Is covid over?

[Observer II]

There's still the risk of  new variants, which can challenge the jabs,  so the vulnerable grumpies still need to be cautious.   😷

[Bill]

I’ve just done the weekly Sainsbury’s shop and I’d estimate that less than one in five were wearing masks. What was very noticeable was with only a minority wearing masks, these people now stand out and people seeing this were showing far more respect for distancing than they did when everyone was wearing masks.

In Disney a couple of weeks back, the rules changed overnight from 100% must wear masks to it being optional After that I’d estimate less than 1% wore a mask but then again, the overwhelming majority were much younger than us.

 

Bill 😊

[Observer II]

Looks like the virus has gone home, with folk in Wuhan now dying like flies - the fat lady hasn't sang yet.   😷

[Bill]

I’ve just been looking at the graphs and the rates seem to be bouncing back again. At one time, these graphs gave a good indication of what’s happening but these days I’m not so sure they give an accurate picture due to all the changes that have taken place.

When my wife showed positive, I reported it using the NHS app which was a right long winded process, So when it came to me I just didn’t bother and I suspect a lot of other people might be doing the same. If you’ve jumped through all the hoops setting up an NHS account and subsequently, when you’re logged onto that account, why on earth does it ask all the questions that you’ve already given. It takes far too long and given that we’re being told that everything’s being dropped, you have to ask why I am bothering.

It was the same with the contract tracing when we were returning to the UK. We knew it had been dropped but nobody had told the Americans. We were refused entry to the check in until we’d all completed the online process, which for us with just one mobile phone and a flaky connection took two and a quarter hours. Again, it was all time wasted filling in stuff that had previously been entered when the account was set up. Totally pointless.  😕

 

Bill 😊

[Observer II]

Seems the pandemic and Ukraine crisis are coming together.   Putin accused Ukraine and the US of funding bio-labs, for production of bio-weapons.   Now the WHO has called on Ukraine to make safe such labs, from battle damage,  to avoid the escape of any pathogens.  So perhaps we will see more than refugees escaping from Ukraine !     😷

[Confused52]

1 hour ago, Observer II said:

Seems the pandemic and Ukraine crisis are coming together.   Putin accused Ukraine and the US of funding bio-labs, for production of bio-weapons.   Now the WHO has called on Ukraine to make safe such labs, from battle damage,  to avoid the escape of any pathogens.  So perhaps we will see more than refugees escaping from Ukraine !     😷

The WHO told the UN Security Council that there were no labs other than Public Health Labs in Ukraine and a while ago they did ask Ukraine to destroy samples safely to prevent accidental release of pathogens in the event of bombing by the Russians. It looks as if the Russians are citing the evidence of destruction as being more than it was. Every country has these kind of lab. 

[Observer II]

I know, they are research labs looking for cures to various pathogens;  as with the lab in Wuhan;  but any can be used to weaponize such pathogens or cause a pandemic by accident.   😷

[Confused52]

10 hours ago, Observer II said:

I know, they are research labs looking for cures to various pathogens;  as with the lab in Wuhan;  but any can be used to weaponize such pathogens or cause a pandemic by accident.   😷

Best not to bomb them then.

[Observer II]

I doubt the Russians would intentionally,  however they would need to know where they are to avoid them and artillery shells aren't smart ordanance.       Urban warfare is the most difficult military task, buildings are levelled to suppress opposition, but the rubble provides an even more difficult obstacle; as the Russians learnt from taking Berlin in 1945, it cost them 100,000 casualties.   

[Evil Sid]

There are some artillery shells that are smart ordinance.  They ain't cheap though.....🤫

[ninearches]

Didn't they used to have neutron bombs that killed but left infrastructure & buildings intact ?

[Observer II]

In theory, but I think blast damage would be a matter of comparison with other nukes.   Once we get into any form of nuclear, I guess it could go all the way in a short time.   The Russians may use a "vacuum bomb",  which burns up all the oxygen within a given area, thus killing humans with less material damage to buildings.   The problem seems to be, that Putin has seriously underestimated the will of the Ukrainians, whilst Zalenski has seriously overestimated the response of NATO, which will result in a very high number of casualties on both sides, as Putin needs to win this in order to survive.    💀

[Bill]

I called in the Rope and Anchor on Wednesday as I’d heard that one of the group I normally chat to had had a stroke and with my holiday and covid, I’d not been in there for over a month. There’s usually about half a dozen of them in there, but on Wednesday there was just one and he said the rest weren’t in because they all had the bug. Yikes! 😵

It’s certainly a bit bad now with one in twenty affected and because the symptoms aren’t that severe, there’s a high probability that a few in the pub that night might had the bug without even knowing about it. But statistically, it’s currently less dangerous than normal flu so given that, and the fact that I’ve already had it, makes me less worried about it. I suppose the only concern is that with so many being infected, it increases the probability of another more dangerous mutation occurring. But you can’t go through life worrying about what might or could happen, and in any case, I feel that the two years I’ve sacrificed by being hyper cautious means I’ve done my bit for society and from now on its business as usual for me. 😊

 

Bill 😊

[Observer II]

That just leaves WW3, hyper-inflation or global warming to worry about then.    😄

[Confused52]

37 minutes ago, Observer II said:

That just leaves WW3, hyper-inflation or global warming to worry about then.    😄

No point, nothing you or I can do will fix any of those.

[Evil Sid]

15 hours ago, Observer II said:

That just leaves WW3, hyper-inflation or global warming to worry about then. 

Well if the first one happens then it will take care of the other two, don't think cockroaches will be bothered by hyper inflation or global warming.....

[Latchford Locks]

I really get the horrid feeling Boris and his "Back to normal" no more rules tactic is going to backfire rather horribly.

I just watch hordes of football fans (on tv) packed like sardines  in the stands grabbing and hugging each other .

 People who test positive for the virus are no longer needed to isolate (madness in my humble opinion)

And now shoppers seem to think that no mask or social distancing is the norm, and pack the aisles and checkouts without a thought for other more cautious shoppers

These are just three examples, surely a better tactic would have been a much slower change in the regulations over the early summer months and watch at how things went along.

BBC today issued worrying figures that didn't surprise but more disappointed me.

 

A further 226,524 confirmed cases were reported on Monday. This includes figures for Saturday and Sunday which are no longer reported separately.

Until 31 January, only the first episode of infection was counted in the official daily figures - apart from in Wales - but reinfections are now included across the UK.

Case numbers are rising again, with the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron causing most of the infections. Restrictions in England were lifted at the end of February.

 

I do so wish Boris had taken a more softly softly method 

I may of course may be wide of the mark but time alone will tell.

Until then I shall be living the cautious way I have for the last 3 years , a few more weeks won't matter anymore I suppose. 

[Bill]

I’ve just been out shopping, and almost every place had signs up requesting that customers wear a mask if possible but hardly anyone took any notice and in fact in a lot of the places, Mrs Green and myself were the only mask wearers. Boris might be the leader of this country, but we can’t put the blame for people’s refusal to comply solely on him, it’s people that are the main problem.

All throughout the epidemic there’s been a general reluctance from some, to wear masks properly and to avoid too much social contact and this is particularly true where people with a common interest gathered.  In my limited trips out last year, on two occasions I was in venues where gangs of footie supporters crowded around the large screen TV shouting and cheering with no regard for what they might be spreading.

Looking at it another way, it could be argued that we’re now deliberately allowing a degree of herd immunity to take place, which was one method suggested at the initial outbreak but for the high mortality rates pre vaccines.

As I said earlier, it’s currently less harmful than catching seasonal flu and most never worried too much about that, certainly not enough to completely change the way we live.

 

Bill 😊

[Observer II]

As I said, the fat lady hasn't sang yet, and I fear won't be singing for a long time to come.   I think Boris and Co have given up on the science and are now literally prepared to accept high death or hospitalisation rates, providing the economy continues to function.   The current Wuhan outbreak is being fought by the Chinese with lockdowns, but as long as we have viruses out there, people will spread them, they'll morph into deadly forms and more folk will die.  Que Sera Sera.   😷

[Evil Sid]

"Domestos kills 99.99% of all known germs DEAD!"

The problem with that is the two fold.

1. What about the 0.001% percent it doesn't kill. if domestos can't deal with it how do you expect a body to?

2. What about the UNKNOWN germs.....🤧

germs and viruses exist. some are deadly some are merely a nuisance and there is only so much you can do avoid them and that is very little really, if you start worrying about it you end up in an airtight room breathing almost pure oxygen and wearing nothing but a smile and fingerless gloves and wondering if the food is sterile.

[Observer II]

There's a difference between being carefull and cautious, and being an absolute Neanderthal.   😷