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If my area goes to tier 2 for Christmas they can naff off! I am seeing my daughter on Boxing day no matter what the Government says
I’m personally hoping for a perfect guilt free pass to not have to spend any time at the in-laws.
Turns out this has actually reduced restrictions for Lancashire, today we can't meet up socially in our gardens, from Wednesday we can as long as we obey the rule of six.
@jam-bo i hope you get your wish. My daughter however will have only just turned 10 so Christmas without her family over the 2 days would ruin it for her
We’re now in a high risk area and were planning to go to Scotland (Borders) later this week. It seems like we’re allowed to legally but it doesn’t feel like a very responsible thing to do.
So erm, how long before the lock down they dont want to do?
None of this will make a difference will it and even if it does in Liverpool etc, by that time the rest of the country will have caught up.
That list of professions is great @pictonroad , but nearly every person listed in that live and work in the USA. I’m not making a trivial point, that is where we are going as regards creative professions
It was taken in America?
what tech ability do you need to get into cyber security?
Shit, where to begin?
It depends so much on what part of cyber they have openings in. If this is just the government getting people to fill ‘cyber’ with people without bothering to train people for the technical roles, then all people will get is support roles or watching dashboards.
For me, I spent three years doing L2 support for networks and sysadmin work, then the next four years doing software testing and requirements analysis. After that it was 14 years of security response and release management (with nine years of operational cyber-security and pen-testing in my spare time) followed by three years of operational cyber, incident response, security architecture and malware cutting.
It’s hard work. You are always up against people that either don’t care, can’t afford to do stuff or are actively hostile to change, and those are just the people that you work with. Your ‘real’ opponents have it easy... they only have to be lucky once, you have to be lucky all the time.
So yeah, cyber. I have never had so much stress in a job.
Hmmm yes, seems like sod all changes, except for Liverpool. That feels, again, too little, you too late. I hope I'm wrong.
We’re now in a high risk area and were planning to go to Scotland (Borders) later this week. It seems like we’re allowed to legally but it doesn’t feel like a very responsible thing to do.
Another question – can you travel to Scotland from South Yorkshire (Tier 2)?
Do we really need the Government to tell us that, while we are in an accelerating pandemic, travel should be restricted to essential journeys only?
I liked the move from a farcical five stage approach to a simplified three tier version with no grounding in normality. Guess some simple refinement would be seen as a climb down by the gamblers of nudge and spin. Maybe slotting hands face space in at number two and Captain Bojo's fun time happy space at number one in a refined five point scale might have worked. This version seems to have been built on the assumption the vaccine will arrive before they have to worry about next summer. All they had to do was have one alert scale now we have a five tier alert scale and a three tier lock down scale. So much for the brave new world of accountable simplicity.
Wot Scotroutes sdaid!
i cancelled a 5 day trip to the highlands even tho I could ( just about) have done it within guidance because its the right thing to do IMO
Do we really need the Government to tell us that
I really think we really do. But they haven't so people are going ask or do anyway.
Do we really need the Government to tell us that, while we are in an accelerating pandemic, travel should be restricted to essential journeys only?
While I agree, it seems our friends aren't as up for cancelling...
Tom-B
Free Member
Genuine question…..what tech ability do you need to get into cyber security? My ballet is shocking, but I’m an out of work dosser arts sector worker.
My son is doing a graduate Digital Engineering apprenticeship and cyber security is one of the options they can specialise in during the final two years.
It was taken in America?
Yes.
So, Whitty says that tier three won’t do the job, and the only area going into tier three won’t be using the tier three measures, but instead doing their own thing beyond it. What is the point of all this? Not enough. Not being followed anyway. No clearer for the public to follow. Pointless flapping from the government.
Buried at the end of this article is the report that SAGE were calling for tighter restrictions on 21st September. Three weeks ago.
BBC News - Coronavirus: Who's in charge?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54513302
https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1315757862841462790?s=19
https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1315756594450358277?s=19
Well, that was exactly what was required.
I’m sure the gov will still pass the blame to the scientists when we’re locked down over Christmas instead.
The call for distance learning for term one of Uni should have been made as early as A-level results though. First year students should have been planning to delay or start their courses from home over the summer.
I’d add that schools should have been preparing for mixed learning this term as well… the educational divide between schools with absences forced on them in the North, and schools managing to keep all kids on site in the south, will be a harsh legacy of this lack of preparation and funding from the government for the return this term.
Anyone else feeling torn over the way the journalists have turned on the government?
On one side it's really good to see them holding the govt to account over all this mixed/late/pointless rules and changes with it all being scrutinised and the flaws being called out.
On the other side it's helping people decide that the rules are crap so there's no point following them.
I don't blame the journalists and press for this whatsoever for this, it's what investigative journalism is meant to do. The blame lies squarely with the govt but it's frightening to watch it all unfold in front of me. It is literally going to cost lives and they don't care. Any of the solidarity that was shown through the first restrictions has been destroyed and is still being eroded to the point that I'm genuinely scared about what the next few months will bring.
I don’t blame journalists. I blame the government. What do you want? Should journalists not report that the government’s top advisor has publicly stated that he has no confidence that the measures being announced this week will work?
Journalists should be asking the government what their plan is. I just wish they’d persistently done the same last year… we might not have a government that wings it then.
So erm, how long before the lock down they dont want to do?
10 days - or whatever the average first day of half term is for the cabinet minsters children.
Kimbers, is that list intended for a particular prevalence level locally? Or just general advice? Are the SAGE minutes still publicly available?
Whitty says that tier three won’t do the job, and the only area going into tier three won’t be using the tier three measures, but instead doing their own thing beyond it.
No, you’ve misinterpreted or misquoted what he said. He said the base measure - the governments recommendation for tier 3 - would not work by itself. He went on to say the tiers were deliberately “base” measures to enable local authorities and leaders to place their own addition measures according to the locale involved. E.g. the Liverpool measures have been agreed with what’s his name, he himself suggested closing casino’s and some other places to the government. That’s was clarified.
Therefore the government places a base measure - the tier - according to the numbers and SAGE advice, the local leadership decides what’s best to add where it might help their unique community.
No, you’ve misinterpreted or misquoted what he said.
I don’t think I did. Everything else you wrote I agree with. I joked earlier that Liverpool City Region is going in at 3.5 … call it 3+ if you want… this is not some new clear communication nationwide though, that’s for sure. The public will be further confused.
Do we really need the Government to tell us that, while we are in an accelerating pandemic, travel should be restricted to essential journeys only?
Matt_outandabout
While I agree, it seems our friends aren’t as up for cancelling…
Staying with another household isn’t allowed in Scotland.. that was the case before the recent announcements (pretty sure anyway ...?).
But if you’re staying separately and, like us, are self catering and planning an outdoorsy trip with no contact, then why not? The full lockdown which feels like its on it’s way will be long enough...
I’d add that schools should have been preparing for mixed learning this term as well…
From what we're hearing from the schools our kids go to, that has been planned and prepared for. Any school that hasn't prepared for it needs to have a look at their senior leadership team.
The public will be further confused.
Do they not get local news in Liverpool? National Tier 3 is quite easy to understand IMO, and where I live I know full well where my geography and borders are, so it’d be pretty easy to listen, learn and apply the rules. Steve Burnham and colleagues just need to put the rules out to the local media.
They can’t have it all - they can’t complain that national restrictions are inappropriate then complain that the local restrictions can’t be communicated. It’s smacks of “do nothing” or incompetence both of which we know are deadly in this situation.
Looks like they've had enough of experts telling them what to do.
I'm sure the good folk of northern England will appreciate the importance of the free market approach to pandemic control over the next few months.
And nothing for shielders, even those in the most vulnerable categories. You're on your own, guys.
Oh, and finally, finally, they have devolved T&T to include local teams with boots on the ground. When it is far too late to make any difference, or at least not in these parts.
Immediately following johnson's shambolic performance in the evening presser Steve Rotherham contradicts him about the content of their discussions...
"It was the government that decided we needed local restrictions in our area... it wasn't local leaders and it's disingenuous for them to indicate otherwise."
The only talks were about the extra money and resources that are coming to the city region to help deal with the consequences."
I know who I believe.
Why should Steve Rotherham act as johnson's mouthpiece in an attempt to communicate the latest muddled thinking?
Local government has been ignored until recently by johnson and his clowns; even now, they are being denied the opportunity to take local control and their resources are being
under-utilised in favour of Serco, Deloitte and others.
Be in no doubt, johnson owns this fully and won't get support from local leaders unless and until he involves them fully in decision making.
Test, track, trace and isolate has been a national disgrace; transfer responsibility and resources to local authorities. That would be a start in building trust and support at the local level.
mrsheen
Do jets have dashboards?
I posed this exact same question...
Honest Bob has drawn the short straw this morning and gives a full indication of what financial support the people of Liverpool who've just had their jobs closed down can expect from the government
https://twitter.com/KayBurley/status/1315904028333703168?s=20
Can't see the local control as anything other than the government attempting to disassociate itself from the negative effects of lockdown. Effects which are going to be exacerbated by a shockingly low level of support.
It’s a continuation of the ‘whack-a-mole’ strategy, which is not working effectively enough, mostly because we still don’t have the track/trace/isolate and testing programmes to support this kind of targeted approach. Sage asked for national measures last month for a reason. The result of ignoring them will be late measures having to be more restrictive, and last for longer… no lessons learnt from the spring.
But Boris says it will be over by Christmas, just like World War I.
This is what is bugging me now. The first lockdown, I actually quite enjoyed. An extra 2hrs of Me Time a day thanks to not commuting, good weather, loads of riding, super quiet roads.
Now we're just flailing around in the dark doing half-arsed measures that won't properly work and aren't being properly communicated, the entire "we're in this together" feeling has long since disappeared and a significant % of people have had time to read a load of conspiracy theory bollocks on FB about Covid which means that any measures in place are only being obeyed by 2/3rds of the population at most - which isn't enough.
But then crazy legs, we get to the other extreme white described - we carry on regardless and even more people die. I don't disagree with you, but if the public take it into there own hands that pretty much daytime mask wearing and social distancing is in effect the start and stop of the measure, we by default accept the dangers we present to ourselves.
The crazy thing is, I saw a graph of poll results showing that the majority of respondents blame the general public not the government for the state of the epidemic! (Sorry no link, it was a screenshot taken from Twitter on someone’s Instagram story)
The crazy thing is, I saw a graph of poll results showing that the majority of respondents blame the general public not the government for the state of the epidemic! (Sorry no link, it was a screenshot taken from Twitter on someone’s Instagram story)
For the British general public everything is always someone elses fault - it's never the government you voted for, it's immigrants, pikies, dole scum and the EU.
The crazy thing is,
In what way is that crazy? It's the entirely predictable result of six months of Boris and Co. pushing that particular line.
After all, they've been successfully blaming Europe and immigrants for just about everything for decades.
But then crazy legs, we get to the other extreme white described – we carry on regardless and even more people die.
But what we're doing is very much "carrying on regardless".
From what SAGE said, the measures are not severe enough on their own, they were not brought in quickly enough, you just know that they'll be lifted (or completely ignored) by Christmas for everyone to drive all over the country in a nice big Spreader Party and we're tinkering round the edges with measures that are largely unenforceable other than relying on people's good will and "common sense" and as we all know how that'll end.
And as mentioned above, the press know this and they're taking the Government to task on it which means that the public also know how ineffective the measures are - so they won't obey them. And then we end up in a Catch-22 where in spite of these so-called measures, the infection rate continues to rise anyway, public trust in Government is further undermined and the overall "what's the point?" feeling continues...
In what way is that crazy? It’s the entirely predictable result of six months of Boris and Co. pushing that particular line.
I guess I still had a shred of belief in the UK population's capacity for independent thought 🙁
I guess I still had a shred of belief in the UK population’s capacity for independent thought 🙁
- here lies the problem, 70%+ of the population are too lazy to think for themselves. There are some poor individuals who lack that ability but the ****less hordes are the ones who really worry me
I guess I still had a shred of belief in the UK population’s capacity for independent thought 🙁
I can only imagine you've slept through the past 4 years. I'd roll back over if I were you 😉
I know we are in the era of zero personal responsibility, but who is spreading the virus? Are the government going around individually infecting everyone? Or is it just that out of the entire UK population there's a huge number of people (a minority possibly, but still a huge number) who are just extremely selfish and/or plain stupid. Shortly after Boris' speech last night a lady popped up on one of the local FB groups asking for recommendations where she could get a large number of sandwiches, etc for a party. The most worrying thing was that she actually got a lot of suggestions before someone (very politely) questioned the wisdom of the whole thing. 🤔 Post was deleted by this morning!The crazy thing is, I saw a graph of poll results showing that the majority of respondents blame the general public not the government for the state of the epidemic!
ferrals
Free Member
The crazy thing is, I saw a graph of poll results showing that the majority of respondents blame the general public not the government for the state of the epidemic! (Sorry no link, it was a screenshot taken from Twitter on someone’s Instagram story)
Assuming that graph/poll was actually true. Loads of people believe stuff just because they read it online
There are some poor individuals who lack that ability but the ****less hordes are the ones who really worry me
They really should be the easiest group to give clear and simple instructions to.
The government is clearly doing a terrible job and yet there are many out there happy to lay the blame elsewhere. This isn't the fault of people failing to follow simple guidance, it's people not having simple guidance to follow.
Do jets have dashboards?
Well they do actually @dantw - and how did that work out for the 737-Max?
I think devolvement is a good thing(TM). But Whitty is not wrong. Education will remain open and we don't know the contribution it makes to overall transmission (I suspect the same as influenza). I think we can be reasonably sure that a 10PM curfew, however, does naff all.
I guess I still had a shred of belief in the UK population’s capacity for independent thought
Er... what does that mean? How does independent thought coordinate our collective response? Because, that is what is needed... a collective response... this medical emergency requires that.
edit: oh... I see... you mean you thought people would see through the "blame the public" line... hmm... as soon as we moved to using our "common sense" then we could be so easily blamed for not following the same "common sense" as each other... hard to avoid that really... other than to point at those pushing the "common sense" line, and explaining that they are just deflecting with that approach... that's not been happening enough... but that might be changing...
I guess I still had a shred of belief in the UK population’s capacity for independent thought
Scroll up a bit. There's folk on this forum/thread who still aren't clear about the idea of travelling hundreds of miles around the country on a pleasure trip despite the increasing infection, hospitalisation and death rates.
Well they do actually @dantw – and how did that work out for the 737-Max?
No jet I’ve ever seen has a “dashboard” they’ve got instruments !!
And the issue with the 737-max was Boeing not listening to the engineers and test pilots and thinking about the money...that sounds a bit too familiar at the moment.
No jet I’ve ever seen has a “dashboard” they’ve got instruments
All a bit Tesla iPad now...and yes all gone a bit Boeing.
This isn’t the fault of people failing to follow simple guidance, it’s people not having simple guidance to follow.
Its both, people will always break the rules otherwise we would need the Law, Police and and a criminal justice system. Its very clear for example, to wear a mask indoors and on public transport yet people choose to have it around their neck. That isn't Boris' fault.
I’m glad to see we are focussing on the core issue of BoJos speech - whether jets have a dashboard???
Planes have instrument panels, which are just ways of presenting information - sounds like a dashboard to me!!
If you plan and model restrictions on the basis that there will be 100% compliance, then that's almost worse. It's all very well to say that we'd be alright if only everyone had followed the guidance, but that's like saying that the government would have enough money if only everyone paid all their tax, or there would be no such thing as gambling/alcohol addiction if people would just follow the guidance and gamble/drink sensibly.
Make a rule, expect a % of people to break, so add more restrictions to compensate for the gap that creates.
Alternatively, make and half-heartedly promote a catalogue of conflicting and confusing rules on the hoof, watch as senior government figure break them, then act surprised and disappointed when compliance is even worse.
That isn’t Boris’ fault.
I agree with the principle, but the failure to do any real enforcement in the original restrictions - admittedly often due to lack of resources - sent the wrong message down from "the government". And then there was the Cummings **** up (Note to mods, I am not trying to get round the swear filter)
But it wasn’t clear and was deliberately vague from the outset. I’m not allowed to make anybody wear a mask on my plane - see the video of the EJ captain who tried.
My personal view - if your illness is so bad you can’t wear a mask, do you really need to be on my plane/bus/train in the midst of a global outbreak of a killer invisible virus?
It’s being used as an excuse by the ignorant & arrogant.
I don't think that's had anywhere near the impact as people on here like to pretend it has. Huge swathes of the population haven't heard of these people, what they've done or even watch the news. Certainly everyone videod partying outside pubs etc after kicking out time... they're just doing it because they're ****s. You can say they're fed up, confused, etc etc but at the end of the day the vast majority of the world is in the same boat & they're just being selfish ****s. Draconian enforcement is the only solution IMO but there isn't the will and there certainly aren't the resources. It is bloody obvious that the only way to stop the virus spreading is to limit social contact, this has been the message from day 1, and is what a lot of people have been doing (and continue to do) but not enough clearly.watch as senior government figure break them, then act surprised and disappointed when compliance is even worse.
I don’t think that’s had anywhere near the impact as people on here like to pretend it has. Huge swathes of the population haven’t heard of these people, what they’ve done or even watch the news.
Do you live in the UK? Because I don't know a single person that hasn't used the "one rule for us, one rule for them" line in conversation, and cited either Cummings, or Barnard Castle, or eye tests as part of their reasoning... jokingly or not. It might have stayed as just a news item if he'd quietly apologised... but that Downing Street rose garden non-apology escaped the normal news cycle, and became a point of reference for everyone, not just those who follow politics. I have one can of the Brewdog beer left in the fridge.
So to summarise the only things which were/are in Johnson's purview*.
*The extent of restrictions
*The timing of restrictions, both start and finish.
* The quality of the messaging on restrictions
*The enforcement of restrictions, including taking appropriate actions when prominent figures take the piss to set a good example.
*Incentives to improve compliance with restrictions
*The delivery of other measures designed to improve outbreak handling - NHS Staffing, funding for NHS and local authorities, PPE and other equipment, a functioning track and trace which he said was vital to dealing with a second wave
I'm sure there are a few more, but, obviously, in the end, it's usually somebody else's fault.
*pop a jaunty little bonnet on it etc..
Personally I think the ambiguities in the latest guidance do not help, it would be better to replace 'advised not to' with 'should not' or 'are not allowed'. There is still too much discretion being delegated to a population that clearly can't follow rules, yes I totally accept there are reasons for this which the government are responsible for, but it is that lack of definitive wording that isn't helpful.
that is my point. STW is a hugely middle-class bubble. Many people here are massively detached from the real world. Possibly your social group is also? There are swathes of people who have no interest or knowledge of current affairs, never watch the news or talk politics etc. Probably you just don't know any of them.Do you live in the UK? Because I don’t know a single person that hasn’t used the “one rule for us, one rule for them” line in conversation
I think the issue is that, even if we follow all the rules, the number of infections will increase.
All we can do is buy the government time to get all the track, trace and testing stuff working. And they pissed off with that £20 note we lent them and spent it at the bookies.
It also seems that the government still won't do what it needs to do to actually control this virus even if we do go into another full lockdown, and with the lack of financial support available even if that did happen... You can kind of see why folk look at these new restrictions and think "why bother?"
Other than quit your job, pull the kids out of school and never leave your house til summer 2021 there is nothing an individual can do to have an appreciable effect on this. We just don't have the agency within the system that exists.
There are swathes of people who have no interest or knowledge of current affairs, never watch the news or talk politics etc.
Of course there are. Not disagreeing with that. But the narrative of Cummings doing what he wants, and explaining away his actions in the downing street garden, reached people that ignore the news... it was a "famous for its 123-metre spire" style moment that broke out of the news, and into the small talk of the nation.
I will admit to being no fan of our present national leadership, or lack thereof, in fact I'd go as far as to say that I agree with so many of the comments vocally criticisng the govts approach etc.
On the flip side, and I have no knowledge of who actually organises the testing set up in Newcastle, but I must confess to being impressed with it...
I had symptoms; I have the NHS Covid app; I found my nearest drive-thru testing facility which yesterday morning had 490 slots available; I booked a same day slot; I went; I tested; deposited; was told result would be in 72 hours; received result this morning.
Now I have no idea why it seemed so straight forward for me when I see the reports from other areas about how poor the availability/ability for tests has been, or if this is a reflection of the fact we are in 'extra measures'/tier 2/high* <delete as applicable> but whoever organises this up here is doing OK.
I had symptoms; I have the NHS Covid app; I found my nearest drive-thru testing facility which yesterday morning had 490 slots available; I booked a same day slot; I went; I tested; deposited; was told result would be in 72 hours; received result this morning.
I had a very efficient test as well at a drive thru centre about 7 miles from mine, quick result (negative thankfully) etc BUT
while it was well organised, it was also very quiet, only about 3 cars in the area. This was 2pm and the person said that they were all going home once I'd been through as I was the last of the day! I accept that there is a maximum capacity at various points in the system, not least the lab testing on the samples, but to have a testing spot with loads of extra space and then not have the ability to use it to anything like its full potential seemed very poor.
Which facility did you use fazzini ?
https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/citylife-news/community/new-covid-testing-facility-opens-newcastle
I was just coming on to write more or less exactly waht martinhutch just wrote.
I agree with @kelvin on the dominic cummings thing. Not only that, apologies for the massive stereotyping, but those that have no interest in current affairs have little interest in abiding by the rules, so giving them evn the slimmest validation for rule breaking is even more inexcusable. While many people won't know the ins and outs, the vast majority of the country knew that Cummings breached lockdown and the government didnt care.
that is my point. STW is a hugely middle-class bubble. Many people here are massively detached from the real world. Possibly your social group is also? There are swathes of people who have no interest or knowledge of current affairs, never watch the news or talk politics etc. Probably you just don’t know any of them.
Maybe it’s those with little interest outside their bubble that are detached from the real world.
Which facility did you use fazzini ?
It was the Great Park park and ride facility @kelvin. It ceratinly wasn't 'busy' but there were plenty of folks visiting.
Quite possibly. In which case, the most amazing leadership in the world won't help if enough people just aren't interested in what's best for everyone.Maybe it’s those with little interest outside their bubble that are detached from the real world.
Not sure why "cover" get stopped by the swear filter. 😉
Some of the people reluctant to wear masks might be those who like Trump know or are convinced they've already had the virus, and consider themselves rightly or wrongly no threat to anyone. That's a growing population.
In the early days of the virus there was the idea of certificates for those who'd had it but that was qucikly stamped on more for political reasons that than the real risk of getting the of virus twice. The media jump on any example they can of people getting the virus twice and that amounts to no more than double figures worldwide unless someone can point me to something that says otherwise.
As more people survive the virus the pool of people who fear it is smaller, and no doubt the pool of people happy to comply with restrictions is smaller too. This is going to make imposing restrictions harder the longer it goes on, along with the number of people suffering economic pain. The risk takers (voluntary and involuntary) and rebels are the ones who are most likely to have already had it looking at the profile of French clusters. I'd rather see people getting pissed in bars than in pitched battles on the streets of Paris, I hope my government would too.
Question if I may? I'm a reasonably fit bloke in my mid forties. Prudent to get the flu jab? I've never worried about it before...
@Del - generally with the flu jab the older you are the more potential benefit you'll get from it. I'm 61 and haven't bothered so far - pretty fit, had one cold in the last seven years but ... past data is no guarantee of future performance and all that.
Get the jab. Doesn't just protect you, it protects any vulnerable people who can't have the injection by reducing the risk of transmission.
I'm 51, and qualify for the NHS jab this year. We're last in the queue, possibly December apparently. I may get my own elsewhere if I can
Just watched Matt Hancock live at the commons, for the first time ever he's mildly impressed me - he comes off as having actually read and understood the science unlike Boris and Rishi. Word on the grapevine is that he has gone again Boris as well, which is why he has been side lined.
Do you lot think he's taken the barrage of abuse and criticism he's received to heart?
Yeah, flu jab is all about protecting other people. Was meant to get mine last week, but my wife had a temperature so rebooked for Friday.
I'm getting my first flu jab later this week at 46. Feeling rather silly for being aware of the benefits of Vitamin D supplements for over six months, but all I've taken is daily multivitamins, which have a very low VitD amount.
Not long been home from work, having wasted a long weekend feeling rough with some lurgy, which better half had too. I've had an ache in my floating ribs since mid September, that moved to my sternum at the weekend, which I put down to going mad up Cheddar Gorge.
Now we both almost certainly had Covid back in March (before tests were available outside ICU beds), she had ~5.5 weeks off over six weeks with pneumonia-like breathing issues, I had something much milder that turned into some form of "long Covid."
Better half didn't go into work (NHS) today due to her lurgy and they've told her to get a Covid test through post before she can return to work. She's nothing like as wheezy as back in March.
But potential second infection?
Should I stay off work until she hopefully gets a negative result, or cycle to our local test centre to get my own test?
Just watched Matt Hancock live at the commons, for the first time ever he’s mildly impressed me
Strangely I have a lot of sympathy for Hancock. He was a complete c during the election campaign but since then he seems like the only one in the cabinet who prioritises people's health and wellbeing over their economic value, and whilst he's a bit useless, you have to see that through the lens of him having to fight a rearguard action against the rest of the arse** in the cabinet and the party.
I agree about Hancock, when Johnson and Cummings were off sick he really seemed to be trying to do the right thing.