Observer II Posted January 6, 2021 Report Posted January 6, 2021 What's the problem with remote learning ?  Hasn't the Open University operated like this for decades, with correspondence courses and presumably now on line ?   😷 1 Quote
asperity Posted January 6, 2021 Report Posted January 6, 2021 I haven't the remotest idea........................................................😉 Quote
Davy51 Posted January 6, 2021 Report Posted January 6, 2021 I think probably the main problem with remote learning is that not all families can manage without going out to work so there is no one to stay at home & supervise a home schooled child. I could also see a problem with a parent maintaining the controlled learning that a face to face teacher can. Unfortunately, no matter what HMG decides is best ,opposition parties will always find the negatives to fuel their moaning. Quote
asperity Posted January 6, 2021 Report Posted January 6, 2021 33 minutes ago, Davy51 said: I think probably the main problem with remote learning is that not all families can manage without going out to work so there is no one to stay at home & supervise a home schooled child. I could also see a problem with a parent maintaining the controlled learning that a face to face teacher can. Unfortunately, no matter what HMG decides is best ,opposition parties will always find the negatives to fuel their moaning. Quite. Captain Hindsight was at it again today when answering Boris' statement. He went back to last March and started going over all the mistakes the government has made, as if that was going to help one iota. We should be thankful he isn't in charge to be honest, we're in enough trouble as it is. 1 Quote
Latchford Locks Posted January 6, 2021 Report Posted January 6, 2021 48 minutes ago, Davy51 said:  Unfortunately, no matter what HMG decides is best ,opposition parties will always find the negatives to fuel their moaning. We could call it the Observer 2 factor  Quote
Observer II Posted January 6, 2021 Author Report Posted January 6, 2021 Tut tut, I think I've called it right throughout this pandemic (read the topics);  just a pity most folk are so myopic.    😷  From the get go, most Governments have been behind the curve, and provided too little, too late.   😷 Quote
Davy51 Posted January 6, 2021 Report Posted January 6, 2021 Governments around the world can only be reactive in this pandemic unless someone actually finds the root cause. Quote
Observer II Posted January 6, 2021 Author Report Posted January 6, 2021 No Dave, the virus spreads by human movement and contact; clamp down on those factors as far as is possible and you've got a chance of getting ahead of the virus. Since this thing started in 2019, we've had folk still flying around the world, no screening of entrants to the UK; in out, shake it all about lockdowns; and we still have folk whining about mental health and civil liberties. Time to get real, this thing kills people.   😠  😷 1 Quote
asperity Posted January 6, 2021 Report Posted January 6, 2021 The government has just announced that people travelling to the UK need their heads examining before they are allowed entry. 2 Quote
Bill Posted January 6, 2021 Report Posted January 6, 2021 We’re probably the worst infected country at the moment so people from lessor infected countries are probably a lessor risk than someone travelling from Kent. It’s all down to people, but with 30% of the population classed as essential workers and excluded from the lockdown, with that many people moving around it’s bound to continue to spread the virus.  As for the kids missing a few weeks of schooling, well it’s not exactly the end of the world that some make it out to be (IMO). I can’t remember much of what I was taught as a youngster and left school with only modest results but like most people I acquired most of my knowledge throughout my life.  Bill 😊 2 Quote
asperity Posted January 6, 2021 Report Posted January 6, 2021 We're nowhere near worst infected Bill, only 27th when you count cases (i.e. positive tests, not hospitalisations) per million population. Plus we are testing a lot more people. As far as schools go, when you and I were at school there was a good chance that most kids got to the age of 16 with a fair grounding in reading, writing and arithmetic. Unfortunately you can't say the same these days, with a lot of today's kids the only "R" they have a good grounding in is rights. Quote
Bill Posted January 7, 2021 Report Posted January 7, 2021 I don’t know where you manage to get half your bonkers information from Asp because when I look at the most up to date info, it lists the UK as having the fifth highest death toll on the planet, beaten only by countries whose populations are many times that of the UK. Even in the single day rate, we rank second, only beaten by the USA which has about four times more people. I think it’s time to get a newer PC Asp as yours seems to be running months too slow 😊 In any case, ranking numbers wasn’t what I was talking about but the logic of restricting entry into the UK from counties with less of a problem, but at least we seem to agree on the education issue.  Bill 😊 Quote
asperity Posted January 7, 2021 Report Posted January 7, 2021 The "bonkers information" I got was in answer to your statement that the UK is the "worst infected" nation in the world, which is nowhere near correct. As for the death toll figure, this is highly dependent on how the numbers are collated (deaths "from Covid" or deaths "with Covid" etc) and how scrupulous other countries are in collating them. And if you believe the numbers claimed by the likes of China I've got a bridge to sell you. And here's another point, if the numbers of deaths in the UK (which are running marginally above the normal death rate for the time of year) then the death rates in the rest of the world must be so low as to not present a problem. Statistics and damn lies eh 😉. Quote
Observer II Posted January 7, 2021 Author Report Posted January 7, 2021 Seems BoJo's dithering and last minute decision making on schools, has cost ££££'s in food waste of prepared school meals.    😷 Quote
Confused52 Posted January 7, 2021 Report Posted January 7, 2021 1 minute ago, Observer II said: Seems BoJo's dithering and last minute decision making on schools, has cost ££££'s in food waste of prepared school meals.    😷 A drop in the ocean compared to oh so many things. Has BoJo told you what to have for your lunch today. He seems to be responsible for much more than I ever understood these days, Quote
Observer II Posted January 7, 2021 Author Report Posted January 7, 2021 The suppliers based their deliveries on his word that schools would reopen - they've wasted food, their money, and it's down to the PM's obsession with an elusive normality.   😷 Quote
asperity Posted January 7, 2021 Report Posted January 7, 2021 It's nothing compared to what restaurants, pubs and breweries have had to chuck out. Quote
Confused52 Posted January 7, 2021 Report Posted January 7, 2021 5 minutes ago, Observer II said: The suppliers based their deliveries on his word that schools would reopen - they've wasted food, their money, and it's down to the PM's obsession with an elusive normality.   😷 Stop blaming the government for everything - it is an obsession, albeit shared by many. They will not have lost money because they will bill the schools under their contract. They will they spend less in the coming few weeks it isn't a big problem unless you just want to moan.  Quote
Bill Posted January 7, 2021 Report Posted January 7, 2021 I think you’re missing the point Asp. Just look at what we and most other countries are putting up with now just trying to keep the numbers from going off the scale because without these actions, where do you think the death rates would be and why would anyone in their right mind do this if it wasn’t absolutely necessary? My Mick Mouse virus simulator probably wouldn’t win any prizes for accuracy but at least it replicates pretty well what we’ve seen up to now and if left to run, it allows me to see what happens further down the line. It even lets me see the effects of ignoring things and trust me it doesn’t work out well.  Bill Quote
Confused52 Posted January 7, 2021 Report Posted January 7, 2021 1 hour ago, Bill said: I don’t know where you manage to get half your bonkers information from Asp because when I look at the most up to date info, it lists the UK as having the fifth highest death toll on the planet, beaten only by countries whose populations are many times that of the UK. Even in the single day rate, we rank second, only beaten by the USA which has about four times more people. I think it’s time to get a newer PC Asp as yours seems to be running months too slow 😊 In any case, ranking numbers wasn’t what I was talking about but the logic of restricting entry into the UK from counties with less of a problem, but at least we seem to agree on the education issue.  Bill 😊 I have just downloaded the latest data from the European Centre for Disease Control, and sorted it by deaths per 100,000 population, the UK is 9th. UK travel policies are set by case data from this source. Rank country country_code continent population indicator weekly_count year_week rate_14_day cumulative_count Rate  1 San Marino SMR Europe 34453 deaths 5 2020-53 203.1753 62 179.9553  2 Belgium BEL Europe 11455519 deaths 367 2020-53 77.69181 19750 172.406  3 Slovenia SVN Europe 2080908 deaths 307 2020-53 251.3326 2891 138.9297  4 Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Europe 3280815 deaths 178 2020-53 154.23 4131 125.9138  5 Italy ITA Europe 60359546 deaths 3407 2020-53 108.2347 75332 124.8054  6 North Macedonia MKD Europe 2077132 deaths 74 2020-53 114.5811 2530 121.8026  7 Peru PER America 32971846 deaths 348 2020-53 21.23023 37873 114.8647  8 Czechia CZE Europe 10649800 deaths 918 2020-53 155.7776 12070 113.3355  9 United Kingdom GBR Europe 66647112 deaths 3915 2020-53 114.3785 75024 112.569  10 Montenegro MNE Europe 622182 deaths 23 2020-53 101.2565 689 110.7393  11 Andorra AND Europe 76177 deaths 2 2020-53 39.38197 84 110.2695  12 Bulgaria BGR Europe 7000039 deaths 514 2020-53 152.7134 7678 109.6851  13 Spain ESP Europe 46937060 deaths 956 2020-53 38.73272 51078 108.8223  14 United States USA America 331002647 deaths 18264 2020-53 102.4765 351590 106.2197  15 Hungary HUN Europe 9772756 deaths 816 2020-53 173.4414 9977 102.0899  16 Croatia HRV Europe 4076246 deaths 333 2020-53 199.9389 4072 99.89584  17 Mexico MEX America 128932753 deaths 4358 2020-53 66.81778 127213 98.66616  18 France FRA Europe 67012883 deaths 1928 2020-53 66.9722 65037 97.05149  19 Armenia ARM Europe 2963234 deaths 89 2020-53 70.19358 2864 96.65116  20 Argentina ARG America 45195777 deaths 614 2020-53 32.85705 43482 96.2081  21 Panama PAN America 4314768 deaths 248 2020-53 125.8469 4140 95.94954  22 Brazil BRA America 212559409 deaths 4879 2020-53 41.05676 196018 92.21798  23 Liechtenstein LIE Europe 38378 deaths 8 2020-53 286.6225 35 91.19808  24 Sweden SWE Europe 10230185 deaths 103 2020-53 33.23498 8985 87.82832  25 Chile CHL America 19116209 deaths 324 2020-53 29.81763 16767 87.71091  26 Colombia COL America 50882884 deaths 1591 2020-53 64.56002 43965 86.4043  28 Switzerland CHE Europe 8544527 deaths 495 2020-53 183.0411 7238 84.70919  29 Luxembourg LUX Europe 613894 deaths 19 2020-53 107.5104 506 82.42465  30 Romania ROU Europe 19414458 deaths 645 2020-53 81.64019 15979 82.30464  Quote
Bill Posted January 7, 2021 Report Posted January 7, 2021 I just looked at the info from a couple of sites which both put the UK at 5th but if it’s 9th, well that’s still a long way off Asps 27th Also factor in that the UK has far more of the new strain that is rocketing up our numbers far faster than any other country and given how close some of the numbers are and how old this information is, it wouldn’t surprise me to see us topping this listing very soon.  Bill 😊 Quote
Confused52 Posted January 7, 2021 Report Posted January 7, 2021 8 minutes ago, Bill said: I just looked at the info from a couple of sites which both put the UK at 5th but if it’s 9th, well that’s still a long way off Asps 27th Also factor in that the UK has far more of the new strain that is rocketing up our numbers far faster than any other country and given how close some of the numbers are and how old this information is, it wouldn’t surprise me to see us topping this listing very soon.  Bill 😊 You are right that the rates are close to the UK number for a number of countries below us. The data for the top countries is pretty up to date though at week 53 of 2020, that is last week. I think we have no real chance of beating Belgium at this stage but their problem was care homes and they have started vaccinating late, two days ago but have broadly the same priority list as the UK except more health workers before the non-care home over 65 up to 90+s. Quote
Bill Posted January 7, 2021 Report Posted January 7, 2021 What I looked at was dated just 2 days ago and were absolute numbers rather than the rate per 100000. The latter, while being a good indicator is very prone to anomalies such as when small countries like San Remo are included. At the risk of sounding like someone on here, we could probably include Latchford as a country and using 1/100000, claim it to be the worst infected place in the world.  On my simulation BTW, writing it in VB6 wasn’t the smartest move because it’s so old now, there's no tools to generate an exportable exe. I hardly write anything at high level these days so cant justify the cost of Visual Studio. But it was an interesting exercise where everything affected the results, but the most worrying variable was the asymptomatic for which there's still no definitive figures. I had it set to default at a best guess of 20% but this had a huge effect on the outcome because these people don’t quarantine and so spread a lot more of the virus. I know I’ve said several times that I thought testing was a bit of a waste of time, but after seeing the simulated effects with this group, I’m changing my mind. Bill Quote
Confused52 Posted January 7, 2021 Report Posted January 7, 2021 25 minutes ago, Bill said: What I looked at was dated just 2 days ago and were absolute numbers rather than the rate per 100000. The latter, while being a good indicator is very prone to anomalies such as when small countries like San Remo are included. At the risk of sounding like someone on here, we could probably include Latchford as a country and on the 1/100000, claim it to be the worst infected place in the world.  On my simulation BTW, writing it in VB6 wasn’t the smartest move because it’s that old there’s now no tools to generate an exportable exe like there used to be. But it was an interesting exercise where everything affected the results, but the most worrying variable was the asymptomatic for which there is still no hard and fast figures. I had it set to default at 20% but this had a huge effect on the outcome because these people don’t quarantine and so spread a lot more of the virus. I know I’ve said several times that I thought testing was a bit of a waste of time, but after seeing the simulated effects with this group, I’m changing my mind. Bill Bill, I have access to a copy of the vb6 distribution disc I think, I may have packed it away, so I can handle the source code and don't need an executable. I should be able to handle the .exe that it does produce on an old image of win2k or earlier somewhere. Thinking about your asymptomatic number, my own view is that a lot of the asymptomatic are actually pre-symptomatic and they carry it for two days before realising. They are then ill for a further 7 days so the "asymptomatic" some of which will get it too mildly to notice are infectious for 2 days extra so that is 2 out of the known 7 (not 9 because they don't know about the extra two. So it is 2/7 = 28% on top of 100% so in total 28/128 or 22% asymptomatic whichever way you look at it. so in addition to the people who know they have it there are 30% or so more at any one time who have it but don't know yet. It there is true asymptomatic transmission then the number is higher but the vaccine will show us the answer through monitoring in care home in a couple of months I guess. There is also a group who kid themselves that they do not have it although being suspicious but don't isolate until they have a positive result. Couldn't put a number on that but they are why I wouldn't go near a pub with young people in it. In my mind I fear that they believe that they are not going to cause their known contacts harm so it is fine to wait. Quote
asperity Posted January 7, 2021 Report Posted January 7, 2021 58 minutes ago, Bill said: I just looked at the info from a couple of sites which both put the UK at 5th but if it’s 9th, well that’s still a long way off Asps 27th Also factor in that the UK has far more of the new strain that is rocketing up our numbers far faster than any other country and given how close some of the numbers are and how old this information is, it wouldn’t surprise me to see us topping this listing very soon.  Bill 😊 Again Bill, what you said was in answer to your assertion that the UK is the "worst infected" not the country "with the worst death rates", two completely different things I'm sure you would agree. Also, as I've said before, this isn't a competition. And again, the numbers you say are rocketing up are cases (positive tests, not people who are sick or dying) and are not matched by the mortality rate. Quote
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