The return of local restrictions/guidance

[Jonny]

What about "ONION"? (Of No Importance On Nothing, if you like acronyms).

Not to be mistaken for the satire website theonion (dot) com - the problem is that one is masquerading as a serious entity.

 

[joncombe]

Seems the health professionals are going all out to get the relaxation on 21st June postponed or watered dow. Today the BBC is leading with a story that hospitals are under pressure and waiting lists long because vof health conditions that were not diagnosed during the past 18 months unrelated to Covid but that they therefore wouldn't be able to cope with any increase in patients. Should have kept the Nightingales... Kier Starmer wading in as usual too.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57294438

Chris Hopson said patients tended now to be younger - meaning there was a lower need for critical care.

But he said it was "incredibly striking" how busy hospitals were, as they deal with non-Covid backlogs.
Trusts were going "full pelt", he said.

Mr Hopson said that trusts are seeing more patients who put off treatment in the pandemic - and who now require more complex care and longer stays.

 

[yorksrob]

Seems the health professionals are going all out to get the relaxation on 21st June postponed or watered dow. Today the BBC is leading with a story that hospitals are under pressure and waiting lists long because vof health conditions that were not diagnosed during the past 18 months unrelated to Covid but that they therefore wouldn't be able to cope with any increase in patients. Should have kept the Nightingales... Kier Starmer wading in as usual too. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57294438

It's getting to the point where restrictions will be called for whenever the NHS is under pressure. What next, winter flu ?

 

[chris11256]

It's getting to the point where restrictions will be called for whenever the NHS is under pressure. What next, winter flu ?

Just a tad! My concern is that if restrictions don’t go this summer(WFH, masks, social distancing) then they won’t go until 2022. The argument will be that schools & universities are going back we can’t possibly ease things over winter.

 

[Jamiescott1]

Obviously cases are increasing but is this because of surge testing focusing on hot spot areas ?
What's the percentage of all tests being positive and has this changed

 

[Yew]

Obviously cases are increasing but is this because of surge testing focusing on hot spot areas ?
What's the percentage of all tests being positive and has this changed

Hey, we can't have critical analysis of the facts, cases are going up, and even if it's an artefact of changes to our testing regime, we must lockdown for a million years; because explaining the principles of probability doesn't make a good newspaper headline.

 

[30907]

Obviously cases are increasing but is this because of surge testing focusing on hot spot areas ?

Surge testing was introduced after cases began to rise. It will have a small effect (decline in cases plateaued in March when schools reopened with mass tests) but nationally seems no obvious correlation between increased testing and increased cases.

 

[Class 33]

Cases dropped a fair old amount yesterday. Friday's was 4,182. Whilst yesterday's had dropped to 3,398. Hopefully we've reached the peak of cases, and they're on their way back down again. Whilst deaths deaths and hospital admissions have gone up a bit, it's nothing majorly concerning right now. The numbers in hospital are steadily continuing to head down. Over two thirds of adults have received their first dose of the vaccine, and over half of adults have received both doses. We'll be fine I think.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Cases dropped a fair old amount yesterday. Friday's was 4,182. Whilst yesterday's had dropped to 3,398. Hopefully we've reached the peak of cases, and they're on their way back down again. Whilst deaths deaths and hospital admissions have gone up a bit, it's nothing majorly concerning right now. The numbers in hospital are steadily continuing to head down. Over two thirds of adults have received their first dose of the vaccine, and over half of adults have received both doses. We'll be fine I think.

I like this new attitude from you and I think many others are saying ditto.

I personally only forsee a slight delay to total easing, with the situation in this country staying the same as it is at present for a couple more weeks or so. Feels three-quarters normal out there especially since the 17th.

 

[takno]

Seems the health professionals are going all out to get the relaxation on 21st June postponed or watered dow. Today the BBC is leading with a story that hospitals are under pressure and waiting lists long because vof health conditions that were not diagnosed during the past 18 months unrelated to Covid but that they therefore wouldn't be able to cope with any increase in patients. Should have kept the Nightingales... Kier Starmer wading in as usual too. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57294438

NHS management getting their excuses in in advance is only to be expected. The amount the government has ever listened to NHS managers is reflected in the fact that people on NHS waiting lists more or less doubled in 10 years before the pandemic.

 

[Domh245]

Cases dropped a fair old amount yesterday. Friday's was 4,182. Whilst yesterday's had dropped to 3,398. Hopefully we've reached the peak of cases, and they're on their way back down again. Whilst deaths deaths and hospital admissions have gone up a bit, it's nothing majorly concerning right now. The numbers in hospital are steadily continuing to head down. Over two thirds of adults have received their first dose of the vaccine, and over half of adults have received both doses. We'll be fine I think.

Cases are always lower on Saturdays than Fridays, and I don't see any reason why cases won't continue to increase, at least short term with increased mixing and return to normality. As usual, it feels a little like the goalposts have moved - earlier in the year when cases and hospitalisations were still super high our current situation would have seemed good.

The key is that hospitalisations remain at a manageable level. I expect that June 21st will go ahead as planned, but those who'd been hoping for the full removal of all rules by that date may be disappointed when some things remain past that date.

 

[philosopher]

Just a tad! My concern is that if restrictions don’t go this summer(WFH, masks, social distancing) then they won’t go until 2022. The argument will be that schools & universities are going back we can’t possibly ease things over winter.

This is a concern, however the thing is a lot of what or will remain after the 21st June is advice so I am just not sure how much of it will be followed, mainly because advice just often is not followed. For example pre Covid the government advised people not to drink more than 3 units of alcohol in one sitting. However I do not know anyone who drank alcohol who actually stuck to that piece of advice.

With Covid guidance, the twice weekly lateral flow testing is the most notable area where advice is just not followed and I suspect with a few exceptions it is only ever being done if their employer or school insists they do so. If most people were following that piece of advice there would be over 10 million Covid tests a day!

With WFH, employers may come under increasing pressure from those who struggle with WFH to reopen offices regardless of what the WFH advice is on the 22nd June. Similarly social distancing for individuals was never actually law and is increasingly being ignored, for example people are increasingly sitting next to each other on crowded trains and buses. If it remains after the 21st it will only be businesses who have to obey it.

I think we are at the social end of the pandemic where people no longer fear the virus, perhaps because they have been vaccinated and so they just want to move on with their lives.

 

[Yew]

This is a concern, however the thing is a lot of what or will remain after the 21st June is advice so I am just not sure how much of it will be followed, mainly because advice just often is not followed. For example pre Covid the government advised people not to drink more than 3 units of alcohol in one sitting. However I do not know anyone who drank alcohol who actually stuck to that piece of advice.

Indeed, hopefully it's not too long in the future that the CMO role can resort to it's standard mode of operation; making up insane guidance that everyone ignores.