Coronavirus COVID-19 Thread
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Radegast74
Space Marshal
Ladies and germs, keep up the good work!
www.theguardian.com
US sexually transmitted infections surged to record high in 2020
Reported cases dropped in early months of Covid-19 pandemic but disrupted healthcare and diverted resources aided sharp rise
www.theguardian.com
UK Prime Minister, his wife, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer (main money man in the UK) all receive Lockdown breach fines for attending a party in the seat of Government at a time when gathering in groups inside or outside was strictly prohibited by laws they themselves helped put in place.
Johnson becomes the first known Prime Minister to break the law and receive an legal penalty for it while in office.
The Ministerial Code, which is a set of rules politicians agree to adhere to, includes a requirement which states any minister found to have lied to parliament should resign for the good of the position (they said no parties, the police fine says otherwise) - with a catch that the resignation should be sent to the Prime Minister who gets to choose if they go or stay.
Both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have declined to follow this common agreement.
It is expected that PM will receive more fines as the police investigation continues with one source expecting another three. The fines double for each new offence so repeated offences become more and more expensive.
Johnson becomes the first known Prime Minister to break the law and receive an legal penalty for it while in office.
The Ministerial Code, which is a set of rules politicians agree to adhere to, includes a requirement which states any minister found to have lied to parliament should resign for the good of the position (they said no parties, the police fine says otherwise) - with a catch that the resignation should be sent to the Prime Minister who gets to choose if they go or stay.
Both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have declined to follow this common agreement.
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak reject calls to resign over lockdown fines
The PM and chancellor apologise for attending a party in lockdown, but pledge to stay in post.
www.bbc.co.uk
It is expected that PM will receive more fines as the police investigation continues with one source expecting another three. The fines double for each new offence so repeated offences become more and more expensive.
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Ooof, COVID twice from 2 different varients within 20 days, that sucks:
Covid: Woman caught virus twice within record 20 days
Spanish researchers say it's the shortest-known gap between two coronavirus infections.
www.bbc.co.uk
First person COVID positive for over 1 year observed:
www.theguardian.com
First person to have Covid infection for more than a year identified in UK
Researchers at London hospitals call for urgent new treatments for persistent infections
www.theguardian.com
It really caught me, I was surprised to see the 505 days figure and the concept of an 'occult' infection, made me wonder if people who had/have Long COVID were still infected in some deep-tissue way but we're no longer shedding?
I went to Disney's EPCOT theme park yesterday so I figured I'd tell you what I saw. I kid you not, I think it was 1 in 300 people were wearing a mask, maybe less, and hardly any staff had masks on as well. I don't know why I expected anything different. I almost didn't get into the park as they told me they usually only take park reservation tickets because they have been at capacity every single day since about July last year.
Yep, I went to put deziel in the car yesterday and of the 9 people at the station only I had a mask on. Just because it isn't law anymore doesn't mean it's not wise or indeed not reccomended to do still...
...ah, well. First to adopt precautions, last to abandon them :-)
Hope you had a great time at the park!
Thanks man, I did. I didn't wear a mask but I tried to wash my hands often. Unfortunately hand sanitizer stations were few and far between and most of them were empty.
Great. All we needed to cap off the last 2 1/4 years.
Roundup of interesting recent articles:
www.theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com
Covid infections in record drop of nearly one million, says ONS
Numbers with the virus in the UK have decreased by a quarter, with one in 23 now testing positive.
www.bbc.co.uk
Trump White House overrode Covid guidance for churches, emails show
CDC planned to suggest in 2020 that religious communities hold services online but key passages were struck out
www.theguardian.com
Covid: Discharging untested patients to care homes 'unlawful'
The High Court says government policies did not take into account transmission risks to the elderly.
www.bbc.co.uk
Michelle Mone’s home raided as PPE firm linked to Tory peer investigated
NCA launches investigation into PPE Medpro, which secured £200m in Covid contracts
www.theguardian.com
Another UK COVID contract under investigation for shady allocation/incompetence:
www.theguardian.com
Civil servants called UK Covid testing scheme ‘unlegit’, court hears
Details of emails released in Good Law Project challenge to awarding of contracts to Abingdon Health for antibody tests
www.theguardian.com
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Bambooza
Space Marshal
I wonder when the USA if ever will follow suit.Another UK COVID contract under investigation for shady allocation/incompetence:
Civil servants called UK Covid testing scheme ‘unlegit’, court hears
Details of emails released in Good Law Project challenge to awarding of contracts to Abingdon Health for antibody tests
One would hope so, or what are Public Spending Audit Offices for? :)
The UK Track and Trace system spent £34 billion. As of this moment that's $42.5 billion in the almighty dolla.
Some local councils ran a local track and trace system and got success rates around the 90% mark where the national scheme fluctuated wildly between 40% and 80%, I've seen reports they spent around £900k on local tracing so lets square that at a nice round Million£ as an average spend.
From what I've been able to Google up, there are 398 local councils in the UK, so £398 million at a million per council if it had all been done locally with those assumed numbers, vs £34 billion for the national initiative as a whole...
If we are lenient and accept some aspects of the national initiative were used by the Local schemes, double that 398 million and then add another 5 billion just for the shits and giggles of it, there is a loooot of missing money there...
I'm wondering if the Audits can eventually track it all down? Where in the hell did £34 billion bugger off to?
- EDIT -
Because an idle mind is the Devils plaything, I types some letters into an engine of online search and found the following fact checker saying no one knows how much was spent and it was only the budget which was £37 billion, and may not be the actual money spent:
NHS Test and Trace has not spent £37bn so far - Full Fact
A post on social media uses the total two-year Test and Trace budget to make misleading claims about where the money is going.
fullfact.org
So there we go, expected spend was merely £20 billion. Still a bit more than local initiates could assumed to have been :)
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Judging by how much the UK seems to have spent in total... my wallet is a little happier that we didn't.
But hot damn, we could do a lot with £37 billion (what's that... like, $47 billion! ) I mean as long as you remove the Government make work projects from it.
btw the cost of writing the software itself and all it's maintenance, service hosting costs etc. should only be a fraction of that total. The rule of thumb is 2%, but even that seems ... higher than the stars. Something tells me this needs an audit.
Bambooza
Space Marshal
So way more than 34 buggered off into the void. The same happens in the states with lots of line items given to specific targets for reasons most pertaining to lobby support buried in 100's of thousands of lines of law. While you could spend years digging into and reading the laws the end result after you throw up your fist in frustration is realizing that no one cares. That life goes on that tax money inevitably goes on to buy political favor and pay for keys (One would hope so, or what are Public Spending Audit Offices for? :)
The UK Track and Trace system spent £34 billion. As of this moment that's $42.5 billion in the almighty dolla.
Some local councils ran a local track and trace system and got success rates around the 90% mark where the national scheme fluctuated wildly between 40% and 80%, I've seen reports they spent around £900k on local tracing so lets square that at a nice round Million£ as an average spend.
From what I've been able to Google up, there are 398 local councils in the UK, so £398 million at a million per council if it had all been done locally with those assumed numbers, vs £34 billion for the national initiative as a whole...
If we are lenient and accept some aspects of the national initiative were used by the Local schemes, double that 398 million and then add another 5 billion just for the shits and giggles of it, there is a loooot of missing money there...
I'm wondering if the Audits can eventually track it all down? Where in the hell did £34 billion bugger off to?
- EDIT -
Because an idle mind is the Devils plaything, I types some letters into an engine of online search and found the following fact checker saying no one knows how much was spent and it was only the budget which was £37 billion, and may not be the actual money spent:
NHS Test and Trace has not spent £37bn so far - Full Fact
A post on social media uses the total two-year Test and Trace budget to make misleading claims about where the money is going.
So there we go, expected spend was merely £20 billion. Still a bit more than local initiates could assumed to have been :)
). Which really just ends up with three options. Be frustrated with the lack of power, play the political game and hope you don't get usurped before you grow old, or realize you are just one in many billion and keep your head down in hopes you are not one of the unlucky few who get trampled.
WHO states deaths above average during COVID shine a light on what might be the true death toll of the Pandemic: 15 million.
Covid: World’s true pandemic death toll nearly 15 million, says WHO
These include deaths from Covid and from the indirect effects of the pandemic over two years worldwide.
www.bbc.co.uk
33 billion dollar aid package to Ukraine? YES
33 billion dollar COVID package? NO
It just goes to show you where our priorities lie in the US.
33 billion dollar COVID package? NO
It just goes to show you where our priorities lie in the US.