Coronavirus (Covid19) Corner

[Stanley]

Backing up what Kev said, Susan sent me this screenshot, not sure where it originates but it seems we are not affected by the new rules on this side of Pendle.

[Big Kev]

Thanks Kev. Does this mean that I shouldn't meet up with a friend for a walk or sit at a table outside a cafe for a coffee? All socially distanced of course.
Haven't Sweden got away with following the path of herd immunity?

I have no idea Wendy I'm just carrying on being sensible. Keeping my distance, washing my hands and avoiding the rat lickers. There are so many different 'regulations' we are supposed to follow, with no specifics it's confusing.
I can't see my family in my garden but my wife can go back to work, with a class of 30 children, in two weeks time. There's no logic.

[Tripps]

The leader of Pendle Borough Council, Mohamed Iqbal, has just been on LBC. He emphasised that the rules only apply to certain areas of the Borough, and that he doesn't understand what to do either. He says he spent all day yesterday asking Government for clarification of the new rules but has not yet received any. Maybe Boris has no mobile connection in his tent? He also queried why he could go shopping or to the pub (unlikely) or on holiday to Portugal, but not up the road to his Aunty's.

Professor David Nabarro of Imperial College, and Special Envoy of the W.H.O. says things are improving, but there will be local spikes for a long time and they must be dealt with by tracing and isolation. He said there will be no vaccine for at least a year, and maybe even not by then.

That's interesting since we are told of a Russian vaccine which Putin has given to his daughters, that the oxford vaccine is not far away, and see below for a Chinese version.

Noticed in the news that a plane full of Chinese nickel miners were refused entry to Papua New Guinea - the reason being they had all been 'vaccinated', and the Papuan authorities knew nothing of the potential consequences. Good to see such prompt diligence from the Government of such a country. they seem better organised than we are.

That raises a plethora of interesting discussion points, more to do with politics rather than Covid 19 so I'll resist the temptation.

[Wendyf]

I can see what the regulations are trying to prevent and am happy to continue being socially isolated for as long as it takes. You can't say that sensible people are exempt from following the rules, it has to apply across the board.

[Tripps]

You can't say that sensible people are exempt from following the rules, it has to apply across the board.

Except if your name is Dominic Cummings, and the PM can't manage without you.

[Wendyf]

You can't say that sensible people are exempt from following the rules, it has to apply across the board.

Except if your name is Dominic Cummings, and the PM can't manage without you.

I set that one up nicely didn't I?

[Big Kev]

You can't say that sensible people are exempt from following the rules, it has to apply across the board.

That's what I meant by being sensible sadly there are some who are not. I've stopped following the Barnoldswick Talk page because of the conspiracy theorists and 'deniers' (I think that's a real word).

[Tripps]

I've stopped following the Barnoldswick Talk page

Good move I'd say.

Deniers is a word - i think it's a unit of measurement for the thickness of nylon stockings.

[Stanley]

Put me right if I am wrong but my reading of what Susan sent me is that Barlick is not affected by the new measures. I don't know which wards others live in but we aren't mentioned. It makes no difference to me either Kev, I shall continue to shield and avoid every other contact except for essential shopping which is done at opening time when the least shoppers are about and they could also be the sensible ones!

[Big Kev]

Deniers is a word - i think it's a unit of measurement for the thickness of nylon stockings.

That'll do for me

[Big Kev]

Put me right if I am wrong but my reading of what Susan sent me is that Barlick is not affected by the new measures.

You are correct in your presumption.

There is a lot of confusion around the 'new' restrictions, as well as the existing, from both residents and local councillors and probably the government...

[Stanley]

Thanks Kev. I know that Susan keeps her fingers on the pulse because of course it affects her counselling practice. Her clients are allowed to sit in a pub all night but not have a one to one with her in her front room which is in itself confusing.
"I've stopped following the Barnoldswick Talk page because of the conspiracy theorists and 'deniers' (I think that's a real word)."
I haven't experienced that source Kev but it would have the same effect on me.
For what it's worth, in my opinion 'denier' and its plural is certainly a correct usage.

[Big Kev]

For those that haven't and would like to, here's where you can get tested. You don't need to have symptoms, everyone in Pendle is being encouraged to have one.

https://www.pendle.gov.uk/coronavirus?f ... UM_jag6OAU

Alternatively you can order a home testing kit. Just choose 'other' when asked why you need a test. All the instructions are there...

https://self-referral.test-for-coronavi ... tigen/name

[plaques]

Thank you Kev, Probably one of the best explanations I've seen but even then the words need unravelling to get the lists in the right order.
But not quite as bad as this comment....
But, today, Pendle has shown a decrease, with just seven new cases. Tougher lockdown restrictions were announced for the area, since it started showing higher figures. This means the number has now gone from 820 to 827.

Just needs a bit of thinking about.

[Tizer]

Having grown up in Blackburn I look at those distinctions between the areas that are `OK' and those that are `restricted' and wonder how folk there will know which they belong to. I didn't live in any of those areas but I was in Blackburn! The division seems to be roughly between north and south but even if you used that as a dividing line through the centre of the town many people still wouldn't know which they were in. The phrase `dog's breakfast' springs to mind!

[Big Kev]

Having grown up in Blackburn I look at those distinctions between the areas that are `OK' and those that are `restricted' and wonder how folk there will know which they belong to. I didn't live in any of those areas but I was in Blackburn! The division seems to be roughly between north and south but even if you used that as a dividing line through the centre of the town many people still wouldn't know which they were in. The phrase `dog's breakfast' springs to mind!

The Pendle Council website has a facility to input your postcode, this will then tell you you what 'ward' you are in and who is your councillor.

[Tizer]

Ah, thanks for explaining. They didn't have postcodes when I lived in Blackburn!

[PanBiker]

Aye there is some confusion about zoning the restrictions by ward boundary. It is only politico's like me that know where the boundaries between wards and polling districts are. The water is muddied even further now the Boundary Commission has had it's way with parts of Pendle. In the local forest, how many folk are aware that half of what was Coates Ward in Barlick is now in Earby and that Craven Ward no longer exists but does now contain the other half of Coates, confusing isn't it? It remains to be seen how the polling district boundaries are effected, Pendle Council has not got round to issuing the data on that yet. Should really be in the politics or the voting topic but the electoral office at Pendle Council is now down to one officer and two part time employees, getting the marked register has been like squeezing blood from a stone.

[Whyperion]

I haven't had a cold, cough or sore throat this year which is unusual.

Had one at the tail end of 2019 that may or may not be the same as I had in Jan 2020. Think one was OC43 and the other more of a 5 day cold.
Probably arising from public transport in London

[plaques]

We are now being told that the covid-19 virus will be with us a very long time and possibly a really reliable vaccine may not be ready before the winter of 2021. We all know that our immediate life styles have changed with less travel and virtually no mass entertainment. Working from home and online shopping has taken over from visits to the High St. Are we in effect seeing the death of the big cities? The edge of town superstores moved shopping habits away from the local shops and online banking nibbled away at banks and post offices but with covid the question arises why live on top of each other when the so called pleasures and conveniences have disappeared. The government is keen to get people back into the cities but are they flogging a dead horse and just propping up an way of life that is no longer viable? The property developers may have already seen this trend with a push to build on every scrap of greenfield land they can put their hands on. Barlick and some of the outlying towns and villages are becoming prime target for new housing that doesn't on the surface have any purpose but if looked at in the light of declining cities it may start to make sense.

[Tizer]

Opinions are very divided on that, Plaques. One lot say it's a paradigm shift and we'll never be the same again, big events like this virus are the disruptors that throw us out of our old ways and introduce to a new world. The other side say it's all temporary and past evidence shows we'll be back to the old ways PDQ. I'm hedging my bets and predicting we'll see some of both!

[Big Kev]

Are the decreased hospital admissions, and reported deaths, related to Covid-19 a result of restrictions put in place or, has something else changed?

Screenshot_20200824-115855_Google.jpg

[Tripps]

Good question.

I don't know the answer, but maybe we will in the next few months. Someone said when this all started 'the virus will be the teacher'. So many unknowns. Since the outcome is likely to be disproportionately harsh at my age, i remain in isolation. Can't do it for ever though.

PS,
Later in another part of the forest, , ,
Spectator -
Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries has told Sky News that the risk of being in a car accident or catching the flu is now higher than Covid-19 for schoolchildren.

Mail online.
Huge Covid outbreak shuts Dundee school as SEVENTEEN staff and two pupils test positive - just two weeks after classes restarted in Scotland.

[Stanley]

It's all big puzzle isn't it. Like Ken and Kev I see these reports and wonder what the significance is.
Speaking about London.... "1830, Cobbett, William, Rural Rides: "But, what is to be the fate of the great wen of all? The monster, called, by the silly coxcombs of the press, 'the metropolis of the empire?'"
Cobbett was asking the same question almost 200 years ago, and many others have pondered on it. These days it is seen as a place of opportunity for a better life than the provinces. In the end that's what will make the real change, the 'levelling out' that Johnson gives lip service to. It has become more and more obvious that in terms of investment and services, cities like London in particular suck the life out of the hinterland. Think back to what happened to the lost village of Stock at Bracewell when the opportunities for higher wages in Barnoldswick in the mills sucked the population out of it, the same thing happened to Wycoller. Perhaps something like sea level rise will, in the end, be the straw that breaks the back of the large cities, most of them are situated in areas that are going to be affected.
(I've gone off piste haven't I. Sorry!)

[Whyperion]

Are the decreased hospital admissions, and reported deaths, related to Covid-19 a result of restrictions put in place or, has something else changed?

Screenshot_20200824-115855_Google.jpg

Summer, changes in the interaction of people - no football matches, concerts, pubs with some distancing (I still think Air Conditioning is the biggest vector in spreading airborne diseases). Deaths - possibly the re-defining of death date to infection diagnosis date, possibly reduced numbers in care-homes as controls are in place now. Research - defining as catching Covid-19 after 15 days of being in hospital with a non-covid illness ( 15 days as 14 days is estimated max incubation period so could have been community caught if before ), shows 1 in 8 infections treated in hospital fell into this category, which is considered relatively small , and outcomes were generally better - as diagnosis and treatment were swifter.

The Deaths graph additionally is backed up by current total deaths to normal deaths.

Schools - No Idea, but despite headlines families have to ensure their children are educated, not schooled. So if you can afford it ( the free childminding at school is the main reason for school ), home education to OFSTEAD standards is acceptable, it is monitored by local authorities - though what covid controls they have put in place for the assessors and reporters of such education and termly home visits I dont know and doubt anyone else does either.