Corona virus testing

I get the distinct feeling that nobody is bothered about this area on the map. Which is why so many died earlier on.

I don't know FannyCornforth. It's really depressing. It seems as though people just don't care about the truth or values any more.

I watched part of the Internal Market debate yesterday. Johnson and a couple of his fawning acolytes lied - no doubt about it. Johnson even looked like a naughty schoolboy who knew he'd done wrong but wasn't going to admit it. The UK is becoming a rogue state. Nevertheless, there were people on GN cheering him on. With people like that, I doubt if there's any limit to the depth the country will sink.

Hancock seems to be another one who makes things up as he goes along and/or lies through his teeth. He must know that he'll be found out, but he doesn't care because nothing will be done.

EllanVannin

I get the distinct feeling that nobody is bothered about this area on the map. Which is why so many died earlier on.

I don't really understand your reasoning.

I remember reading articles about Merseyside and there was much speculation about the Liverpool match against Atletico Madrid. Early on, people were running around like a lot of headless chickens and I don't think Merseyside was particularly neglected.

This chart shows a relatively high number of cases in parts of Birkenhead and South Liverpool, but still nowhere near as high as others. Maybe the time is right to place restrictions so that infection doesn't rise further.

There's a shortage of testing everywhere - one excuse after another.

I also wonder how long schools will be able to stay open for.
One of the 'reasons' (lies) that they gave for the safe opening of schools was their world beating test and trace system.
Not that it was ever safe to open them in the first place.
Just lie after lie after lie.
Aren't they embarrassed? They're not normal are they...

I am feeling more despondent than usual today. With an 80 majority our so-called govt will get away with whatever it chooses. There is nepotism, lies and down right incompetence over managing the virus, and over most things come to that. I don’t see a way to get rid of them, Johnson specifically FannyC. They were voted in on a single issue, Brexit, another disaster fast approaching down the track. You could say we’ve got what we deserve. I say “we” tongue in cheek

I didn't get what I deserve either, although some people undoubtedly will.

One of the most powerful videos I've ever seen is when the American Army took ordinary German citizens to the newly liberated concentration camps. The Americans forced the Germans to look at the corpses and the people on the verge of dying from disease and starvation. The Germans were in tears and muttered they just didn't realise what they'd voted for.

Many people claim that the Germans deserved what they got in 1945, but it was more complicated than that. The Nazis never won a majority in a free election, although the electoral system meant they could seize power. Even those who voted for the Nazis very often thought they were voting for something else. By 1933, the Nazis were firmly in power and there was little anybody could do.

If people can't see the parallels, they are truly blind. We are now virtually powerless. Johnson was dreadful yesterday. There is no doubt that in a debating competition, Miliband would have won. The law is on Miliband's side too, but the electoral system means that the Tories have a majority which is going to be very difficult to beat. The Tories themselves will bring down Johnson to watch their own backs. At the moment, they don't want to lose the whip, so do as they're told. The MPs with a backbone were kicked out before the last election.

Growstuff, the only reason everyone was running around like " headless chickens " was the fact that many had travelled TO Liverpool from other areas of the country thus infecting them. Not particularly bothered about Liverpool itself !

EllanVannin

Growstuff, the only reason everyone was running around like " headless chickens " was the fact that many had travelled TO Liverpool from other areas of the country thus infecting them. Not particularly bothered about Liverpool itself !

I meant the whole government running around like headless chickens, not Merseyside or Liverpool or even Liverpool FC specifically.

I don't understand why you mentioned Merseyside, if you're not bothered about Liverpool.

My daughter has finally got an appointment for a test later this afternoon, about a half an hour drive from where she lives.
Two minutes walk away from her house is a testing centre, and no-one is ever seen in it. Yesterday she drove into it and asked the two very young people there if they could do a test. No-one was waiting. They told her they were not permitted to test anyone who does not have an appointment and also admitted that most of the time they are just sitting around doing nothing.
Still, she finally got an appointment (not thee though), but only because she and her husband took it in turns to man the computer for this - it took then a total of nearly 30 hours!!!!

Hancock now saying it’s because it’s a free test. Hmm: maybe it would be better if we all paid fir such things. Wonder where this is leading (as if we didn’t know).

That was an odd thing to say.
I thought he was implying that people were popping along for a test whether they needed or or not just because it's a freebie.

I think most commentators have concluded it is an absolute shambles.

We passed our local testing centre yesterday and there were about three people waiting and yet our local MP reported that she had received many calls from people who had been trying for hours but were unable to get an appointment on line.

My understanding is that in many other countries people can get tested several times. A relative of ours working in Luxembourg has been tested several times. Surely that is the way to to prevent asymptomatic people from passing Covid on to others?

Johnson spoke of "unleashing Britain's potential". So far, that confident boast seems very hollow - though not because of British people but because of this useless government.

Let’s face it Johnson is a laughing stock, and lacks any authority, with his bumbling rhetoric. I thought it very ominous that Hancock said that many were being tested because it was “free”.

It was always going to be the perfect storm as we were encouraged to go about our daily activities whilst the infection rate remains high and rising in the community, and probably well under reported.

No lessons learnt in forward planning after the early debacle at the beginning of the Pandemic.

It’s because testing is free: it’s because people are being tested that don’t need to be. It’s always other peoples fault never due to government incompetence is it.

Nobody can 'pop along for a test, free or not;. It is dreadful and long process to get one of these.

I can only thing that such a comment is preparing us to be charged for these tests in the not too distant future.

Am happy to report that my daughters test results came back within 24 hours, and as we expected was negative.

However, if every time a staff member at the school is told to get such a test each time they catch a cold or cough from either their own children or from pupils, I do wonder how the educational system will manage to survive this winter.

Cannot understand why anyone is surprised that demand for such tests has increased with opening of educational establishments and getting people back into their workplaces.

It was eminently foreseeable wasn’t it Franbern? Except of course to Boris and the Buffoons.

He was ranting on again today about it being free.

Mogg has told the peasants to stop carping. We are lucky it is free.

For now.....

Have I got this right? If I, or DH, feel ill, have a temperature, cough etc. and think we have covid, we should try to book a test, and if we are successful, we have to get in our car, and drive, although unwell, for many miles, probably needing a loo break on the way, and queue with many other people. Surely this is the best way to spread infection, and make the illness worse?

?

Growstuff, your post of 15th at 13.10 re parallels with Nazi Germany, I totally agree. This Government can do and say what the hell it likes and no one can gainsay them. That's normally bearable with trustworthy, decent people in charge. That's not where we are now, unfortunately. I despair!

Daughter and GS have symptoms. No tests available. The NHS site says no testing after day 5 of symptoms. Is this for a medical reason?

GagaJo

Daughter and GS have symptoms. No tests available. The NHS site says no testing after day 5 of symptoms. Is this for a medical reason?

You must be worried gaga how are they?

Yes I’ve read that about no test after so many days. No idea why though.

So will they self isolate for how long? Have they had advise?

Viral load starts to decrease after five days, so a test result has a high chance of being inconclusive or giving a false negative.

Nevertheless, any contacts within those first few days could be infected. That's why people are told to self-isolate for ten days, but their contacts are told to self-isolate for 14 days.