Don’t bother underlining anything, as I won’t bother replying to any more questions. I’m not confused, but you apparently are.Although some might appear to be questions, but they’re not.
Curfew. Imo, what is the norm is for the pubs to kick out,straight to a junk fast food shop, or restaurant. Big numbers milling about , great for spreading the virus, especially as most will be tanked up by then.I think he’ll put closing back to normal and let the lowest risk get on with it. Very few will get ill. Those who are vulnerable should know that by now, and not even be there.Its not about controlling the virus, it’s about those that will get sick. Don’t believe what you here otherwise. I don’t think you realise what herd immunity is. Again, not an exact science, but you’re not including the vulnerable in the forecast. On my patch, folks go to the pubs and restaurants in a reasonable number, and follow what they should do. They’re helping the local businesses survive. It’s unfortunate if someone lives in a s hite area, but those folks are only shooting themselves in the foot, and will be paying for it out of their own pockets in the future. They won’t realise that though. It’s going to be mighty interesting to see the local authorities taking over. Closing local buisnesses is going to be interesting while there hospitals could potentially overflow. Then there’s the issue of if they have to lockdown. Cap in hand to the Chancellor I’d expect. This all sounds rather dangerous.
No real evidence for 10pm curfew, claims expert in briefing for Manchester MPs
Don’t bother underlining anything, as I won’t bother replying to any more questions. I’m not confused, but you apparently are.Although some might appear to be questions, but they’re not.
Track and trace. So it’s £12 Billion if you believe the figures.Id like to see some of this allocated money and donations to the WHO, and other organisations audited in the future. Following the money trail for vaccines if they ever arrive. Strange how Bill Gates is always grinning when he’s interviewed. Most odd. So tracking and tracing involves mostly 8out of 10 with no symptoms, their contacts, and then contacts of them and so on. So you end up with hundreds of work isolating when they’re fighting fit. They have bills to pay etc.It sounds like a wonderful project for the economy. F..k tracking and tracing, testing is the wtg. How many of the highly publicised agriculture workers or factory staff have become ill or died. Newspaper s hite, move on that’s old news. Suited us then. The death rate will likely be below 1% when all done and dusted. Covid 19 deaths this year lies 24th in most causes of death in the U.K. And that includes all the care home and elderly deaths. I won’t be s hitting my pants anytime soon.
What can we learn from nations that got it right? VICTORIA ALLEN analyses the UK's coronavirus testing farce
Why has Test and Trace fallen apart in England while other countries have managed to make the system work?
The principle is simple – test people with symptoms, trace their contacts and ask them to self-isolate – but the execution has varied dramatically.
England has lagged behind countries such as South Korea, which rapidly grasped the importance of testing people and tracking their contacts.
And where Germany invested in local contact tracers, the English system relied on poorly performing call centres.
In other countries innovative ideas have been dreamed up, such as in Singapore, where older people without smartphones who cannot download the contact tracing app can instead wear Bluetooth tokens on lanyards around their neck.
But in England even the basics have gone wrong, with the system becoming overwhelmed by demand, and resulting in farcical cases where people in south London were offered tests in Aberdeen.
So what lessons could NHS Test and Trace, which Boris Johnson promised would be 'world-beating', learn from other countries? Germany, which has efficiently dealt with Covid since the start, added hundreds of extra people to local health protection teams for its test and trace operation.
But in England this vital part of the system was largely entrusted to call centres and people working online, several of whom were said to have spent their days being paid to watch Netflix with little or nothing to do.
There was a shift to a more local approach in August, but the national system is still only managing to reach 57.6 per cent of close contacts, the latest figures show.
The old-fashioned 'shoe-leather' approach, of knocking on people's doors and speaking to them in person within local areas, reaches 97.7 per cent of the same contacts.
South Korea, which has more than 600 screening centres, set up contact tracing from the beginning of its epidemic, while England was slow to start, not launching it until May, around two months after the lockdown.
While South Korea had a turnaround time of six to 24 hours for its test results in March, this country's Test and Trace is still struggling.
Mr Johnson promised to have all test results delivered within 24 hours by the end of June, except for where there were 'insuperable' problems.
But the latest figures show less than a third of people tested for Covid-19 in person, at a regional or local site, or a mobile testing unit, received their result within 24 hours. Another idea which could be worth looking at is to test the contacts of infected people, as New Zealand does, with a positive test result more likely to encourage someone to stay at home.
However, with tests in such short supply in England that Health Secretary Matt Hancock had to set out rationing criteria last month, this currently seems unlikely.
The Guardian highlights a deleted post from the Manchester Young Conservatives' Twitter account sent in the aftermath of the announcement, calling for the prime minister to resign.
The tweet accused Boris Johnson of being "incompetent", lying, having "no backbone", and putting the chances of retaining northern seats won in last year's general election at risk.
'Worst of all worlds' The Daily Telegraph's sketch writer, Michael Deacon, suggests the government's handling of the talks came straight from its "Brexit playbook", with ministers claiming negotiations were over in an attempt to get the other side to make concessions.
The Guardian's leader goes further, accusing the prime minister of attempting to bully local leaders in the north of England, while the editorial in the Times claims the government had mishandled the issue and that Boris Johnson is "vulnerable to the charge that his strategy is the worst of all worlds".
The Financial Times reports that Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has told the Mayor of London he will seize control of the capital's transport system unless Sadiq Khan agrees to implement a range of measures - including higher council tax, expanding the congestion zone and raising fares.
It's understood that Mr Khan rejected the demands, leaving London's financially troubled transport network with an uncertain future.
Paul Waugh compares the situation to the Manchester negotiations on the Huff Post UK website, saying it is "all beginning to sound like a pattern of behaviour, not a political slip-up."
The Daily Mail says the Metropolitan Police has sent letters to pubs and restaurants in London, encouraging them to check customers' identity documents to prove groups are from the same household. The British Beer and Pub Association tells the paper the move is "completely unacceptable", while the Night Time Industries Association calls it "unlawful".
Marcus Rashford is being such a disaster right now and needs to STFU and focus on football. great cause but not a necessity and we are overspending so hard right now. It may sound really harsh but supporting businesses and health care have to take priority and we can't afford what we are pumping in. People like hating on the government but they can't win here, they constantly have to try and pick the lesser of evils between choices whilst having to consider so many brutal variables it's kind of a gross spot
£4BILLION of furlough cash was fraudulently claimed - with £2bn of that going into the pockets of organised criminals, damning National Audit Office report finds
The National Audit Office said that huge pressure to set up furlough meant it did not have time to fully test the scheme and as a result the total scale of fraud and error was likely to be considerable.
Marcus Rashford is being such a disaster right now and needs to STFU and focus on football. great cause but not a necessity and we are overspending so hard right now. It may sound really harsh but supporting businesses and health care have to take priority and we can't afford what we are pumping in. People like hating on the government but they can't win here, they constantly have to try and pick the lesser of evils between choices whilst having to consider so many brutal variables it's kind of a gross spot
Test and trace: Ad seeks manager with experience of turning round ‘failing’ call centres, as Boris Johnson admits system must be improved System records worst weekly contact figures since establishment in May
There have been fresh calls for an overhaul of the government’s floundering test and trace service, after an advert was placed seeking a £2,000-a-day head of operations with experience of turning round “failing” call centres.
Official figures released on Thursday showed that in the week ending 14 October, the test and trace programme managed to get in touch with fewer than 60 per cent of people identified as close contacts of coronavirus patients, in order to tell them to self-isolate – well below the 80 per cent level needed for the system to be effective.
A total of 251,613 people in England were identified as coming into close contact with someone who had tested positive for Covid-19 – yet only 59.6 per cent were reached and asked to self-isolate
For cases handled by local health protection teams, 94.8 per cent of contacts were reached and asked to self-isolate. But for cases processed online or by call centres by tracers recruited by private companies such as Serco, this figure was 57.6 per cent.
Since its establishment in May, there have been floods of stories of NHS Test and Trace contact tracers being given little to do, with staff saying that they made very few calls and often did little more than leave answerphone messages for the people they were supposed to be advising to self-isolate for 14 days.
The new figures showed that test results were received within 24 hours by just 15.1 per cent of people who were tested for Covid-19 at a regional site, local site or mobile testing unit – down from 32.8 per cent in the previous week and the lowest weekly percentage since test and trace began.
Mr Johnson said as long ago as June that he wanted 100 per cent of in-person tests returned within 24 hours.
The data also showed the proportion of tests returning a positive result has climbed to 7.1 per cent for the week, the highest since test and trace began.
According to the World Health Organisation, a positivity rate of more than 5 per cent is an indication of insufficient testing being conducted.
Marcus Rashford is being such a disaster right now and needs to STFU and focus on football. great cause but not a necessity and we are overspending so hard right now. It may sound really harsh but supporting businesses and health care have to take priority and we can't afford what we are pumping in. People like hating on the government but they can't win here, they constantly have to try and pick the lesser of evils between choices whilst having to consider so many brutal variables it's kind of a gross spot
The drag artist who was handed £215,000 by the coronavirus culture fund: Arts Council England gives huge grant to performer who goes by the name Le Gateau Chocolat
While snubbing popular cash-strapped venues applying for a share of its £500 million pot, Arts Council England gave the huge grant to George Ikediashi - also known as Le Gateau Chocolat (pictured) - who describes himself as 'fat, black and bearded'. The sum - which is more than seven times the average national salary - came despite the act never grossing even half that sum in a year. Mr Ikediashi, 38, has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was named by Time Out London magazine as among the top ten cabaret stars in the country. Defending the size of the grant, an arts council spokesman said the money will go towards Le Gateau Chocolat Ltd putting on a number of planned shows, which would involve employing a range of freelancers.
Marcus Rashford is being such a disaster right now and needs to STFU and focus on football. great cause but not a necessity and we are overspending so hard right now. It may sound really harsh but supporting businesses and health care have to take priority and we can't afford what we are pumping in. People like hating on the government but they can't win here, they constantly have to try and pick the lesser of evils between choices whilst having to consider so many brutal variables it's kind of a gross spot
The drag artist who was handed £215,000 by the coronavirus culture fund: Arts Council England gives huge grant to performer who goes by the name Le Gateau Chocolat
While snubbing popular cash-strapped venues applying for a share of its £500 million pot, Arts Council England gave the huge grant to George Ikediashi - also known as Le Gateau Chocolat (pictured) - who describes himself as 'fat, black and bearded'. The sum - which is more than seven times the average national salary - came despite the act never grossing even half that sum in a year. Mr Ikediashi, 38, has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was named by Time Out London magazine as among the top ten cabaret stars in the country. Defending the size of the grant, an arts council spokesman said the money will go towards Le Gateau Chocolat Ltd putting on a number of planned shows, which would involve employing a range of freelancers.
Comments
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/oct/14/dominic-cummings-must-pay-council-tax-on-second-home-in-durham
The tweet accused Boris Johnson of being "incompetent", lying, having "no backbone", and putting the chances of retaining northern seats won in last year's general election at risk.
'Worst of all worlds'
The Daily Telegraph's sketch writer, Michael Deacon, suggests the government's handling of the talks came straight from its "Brexit playbook", with ministers claiming negotiations were over in an attempt to get the other side to make concessions.
The Guardian's leader goes further, accusing the prime minister of attempting to bully local leaders in the north of England, while the editorial in the Times claims the government had mishandled the issue and that Boris Johnson is "vulnerable to the charge that his strategy is the worst of all worlds".
The Financial Times reports that Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has told the Mayor of London he will seize control of the capital's transport system unless Sadiq Khan agrees to implement a range of measures - including higher council tax, expanding the congestion zone and raising fares.
It's understood that Mr Khan rejected the demands, leaving London's financially troubled transport network with an uncertain future.
Paul Waugh compares the situation to the Manchester negotiations on the Huff Post UK website, saying it is "all beginning to sound like a pattern of behaviour, not a political slip-up."
The Daily Mail says the Metropolitan Police has sent letters to pubs and restaurants in London, encouraging them to check customers' identity documents to prove groups are from the same household.
The British Beer and Pub Association tells the paper the move is "completely unacceptable", while the Night Time Industries Association calls it "unlawful".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-54624559
The National Audit Office said that huge pressure to set up furlough meant it did not have time to fully test the scheme and as a result the total scale of fraud and error was likely to be considerable.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html
System records worst weekly contact figures since establishment in May
There have been fresh calls for an overhaul of the government’s floundering test and trace service, after an advert was placed seeking a £2,000-a-day head of operations with experience of turning round “failing” call centres.
Official figures released on Thursday showed that in the week ending 14 October, the test and trace programme managed to get in touch with fewer than 60 per cent of people identified as close contacts of coronavirus patients, in order to tell them to self-isolate – well below the 80 per cent level needed for the system to be effective.
A total of 251,613 people in England were identified as coming into close contact with someone who had tested positive for Covid-19 – yet only 59.6 per cent were reached and asked to self-isolate
For cases handled by local health protection teams, 94.8 per cent of contacts were reached and asked to self-isolate. But for cases processed online or by call centres by tracers recruited by private companies such as Serco, this figure was 57.6 per cent.
Since its establishment in May, there have been floods of stories of NHS Test and Trace contact tracers being given little to do, with staff saying that they made very few calls and often did little more than leave answerphone messages for the people they were supposed to be advising to self-isolate for 14 days.
The new figures showed that test results were received within 24 hours by just 15.1 per cent of people who were tested for Covid-19 at a regional site, local site or mobile testing unit – down from 32.8 per cent in the previous week and the lowest weekly percentage since test and trace began.
Mr Johnson said as long ago as June that he wanted 100 per cent of in-person tests returned within 24 hours.
The data also showed the proportion of tests returning a positive result has climbed to 7.1 per cent for the week, the highest since test and trace began.
According to the World Health Organisation, a positivity rate of more than 5 per cent is an indication of insufficient testing being conducted.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/coronavirus-nhs-test-trace-dido-harding-boris-johnson-call-centres-b1229499.html
While snubbing popular cash-strapped venues applying for a share of its £500 million pot, Arts Council England gave the huge grant to George Ikediashi - also known as Le Gateau Chocolat (pictured) - who describes himself as 'fat, black and bearded'. The sum - which is more than seven times the average national salary - came despite the act never grossing even half that sum in a year. Mr Ikediashi, 38, has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was named by Time Out London magazine as among the top ten cabaret stars in the country. Defending the size of the grant, an arts council spokesman said the money will go towards Le Gateau Chocolat Ltd putting on a number of planned shows, which would involve employing a range of freelancers.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8870099/Drag-artist-Le-Gateau-Chocolat-handed-215k-coronavirus-culture-fund.html