Plenty of test kits around since 2018
Plandemic proof!
If you are told to get a test, you have to find a centre near you, be driven to it (if you are ill) by someone, which is probably the most efficient way to pass it onto the driver, mask or no mask. Looked up the nearest testing centres in my county, and apparently I can nip off to Settle, but only one day a fortnight.
My wife was told yesterday morning to get tested. At 9:30 she went online and arranged a test for 14:30 at a mobile test station 15 miles from home. Result back before 9:30 this morning. TBF, if she hadn't made that, she'd have had to travel to Inverness. 25 miles.
Was asked to get tested earlier this week. Directed to a drive in centre in Leicester - 110 miles away. I’m in Twickenham (where there’s a big drive in centre at the Stadium - which I used in May). Drove past there this morning and it’s open, with plenty of staff standing about, but no customers.
The logistics must be properly screwed up.
Lots of cold going around, which rightly causes a wee panic.
A runny nose itself isn’t a symptom In kids, but lots of other things are (high temperature, vomiting etc), most of which could result from other infections. We have personal experience of this - our youngest had a high temperature (39.3 °C) on Wed night. Both our children are now off school until they have negative tests.
Unlike some we were able to get a drive in test the following day about 2 miles from home. However, persuading our 5 year old to let someone stick a swab up his nose proved to be a challenge too far (he’s big for a 5 yo and very stubborn) so we’re now stuck with waiting for a home kit to try and do it in his sleep, or keeping everyone in self-isolation for 14 days. He has a history of running temperatures too, so we’re in for a long winter... We have a friend who is a GP - she can’t get swabs from her child either, so has accepted that she’ll have to take the 14 day hit each time.
. At 9:30 she went online and arranged a test for 14:30 at a mobile test station 15 miles from home. Result back before 9:30 this morning.
Sounds very efficient. Any chance we could shove the border south a bit, say 100 miles or so? Upsides: You get the Lakes and the Dales. Downsides: Carlisle and Sunderland.
Ha! Interesting stuff on the ONS website on ethnicity and occupation. It points out that occupations with raised death rates included taxi and bus drivers, chefs and retail assistants, precisely the people with increasing exposure arising from the drive to get people commuting again. Clearly other factors might be at play like ethnicity, housing occupancy, region but it's a worrying correlation. Security guards seem to have been hit the hardest, you would think delivery personnel would be more at risk but working outside must be a significant variable.
be driven to it (if you are ill) by someone,
Fake news, everyone knows that if you have Covid you're perfectly capable of driving to the other end of the country, as long as your eyes are OK.
I had the same level of service for a testing request in Middlesbrough - very easy and quick to arrange, efficiently executed -" literally no other cars there" - results via email with 8 hours.
I can't see how you could improve that process to be fair.
There have been antibody tests which show it’s not been that widespread in the UK. And yes antibodies fade but not fast enough to allow for a large proportion to have had it
TBF there's plenty of questions about antibody tests; whether thet pick up all classes of antibody, how different people mount a response, how much Tcell mediated response may be involved, cross immunity from other coronaviruses, ....
That said antibody studies say ~7% exposed nationwide. There's no direct evidence to contradict it right niw
I had the same level of service for a testing request in Middlesbrough – very easy and quick to arrange, efficiently executed -” literally no other cars there” – results via email with 8 hours.
I can’t see how you could improve that process to be fair.
You've been lucky average time is 24 hrs for regional
pillar 2(home tests) only 28% tests made the 48hr turnaround time
Average turnaround time has gone up to 4 days
I get the impression that some people don’t really want testing massively expanded and available because it will reveal quite a lot of underlying Covid floating about at a time when they want people back in schools and workplaces to keep Pret a Manager solvent
Did you miss the news about the expansion of the ONS population test programme which is aimed at establishing the level of "underlying covid floating about"
...you would think delivery personnel would be more at risk but working outside must be a significant variable.
The multi-drop ones are told to leave it at the doorstep, ring the bell and step away so no direct contact whatsoever. Those of us doing home shopping deliveries are told to leave the crate on the doorstep, step back and you unload it yourself, again no direct contact. Add in that we're in the open air and constantly using hand sanitiser and it's actually pretty safe. Certainly better than going to the pub!
terry27
Full Member
I had the same level of service for a testing request in Middlesbrough – very easy and quick to arrange, efficiently executed -” literally no other cars there” – results via email with 8 hours.
I can’t see how you could improve that process to be fair.
I had exactly the same although result took about 13hrs but was extremely impressed with how efficient process was.
The case Make up is very different due to testing. So in the first wave the tests were of people hospitalised. In the second they are of community acquired infection in younger people. The hospital admission rate is what matters, then, sadly, deaths. Excess mortality is showing a slow upward trend, admissions shows a turnover (I’ll look at regions later) and deaths are currently flat.
We will see, but rates are faster in Spain and France, even after adjusting for testing. Percentage positive is of course showing increased infections and that is the gold standard for cases.
admissions shows a turnover
In Spain & France?
The concern is that we’re not watching what is happening in those countries, and not trying to learn lessons to avoid the same occurring there.
The concern is that we’re not watching what is happening in those countries, and not trying to learn lessons to avoid the same occurring there.
As if we take lessons from Johnny foreigner!
Even the Brexit cheerleaders should be able to get their heads around not making the same mistakes as other countries ahead of us with the rise in infections.
Agree that numbers of infections is not comparable because of increased and more generalised testing. But the trend and how that relates to R is important.
My issue is the general perception that it's over because hospitalisation and death rates are lower. I just don't see why those will not go back to where we were if we fully open up again. The rates are low because daily contacts are still massively down with mass WFH and,up to this week, schools and Unis being closed.
The real test will come as the impact of these additional contacts filter through.
I understand the govt strategy is to open up progressively until the rate becomes dangerously upward but do they have the courage and authority to reverse and shut down early enough to prevent the hospitalisation and death rates reach previous levels?
Excess mortality is showing a slow upward trend, admissions shows a turnover (I’ll look at regions later) and deaths are currently flat.
Interested to see what your predictions are for the north west (England). Other voices are suggesting that it is basically endemic in some of the towns around me (probably because lockdown was eased before numbers had been properly suppressed there).
The next few weeks will be interesting with schools and colleges reopening. People travelling from many different towns socialising in masses. (A couple of thousand wherein work with very little measures in place and no one enforcing anything).
Back in December we were saying Covid is Chinas problem and look what happened. Towns will be mixing with other towns.
I have a bad feeling about this!
It is most definitely NOT over and no one in authority believes it is. The question is how to balance the expected increase in cases with conflicting issues of education and economic activity. That balance has changed from the first wave, but I’d say it is somewhat precarious if honest.
Rates of increase are slower in U.K. than Spain and France. Possibly due to a slower release from lockdown measures. Our testing rate/1000 is 2.5/1000 cf 1.75/1000 in France and Spain. And personally, I think we are in a much better place than six months ago.
Even the Brexit cheerleaders should be able to get their heads around not making the same mistakes as other countries ahead of us with the rise in infections.
Cast your mind back to February/March and then see if you want to reconsider...
Mrs Nobeer has gone on the bank register for carrying out testing, looks like there's quite a recruitment drive for nurses up here to ramp up testing, couple of new locations opening up locally.
now up to 3000 cases in a day.
now up to 3000 cases in a day
2988, but its a hell of a jump all the same.
Be interesting to see if that continues or a one off explanation.
i did think of putting +-dozen but thought nah no one would be that pedantic.
It's not +/- a dozen either.
Get it right.
~3000?
see if you want to reconsider
I did say “should”.
If Johnson wanted to pull the “UK is world leading” public behind measures to avoid what’s heading our way, he could… a bit of tub thumping… “we’re not scared of a bit of social distancing, a bit of working from home when we would rather not, a bit of turning pubs and restaurants into temporary home delivery services, a bit of mixed learning and rota systems in schools… we Brits aren’t scared of the inconvience of mask wearing… the French and the Spanish might not have the backbone to beat this virus, but we do, we’ll show the world…”
It wouldn’t be my approach, but if the government wanted to act to prevent the UK following France and Spain… he absolutely is in a position to get the Brexit fans to accept what needs to happen… by selling it as “beating” the foreigners.
Wtf - 1800 to 3000 nearly in one day? That’s put us to mid April numbers - after the first lockdown started. Are we two weeks behind drastic action again? At that rate we’ll be at 5000 a day again mid next week, equalling the first wave.
****.
Calm down Kryton, testing is much higher whereas back then only those being hospitalised were tested.
Having said that I have officially moved my status to worried!
Wtf
Check the France and Spain graphs. No need to be surprised by the rapid rises in cases here as they begin to happen. We’re still well behind though. For now.
back then only those being hospitalised were tested
Indeed. You can’t compare wave 1 and wave 2 numbers, as what is being counted is different. You can look at the last few weeks to see if cases are rising or not… those are comparable figures. Hard not to think anything other than that they are rising… it might well be a blip… waiting to find out before taking extra measures to stop the spread would be a repeat of past mistakes though, I would argue. The cost of acting late is new measures will have to be in place for much longer… slower to introduce measures means you have to stick with them for longer… and that means more damage to business and education.
We are doing more testing now and much more focused testing through our attempt at track and trace, so that will lead to more positive tests in terms of absolute numbers - be interesting if the proportion of tests coming back positive is increasing or stable
Wave 1 was managed with "flattening the peak" by pushing it back with control measures to prevent overstretching the NHS.
It appears to me that they're attempting to "flatten the peak" of wave 2 by pulling it forward with opening up , and take early advantage of any NHS capacity.
The picture in Spain is similar - the number of infections back to where they were during the first wave but few deaths.
https://www.elconfidencial.com/
I got a letter from Imperial inviting me to take part in a mass antibody test. They do warn that at individual level the test is not 100% accurate but the point is to get an idea of the population as a whole. Of course I accepted - curious to see what my result is even if it's not going to change anything - so waiting for my finger pick thingy to arrive in the post!!
I am in the same position DrJ. My 6 year old son did the swab test to check current infections in the community. Came back negative so no issues there. Will be interesting to see. my wife was pretty ill with her asthma in March and fairly close to having to go to hospital so will be interesting if we did have it as a family.
I'm part of a large study that's been going on for years, and now includes looking for Covid-19. See here Fenland study ) I have to measure my temperature, blood oxygen level and heart rate every 3 days and take a blood sample every few months. It means I get all the kit to do it, which must cost a lot but I guess anything C-19 related gets funded from central govt.
We’re still well behind though. For now.
About six weeks, by my reckoning. Although it should be noted we managed to close the gap to about three weeks via governmental competence last time around.
be interesting if the proportion of tests coming back positive is increasing or stable
I've been occasionally looking at the Scottish positive rate. It seems to have risen from around 0.8% to around 1.2%. IIRC there is some WHO guidance that anything below 5% suggests the virus is under control but I don't know how they arrive at that conclusion.
Grant Schapps to make a "statement about international travel" at 3:30pm. That an international travel lockdown coming I feel? I can see Jet2 have cancelled all flights to December so maybe they saw it coming - locking down our Island following NZ & Aus examples.
Don't panic.
Matt Hancock says UK 'likely to have coronavirus vaccine by early next year
Definitely no gun jumping going on.
I thought month #3 of 2020 plus 18 more months was more like "end of 2021".
Perhaps I'm missing something but it looks to me like more Magickal Thinkering from our wonderful government.
edit: anyone know how the staffing for nightingale temporary hospitals will work this coming winter?
