Coronavirus (Covid19) Corner

[Stanley]

Sorry China! You're right of course. Love the story about the Port!
That is a good graphic Kev....

[Tizer]

We wear masks if we have to share enclosed spaces with other people or have to get up close to them. Also beware of walking too close behind others. Otherwise, in the open air the risk of infection with covid is extremely low because any virus particles are diluted quickly and you won't get an `infective dose' even if you breathe in a few.

There are some interesting bits of information about the phone tracking apps in this article...
`Contact-tracing app: First version worked on more phones' LINK

[plaques]

Took my phone app for an outing this morning, nothing flash, bank. market hall card shop. book stall and back to car. Everybody compliant with mask wearing. Gives you the moral high ground and like Wendy says people tend to keep their distance when they see you coming. On the other hand they could be thinking ' this bugger wearing a mask could easily push me over and pinch my shopping'. I'll watch next time to see if they tighten their grip on their bags.

[PanBiker]

A bit of light relief.

Open it in your choice of video viewer.

Covid Taste and Smell.mp4

[PanBiker]

Just completed the online survey linked to the Covid test I did for Imperial College. It took about 20 minutes to work through the questions all of which had a choice of radio button answers. I ticked the box at the end to agree to be contacted for more research if required. Also to give permission for the hospital to access my medical records over the last 20 years.

[Stanley]

I noted two houses yesterday completely ignoring the new restrictions on visitors. Are they bullet-proof or just stupid?
Ken, it's more likely to be your imposing presence.

[PanBiker]

II was in One Stop yesterday and there was a late 20's or so bloke wandering around without a mask. Didn't see a disability lanyard, looked like he was on his way to the pub.

[Tizer]

There will always be such people - the ones whose behaviour lies at the thin end of the statistical normal distribution graph! Unfortunately, with the growth in populism they're getting more powerful and believe their day has come.

[Tripps]

I got an email at 2,30 this morning urging me to download the 'world beating' track and trace system. I think it will warn me if I've been within two metres for at least fifteen minutes continually, of someone who is infected with Covid.

Oliver Dowden was the unfortunate Minister who got the short straw this morning to promote this affair. He was all over the place. LBC say they had booked the top person for interview, but they've pulled out. Why can't they just admit it when they get something wrong and say they'll fix it as soon as possible? Their verbal contortions are embarrassing.

[Big Kev]

I did download it, albeit briefly, and have since removed it from my phone. Until the issue, in England, with inputting NHS test results is fixed it seems rather pointless. Not sure who overlooked that 'clanger', because the app requires an 'official' code to input test results and NHS results don't have this code. You couldn't make it up.

[Tripps]

It seems that the security issues have been addressed to everyone's satisfaction. It seems that no one knows who you are after the download. In that case anyone who would find the two weeks isolation a problem, can ignore the request without consequences.

[Stanley]

As my phone never leaves the house and is barred from anything except wi-fi connection not a lot of point me downloading the app. I too got an email inviting me to download the app. How can I tell whether it is spam or not? I simply deleted it. I know all I need to know about it, God knows there has been enough publicity.
In that context, I agree with David, it's painful to hear the verbal contortions of spokespersons put up to explain/defend. Matt Hancock and Dido Harding are two of the biggest offenders.
Too many 'actions' taken precipitately without discussion and agreement. Government by diktat never was a good idea and even the normally quiescent back bench Tories are waking up to this erosion of Parliamentary authority and slighting of democracy.

[plaques]

The logic behind the NHS covid-19 App is getting a bit too complex for me. First you have to have a smart phone that will accept the App. Having the App on your phone is voluntary. The information gathered is totally private for your eyes only where you can ignore warnings about isolation. Hospitality venues (pubs, restaurants etc) are to have QR codes which you photograph but only go to your private record. And finally only if you test positive via a test booked through the App will information be passed on to others who the Blue Tooth proximity locators said you were standing near to for 15 minutes.
Questions
Why bother if you can ignore the results.
What purpose does the QR code serve.
Since it is advised that only those with suspected symptoms book a test The time lag between being informed, booking, getting results means you could be infecting people for more than a week before your information becomes effective.

It all sounds like someone thought it was a good idea then realized it wasn't but daren't make another U turn so continued with the 'well we must be seen to do something'.

Later. Covid Fines

The law applies to people who have tested positive for coronavirus, or who have been told by NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate because they have been in close contact with someone with the virus.

Again if the results and contact details are 'private' how does the authorities know you are ignoring them?

[Tizer]

I've mentioned before that viruses mutate, usually to their detriment but occasionally to a faster spreading version or one with a greater fatality rate. Of course mutation could lead to other features such as affecting a different age group or causing long-lasting effects as in `long covid'. With that in mind I wondered if youngsters are getting mild symptoms but might be ending up with long covid. So I've sent the following email message to the BBC's `More or Less' programme and we'll see it it gets any attention.

As a regular listener to More or Less I'd be grateful if you could tell listeners if the age distribution of incidence of `long covid' symptoms is different or the same as that of covid itself. From news reports I get the impression that young people are affected more by long covid than we would expect but this might simply be due to young people reporting their symptoms more effectively than older folk.

[Stanley]

A very good point well presented Peter. I look forward to any response with interest.
I too share your confusion Ken. Not only about the App but with another aspect of the restrictions. As I understand it we prohibit socially distanced attendance to outdoor sporting events under strict supervision but allow unsupervised attendance in bars, pubs and restaurants indoors with poor ventilation and the consequences of inebriation. We have all seen the behaviour on the streets after closing time. I do not understand the logic behind this different treatment of the two cases.

[Big Kev]

We have all seen the behaviour on the streets after closing time. I do not understand the logic behind this different treatment of the two cases.

I don't think anyone does. From a 'legal' perspective I could sit in a restaurant, at a table, 2m away from another family but I could be fined if that same family, sat at a table 2m away, in my back garden. There is no logic...

[Stanley]

Thanks for that Kev. I often wonder if it is just me! Very reassuring to know I am not alone.

[Wendyf]

The logic is that a restaurant or pub should be a controlled and Covid secure environment whereas a house isn't. Should being the operative word.

[plaques]

The sad thing is that the UK has built an economy that is reliant on fast food and hospitality venues. Close these down and the economy collapses. Whole cities are dependent on armies of office workers cocooned in high rise blocks rushing out for a quick snack and perhaps a few drinks after work. The coronavirus has shown that this model of working practice is totally unnecessary but city economics are dependent on it so it has now become an essential part of life set in stone. People need and deserve the pleasures of life but do they need to be brain washed into thinking that only big cities can deliver this relief. Perhaps those lucky enough to live in the backwaters of Barlick have already found their El Doraldo

[Big Kev]

The logic is that a restaurant or pub should be a controlled and Covid secure environment whereas a house isn't. Should being the operative word.

Theoretically that logic stands...

[Tizer]

This is worth listening to...Long Covid - Adam Rutherford (Inside Science presenter) tells of his own bad experience... LINK

BBC summary:
After becoming ill with covid six months ago, Inside Science presenter Adam Rutherford is only now getting back to normal. He didn’t go to hospital and, like many, thought he’d be back on his feet within a week or two. But his symptoms of fatigue and shortness of breath are taking months to subside and he’s still not 100%. He is not alone. The scale of what’s become known as ‘long covid’ is only now coming to light. Tens of thousands of people are still enduring serious and oddly diverse symptoms, having been initially infected several months ago, from fatigue and muscle aches, to blood clots and kidney failure.

One of the most striking aspects of the disease is the stark differences in people’s experiences. Some recover quickly, while others battle with distressing and long-lasting symptoms. What are the underlying mechanisms driving these symptoms? What is it about the virus SARS-CoV-2, and the immune response it triggers, that could explain such widespread destruction in the body? Could there be several subtypes of the disease? A nationwide study, called PHOSP-COVID, is now underway to answer these questions. It’s taking the long view - recruiting ten thousand patients who were hospitalised with covid and following them up for at least a year and, many, for much longer. Adam explores the emerging science behind ‘long covid’ and asks what the repercussions might be for patients, for the NHS and for society.

[Stanley]

I listened to that I think or a case very much like it. It's a nasty virus and I shall stay on hi
gh alert.
Ken, you're right about city economies and offices. There is a parallel to the discovery that in many cases work from home is efficient. For years, the major airlines have been banging on about connecting businesses by air travel. I haven't heard a single business complain that they have been paralysed by not being able to travel, they have just used different methods. Makes spending £100 billion to shave half an hour off the journey time to the North look a bit dodgy as well. That argument has gone quiet. Barlick has a very fast connection to the world, it's called tinternetwebthingy.

[plaques]

NHS Covid-19 tracing App. I'm far from being an expert on this subject so further explanations would be welcome.
The tracing App depends on smart phones being in close proximity with each other for 15 minutes or more. The distance between phones being measured by a BlueTooth signal which via some complex algorithm can work out the distance. This algorithm must be able to take into account phone types, battery condition and factors peculiar to the phones. This sounds complex but doable but when other external features are considered, walls. partitions of different materials, vertical floor separation, metal interfaces which could all affect the signal strength the overall accuracy looks less certain. It may be that these external factors which degrade the signal would also reduce the possibilities of transmission so perhaps we shouldn't worry. On the other hand BlueTooth is non-directional making the exact contact position hidden. Also it knows nothing about air flow direction making some possible contacts more dangerous than others.
The bottom line is 'how concerned should one be if you get a covid alert?

[Marilyn]

You may be overthinking things Plaques. Hubby has the app on his phone, and we are never more than 10 feet from each other. He has never had a notification. Mind you, he doesn’t stand still for more than 3 mins unless he is sat at his computer ( then he can sit for 10 hours)

[plaques]

You may be overthinking things Plaques. Hubby has the app on his phone, and we are never more than 10 feet from each other. He has never had a notification.

And if you put both phones in a drawer for the duration of the pandemic you would never get the virus? I give up.