Coronavirus (COVID-19) General Chat

[Lisa]

Two million vaccinated in the last week according to BBC live feed reporting Hancock's comments. Official update to come tomorrow. Very encouraging if true as we probably aren't up to full speed yet.

Some positive vaccine stats:
- Around 2 million people in the UK have now been vaccinated.
- 200,000 are currently being vaccinated a day
- On course to hit 2 million a week
- More people vaccinated in the last week than in the whole of the first month.

Also according to the calculator if there really is 2m a week, this is when I would get:

Given a vaccination rate of 2,000,000 a week and an uptake of 70.6%, you should expect to receive your first dose of vaccine between 24/04/2021 and 22/05/2021.

You should then get your second dose by between 17/07/2021 and 14/08/2021.

I am hopefully going on holiday on 8th August so I would hope I get both done by then.

 

[Donna]

This isn't a lockdown. No-one seems to be heeding to the warnings. I had to go and pick up medication, the roads were as busy as a normal Monday.

 

[Jess]

Going by Scottish Government figures they need to vaccinate about 32k people a day to hit 800k total by the end of January.

Is this realistic? And yes I know it's dependent on "supply".

 

[Mouth]

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tells parliament that because of the "precarious" situation of the pandemic more restrictions will be brought in.

1. Click and collect
The availability and operation of click and collect services will be limited to retailers selling essential items such as clothes, footwear, baby equipment, homeware and books.

For click and collect services that are allowed, staggered appointments will need to be offered to avoid any potential for queuing, and access inside premises for collection will not be permitted.

2. Takeaway services
Customers in Scotland will no longer be allowed to go inside to collect takeaway food or coffee. Businesses will have to operate from a serving hatch or doorway.

The aim is to reduce the risk of customers coming into contact indoors with each other, or with staff.

3. Alcohol consumption
It will be against the law in all level four areas of Scotland to drink alcohol outdoors in public.

This will mean that buying a takeaway pint and drinking it outdoors will not be permitted.

It is intended to underline the message that people should only be leaving home for essential purposes.

4. Working from home
The Scottish government is strengthening the obligation on employers to allow their staff to work from home whenever possible.

The law already says that people should only be leaving home to go to work if it is work that cannot be done from home. This is a legal obligation that falls on individuals.

However, statutory guidance is being introduced to make clear that employers should support employees to work from home wherever possible.

5. Home maintenance
The Scottish government is strengthening provisions in relation to work inside people's houses.

Current guidance says that in level four areas work is only permitted within a private dwelling if it is essential for the upkeep, maintenance and functioning of the household. This guidance is now being put into law.

6. Stay at home message
The final change is an amendment to the regulations requiring people to stay at home.

This is intended to close an apparent loophole rather than change the spirit of the law. It will also bring the wording of the stay at home regulations in Scotland into line with the other UK nations.

Currently the law states that people can only leave home for an essential purpose.

The amendment will make it clear that people "must not leave or remain outside" the home unless it is for an essential purpose.

Not really sure these changes will make much difference to be honest.

 

[Gemma]

Over 2 million people have now died globally from Covid-19.

A lot of chat in Scotland today that they don't expect the restrictions to be lifted at the end of the month.

Also, it appears that the new strain of Covid-19 which had been found in Brazil may already be present in the UK.

 

[Gromit]

I am fine with these restrictions to get things under control and get the most vulnerable jagged. But see if they think that this is sustainable for anything more than a couple of months they're off their heads. We do have to get to a stage whereby we get the most vulnerable the protection they need and roll out the vaccine wider, but we cannot keep locking down like this forever more.

 

[Micro Dave]

No surprise really, the Scottish Government has today announced that the current restrictions will remain in place for mainland Scotland and some islands until at least mid February.

 

[David76]

Both my parents have received the first dose of the vaccine. Strangely, my mum who is in her late 70s received her vaccine before my dad who is in his 80s. Not really sure how that happened when the over 80s are supposed to be the first on the list.

 

[Deleted member 26]

I haven't stayed up to date on the thread I'm afraid, and I ain't trawling through 42 pages.. ? In fact, I stopped following the pandemic too closely as I was starting to almost obsess over the numbers which got quite depressing!

Just a couple of weeks ago I unfortunately lost another family member to COVID (my step-mum's mum). She'd been battling cancer for a few years, but the isolation started getting to her and she decided that she wanted to start doing basic things again such as going to the supermarket. Unfortunately she fell ill, was tested positive, and passed away within the space of about a week.

As has been said already, the latest lockdown just isn't being adhered to - you only have to compare the traffic between now and last March to know that. I think the public are fed up, not just of the pandemic itself but also of its poor handling by the UK government.

 

[Deleted member 63]

We are in a renewed lockdown here in Ontario. It started Dec. 26 and was tightened further a week or so ago. Test positivity is dropping a bit but not enough (from c. 6% to 4-4.5%). Things are definitely quieter again so people are following it to some degree. I went shopping today and the roads were near empty and the store (a Chinese grocery) was pretty quiet for a Saturday morning.

Of course, there aren't many places to go. Retail is all curbside save groceries, pharmacies, and some big boxes that have groceries. Restaurants are takeout only, bars and clubs are closed (though they can serve takeout food from their kitchens).

Vaccination is going slow, though, both due to supply issues and bad administrative decisions. My area was supposed to get all longterm care done by this weekend but other parts of the province are lagging. No hope of me (55 and type 2 diabetic) getting it before at least May based on current plans and situation, probably not until Summer.