Coping With Covid

[Hell Razor5543]

While I do agree that New Zealand has a far lower population density that the United Kingdom (making it easier for New Zealand to get on top of COVID 19), what I felt was far more important is the way the New Zealand Government (and Jacinda Ardern) is TALKING to the public. She is not trying to whitewash the severity of COVID 19, and she is talking to the public as though they are intelligent adults who (once the facts are clearly explained to them) can understand why they are being asked to maintain the lockdown, and how it is succeeding. Their Government has also explained what the Levels are, what they mean, and what conditions need to be met in order to loosen off the restrictions. Try comparing that to other countries in the (so called) developed world.

[bobins]

As a matter of good PR - that's an absolute disgrace that he didn't attend those meetings, as a matter of how it affects how the government deals with C-19 - his absence was more or less inconsequential. The people you need at such meetings are the scientific advisors, the 'men in grey suits' that know what they're doing, and those that hold the purse strings.

[bobins]

While I do agree that New Zealand has a far lower population density that the United Kingdom (making it easier for New Zealand to get on top of COVID 19), what I felt was far more important is the way the New Zealand Government (and Jacinda Ardern) is TALKING to the public. She is not trying to whitewash the severity of COVID 19, and she is talking to the public as though they are intelligent adults who (once the facts are clearly explained to them) can understand why they are being asked to maintain the lockdown, and how it is succeeding. Their Government has also explained what the Levels are, what they mean, and what conditions need to be met in order to loosen off the restrictions. Try comparing that to other countries in the (so called) developed world.

Hmmmm.... I've been watching the daily government briefings and I'd say that that is what the UK Govt. has been doing. I have been dismayed at the sometimes ridiculous questions being asked by some of the media in the questions section that follows the briefings - but I guess that's to be expected. I can see that the Govt message might not be getting through if it's not being reported correctly though - but I'm not sure that's the Govts fault.

[mickthemaverick]

I hope this is not throwing petrol on smouldering embers but I can say that SWMBO is a Kiwi. As most of you know she was in Australia when the Pandemic was declared where she had been expecting to meet up with her Brother and Sister who live in Oz, and her younger sister who was due to join them from New Zealand. Due to the rapid response from the New Zealand government her sister and husband were prevented from travelling to Oz to have the reunion. Instead they stayed at home and maintained isolation which was monitored by police patrols around their town every 90 minutes or so. This was probably the main reason for the effectiveness of the action as it was far more difficult to ignore the instructions than it is in the UK. Again I would suggest a consequence of the vast difference in population density and possibly the police to public ratio. Thus I do not accept that any really valid comparisons can be made, it would be like comparing the flavours of strawberry jam and marmite!!

[bobins]

^^^^^

Rumour has it that the New Zealand police are a bunch of humourless barsta........ fine upstanding members of the community

BTW, did you know Marmite doesn't actually have a proper expiration date ? It never goes bad... though some might say it was never good in the first place

[mickthemaverick]

BTW, did you know Marmite doesn't actually have a proper expiration date ? It never goes bad... though some might say it was never good in the first place

Now there's a subject worth exploring..............I love it ..............but it doesn't like me, brings the corners of my mouth out in sores!!!

[bobins]

You're going to be scuppered if they find that Marmite is the cure for C-19

[mickthemaverick]

That might be the way to put the "its a marmite thing" quotation to death!!

[Hell Razor5543]

One of the things I find very telling is the way certain questions are being ducked at the Downing Street briefings. One question that this consistently has this happen is along the lines of "How many people in the United Kingdom have survived COVID 19?". In a typically bureaucrapic way it is sidestepped (the bureaucrap says something like "It takes time for those statistics to be collated"). B0110CKS!!! I have, since 26th March, been updating a spreadsheet every evening with the numbers shown on the website I mentioned earlier in this thread. From 26th March until 10th April the statistic for "Total Recovered" was 135, then (for only two days) it rose to 344, and ever since then that has shown N/A (and the United Kingdom IS THE ONLY COUNTRY THAT IS DOING THIS!!!). As far as I can tell all of the other statistics ARE being updated. On my spreadsheet I have created a simple formula just for that one cell, and it takes the UK total number of reported cases and then subtracts the sum of UK total deaths plus UK active cases. Strangely that results in the value of 344. Draw your own conclusions.

Today's figures produce this result;

UK Total Cases = 120,067
UK Total Deaths = 16,060
UK Active Cases = 103,663
Calculated UK Total Recovered = 344

Here is the link to that website (for those who want to look it up). If, at regular intervals, you tap the F5 key you will see that the statistics do update. You can also, should you choose to do so, click on each of the countries in the relevant column to see more detailed information for that country.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[bobins]

I have no knowledge if that's the case here, but what you need to understand is that there's a Metric F-Tonne more to the Govt's planning and handling of this (and any) national emergency than what you see or hear. There's a massive amount of joined-up thinking going on that we never hear of - we're never even slightly aware of. It might be the case that the Govt. doesn't want us to know that the vast majority of people recover from C-19 as that might give the general public a false sense of security. They are keeping up the pressure on the public to continiue with the social distancing with a zero (financial) cost policy, and hence helping to reduce the pressure on the NHS. If, and it's a very big if, that's their intended policy, then I think it's a useful one under the circumstances.

[Gibbo2286]

So the thread like the rest of the media have started the political blame game, "If only the government had done this or not done that."

All political claptrap that should have no place on the forum.

[Stickyfinger]

As a matter of good PR - that's an absolute disgrace that he didn't attend those meetings, as a matter of how it affects how the government deals with C-19 - his absence was more or less inconsequential. The people you need at such meetings are the scientific advisors, the 'men in grey suits' that know what they're doing, and those that hold the purse strings.

Can you send me next weeks Lottery numbers please.

Read the statement re: Who attends Cobra meetings.

Can we stop the political stuff PLEASE....I know I am tempted to add my comments and some may not like them

[white exec]

It is difficult to avoid political comment when discussing this, but we do need to do just that on the forum.
The thread has been good at discussing some of the practicalities and consequences of the emergency, so let's stick with those, please.

[bobins]

Can you send me next weeks Lottery numbers please.

Absolutely I can, it's not a problem . The numbers will be 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 - it's just that I can't tell you which order they'll appear in.

[white exec]

"You're playing all the wrong notes."
"No - I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order."
.
10:28 ?