Boris and his lockdown birthday party

Oh yes Dickens, I am the same with trolleys, disgusting germ laden things! I always used to wipe them before I charged off into the supermarket, I have seen too many people sneeze into their hands and then continue pushing their trolley. This is one thing, covid19 or not, which I think supermarkets should continue, the trolley sanitisation points. Possibly more important for infection control ( of all types) than face masks

Iam64

I was the only mask wearer in a group of 12 at an adult learning group yesterday. We were all older, retired people. Two people were coughing. One person sneezed loudly, caught some snot in his hands and neither apologised or went to wash them.
No wonder this variant is spreading.

So much for "personal responsibility".

I don't like to generalise, but some people are revolting, unhygienic and utterly careless.

Long, long before the pandemic emerged, I had a 'thing' about supermarket trolley handles. I hated touching them after people had used them with their often grubby, sweaty, sticky (and possibly, snotty) hands. Used to take a couple of wipes with me to wipe down the handles - one or two people looked at me with an eye-roll... probably the type like the colleague in your group.

Been out for the last couple of days, most wearing masks still, in shopping centre and shops. Noted those that weren’t, young women , older women, and young men. They were in the minority though.

I was the only mask wearer in a group of 12 at an adult learning group yesterday. We were all older, retired people. Two people were coughing. One person sneezed loudly, caught some snot in his hands and neither apologised or went to wash them.
No wonder this variant is spreading.

Kali2

Callistemon21

railman

Why are the English apparently so scared of masks.

Are they seriously trying to suggest it affects their mental health?

For people who need to lip read, and for supermarkets or other places where shoppers/customers come who have hearing problems - there are transparent face shields.

I'm not scared.

But I do get steamed up and particularly get very hot wearing one in summer.

But we are not in the middle of Summer. If we can all continue to be careful until Spring, hopefully we will NOT have to wear them when Summer comes. That is the whole point - why the suddent rush to drop all precautions right now.

It was a statement of fact, Kali

I'm not scared of masks
I don't live in England
I wear a mask
I get steamed up
I got very hot wearing one last summer.

Nowhere did I say I wouldn't wear one.

What's the situation with masks where you are?
We still have to wear them in public places indoors here.

Alegrias1, there is apparently a new variant in Denmark that is more infectious and accounts for over half their cases . Perhaps that is why their fgure is higher than UK.
www.cityam.com/new-covid-variant-is-spreading-like-wildfire-in-scandinavia-ba-2-stealth-mutation-now-half-of-all-coronavirus-cases-in-denmark-and-rapidly-pushing-omicron-aside/

Perhaps he had more than one party!

I want to know what they stuck his candles on, then... ?

(Or has someone been having a laugh leaking out false details of this 10 minute party?)

MaizieD

To revert to the subject of this thread.

I've just seen on twitter that Johnson is claiming that there was no cake at his birthday party....

twitter.com/christopherhope/status/1486791571328712711

(C Hope, MP, is, of course, a devoted Johnson ally)

NO CAKE ?

You must be joking?‍?
Is there nothing this awful PM will be honest about

Callistemon21

railman

Why are the English apparently so scared of masks.

Are they seriously trying to suggest it affects their mental health?

For people who need to lip read, and for supermarkets or other places where shoppers/customers come who have hearing problems - there are transparent face shields.

I'm not scared.

But I do get steamed up and particularly get very hot wearing one in summer.

But we are not in the middle of Summer. If we can all continue to be careful until Spring, hopefully we will NOT have to wear them when Summer comes. That is the whole point - why the suddent rush to drop all precautions right now.

To revert to the subject of this thread.

I've just seen on twitter that Johnson is claiming that there was no cake at his birthday party....

twitter.com/christopherhope/status/1486791571328712711

(C Hope, MP, is, of course, a devoted Johnson ally)

NO CAKE ?

They’re worn by everyone in Spain and Greece

railman

Why are the English apparently so scared of masks.

Are they seriously trying to suggest it affects their mental health?

For people who need to lip read, and for supermarkets or other places where shoppers/customers come who have hearing problems - there are transparent face shields.

I'm not scared.

But I do get steamed up and particularly get very hot wearing one in summer.

The science supports mask wearing

www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-politics-60159228
from 2006
if the link works.

Why are the English apparently so scared of masks.

Are they seriously trying to suggest it affects their mental health?

For people who need to lip read, and for supermarkets or other places where shoppers/customers come who have hearing problems - there are transparent face shields.

Woke in the early hours so listened to a podcast in which someone said something I thought relevant to all this. She said her elderly mum was at home alone throughout lockdown but was fine about it because unlike normal times, everyone was in the same boat. But they weren’t were they, because some people, including the PM, felt the rules didn’t apply to them. So you don’t have to have to have been in a situation where you’ve sadly, lost a loved one at that time to feel angry and upset. It’s interesting listening to podcasts that were recorded during lockdowns as it’s slowly disappearing from memory. Just as a lot of people, now that the virus does seem to be morphing into a less life threatening one, are starting to forget how frightening it was when there were no vaccinations and we weren’t sure what was driving infections.

growstuff ?

Alegrias1

growstuff

Alegrias1

Now far be it from me to be seen to be agreeing with Urmstongran twice in one week, and I certainly don't want to he seen to be agreeing with Johnson, but Denmark are planning to lift all their restrictions from next Tuesday.

Things have changed.

It will be interesting to see the figures after 31 January, when re-infections will be included in the stats.

Yes it will growstuff. And even if we are only recording half or a third of all the infections, we'll still be at a lower level than Denmark. (And France, BTW)

And the level of people in hospital and ICU will still be the same and will be significantly lower than during other waves. We need to be concentrating on different metrics, not just cases. We can't take stringent measures "in case" things get worse, only when there are real risks that they will.

I agree. Cases are a bit meaningless at the moment anyway because there's anecdotal evidence that people can't get hold of tests. I'd prefer that deaths and hospitalisations were showing a very clear decrease. At the moment, they're not. Deaths are still stubbornly high and aren't showing a marked decrease.

FWIW I'm not advocating lockdown or vaccine passports or anything very intrusive/disruptive - just mask wearing in enclosed spaces and somebody for once caring about what's going on in schools. Thankfully, I think most people will be cautious and many will continue wearing a mask and avoiding crowded spaces. I've also heard that many schools (in England at least) are continuing to encourage pupils to wear masks, despite what the DfE threatens.

Hopefully, we'll get through this despite what the government says, not because of what it says.

MerylStreep ?

There are so many dreadful things happening in the world that most people are concerned about what is going on in their own countries.

Politicians come and go but this particular one isn't going fast enough imo. I think he's glued himself to the post of PM.

I know people from Spain, France, Germany, Australia....lots of places.

They all love us but they still think we've lost our marbles.

One person’s view, from Romania

Well perhaps not everything but it does illustrate a balance of opinion.

MerylStreep

I was talking to a friend in Romania. He told me that the people in Ukraine absolutely love us.

Oh well,that makes everything ok then

I was talking to a friend in Romania. He told me that the people in Ukraine absolutely love us.