Originally Posted by
Oracle
Pure speculation as are Belgium numbers. Nobody can control with speculation. It needs something measurable in present not hindsight.
Using the FT non methodology , all countries would have to throw a dart in a board to uprate Their case numbers too. How do you control with numbers from a random number generator?
Some of the press coming from Belgium has seen their MikeT s complaining about their methodology saying that too few are properly verified, many were circumstantial not proven causal. There is no right answer: the distinction is philosophical not scientific. How many patients die with covid or because of covid? Camels and straws. When titanic sank, several bulkheads had overflowed. It is academic which one sank it, it was the combination.
The government needs a reliable measure for relative numbers.
The Reality of the number of cases is also underestimated by a factor of ten or more.
It would not matter what the government did. Part of the medical community would grumble.
England is still the densest population in Europe other than micro states. Belgium second of lesser states.
As for Ambleside, I just citd that as example of country side generally, the vitriolic rhetoric coming from many residents about covidiots is a disgrace. The standing order on second homes was wrong.
I notice The first question fielded yestErday by Boris was concerned resident from Cornwall telling Boris not allow tourists back in case it gave her extra risk.
Hidden subtext “ I’m allright jack. I have a guaranteed income regardless of COVID, so all that matters is keeping me safe. I don’t give a toss if half of my neighbour have no income whose solvency is reliant on some level tourist trade, they can starve for all I care”
Selfish b!tch was my thought when I heard her.
There is an obvious moral hazard with COVID.
The entire public sector gets paid whether or not they work. It is too easy to stay at home. For that reason all public sector salaries should have been cut to help pay for covid, so they too had a vested interest in declaring all clear.
As a result all sorts of facilities are shut that simply should not be. I could list many but take city dumps. Net result they “ self isolate “ in massive numbers because they can, not because they should.
It reminds me of the ( not insignificant) sheet ice problem a few years ago in January. Broadly: all who got paid regardless , whether they work or not, decided it was far too dangerous to go into work, so all the schools for example shut completely stuffing the parents forced to stay with kids.
All those reliant on getting to my house in order to get paid, from milkmen , delivery drivers and self employed tradesmen ( working here at that time) , all made it without problem. Clearly a moral hazard.
The schools should in my view not be shut either for covid, because of downside on parents forced to look after kids, so unnecessarily shutting the economy. I do not think many are taking that problem seriously enough , and the knock on effect to such as pensioners, including the government not taking it seriously enough. But then they too will get paid regardless.