Are you back to work next week?

[trikey]

Originally Posted by marinabrian

it's just as well I've a supply of loose change, and can remember what it is like to use a telephone box.

Brian

Or dig out your old Nokia

[RPWC]

Originally Posted by marinabrian

She's fine Richard, and we've both actually had it, and yes that's having been tested, and not just discussed

I can honestly say I've had worse colds........amazing how it affects people differently

Hell's teeth I bet that was scary for you both, pleased you are both over it though. You're the only person I know who's had it. I was talking to my mate today and his brother and sister in law both had it, her quite badly. She refused to go to hospital though, and she's a doctor

[RPWC]

Originally Posted by marinabrian

I already suspect we will be encouraged to download this app.........



.......I've just checked, and I have insufficient space to install it at the moment, it's just as well I've a supply of loose change, and can remember what it is like to use a telephone box.

Brian

If you can find one nowadays.

Originally Posted by trikey

Or dig out your old Nokia

I'll dig out my old Motorola brick.

[marinabrian]

Originally Posted by jackatesme

Brian i respect your views but my point was not about the deaths of children it was about the distancing and isolating,control which would be impossible to be kept in check.

Yes I understand John, but this is a disease that predominantly affects the elderly and the otherwise vulnerable, and in the absence of a vaccine, it would appear that building immunity in numbers through exposure to the group least likely to be affected is a relatively low risk exercise.

Would I allow my own children to attend school?, while my youngest child is still of school age, I'd say there is considerably less risk to her health attending school, than say occupying the same household where the two adults have been separately diagnosed as Covid-19 positive, and she has for certain spent the last three weeks being exposed to the virus, and the possibility of that figure being up to five weeks, if incubation and asymptomatic periods are accounted for.

The figures are there to be seen, of every 1000 people of all ages infected with the virus, 20 will go on to require medical intervention of sorts, and of those 20 one will die of complications as a result.

These are the complete figures, and the risk factors increase exponentially with age, combined with comorbidity factors.

There are other factors to take into account, such as ethnicity, and lifestyle, far too many to go into detail, but trust me if you have self isolated with little else to do, then you tend to familiarise yourself with the "enemy"

Risk assessment? well I recall being carried along with my siblings in the boot of an Austin A40 Countryman, we don't do things like that any more, but we shouldn't be as fearful for our offspring as the hysterical media storm surrounding the virus is whipping up around our ears.

You are statistically much more likely to be killed crossing the road, than succumbing to the effects of Covid-19 when you are young.

Brian

[RPWC]

Originally Posted by RPWC

If you can find one nowadays.


I'll dig out my old Motorola brick.

https://the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/a...1&d=1589234230. This was the exact model still got it in the loft

[Les4048]

Because I supply farmers with parts for their machinery I’ve never stopped in fact there was two weekends where I was called out several times on both Sundays. I’m very fortunate as I live in an area where there’s only been fifty cases and one death but it is slowly climbing

[andymc]

There is still no cure or vaccine for the virus, meaning social distancing is still required. Many people have latched onto the "stay two metres apart" bit, while forgetting about the "for a maximum of 15 minutes in an enclosed space" part. So how should people go back to work if they have to use public transport to do so? As this article eloquently puts it, "If you are a middle-class professional, then you can keep safely working from home, and whether you venture outside for leisure, exercise or sunbathing is entirely up to you. For everybody else, it’s time to get back to work, and best of luck!"

Anyone who has worked with children knows how much of a vector for transmitting any kind of infection they are, even when they tend not to suffer the ill-effects as much themselves. I used to work as a peripatetic tutor in multiple primary schools, and for some eight years running I was guaranteed to have at least two if not three serious chest infections between September and April. Being a chronic asthmatic, this resulted in more than one hospital admission and a few ambulance rides along the way. Since leaving that role four years ago, the frequency of these serious infections has dropped to between zero and one per year.

While children are not at the greatest risk from Covid-19 themselves, those with whom they come into contact may well be. My wife is the principal of a small school and of the 13 teaching/classroom staff there, all but one either have pre-existing health conditions which would place them at high risk, or live with someone classified as vulnerable. Thankfully, being based in NI means this school is not expected to reopen before September at the earliest, and even when it does it will be on a part-time basis for pupils. Some staff will not be able to return to work until they have either been vaccinated against the virus or happen to have acquired it and managed to survive it. Many schools will be in the same or similar position.

Moreover, the notion that in England the youngest children should be the among those brought back first is utterly, utterly daft - these are the kids with the least awareness of any sort of hygiene, the greatest tendency to touch everyone and everything, and the least capacity to understand why they are no longer allowed to. Never mind during lessons, how are five year olds going to be kept 2 metres apart from one another at playtime? What sort of miserable, confusing experience would that be for them? As for those working in classrooms, I wonder will they be provided with appropriate PPE every day so that they can share an enclosed space for several hours at a time in close proximity to dozens of potential carriers of the infection? Given that some frontline medical staff have had to resort to wearing binbags, I'll go out on a limb to suggest that the answer to that question is "no".

Like so much about the UK response to the pandemic, nearly everything about this latest move is ill thought out, contradictory, belated, inept and poorly communicated. We all deserve better leadership, no matter the colour of rosette.

Right, I'm off back out to work, just the way I have been for over two months now - on my own, with no pay and no access to any of the support schemes because I haven't been trading for long enough.

[planenut]

Moreover, the notion that in England the youngest children should be the among those brought back first is utterly, utterly daft - these are the kids with the least awareness of any sort of hygiene, the greatest tendency to touch everyone and everything, and the least capacity to understand why they are no longer allowed to. Never mind during lessons, how are five year olds going to be kept 2 metres apart from one another at playtime? What sort of miserable, confusing experience would that be for them? ……………………………………... …………………………..[/QUOTE]



Ulterior motive there is that these age groups require more attention in the home environment, so with them back to school, relieves more parents/carers to then return to their everyday work, therefore, reducing the amount of financial assistance the Government has to provide!

[marinabrian]

Originally Posted by andymc

There is still no cure or vaccine for the virus, meaning social distancing is still required. Many people have latched onto the "stay two metres apart" bit, while forgetting about the "for a maximum of 15 minutes in an enclosed space" part. So how should people go back to work if they have to use public transport to do so? As this article eloquently puts it, "If you are a middle-class professional, then you can keep safely working from home, and whether you venture outside for leisure, exercise or sunbathing is entirely up to you. For everybody else, it’s time to get back to work, and best of luck!"

Anyone who has worked with children knows how much of a vector for transmitting any kind of infection they are, even when they tend not to suffer the ill-effects as much themselves. I used to work as a peripatetic tutor in multiple primary schools, and for some eight years running I was guaranteed to have at least two if not three serious chest infections between September and April. Being a chronic asthmatic, this resulted in more than one hospital admission and a few ambulance rides along the way. Since leaving that role four years ago, the frequency of these serious infections has dropped to between zero and one per year.

While children are not at the greatest risk from Covid-19 themselves, those with whom they come into contact may well be. My wife is the principal of a small school and of the 13 teaching/classroom staff there, all but one either have pre-existing health conditions which would place them at high risk, or live with someone classified as vulnerable. Thankfully, being based in NI means this school is not expected to reopen before September at the earliest, and even when it does it will be on a part-time basis for pupils. Some staff will not be able to return to work until they have either been vaccinated against the virus or happen to have acquired it and managed to survive it. Many schools will be in the same or similar position.

Moreover, the notion that in England the youngest children should be the among those brought back first is utterly, utterly daft - these are the kids with the least awareness of any sort of hygiene, the greatest tendency to touch everyone and everything, and the least capacity to understand why they are no longer allowed to. Never mind during lessons, how are five year olds going to be kept 2 metres apart from one another at playtime? What sort of miserable, confusing experience would that be for them? As for those working in classrooms, I wonder will they be provided with appropriate PPE every day so that they can share an enclosed space for several hours at a time in close proximity to dozens of potential carriers of the infection? Given that some frontline medical staff have had to resort to wearing binbags, I'll go out on a limb to suggest that the answer to that question is "no".

Like so much about the UK response to the pandemic, nearly everything about this latest move is ill thought out, contradictory, belated, inept and poorly communicated. We all deserve better leadership, no matter the colour of rosette.

Right, I'm off back out to work, just the way I have been for over two months now - on my own, with no pay and no access to any of the support schemes because I haven't been trading for long enough.

I wonder how many Swedish teaching staff have succumbed to the virus?, and I wonder if they've run out of bin bags at the hospital yet?

Sorry to appear flippant Andy, like yourself I've not earned a penny in six weeks, no taxpayer handout for me, nor do I need or want one.

However this needs to be put into context, and the anxiety that has been cranked up to eleven by the hysterical media coverage dispelled somewhat.

Frontline medical staff certainly haven't been wearing binbags in this neck of the woods, the local NHS trust, have six weeks of advance PPE stock that is replenished on a daily basis

We are being constantly told how terrible this is, no one tells you about the 98% of people who contract the virus, where the symptoms are so mild that you may not know you have it, or no symptoms at all..........not newsworthy.

I agree this has not been handled in the best manner, especially as most of the current policy has based upon mathematical modelling from an epidemiologist who has a proven track record in hopelessly pessimistic and wildly inaccurate prediction.

The government have simply "followed the science", played the safest hand they felt possible as to not overwhelm the critical care services of the NHS, and bribed huge swathes of the working population in the form of taxpayer funded furlough payments, in order to quell the unrest of millions of people made intentionally redundant overnight as a result of this policy.

Make no mistake, we can wring our hands, or we can proceed with caution, and dig ourselves out of this situation before the entire country is ruined.

This may come across as harsh, it's not it is merely dispassionate reasoning, my wife is most certainly in the front line as are half a million other NHS workers, perhaps even more so when you consider her ward to have been repurposed specifically for the care of Covid-19 positive patients.

It is high time we made decisions based upon sound and not speculative science, and dispense with the sensationalist claptrap we are being spoonfed by the media, and the fear and distress this is causing people..........by all means exercise caution and mitigate the risk to a level you feel personally comfortable with.

If that means a change of career for some, it may be viewed as unfortunate, but others will perceive the risks to themselves and others around them differently, and the positions vacated will be filled by those who are less risk averse.

Now you know me, our families have met and shared a wonderful meal together, to others I'm simply an opinionated blunt northern man, but as a friend and part of the growing numbers of people who have not only come into contact with Covid-19, but dealt with it (fortunately) successfully.

Trust me when I say, nothing prepares you for the news that you have been infected with a virus that has been made out to be as deadly as it is being portrayed, and you remember the platitudes you were being told by the infection control nurse when she was taking the swab for the test, but then reality hits, and for me and Chris, the reality was being one of the 98%.

Now there are 1882 confirmed cases in Northern Ireland, as opposed to 226,000 on the mainland UK, how likely do you feel there to be an exponential increase in cases, and of that, how likely do you feel you might be part of the 2% where medical intervention is required, and of the 20% of that 2% who succumb to the affect that Covid-19 has on them?

I'm not a gambling man, but I feel the likelihood of dying as a result of exposure to Covid-19 are extremely remote.

Brian

[marinabrian]

Originally Posted by planenut

Ulterior motive there is that these age groups require more attention in the home environment, so with them back to school, relieves more parents/carers to then return to their everyday work, therefore, reducing the amount of financial assistance the Government has to provide!

Fred, the Government doesn't provide financial assistance, it is provided by the taxpayer, that means you and I and every other person and organisation who contribute to the system.

It's a very important distinction

Brian