Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[Sheilbh]

Fuming at this utterly predictable turning events being such a fucking surprise for this government

[Richard Hakluyt]

Fuming at this utterly predictable turning events being such a fucking surprise for this government

The fool can't see further than the end of his nose.

He has Whitty and JVT etc to do the difficult sums; they will have told him a fortnight ago that this would happen, but again he chose not to listen.

[garbon]

It feels like he picked the worst of all outcomes.

[Sheilbh]

It feels like he picked the worst of all outcomes.

Yeah. Not for the first time.

Just got off the phone with my mum who's in floods because we've had to cancel it (my dad's very high risk and I'm not comfortable that I've self-isolated for long enough or that we travel now and work around the rules)

He will get the vaccine soon so we're going to have to do Christmas in 8-10 weeks.

Absolutely awful

[mongers]

Well, we cancelled New Years' Eve, so there.

Hotels and restaurants have been closed since November and will remain closed till end of January. This will be a massive blow to the tourism industry which is 15% (I think) of Austria's GDP. Christmas/New Year is absolute peak time in Vienna, and the skiing areas will also be very affected.

I'll see you and raise, we're gonna cancel Easter as wel. 

[mongers]

It feels like he picked the worst of all outcomes.

Yeah. Not for the first time.

Just got off the phone with my mum who's in floods because we've had to cancel it (my dad's very high risk and I'm not comfortable that I've self-isolated for long enough or that we travel now and work around the rules)

He will get the vaccine soon so we're going to have to do Christmas in 8-10 weeks.

Absolutely awful

Damn, I'm sorry Shelf, that must be very upsetting for you and your parents, but public spirited of you and sensible in a way.

[Eddie Teach]

Well, we cancelled New Years' Eve, so there.

Hotels and restaurants have been closed since November and will remain closed till end of January. This will be a massive blow to the tourism industry which is 15% (I think) of Austria's GDP. Christmas/New Year is absolute peak time in Vienna, and the skiing areas will also be very affected.

I'll see you and raise, we're gonna cancel Easter as wel. 

Do I hear Mother's Day? Mother's Day, anyone?

[Maladict]

And now Covid has also killed St Nicholas*. Thanks, 2020. 

* the actor playing him since the 80s

[Syt]

[Tamas]

Malevolent-angled camera footage of Londoners fleeing via train to Leeds from Tier 4 restrictions:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2020/dec/20/londons-st-pancras-station-packed-as-travellers-flee-tier-4-restrictions-on-saturday-video

[Richard Hakluyt]

If this mutated virus is really 70% more transmissible we are in for a very boring few months 

[Tamas]

If this mutated virus is really 70% more transmissible we are in for a very boring few months 

I am still sceptical, I think/hope it's just a convenient excuse to U-turn because people have been becoming careless in London.

[Sheilbh]

Malevolent-angled camera footage of Londoners fleeing via train to Leeds from Tier 4 restrictions:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2020/dec/20/londons-st-pancras-station-packed-as-travellers-flee-tier-4-restrictions-on-saturday-video

More importantly people blaming Londoners - not the government for families making plans when the government were saying just three days ago it would be "unconscionable" to put restrictions on Christmas.

I am still sceptical, I think/hope it's just a convenient excuse to U-turn because people have been becoming careless in London.

You really have become fully British - hating on London like the rest of the country

I think there is a new strain - friend in the NHS was at meetings about this last week. But also look at the new cases in London - this is more than "carelessness":
https://www.london.gov.uk/coronavirus/coronavirus-covid-19-numbers-london

And the Netherlands and Belgium have put travel restrictions in place on the UK because of the new strain. It's a very international conspiracy by a Tory government to avoid blaming Labour voting Londoners (and, anyway, the ground zero of the new strain is: Kent ).

Edit: An expert on the new strain (and worth flagging there are loads of new strains all the time - this one is only interesting if it is more infectious):
https://twitter.com/firefoxx66/status/1340359989395861506

[garbon]

My thinking is that there does not evidence in public that this new strain is something to worry about (more so than current virus).

I see that we knew about the new strain at least as early as Monday as BBC had article then with health secretary speaking to new strain. That happens to be same day that education secretary threatened to sue London councils having school go virtual for week before Christmas.

It does feel like the UK government has now latched on to the strain as attempt at political cover rather than admit failure  given we all knew signs had pointed toward Christmas relaxation making no sense.

And then other countries? They are just acting out of an abundance of caution like what was done with Denmark. I don't think anyone can accuse the UK government of acting out of an abundance of caution.

[Josquius]

Malevolent-angled camera footage of Londoners fleeing via train to Leeds from Tier 4 restrictions:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2020/dec/20/londons-st-pancras-station-packed-as-travellers-flee-tier-4-restrictions-on-saturday-video

Pretty daft stuff, you'd think the government would have have learned from the Milan lockdown not to do this.

The cutting of 3 households to 2 raises an interesting quandary. 3 made sense assuming a nuclear family of grandparents and their two kids (and maybe their family).
Now they have to decide which of their kids they like best.