Coronavirus (Covid19) Corner

[Tizer]

This going to make it more difficult for people to decide whether they might have covid-19 or not and it'll make it easier for the delta variant to spread...
`Headache and runny nose linked to Delta variant' LINK

[Whyperion]

That's sounding like flu, but then again I thought that was all part of generalised covidity anyway.

Folk still not wearing masks covering noses. (useful for covering hay fever sneezes !)

[Big Kev]

I give the 'chin wearers' a wide berth. It's not worth pointing out how selfish these knuckle draggers are, they hang a mask around their neck so they can quickly put it in place if anyone in authority were to enforce the correct wearing (and avoid a fine). They have no concept of how wearing a mask benefits others and are too ignorant to listen to common sense.

[Stanley]

I need advice. I don't wear a mask unless I am going inside a shop. When walking I keep more than 2 metres distance. Does this make me a knuckle-dragger?

[Big Kev]

I need advice. I don't wear a mask unless I am going inside a shop. When walking I keep more than 2 metres distance. Does this make me a knuckle-dragger?

No, you're following the rules, there's no requirement to wear one outside. The knuckle draggers were out in force in Blackburn B&Q yesterday, I kept my distance.

[plaques]

No, you're following the rules, there's no requirement to wear one outside. The knuckle draggers were out in force in Blackburn B&Q yesterday, I kept my distance.

You need a mask to go into the library. Ooke. Ooke. Pratchett was there first.

[Big Kev]

No, you're following the rules, there's no requirement to wear one outside. The knuckle draggers were out in force in Blackburn B&Q yesterday, I kept my distance.

You need a mask to go into the library. Ooke. Ooke. Pratchett was there first.

It's a bit strange in the pub, you have to wear one when walking from the door to your previously booked table but you can then take it off when sat down to eat. The tables are more than 2M apart, numbers are restricted and the doors and windows were open. I presume the mask on while not seated is people aren't restricted on distance when moving around.

[Tizer]

You need a mask to go into the library. Ooke. Ooke. Pratchett was there first.

A clever comment there, Plaques! We can't allow any reverse zoonotic transmission!

[Stanley]

Thanks Kev. Ken and Peter made my head hurt.....
See THIS BBC report that carers are to be made to have vaccinations or resign. The argument against is that the carer's human rights may be damaged. How about the patient's human rights? Of course they should be vaccinated, a precedent already exists with other conditions.

[PanBiker]

Pity they didn't think of this 18 months ago.

[Stanley]

They did and dismissed it as not worthy of attention. It was only worn out old people after all who were going to die anyway. Was the final score 40% of deaths were in homes? Just think what not having to care for them saved the nation. Unfortunately that's not too far off what happened.

[plaques]

There s an argument that Matt Hancock could be open to litigation but the problem is that it all depends on what is 'reasonable' at the time of the event. Once you get 'reasonable' entering the equation off you go on the magic roundabout of 'yes but' and 'what if''. The government programme at that time was laid out on the government web site, now removed, which boils down to who advised the government on this action or did they make it up themselves? The real time to bring all this up is at the next general election but it looks like Boris Johnson has kicked the can past the finishing line.

[Stanley]

Of course he has! Isn't that what he does all the time? One of these days his pigeons will come home to roost and I hope I can live to see it.

[Whyperion]

BBC Reporting
As of 14 June, there have been 73 deaths in England of people who were confirmed as having the Delta variant and who died within 28 days of a positive test.
Of the 73 deaths:
34 (47%) were unvaccinated
10 (14%) were more than 21 days after their first dose of vaccine
26 (36%) were more than 14 days after their second dose.

Without an Age or Underlying conditions breakdown that is meanlngless (anyone want to email MoreOrLess?) . At first sight it seems for death outcomes there is no clear reason for being vacinated (with respect to Delta) BUT

806 hospitalisations:

527 (65%) people were unvaccinated
135 (17%) were more than 21 days after their first dose of vaccine
84 (10%) were more than 14 days after their second dose

This suggests that if you are unvaccinated you are more likely to need hospital treatment.

While noting that deaths are a lagging statistic to hospitalisations crudely

527 : 34 Is about 15%percent deaths
135 : 10 is about 10percent deaths
84:26 is about 30percent deaths.

Interesting to figure that out, but some would say that if you are vaccinated then you are 25percent less likely to need hospitalisation, and 20percent (if hospitalised) less likely to die.

( total Delta Cases 75,953, which is about most of the recent cases) so thats about a bit over 1percent needing hospital, and 0.1percent deaths (deaths lag so say 0.2percent, a seeming small number. But we know a lot of the case estimates are in 8-15 year olds ( its becoming a childhood disease and we are not sure of any long term effect that may happen) and 19-28 year olds , ( the ones doing the social mixing effectively), Neither group has been vaccinated, and generally (but not exclusively) the symptoms will be mild and not really needing hospitalisation.

Given the progress on 1st doses on 18+ it does seem the mid July legal restrictions away seems satisfactory, although a small risk.

I note Starmer had originally suggested that robust and reliable testing on air passengers would allow for better travel restrictions, now he suggests firmer more timely restrictions ( but this may be that the testing has not been reliable). I feel there is a stage when moderate travel movements can occur IF there is testing before and after travel, (and Vaccine Proof ) it will carry a risk, can that risk be socially borne within the UK that it still might end up killing a Granny (maybe YOUR granny) IF that risk is well less than 0.002 percent ?

[Whyperion]

I forgot, the BBC map of Hot spot cases / 1000 population throws up Ribble Valley (and Preston/Blackburn) as high areas, Pendle and Hyndburn a Little Less (It cannot be Fridays at the Mosque if Indian if most families are Hindu ?)

On the Funeral Pyres , i think a couple of points were running out of wood (like the UK has a Plywood shortage for coffins), and the very high numbers that seemed more than the Indian Covid death stats implied. There is a strong case for open (or enclosed) creamation particulary when its been viral or bacterial death causes, I doubt the original ideas (on some its about the spirit leaving with the flames heavenward) , worked on the specific connection, but may have noted that burials resulted in additional illnesses (contamination of water supplies mainly). Are women still expected to join their deceased husband on the funeral fire heap ?

[Tripps]

Are women still expected to join their deceased husband on the funeral fire heap ?

Actually no - not any more. One of the things the evil colonial power stamped out.

Kipling recorded it though - intensely atmospheric I think. . .

The Last Suttee. 1889

Not many years ago a King died in one of the Rajpoot States. His wives, disregarding the orders of the English against Suttee, would have broken out of the palace and burned themselves with the corpse had not the gates been barred. But one of them, disguised as the King’s favourite dancing-girl, passed through the line of guards and reached the pyre. There, her courage failing, she prayed her cousin, a baron of the King’s court, to kill her. This he did, not knowing who she was.

UDAI CHAND lay sick to death
In his hold by Gungra hill.
All night we heard the death-gongs ring,
For the soul of the dying Rajpoot King,
All night beat up from the women’s wing
A cry that we could not still.

All night the barons came and went,
The Lords of the Outer Guard.
All night the cressets glimmered pale
On Ulwar sabre and Tonk jezail,
Mewar headstall and Marwar mail,
That clinked in the palace yard.

In the Golden Room on the palace roof
All night he fought for air:
And there were sobbings behind the screen,
Rustle and whisper of women unseen,
And the hungry eyes of the Boondi Queen
On the death she might not share.

He passed at dawn—the death-fire leaped
From ridge to river-head,
From the Malwa plains to the Abu scars:
And wail upon wail went up to the stars
Behind the grim zenana-bars,
When they knew that the King was dead.

etc etc

[Stanley]

Only on OG.....

[Tripps]

Only on OG..

The site with a soul. . . .not available on Facebook.

As an aside - I saw a few years ago and Indian fellow who had invented a new way to build Hindu cremation pyres which used a lot less wood, but still did the job, at the 'burning ghats'.

I think that's when it dawned on me that this 'carbon reduction' was a racket when he said- 'we've set up an office in London to claim the carbon offset payments'.

[Whyperion]

I would have thought on a grill over a pit would be fairly efficient, what is the carbon footprint of buring the average body (indians historically have been lean, I suspect I have enough fat to power 1000 candles.

(think I had been watching too many Indian set costume dramas on telly not knowing which time they were set in)

Meanwhile back on the UK front I note, either by plan or panic there were more 1st doses out today. Part back to India local news here noted that Newham in London was lagging in adults getting / going for first doses. When I lived and worked there the Indian communities were variable (our GP was indian, but I only saw him twice, and one of them was at the baby clinic), many stayed within their own community and did not engage as such with the traditional eastenders remaining in Stratford and West Ham, we also had a quite large number of new arrivals (including at least one family that not only did not speak english, they did not speak any of the other existing indian languages in the borough ! - the young 7 year old was incredibly bright at maths though , and at least two in one of the classes aspired to be doctors and pharmacists. My main employer at the time was 100% UK/australian white , which was a contrast to when I worked in West London where work comprised the entire league of nations. Strangely a previous employer (italian from Chigwell ! ) employed a lot of indian women (whom mostly lived in Ilford but travelled to Barking where the food factory was). Odd world. Overall I feel that the likes of places like Newham have a fair proportion of people passing through, and the idea of some permanent population at any one time is meaningiess - 3percent must be related to the University of East London students for a start, and others move on and out the borough, I get the feeling in Pendle the population is more static.

[Stanley]

David. I wonder what Kipling would have made of that.....

[Tripps]

I've been quite smug watching Ascot all week, and thinking 'if they won't let HM Queen go, then it must be best to stay isolated. Now they have just said 'someone special' is about to appear, and a crowd has gathered around the paddock.

I wonder who it can be?

[Stanley]

She's picked a nice day for it.....
(They made her go to Cornwall so why not Ascot? Has her horse been pulled because of the wet going?)

[Tripps]

Yes it's herself. . .

"She doesn't need to wear a face mask as it's part of a Government trial"

She has several runners - some live chances.

[plaques]

Matt Hancock taking some flack over not telling PM Boris the latest data of the vaccine success over covid prior to the extended lockdown. Clearly there is more behind the story than today's headlines. Questions like... was there some previous agreement on this course of action. Was Hancock being protective of Buffoon Boris. Was it the right thing to do anyway. Should we be clapping Hancock rather than chastising him.
What sort of government have we got???

[Whyperion]

Vaccine Success is but one factor in the analysis, the creep of cases and hospital admissions upwards should be a concern. The main restrictions are on meeting in bars without masks etc , standing up and drinking, hardly anything to worry over, and the present reduced capacity at entertainment venues (over to rishi for any suitable financial support really). Out for an evening walk last night and a couple of outdoor marquees at some local pubs were pretty full of what appeared family or friendship groups singing happy birthday, while not business as usual and maybe a breach of present rules , but this semi unoffical relaxation seems to be the off piste roadmap reality.

Was Gaza/Palastine right to reject Israels offer of 1M nearly past best before date Pfizer Jabs ? ( Israel Stockpile - wont get used in time for top up jabs - anyone an Idea whom has got them instead ? ). Is the lack of vaccine % to Palastine areas a reason why Israel not on Green List for UK travel ?

This weekend really the big jab push if July 19th is a safe goer , but despite the hype of bigger and more pop up centres the actual numbers at no more than 500k ish per day seem unimpressive. - 600 k would be better.