Mutating Corona Virus

[brassnecked]

Local County Councillor, who is also a fellow Community Councillor said they were aghast as Drakefords restrictions were flashed up during a Zoom meeting Drakeford has killed many North Wales jobs, but then its a price worth paying to control a virus even when the R rate  in North way lower than required for Tier 1 England?  Tier 4 in Wales is Tier 3 England on steroids.?

 

Drakeford is a good marxist all must suffer equally it seems.

[honeybee13]

The New York Times have investigated spending on PPE contracts and told us that our own PPE czar is connected with companies who have been awarded hundreds of millions.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/17/world/europe/britain-covid-contracts.html

[tobyjugg2]

Damning of British news services that you have to get anything more than a few nondescript mentions away from the headlines (or worse - some BS cheer-leading as a headline) you have to go to reports from abroad

Where are we? Britain or China?

Edited December 17, 2020 by tobyjugg2

[brassnecked]

We are in North Korea in Wales with Dear Leader (NOT) Drakeford

[honeybee13]

I get the impression you don't like him, BN.

[brassnecked]

No he is not well liked North of merthyr.

[honeybee13]

Macron has tested positive.

[brassnecked]

Yes the UK press are all over it, well he can compare notes with Johnson as they argue over fish, forgetting the only negotiator should me Barnier and Member State leaders should be having no part in it as the Commission does it for them.

[honeybee13]

Going back to the New York Times article I linked to, it's been pointed out on Twitter that the Byline Times have been digging up details on contracts for a while and have information on firms that the NYT mentions.

 

Here's an article from openDemocracy on how much has been paid to Deloitte over Covid and how difficult it is to work out what they've done for the money. Anthony Costello of Indie Sage says the money should have been given to the NHS instead of running a parallel system and/or reinventing the wheel. [My words but I don't think he would disagree on the last bit.]

 

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/deloittes-test-and-trace-bonanza-this-is-how-much-the-british-public-has-paid-them-so-far/

[brassnecked]

If they had  done the obvious and funded local Test, track & trace, and proper sourcing of PPE their buddies would not have had their bumper paydays.  HB  its all looking a bit insider trading,

[honeybee13]

True. Had it been another country, I think we might have called it corruption, BN.

[brassnecked]

1 minute ago, honeybee13 said:

True. Had it been another country, I think we might have called it corruption, BN.

Exactly.  hancock has fingers in some of the pies outside his job as well.

[London1971]

Shouldn’t the NYT be focusing on why 3k per day in the US are dying while their dear leader Trump plays golf and tweets about his hurt feelings. 
 

Makes a few dodgy deals seem like small beer really.

[brassnecked]

Well thanks to Drakeford  potentially North Wales will be 80% on the dole, as Hospitality is now essentially dead and bankruptcy assured for most in that line.

[honeybee13]

I haven't read the rest of the NYT, London. I would hope they are covering that.

[London1971]

But @brassneckedwhat other choices does he have ?

[brassnecked]

Where I am rate is extremely low, but you have to understand the North South divide in Wales is worse than the English one, Cardiff is more remote from Llandudno than London or manchester is. Its 5 hour drive or train  to Cardiff  but 90 minutes to manchester train or drive. Bus would take two days as no direct National Express link.

 

What he could have done was not bought into Hancock & Dido's busted app but gone for a Wales wide version of the Ceredigion Test trace isolate,  used the Nightingales for isolation, and kept Covid out of General Hospitals as mentioned by Dr Richard North, and kept an accurate track of the figures.

[citizenB]

On 27/11/2020 at 16:08, honeybee13 said:

I see your point, TJ. HMG has frittered away any time it's had given to it in 2020; warnings from Italy when they were about two weeks ahead of the UK and two lockdowns, to source PPE and get a functioning test and trace system in place.

 

Far more people are saying they should just listen to local public health people and organise things locally but of course that doesn't give money to Tory cronies. Local public health people could possibly organise a better tiers system rather than clamp down on entire counties as well.

It would also give money to the opposition eg, Labour LA's.  

[citizenB]

9 hours ago, honeybee13 said:

I saw a map of Covid cases in Wales yesterday or the day before and the cases seemed to be mainly in the south. BN mentioned that the other day but I'm still interested to know why the virus is spreading.

 

Also, what's the deal on 11,000 positive cases that have just come to light?

They appear to be blaming it on the Lighthouse Laboratories for not reporting these tests. 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/17/wales-coronavirus-cases-double-it-problem

"PHW said the missing results were from tests carried out by the Lighthouse laboratories, which were set up to help tackle the Covid crisis.

The Welsh health minister, Vaughan Gething, said the government was aware that the PHW case numbers were not accurate before it made the decision about the new restrictions."

 

[tobyjugg2]

The Welshing beloved leader is quite clearly stating it was a planned IT upgrade that caused the delay (in correct figures) isnt he?

Edited December 17, 2020 by tobyjugg2

[brassnecked]

Drakeford is talking from his backside again Mr methane speaks from there with more clarity, if they knew a planned upgrade was going to affect figures they should have allowed for it.  Sounds like an excuse same as when a Windows 10 automatic update borks something.

 

The figures only affect the South Wales figures apparently, so people in the North and Mid Wales are even more angry with itch & scratch aka Drakeford & gething the Chip, the lousy comedians.

[tobyjugg2]

I've just been flipping through teh various TV news services and when you are looking for any sort of detail and competence in the reports, I find it truly shocking that AJ whips BBC and sky hands down.

Even RT has more detail .. mostly horseshit wrapped in a bun - but even that more entertaining than sky or BBC

 

When did they (sky and BBC) actually become such content-less one line headline blurters with oodles of waffle filler?

Just seen one tosswad lead (recognised the face) on sky giving a calm carefull UNICEF representative a piece of Rees-Moggs mind for feeding UK needy. Never see him talking to smogg like that for voting to leave children hungry - Sell out ****.

 

durmutt or some such if I remember rightly

Edited December 17, 2020 by tobyjugg2

[London1971]

13 hours ago, brassnecked said:

Where I am rate is extremely low, but you have to understand the North South divide in Wales is worse than the English one, Cardiff is more remote from Llandudno than London or manchester is. Its 5 hour drive or train  to Cardiff  but 90 minutes to manchester train or drive. Bus would take two days as no direct National Express link.

 

What he could have done was not bought into Hancock & Dido's busted app but gone for a Wales wide version of the Ceredigion Test trace isolate,  used the Nightingales for isolation, and kept Covid out of General Hospitals as mentioned by Dr Richard North, and kept an accurate track of the figures.

Best to look at places like Australia, think Melbourne, a city of 5 million. a few cases and they were in lockdown for 6 weeks.  They have defeated the disease and their economy is relatively unaffected. What I'm saying is that no matter how low the rate is, lockdown is the only answer, and properly until the cases are all over.  This sort of halfway faff in the UK, and most other Western countries only prolongs the agony.

 

Whatever happens over Christmas we will be back in UK wide lockdown again in January anyway.  In my opinion Boris should have cancelled Christmas, the vast majority would have understood, he could have put a sweetner in , a couple of extra Easter Bank Holiday's or 2 in July, at a cost that would be miniscule compared to the cost of soon to be here Lockdown 3.

[honeybee13]

London, there was a survey in the last week or two that said around 50% of people would rather carry on with restrictions than come out of lockdown for Christmas, potentially lose a lot more people and then have to lock down again after Xmas.

 

Christina Pagel of Indie Sage was on Newsnight and she pointed out that the people we're likely to lose are probably first in line for the vaccine.

[hightail]

2 hours ago, honeybee13 said:

London, there was a survey in the last week or two that said around 50% of people would rather carry on with restrictions than come out of lockdown for Christmas, potentially lose a lot more people and then have to lock down again after Xmas

I thought it was more than 50%.  They're the ones who choose not to take the risk anyway - it isn't obligatory.  Others will do as they please whether Boris allows it or not.  That's how it was always going to be and it's now only about whether they are criminalized.  I doubt there are many who intend to spend 5 days solid in the company of extended family, doubt there are many who could stomach that even under normal circumstances.  A 5 day window should give everyone the chance for a short visit, a meal, exchange of gifts or whatever even if they're working some part of Christmas.

 

Edited December 18, 2020 by hightail