United Kingdom VI: Summer Lovin'

[kryss]

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[Zaki]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/li...osures-ramp-up
Round of applause as the UK does it's job to ensure the Second Wave is delivered on time as we crack the 1,000 in a day new infections mark for the first time since June.

Second lockdown incoming.

[kryss]

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(the tweet is condemning the parent for bringing her baby to this)

Just quit this **** for ****'s sake.
I'm mildly surprised he hasn't tried to pin this on China.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/aug/09/uk-weather-a-months-rain-could-fall-in-two-hours-as-heatwave-breaks

Despite the current heatwave flash flooding may hit the UK in the coming days

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/aug/09/two-thirds-of-uks-furloughed-workers-continued-job-in-covid-19-lockdown

Two thirds of furloughed staff have continued working throughout the pandemic

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/09/only-half-of-britons-would-definitely-have-covid-19-vaccination

The real gem though? Only half of the UK population would take the Coronavirus Vaccine if it existed. Objection skewed more heavily for those with science disbelief and the young

[teddymeow]

Second lockdown incoming.

With no chance of furlough continuing after it ends in October

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, they may have their hands forced by the virus into doing a second lockdown if it gets too out of hand but I'd be amazed if Furlough ever see's the light of day again

[CMcK]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/09/only-half-of-britons-would-definitely-have-covid-19-vaccination

The real gem though? Only half of the UK population would take the Coronavirus Vaccine if it existed. Objection skewed more heavily for those with science disbelief and the young

Why would so many people possibly object to a vaccination? What nonsense are they being fed in their social media echo chambers?

Similarly my employer arranged for us to get tested and barely a third of the workforce took up the offer. Why would you not want to find out?

[fallenangle]

You could ask the same question about AIDS but a whole industry developed counseling people before they chose whether or not to get tested.

A good reason why they would not want to get tested is rather obvious - if positive they'll be sent home for two or three weeks without pay.

I could throw another grenade into the room about vaccinations but bearing in mind the reception any view other than the accepted one here is usually met with scorn and derision I'll hold my water.

[endo]

Is it anything to do with dead embryos/mercury/Bill Gates/“the elite” by any chance?

[cutmymilk]

I can see why this vaccine isnt paletable and others are. This has been frankly rushed in comparison to all the others we have routinely been given throughout our lives.

[Brad]

Fastest ever developed vaccine was for mumps and that took 4 years. Someone pointed out that even 1 in a thousand resulting in a fatal complication = millions dead, from the vaccination. People will be concerned over how much testing it’s had and the media will amplify that concern.

[Cassius_Smoke]

You have the combined output of Piers Morgan and eamonn Holmes telling everyone it's dangerous too.

[Dogg Thang]

Flip side is that almost no vaccine (maybe no vaccine ever but I’m willing to be corrected on that), has been developed with as much international resources working simultaneously and sharing information. I think this is unprecedented. Any vaccine will still need to go through the same checks. They don’t skip processes.

And also few other vaccines (again, maybe none) have been developed with as many morons on social media.

[Hirst]

I'll get anything if it's free. I got the flu vaccination at work last year, it was brilliant - I got to skive off for about 30 minutes and I didn't get flu that winter. It was a win-win situation. I'm pretty happy this vaccination will be safe as ultimately it's not a million miles off the flu vaccines that get developed.

Would just like to give an update of my experience of the "local lockdown" situation we have in my area, i.e. that you can't meet people who don't live in your household in your own house/garden and also in pubs (following a clarification that didn't arrive for a day). The sum-up is that absolutely nobody seems to care about it, even people who were strictly following the rules previously are ignoring this latest bit of information.

I've talked to a few people about it and the sum-up seems to be (not my own views, which are a little bit more mixed):
- It seems illogical that people can't meet in their back gardens following distancing rules when they can drive through the city centre on an evening and there's large groups of people going out drinking and quite freely socialising. I can confirm this one with my own eyes, there's loads of groups (young and old) going out doing the Westgate Run like nothing's changed.
- People feel disrespected by the government that the information was rushed, unclear and given out with nearly no notice and zero contact with the local press. More locally, people were annoyed that they kept calling it the Greater Manchester or North West lockdown when our region is neither, so there was a certain element of "they don't even know where we are". This also feeds into a quite widely-held feeling that if this happened in London or "The South" they wouldn't do it there, so why should we do what they say, etc.
- People who had followed the rules closely were now glad to get back to some sense of normality by meeting friends and enjoying the last days of summer in a safe way and don't want that snatched away by what they see as people doing things irresponsibly. They'd had quite a lengthy period of being lonely and isolated and feel that it seems stupid to strip back something that was already clearly stated by the government to be safe, especially as they'd got into a nice routine of it.

However, people seem to still be following hand-washing and mask rules quite widely so it's not like people have decided to ignore the virus situation completely. I have noticed that on an evening people seem to wear masks less though, possibly as there's less people around and they feel it's probably safe? Either that or they've just popped in somewhere quickly and didn't have it in their head to bring their mask. To be fair, it's a lot easier to forget to wear a mask if others aren't doing it too. I tend to be reminded when I see other people with masks and then think "oh yeah" and get one out of the glovebox (sometimes by the time I've already walked across the car park). I don't mind wearing one at all, I'm just a bit forgetful.

[Dogg Thang]

Over here, we're close to exceeding UK infection figures per capita and that's a sign of a massive failure and that we've been willing to throw away all the early progress we made. NZ has been 100 days without a domestic transmission. New Zealanders go about their lives as normal and are not at risk. We all could have had that. Over here, we've been sold the idea that our service and tourism industries are so important we couldn't possibly lock down the airports. Tourism is NZ's 3rd highest source of income. They just made the decision to do it right and they did it.

Anyone talking about economic consequences or mental health issues can get in the sea because we could have had a largely normal economy and largely normal life at this point but, instead, we've chosen to extend this and live with constant threat of it hanging over us as cases and risk increases. How's that way of life for mental health? How's that for the economy?

I'm disappointed. I'm tired. I'm fed up with all this. It seems needless at this stage and down to a total failure to act, made worse by Darwin-award-candidate level of idiots on social media.