Interestingly, in Sweden there never was a lockdown. At the time this appeared to be a successful counter-intuitive call by the Swedish Government, but they are paying the price now. I assume Sweden's economy did not shrink by 20% like ours did, but their daily infection rate has never peaked. It is still rising after 3 months, and is not really even flattening out. I believe it is now higher than the daily infection rate in the UK. Very worrying, for a country with a population of only about 10 million (against almost 70 million here). Sweden's daily death rate from Covid19 has peaked and begun to decline, but only very slowly. It does seem that (from the point of view of saving lives) Lockdown was the right call. And in Germany where the whole business was handled superbly, they have probably saved more lives than we have lost in the UK. Yet even there, local infection hot-spots are flaring up. Curious that these flare-ups seem to be happening around meat processing factories or meat markets all around the world. I tried going Vegetarian many years ago. I managed to stick to it for over a decade. Perhaps I should think about it again.
I think this morning they said about meat processing plants using recycled air and that could be the problem- I’m sure they use recycled air in planes
Too much too soon. On the 4th July I can see people getting their barnet cut then off for a beer to celebrate, after which they'll take their loved ones for a meal in the evening.
Basically, we all have to trust our common sense. Now more than ever we have to 'follow our instincts' (but not in the way that Boris meant). Rules are being relaxed in an almost random way, and with no coordination across the UK. Nobody knows anymore what they are allowed to do. No point listening to our politicians these days. They aren't even pretending to follow the science anymore. As we all know, it's about the economy now. Future virus casualties are just 'one of those things' that can't be avoided and best not thought about - which is why we have football back on TV; to take our minds off it. In a nutshell If it doesn't feel safe, don't do it. Such a pity that we have to be wary all the time, but that's just the way things are now.
Sajid Javid - Well said sir https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53117431 Ex-Chancellor sacked for defending the independence of No.11 from Cummings and his lot. COVID19 MUST not mean another decade of austerity.
Looks like the UK Lockdown will end on 4th July. Basically you can do what you like, as long as you stay 1 metre apart from other people. 2 metres is still preferred, but 1 metre is OK. I feel a bit sorry for all the small shops and businesses who invested quite a lot of money in 2 metre signs etc. But that's what you get for trying to uphold the spirit of the lockdown measures. The Government has got pretty good at making chumps out of honest folk who try to do the right thing. Pubs & hairdressers will be opening Access to dentists & non-COVID NHS treatment would be nice, but we may have to wait rather longer for those things And no Gyms But what about public toilets?
We had hairdressers back over a month ago here in Spain, but as I wasn't too convinced about having someone that close for a long period (and I imagine a lot of hairdressers felt the same) I carried on cutting my own hair. If you wanted to know how a Kim Jong Un hairstyle would look on a middle aged English guy, I have some harrowing photos, though as I can't see the back of my head it may look great from behind. Or even from far away.
Djok of the Day ... (see what I did there?) ... 23rd June Yes folks, "Dork of the Day" returns, and today it's Tennis star Novak Dorkovic https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/53148053 He only goes and organises a private tournament in Belgrade (Serbia) with no social distancing... and guess what? Loads of the players, including Dorkovic himself, have contracted Coronavirus What a dummy
Scrooge of the Day ... 24th June Nestlé (or Nessles, as we used to call them on Milky Bar adverts) The French food giant has decided to stop buying Fair Trade ingredients from the Ivory Coast, so threatening to plunge farmers there back into poverty. The company denied it was doing this to cut costs. Why the f**k are they doing it then? Because they actually enjoy plunging their suppliers back into extreme poverty? It gives them a kick? What a charming bunch.
Update: New tables have been posted at the top of page 1 showing comparative Coronavirus infection & fatality rates in 8 European Countries since 1st March. This data will be updated occasionally.
The numbers don't make for comfortable reading. Aside from March, the UK has been the sickest man in Europe. And our numbers are still substantially higher than most other places except Sweden, where their no-lockdown policy has produced a recent surge of infections. Still, our numbers are still declining, where in several other countries they seem to have leveled out (albeit at a lower level than ours). But the performance of the UK in tackling Coronavirus must be examined, and hard questios asked. Germany in particular has handled the pandemic in an enviable manner. A land-locked country with many borders and a population over 80 million has put us all to shame.
Government ministers are washing their hands of the massive disregard for Coronavirus safety rules over the past week or so. They make squeaky noises about having the power (to close beaches etc.) and they'll use them if they must... Yeah, right. I feel sorry for our Police. They might as well give up. The lockdown is truly over. If you're concerned about catching the virus (I am, as it will probably kill me) then stay wary and protect yourself as best you can. If you don't care whether you catch it or infect other people with it, then please yourselves - nobody is going to stop you. And let's forget any nonsense about all being in this together.
It’s disgusting lardy , again we were invaded by day trippers on the beach leaving behind all their rubbish. I genuinely believe that some people are enjoying this “lockdown” ,being payed for doing nowt and having an extended holiday
just as bad in danson park. go out running early, at 7/8am, every bin is full from the night before. then there's a 20m blast radius around each one where rats, dogs and birds have had a go
There are entire swathes of people around the country who just don't care what effect their behaviour has on other people. They have no consideration whatsoever. Not just a tiny minority. Millions of people. All they care about is having a good time. Swarming to beaches. Holding raves and huge illegal parties in parks and even residential streets. Leaving tons of litter behind them. Using people's gardens as toilets. Being abusive when spoken to by local people. Assaulting the Police. Is this the kind of country people want to live in now? To them I would say If you have no respect for the law, don't go crying to the Police when something happens to you. If you don't care how your behaviour hurts other people, don't expect any public support for your opinions. If you put yourself first, don't expect anybody else to help you when you are in need. People whose job it is to protect the rights of peaceful local residents and vulnerable folk are having the piss taken out of them by these millions of selfish morons. People who volunteer to put others ahead of their own needs are being laughed at by these millions of brainless yobs. A vast number of people, many of whom would never have thought of behaving like this before the lockdown came along, need to take a serious f**king look at themselves.
Yeah, my sister said Whitstable was the same. How long does it take to collect your rubbish and take it with you? Would these idiots be happy if the next time they went to the beach it was in the same state they left it in. Probably just drive to a cleaner beach and f@€£ that up too.
Great play has been made in Liverpool during the Coronavirus lockdown, of the damaging effects of allowing the Champion's League game against Atletico Madrid to go ahead. Undoubtedly some of the visiting Madrid fans spread the virus. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-53203765 However, in the light of these scenes, I don't think that any Liverpool fans who had a problem with away fans being allowed in for that Madrid game have any moral high ground anymore when it comes to controlling the virus. Granted there was ample reason for mass celebrations. But putting even the obvious risk of spreading the virus aside, was there need for abuse and violence against the Police? These scenes are sad to see, for many 'neutral' fans like myself who are happy for Liverpool FC. They just give ammunition to those who don't like that Club or the city.