarcasm is duly noted Kopstar. I am just happy that I am living through Covid in Spain.
The UK has done well to get the vaccine going and I hope they get control of the virus quickly as I have 2 grand daughters working in care homes and everyone over there seems vulnerable at the moment.
Thanks for your sensible observation Arminius.
1 Like
Just keep up to date mate 
No offence intended. Most of the time the UK and Spain have been in a similar position although the length of time since a test is not counted in Spain. That is a “Boris bonus.” It is only this last week the UK has spiraled out of control.
The fact is no one knows what will happen next anywhere, where will the next variant surface ?
It just seems to me that the UK has handled things very badly and a lot of people have died unnecessarily. Maybe one day this will all be over and maybe the truth will then come out.
1 Like
There will certainly need to be a reckoning but you don’t get to the truth by making false claims, repeatedly.
I would not be as complacent if I were living in Spain. It’s just as much a shitshow over there as it is in the UK - quite probably more so going by Spain’s excess death count (which exceeds their declared covid-related deaths by more than 70%).
Spain are one of the better performers at adminstering vaccine doses though but, like the UK, they’ve got themselves into a position where they have to pull out all the stops.
2 Likes
I keep hearing about this variant, and the implications, but nowhere seems able to comment on what the actual difference is in infection terms.
1 Like
I am up to date thanks.
But you keep on making false statements about covid.
Read some of the links and figures Kopstar shared with us.
Has the UK or Spain done well with covid?No neither country has along with quite a few others.
Hopefully the various vaccines help us all do better.
1 Like