Remaining Effects of Covid

[nlogax]

Well then hospitals need to stop that nonsense too. It's costing money that they don't have. Operations are often cancelled if a patient is ill whatever it is. Common sense says if you're not well stay at home, we don’t need to clutch at straws to justify testing.
Don't need to do all this pointless testing so 'For Goodness Sake' still stands in my eyes.

Try reading post 25. You're welcome.

 

[Richard Scott]

Try reading post 25. You're welcome.

I don't need to try reading I can already do it thanks. I've now read it and don't see what point you're trying to make.

 

[VauxhallandI]

It’s also a load of cock n bull as I had an operation during covid and they couldn’t get a proper test result twice. The surgeon said to me shall we just do it and I said well of course.

 

[duncanp]

More post COVID nonsense.

Now it is all our fault for working from home that there is a water shortage.

South East Water blames working from home for hosepipe ban

South East Water claims shortages are partly down to more people working from home.

www.bbc.co.uk

South East Water blames working from home for hosepipe ban​

A water company that has imposed a hosepipe ban has blamed people working from home for the shortage.
South East Water, which supplies more than two million homes and businesses in Sussex and Kent, will implement the restriction from Monday.
Chief Executive David Hinton said demand had swelled by about 20% over a short period of time which had put the existing infrastructure under stress.
Customers said the real problem was the company's lack of investment.
A petition has been set up calling for a change of ownership at South East Water.
In a letter to customers, Mr Hinton described people working from home as a "key factor" behind the ban.
He wrote: "Over the past three years the way in which drinking water is being used across the south east has changed considerably.
"The rise of working from home has increased drinking water demand in commuter towns by around 20% over a very short period, testing our existing infrastructure."
Mr Hinton also blamed low rainfall since April and a recent spell of hot weather, which he said led to a spike in demand for drinking water.
"Our reservoir and aquifer stocks of raw water, essential to our water supply but not ready to be used, are in a good position. However, demand for treated mains water, which takes time to process and deliver, was greater than we could meet.
"Over the past week we have needed to find water to supply the equivalent of an additional four towns the size of Maidstone or Eastbourne, every day."

'Garden of England'​

Artist Jutta Wrobel, 61, of Wadhurst, Sussex, who started an online petition demanding a change of ownership of South East Water after having no supply for five days, accused Mr Hinton of "victim-blaming".
She said: "This is a deflection from the real issue which is how to stop South East Water paying away all our money in dividends rather than reinvesting in our water infrastructure, which is a public utility and a human right.
"We are supposed to be the Garden of England. We are not supposed to have hosepipe bans for two years running."

In recent weeks, schools were closed, customers relied on bottled water stations and people were told to use water only for drinking, cooking and hygiene in order to allow the network to refill.
It led to panic among the elderly, vulnerable people struggling to open heavy bottles, and the Conservative MP for Tunbridge Wells, Greg Clark, describing the situation as "woeful".
It also followed supply issues in December when pipes burst due to snow and ice, leaving thousands of households without a supply.
South East Water's head of service management, Steve Andrews, said: "We announced the temporary use ban on Friday 16 June. Following a period of consultation, we will be able to take action against customers who contravene the hosepipe restrictions from Monday 26 June."
He said demand for tap water had reduced since the ban was introduced and he reminded customers to use water wisely.

 

[nw1]

More post COVID nonsense.

Now it is all our fault for working from home that there is a water shortage.

South East Water blames working from home for hosepipe ban

South East Water claims shortages are partly down to more people working from home.

www.bbc.co.uk

Water companies are, IMX, very keen to blame us for everything that goes wrong, while they charge us outrageous prices for terrible service and line their own pockets, knowing that we are a captive market and there is no competition.

Just don't get me started on Southern Water, an absolutely appalling company. Lost water for two separate 48-hour periods during the winter due, from what I can make out, to infrastructure problems. Yet their CEO earns £500,000 and recently received the same in a bonus on top of that. The very definition of the unacceptable face of capitalism.

 

[VauxhallandI]

I received an email from Thames Water talking about water usage. I suggested once they had sorted out pumping sewage into our rivers and seas then they might be in a position to send me patronising notes about showers and taps. Until then they could cease doing so.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Jun 2023 ==

I'm not an epidemiologist or otherwise medically/scientifically qualified to comment on this.

If I can avoid being ill, then I will, as I'm sure most people would try to do. Not sure why that's a bad thing? Was eradicating smallpox bad for the human race?

Ask the Aztecs.

Have you worked out that Covid isn’t going to be eradicated yet, or are we still a zero covid conspirator?

 

[gswindale]

I received an email from Thames Water talking about water usage. I suggested once they had sorted out pumping sewage into our rivers and seas then they might be in a position to send me patronising notes about showers and taps. Until then they could cease doing so.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Jun 2023 ==


Ask the Aztecs.

Have you worked out that Covid isn’t going to be eradicated yet, or are we still a zero covid conspirator?

From what I can make out, then if we'd had eradicated small pox in the 15th century, then maybe the Aztecs would have survived longer!

Zero COVID is clearly not going to happen, but why shouldn't we do what we can to stay healthy?

On the water point, I can see the issue as whilst overall there isn't much change in consumption, the location of consumption has changed. The point with SE Water is that they mainly supply "commuter" towns where the workers would normally commute to Thames water territory. If everybody went back to the outdated 9-5:30 5 days a week in the office, then consumption out in the sticks would drop accordingly.

 

[Enthusiast]

Zero COVID is clearly not going to happen, but why shouldn't we do what we can to stay healthy?

No reason at all why not. But staying healthy includes (among other things) building a robust immune system so that when you do (inevitably) encounter airborne respiratory viruses, your body has a decent chance of dealing with them.

 

[Darandio]

No reason at all why not. But staying healthy includes (among other things) building a robust immune system so that when you do (inevitably) encounter airborne respiratory viruses, your body has a decent chance of dealing with them.

Indeed. Which brings me back to an unanswered question I asked @gswindale in this thread a couple of weeks ago.

Remaining Effects of Covid

....the inquiry KC added that there seemed to have been very little thought about a national lockdown and a failure to think through the consequences for education and the economy.... I really hope that the consequences for education and the economy, plus the effect on people's mental health...

www.railforums.co.uk

Well, I don't know what happened, but something during 2020 certainly kept me safe.

Despite having a stonking cold at the start of March 2020, that was about the only time during the year I was ill. Unlike the following years when I've picked up Covid, had numerous colds, been diagnosed with pneumonia and been on antibiotics.

I would definitely say that on a personal physical health perspective, that it was a benefit to me during lockdown. Maybe not mentally - what with having a 9-12 month old at home who I couldn't do much with, but physically I was definitely much healthier than I've been more recently!

And could the subsequent years of illness be down to us being in that protective bubble which in turn reduced our long built up immunity to certain conditions? It's a genuine question, i've seen many other people say they've been ill much more since we were all back to normal again.

 

[gswindale]

Indeed. Which brings me back to an unanswered question I asked @gswindale in this thread a couple of weeks ago.

Remaining Effects of Covid

....the inquiry KC added that there seemed to have been very little thought about a national lockdown and a failure to think through the consequences for education and the economy.... I really hope that the consequences for education and the economy, plus the effect on people's mental health...

www.railforums.co.uk

I honestly thought I had replied to that, but I don't know the answer - it maybe a result of reduced exposure, but as we have a, now, 4 year old, he will have picked up all sorts of bugs at nursery and potentially passed them on due to us being in closer proximity than I would generally be to my colleagues.

I would also note that, as a student, the Autumn term always seemed to result in more illnesses than the others, which I would put down to new groups of 18 year olds from all around the country meeting for the 1st time.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Eating in a motorway services Maccy's yesterday I was very amused to see a family show up and the mother and daughter spend a considerable time wiping the table and chairs down with antiseptic wipes before sitting down. Then proceed to cough repeatedly and loudly during their meal. One suspects they might already have caught the thing they were trying to protect against

 

[Pinza-C55]

Eating in a motorway services Maccy's yesterday I was very amused to see a family show up and the mother and daughter spend a considerable time wiping the table and chairs down with antiseptic wipes before sitting down. Then proceed to cough repeatedly and loudly during their meal. One suspects they might already have caught the thing they were trying to protect against

They might smoke 20 Richmonds a day ?

 

[Bletchleyite]

They might smoke 20 Richmonds a day ?

Definitely wasn't a smoker's cough, that's typically guttural and productive and so sounds very different, asthmatic and acid reflux coughs similarly. They definitely had some sort of virus. Which is ironic, because their "protection measures" quite evidently didn't work!

 

[156421]

From what I can make out, then if we'd had eradicated small pox in the 15th century, then maybe the Aztecs would have survived longer!

Zero COVID is clearly not going to happen, but why shouldn't we do what we can to stay healthy?

On the water point, I can see the issue as whilst overall there isn't much change in consumption, the location of consumption has changed. The point with SE Water is that they mainly supply "commuter" towns where the workers would normally commute to Thames water territory. If everybody went back to the outdated 9-5:30 5 days a week in the office, then consumption out in the sticks would drop accordingly.

Maybe if people went to the office rather than pretending to work from home (spending much time tending to the garden during work hours) this excuse by SE Water would be invalid?

 

[duncanp]

Maybe if people went to the office rather than pretending to work from home (spending much time tending to the garden during work hours) this excuse by SE Water would be invalid?

They would then pretend that there is too much water usage at weekends.

Working from home might affect when you use large amounts of water (eg. watering the garden, washing the car, washing machine, shower etc.) but it shouldn't have much of an effect on the overall volume of water used.

So the water company is talking out of its backside when claiming that WFH is to blame. (no surprise there then)

 

[gswindale]

Maybe if people went to the office rather than pretending to work from home (spending much time tending to the garden during work hours) this excuse by SE Water would be invalid?

Maybe, but who has time to tend to the garden during work hours? I certainly don't! I'll maybe flush the toilet a few more times at home than I did yesterday and possibly make a few more cups of tea, but as noted above, that just means I'll be using SE Water's water rather than Thames Water's water.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Jun 2023 ==

They would then pretend that there is too much water usage at weekends.

Working from home might affect when you use large amounts of water (eg. watering the garden, washing the car, washing machine, shower etc.) but it shouldn't have much of an effect on the overall volume of water used.

So the water company is talking out of its backside when claiming that WFH is to blame. (no surprise there then)

You are again missing my point.

SE Water get their supply from certain reservoirs. If everybody turns up and uses water from that supply rather than from, say, Thames Water's supply, then logic dictates that SE Water will have a supply issue even though nationally the overall volume of water used is the same.

To my knowledge, the water supply network is not quite the same as the power network in that if a power station in, say, Bognor, fails that they can easily switch to getting power from Brighton. Hence the reason why it is often the case that the south of England has water shortages/hosepipe bans when Yorkshire is receiving record amounts of rainfall.

 

[Bald Rick]

Working from home might affect when you use large amounts of water (eg. watering the garden, washing the car, washing machine, shower etc.) but it shouldn't have much of an effect on the overall volume of water used.

I don’t know the details in this case, but the issue may not be the quantity of water being used, but the rate. That has certainly been the case here in Hertfordshire in recent years.

 

[156421]

Maybe, but who has time to tend to the garden during work hours? I certainly don't! I'll maybe flush the toilet a few more times at home than I did yesterday and possibly make a few more cups of tea, but as noted above, that just means I'll be using SE Water's water rather than Thames Water's water.

Those who wiggle their mouse every few minutes to stay online "green" status in Teams/Skype whilst doing no work.

 

[duncanp]

Those who wiggle their mouse every few minutes to stay online "green" status in Teams/Skype whilst doing no work.

Or those who send the occasional e-mail from their smartphone to make it look as though they were at their desk working, whereas in reality they were in the garden/at the beach or swimming pool.

When I was working, this phenomenon became prevalent during the summer school holidays.

 

[gswindale]

Those who wiggle their mouse every few minutes to stay online "green" status in Teams/Skype whilst doing no work.

I haven't noticed many people who do that - in fact, I'm pretty sure that we got slightly more productive during lockdown until we moved onto the systems migration project

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Jun 2023 ==

Or those who send the occasional e-mail from their smartphone to make it look as though they were at their desk working, whereas in reality they were in the garden/at the beach or swimming pool.

When I was working, this phenomenon became prevalent during the summer school holidays.

There's normally a giveaway for mobile emails - namely that of "Sent from Outlook for Android" at the bottom of the message.

For what it's worth, I have no issue with people sending from their phones. Nor from those who sit in the garden working on their laptop - I did that on several occasions during the 1st lockdown once I was back at work as I could then keep an eye on the little one snoozing whilst doing some extra work.

Do you also have a problem with those people who send "occasional e-mails from their smartphone" during the umpteen pointless meetings that take place in the office? It's amazing how much more work you can get done when sat in on a Teams/Zoom meeting than being bored senseless in a meeting room that is slowly starving you of oxygen.

 

[duncanp]

Do you also have a problem with those people who send "occasional e-mails from their smartphone" during the umpteen pointless meetings that take place in the office? It's amazing how much more work you can get done when sat in on a Teams/Zoom meeting than being bored senseless in a meeting room that is slowly starving you of oxygen.

I don't have an issue with people who send e-mails from their smartphone as such.

It is more those who send e-mails from their phone in order to give the impression that they are logged on at their desk (whether at home or in the office) whilst they are out for the day with the kids during the school holidays.

You would then get a flurry of e-mails and phone calls from such people at around 4pm when they get home and are desperately trying to catch up on the work that they should have been doing during the day, just as you are finishing for the day and thinking of going home.

One of the consequences of the widespread adoption of working from home during COVID is that each individual has more flexibility over their working hours. This can of course be a benefit for those who have young children or other personal commitments. The problem comes when one individual expects everyone else to adapt their working hours to suit their own circumstances. (eg. those who propose having a meeting at 5pm and get quite shirty when you say you are unavailable, but who are never available themselves for a meeting between 10:00 - 12:00 or 14:00 - 16:00)

As for meetings, there has never been a truer saying than "...a meeting is somewhere where you take minutes and waste hours..."

 

[156421]

I don't have an issue with people who send e-mails from their smartphone as such.

It is more those who send e-mails from their phone in order to give the impression that they are logged on at their desk (whether at home or in the office) whilst they are out for the day with the kids during the school holidays.

You would then get a flurry of e-mails and phone calls from such people at around 4pm when they get home and are desperately trying to catch up on the work that they should have been doing during the day, just as you are finishing for the day and thinking of going home.

One of the consequences of the widespread adoption of working from home during COVID is that each individual has more flexibility over their working hours. This can of course be a benefit for those who have young children or other personal commitments. The problem comes when one individual expects everyone else to adapt their working hours to suit their own circumstances. (eg. those who propose having a meeting at 5pm and get quite shirty when you say you are unavailable, but who are never available themselves for a meeting between 10:00 - 12:00 or 14:00 - 16:00)

As for meetings, there has never been a truer saying than "...a meeting is somewhere where you take minutes and waste hours..."

I am physically disgusted how normal it now is for people's work habits to suit their personal needs rather than their employer who is in fact funding them. I recently moved job to somewhere less inclined to "people no longer work for the company, the company works for people" for a few reasons but the PWFH (pretend to work from home) entitlement culture was one of the key reasons.

 

[duncanp]

I am physically disgusted how normal it now is for people's work habits to suit their personal needs rather than their employer who is in fact funding them. I recently moved job to somewhere less inclined to "people no longer work for the company, the company works for people" for a few reasons but the PWFH (pretend to work from home) entitlement culture was one of the key reasons.

You see the effect of "PWFH" in the declining standards of customer service in both the public and private sector.

 

[MikeWM]

I see the Covid enquiry today is getting to the business end of what will form its inevitable conclusions with evidence from the lovely Mr Hancock, who hasn't learned a single thing in the past three years:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...nquiry-officials-focused-buying-bodybags.html

'...central to pandemic planning is how do you stop the disaster from happening in the first place, how do you suppress the virus?'

...

He said: 'It is central to what we must learn as a country that we've got to be ready to hit a pandemic hard: that we've got to be able to take action – lockdown action if necessary, that is wider, earlier, more stringent than feels comfortable at the time.

'And the failure to plan for that was a much bigger flaw in the strategy than the fact that it was targeted at the wrong disease.'

He added: 'The doctrinal flaw was the biggest by a long way because if we'd had a flu pandemic, we still would have had the problem of no plan in place for lockdown, no prep for how to do one, no work on what, how best to lock down with the least damage.

(bold mine)

Anyone who thinks that outcome of this inquiry will be anything other than normalising lockdowns as the response to public health threats - to 'stop the spread' and 'suppress the virus' - is, sadly, deluding themselves.

 

[156421]

You see the effect of "PWFH" in the declining standards of customer service in both the public and private sector.

And it's not just PWFH (which itself I think is bad anyway), that aside there's the farcical situation where you turn up to the office not knowing who is going to bother to turn up, thanks to the extensive litany of excuses for PWFH.

 

[duncanp]

Anyone who thinks that outcome of this inquiry will be anything other than normalising lockdowns as the response to public health threats - to 'stop the spread' and 'suppress the virus' - is, sadly, deluding themselves.

The one thing that may prevent the normalising of lockdowns is the sheer cost of them.

We are living with the economic consequences of the lockdown today, and will continue to do so for many years to come, just as austerity after the Second World War was in some cases worse than that experienced during the war itself.

 

[adc82140]

Just noticed on the Covid Dashboard (it's still a thing) that deaths will cease to be reported from 6th July. Death stats thereafter will be available to anyone who's interested by using the same resources as every other type of death.

 

[duncanp]

So, Britain must prepare for longer and harder lockdowns, according to Matt Hancock.

Just three words to say to that:-

NO, NO, NO

Britain must prepare for harder lockdowns, says Matt Hancock

Health secretary at time Covid hit admits the Government's pandemic strategy was 'woefully inadequate'

www.telegraph.co.uk

Britain must prepare for harder lockdowns, says Matt Hancock​

Health secretary at time Covid hit admits the Government's pandemic strategy was 'woefully inadequate'

Britain must prepare for wider, earlier and more stringent lockdowns in the face of future pandemics, Matt Hancock has claimed.

The former health secretary told the Covid Inquiry that failing to plan for restrictions on civil liberties was a flaw in the Government’s “woefully inadequate” pandemic strategy.

Mr Hancock, who was in office from 2018 to 2021, said that even before Covid hit in 2020 he thought it was “an oversight not to consider lockdowns” during a pandemic.

He made the claim despite mounting evidence that lockdown has caused more harm than the pandemic, from soaring child mental health referrals to a “cancer bomb” of patients whose treatment was delayed alongside a struggling economy.

David Davis criticised his former Cabinet colleague, saying that lockdowns were “ill-conceived and based on scientific guesswork, not science”.

‘Not a smidgen of evidence’​

He added: “Mr Hancock has not shown a smidgen of evidence to support his proposal that we should have locked down earlier, just as there was very little evidence when they chose to lock down in the first place.”

The long-awaited inquiry is now in the third week of its first phase, examining pandemic preparedness rather than decisions made during the national emergency.

Mr Hancock advocated for lockdown, saying that the UK was “completely wrong” by assuming a pandemic could not be stopped.

“It is central to what we must learn as a country that we’ve got to be ready to hit a pandemic hard,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to take action – lockdown action if necessary – that is wider, earlier, more stringent than feels comfortable at the time.”

Boris Johnson, as the then prime minister, announced the country’s first lockdown on March 23 2020, 54 days after the first case of the virus was detected in the UK.

Mr Hancock said: “I understand deeply the consequences of lockdown and the negative consequences for many, many people - many of which persist to this day.”

Despite acknowledging their damage, Mr Hancock later said he would still back restrictions “unless the costs of lockdown are greater than the costs that the pandemic would bring.”

He admitted that the country prepared for the wrong pandemic by focusing on flu, but insisted that even in those circumstances, restrictions on civil liberties would also have been needed.

Had they considered such restrictions as part of pandemic planning, they could have worked out “how best to lock down with the least damage”, he said.

Accused of defecting blame​

Families who lost loved ones during the pandemic accused Mr Hancock of using obvious failings to deflect blame from his own decisions.

Elkan Abrahamson, who represents the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK group, said Mr Hancock had chosen to focus on the Government’s acceptance that the disease was “unstoppable”, rather than on its “long list of other failures”.

Earlier this year The Telegraph’s Lockdown Files revealed that those running the country during Covid privately acknowledged that lockdown was “terrible for other outcomes”.

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, said: “The lessons to be learned from the inquiry are: don’t ruin the economy, don’t give children mental health issues, and let people make choices for themselves because actually, they’re better at it than ministers are making choices for them.”

Scotland’s former first minister Nicola Sturgeon is due to appear in front of the inquiry on Thursday.

 

[yorksrob]

So, Britain must prepare for longer and harder lockdowns, according to Matt Hancock.

Just three words to say to that:-

NO, NO, NO

Britain must prepare for harder lockdowns, says Matt Hancock

Health secretary at time Covid hit admits the Government's pandemic strategy was 'woefully inadequate'

www.telegraph.co.uk

Hopefully "Mr Hancock must prepare for obscurity" will be a more likely outcome.

Perhaps he might decide to join the Communist party in China.

 

[birchesgreen]

And it's not just PWFH (which itself I think is bad anyway), that aside there's the farcical situation where you turn up to the office not knowing who is going to bother to turn up, thanks to the extensive litany of excuses for PWFH.

Not something that happens at my place, blame sloppy management not WFH.