Coronavirus

[Wheeze]

Think about it. That’s impossible.

So a fit, non-fat, non-diabetic, non-other known illness or immunity issues, sensible drinker and quite fit 35 year old can go out with his mates, do what ever he likes and get covid. And hopefully survive unscathed.

What about the doctors surgeries, hospitals, super markets, shops, pubs, cafes, travel hubs, buses, trains and whatnot this self same super spreader in waiting comes in contact with?? Bonkers

Its not bonkers if the only others the spreader comes into meaningful contact with are in the same low vulnerability bracket. The vulnerable take responsibility for their own safety. All those places you list need to get back to some semblance of normality for the sake of the greater good.

By the way. I am in the vulnerable group.

[Wheeze]

So I'm a turkey voting for Christmas!!

[Fellbeast]

Its not bonkers if the only others the spreader comes into meaningful contact with are in the same low vulnerability bracket. The vulnerable take responsibility for their own safety. All those places you list need to get back to some semblance of normality for the sake of the greater good.

By the way. I am in the vulnerable group.

I’m bangin my head against a brick wall here. It isn’t for the greater good if covid accelerates within the wider community as eventually all of our nurses, doctors and consultants would get it. And the teachers and the civil service. And the police. And all of the shop and hospitality trade. At that point you have a completely uncontrollable spreading virus and huge death numbers. And no choice but to enforce full lockdown again which would completely and utterly crash the economy or go for the false promise of herd immunity.

Remember it’s the vulnerable who most have to use our hospitals because of all of their other ailments, if not covid.

By the way the average age of death in America is lower than here (c age 50) largely because their lockdown has been laxer, their population is younger on average (and I imagine their population is on balance fatter)

[Wheeze]

The brick wall does not exist. All of the non vulnerable groups may well get it. But the stats from the first wave does not lead to the conclusion of huge death numbers. 95% of the deaths in the first wave were over 80 and the over 60's and the ill accounted for most of the rest.

Before the first wave we had to assume that we had to lock everyone down. Now we know that we only have to lockdown certain groups. Thats the point you're missing. Also, don't forget we now have plague hospitals so we can keep our regular hospitals covid free.

[Fellbeast]

Sod it I’m going for a run in the hills. With you in charge Wheeze, your mad professor’s hunch could lead to hundreds of thousands more deaths. I wonder how you’d feel if one of your loved ones copped it if the government did exactly what youre now advocating 🤔

[Muddy Retriever]

Sod it I’m going for a run in the hills. With you in charge Wheeze, your mad professor’s hunch could lead to hundreds of thousands more deaths. I wonder how you’d feel if one of your loved ones copped it if the government did exactly what youre now advocating ��

I'm not fully endorsing Wheeze's open it all up for under 45's suggestion (I'm more cautious) but I don't buy your hundreds of thousands more deaths prediction. Why hasn't this happened in Sweden?

[Witton Park]

If you crunch the numbers given to us by the experts, we probably have a situation where half the country have had it or can't get it.
You do not quarantine those not at risk.

[GeoffB]

Just consider back in April.

Circa 10,000 tests a day early April.
3000 cases a day confirmed.

1st April a total of 29,474 had tested positive for coronavirus across the UK, with more than 150,000 total tests administered.

Yesterday's figures were 311,641 tests and only 816 positive tests.

Perspective is required or we'll never move forward.

Track and trace isn't working, because there's no one to track.

I think you're getting confused by the numbers, WP. 311,641 was the total of positive tests up until yesterday. The number of tests processed yesterday was 166,207.

[Wheeze]

Sod it I’m going for a run in the hills. With you in charge Wheeze, your mad professor’s hunch could lead to hundreds of thousands more deaths. I wonder how you’d feel if one of your loved ones copped it if the government did exactly what youre now advocating ��

Going for a run is good. But please consider that this is not a hunch. It is an extrapolation about what we have learnt from the first wave. As for loved ones copping it, please also consider that my daughter and her husband were on the front line all through the first wave. You can imagine how worried we were.

Irrespective of that, we have to have an informed way forwards. Try coming up with something better that will both protect the vulnerable AND get our country going again so that wider hardships do not come home to roost.

[Travs]

I'm trying to keep away from this thread as it seems to bring out the argumentative side of people...

I know this sounds very callous of me (as we lost an elderly relative).... but i'm inclined to be more in agreement with Wheeze that we need to look at getting/keeping things open for as many as possible.

People may suggest that is giving priority to the economy over human life... but sadly it's the economy which is going to drag the country down (all 60-odd million).