[COVID-19] General Discussion

[Bada-Bing!]

Anyone else under Furlough?

First day firms can register employees with HMRC to get the Furlough payments. What are the chances of the system totally crashing with the number of claims and not paying out to employees at the end of the month. Bills still need to be paid.

 

[BiggusLaddus]

Anyone else under Furlough?

First day firms can register employees with HMRC to get the Furlough payments. What are the chances of the system totally crashing with the number of claims and not paying out to employees at the end of the month. Bills still need to be paid.

The "system" doesn't pay the employees, the companies do. This is a grant for them to reclaim the money.

It seems to be holding up pretty well so far. I would imagine most firms would be putting their claims in early to help with cash flow.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

The "system" doesn't pay the employees, the companies do. This is a grant for them to reclaim the money.

It seems to be holding up pretty well so far. I would imagine most firms would be putting their claims in early to help with cash flow.

Yeah I know, but if the companies don't have the cash flow to pay the employees and struggling this month (i know mine is) then there is going to have a knock on effect on the payments to employees surely. Dealt with HMRC far too often and their systems don't cope well with great influxes. But if you work in payroll, then maybe you know more.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52346685 according to this article on BBC it's 67000 in the first 30 mins.

According to new research by the Resolution Foundation, the take-up of the scheme has been higher than initially anticipated.

 

[Amiga500]

Dealt with HMRC far too often and their systems don't cope well with great influxes.

Fixed that for ya

If HMRC were a private company, they'd have gone bust long ago. Surely one of the most inept government departments in existence.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Fixed that for ya

If HMRC were a private company, they'd have gone bust long ago. Surely one of the most inept government departments in existence.

Well, what i have realised from studying tax is it's a f'ing mess. Too many taxes, reliefs, allowances, conditions, etc, created by successive Governments, who have bloated tax legislation to 22000 pages supposedly the UK have the longest tax legalisation in the world.All to give us accountants a job.

Compare this to HK's which is a mere 350 pages and supposedly bring in more revenue than the UK per capita (although alot comes from Land sales).

I carried back 5 books in my trolley suit case and it broke one the wheels clean off. That is how over bloated, heavy the tax legislation books have got to. There are 8 books, 2 of which are VAT, so i wasn't even carrying the full load. And HMRC have to apply and administer it. I don't envy them whatsoever, and no organisation could not be inept with such a broken system created.

 

[Amiga500]

In which case why does the head of HMRC not do public addresses and say "see those NHS cuts - if the govt simplified the tax code - then they wouldn't have to make those cuts and wouldn't have to raise taxes... perhaps any citizens concerned about this should contact their MP and express their displeasure"?

Or something to that effect.

Basically keep lambasting the ineptitude of cabinet in public until they do something about it.


Also - the tax code is not definitive. HMRC have to interpret it and if you talk to 5 different HMRC advisors about the same piece of applicable legislation, you are likely to get 5 different answers!
Even if the legislation itself is a bloated piece of crap - sure they can have a simplified interpretation for their own use?

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

Had to go out in public for the first in a month today. The place where I get my crohn's infusions is near PA's state capital so there was busy traffic with the trump rally going on downtown (Let's be honest, these opening protests are really just Trump rallies). Saw some people walking about without masks on. My bougie grocery where I grab something to eat before my infusion required masks and had protocol in place to ensure social distancing. I carried hand sanitizer with me at all times and used a handkerchief to open doors.

My infusion center is right next to a hospital so the parking lot is set up for people to get checked out for Corona. There is a screening area and a big sign that says testing isn't guaranteed. It looks very apocalyptic like something out of a movie or a video game. Roads were very packed and saw out of state license plates. Which I guess could be students but was a little concerning.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

In which case why does the head of HMRC not do public addresses and say "see those NHS cuts - if the govt simplified the tax code - then they wouldn't have to make those cuts and wouldn't have to raise taxes... perhaps any citizens concerned about this should contact their MP and express their displeasure"?

Or something to that effect.

Basically keep lambasting the ineptitude of cabinet in public until they do something about it.


Also - the tax code is not definitive. HMRC have to interpret it and if you talk to 5 different HMRC advisors about the same piece of applicable legislation, you are likely to get 5 different answers!
Even if the legislation itself is a bloated piece of crap - sure they can have a simplified interpretation for their own use?

Well you've got to remember that the head of HMRC - currently Sir Jonathan Thompson, is appointed by the Treasury and he's answerable to them/the chancellor of the exchequer and parliament. He's a bureaucrat and likely get a severe dressing down by his bosses if he were to make public announcements and it's not his job to simplify tax legislation. He's there to lead the administration of it. There is the office of tax simplification for simplifying the tax legislation and they have tried to, but successive Chancellors have just ignored them. Tax policy and legislation is driven by governments and they then pass a lot of secondary legislation via statutory instruments, which further bulks up the the tax legislation.

Yes, add to that tax lawyers, barristers - very lucrative business and why we have so many cases on the interpretation of tax law. It is itself a self-perpetuating industry.

 

[General Melchett]

Spoke to a friend in Germany today. Some relaxation of the restrictions effective today including opening of small shops (selling non essentials) under a certain size but with limited number of customers in the shops at any one time. Also anyone using public transport has to wear a face mask. Wonder if we'll see something similar here although there seems to be divided opinion over the wearing of face masks.

 

[ncurd]

Wonder if we'll see something similar here although there seems to be divided opinion over the wearing of face masks.

It's an odd one the opinion doesn't change they don't help at all in stopping you getting an infection and the psychology that they protect may lead to people being more blasie. They can help if you are infecting in spreading it further if you do go out in public.

The problem isn't that they may not help in the spread of infection but properly educating people in how they work. Plus it's still far better for a potentially infected person to self isolate.

 

[General Melchett]

It's an odd one the opinion doesn't change they don't help at all in stopping you getting an infection and the psychology that they protect may lead to people being more blasie. They can help if you are infecting in spreading it further if you do go out in public.

The problem isn't that they may not help in the spread of infection but properly educating people in how they work. Plus it's still far better for a potentially infected person to self isolate.

I'm surprised there is no universal and definitive opinion on what is essentially a simple accessory. While possibly not offering much protection to the wearer I guess it makes sense to wear one while using public transport if it in any way helps limit the spread. I'll trust the Germans on this one and would have no objections to seeing the same here whenever some restrictions are eased.

 

[dullonien]

Had to go out in public for the first in a month today. The place where I get my crohn's infusions is near PA's state capital so there was busy traffic with the trump rally going on downtown (Let's be honest, these opening protests are really just Trump rallies). Saw some people walking about without masks on. My bougie grocery where I grab something to eat before my infusion required masks and had protocol in place to ensure social distancing. I carried hand sanitizer with me at all times and used a handkerchief to open doors.

My infusion center is right next to a hospital so the parking lot is set up for people to get checked out for Corona. There is a screening area and a big sign that says testing isn't guaranteed. It looks very apocalyptic like something out of a movie or a video game. Roads were very packed and saw out of state license plates. Which I guess could be students but was a little concerning.

Are those Infliximab infusions? They were close to a miracle cure for my other half, but she came off them when we were expecting our first child, and when they tried it again (well a bio-similar alternative) a few years later during a flare-up she suffered an allergic reaction unfortunately. How are you finding it?

 

[ncurd]

I'm surprised there is no universal and definitive opinion on what is essentially a simple accessory. While possibly not offering much protection to the wearer I guess it makes sense to wear one while using public transport if it in any way helps limit the spread. I'll trust the Germans on this one and would have no objections to seeing the same here whenever some restrictions are eased.

Before the Pandemic there was, essentially they are next to useless WHO were in agreement. TBH I think it's a visual/psychological thing rather than one that make any difference it's simple to make it look like your doing something.

 

[Which Tyler]

I'm surprised there is no universal and definitive opinion on what is essentially a simple accessory. While possibly not offering much protection to the wearer I guess it makes sense to wear one while using public transport if it in any way helps limit the spread. I'll trust the Germans on this one and would have no objections to seeing the same here whenever some restrictions are eased.

There is - surgical (and anti-pollution type, or home-made barrier type) masks work to a degree. A low degree.

They work best when an infected person wears one, and coughs or sneezes (or breathes but that's a much lower risk) in a public space, in which case the mask will significantly shrink the cloud of infected droplets. This is its job.
People knowingly infected / symptomatic shouldn't be out in public spaces. We don't have enough data to suggest how many people are shedding virus before developing symptoms - but it seems to be much less than originally feared, and for a maximum of a day or so.

In terms of protecting the wearer from other people... they're really a bit shit. Is an infected person sneezes right in your (masked) face, then IF correctly worn and correctly removed, it should reduce your viral load by about 50% (as opposed to 80% for a standard dust mask for diy or 95% for PPF2 level recommended for any medical person working within 2m of an asymptomatic patient).

Quite honestly, any barrier mask will work as well as a surgical mask, so long as it fits snuggly. The price gougers have driven the price up by 1500-3000% (£10-15 used to get you a box of 250, now you see a box of 50 going for £70-150). You can still get cycling / anti-pollution type masks for about £15 or activated charcoal (no better than the previous for this) for about £25, which will be about as effective as a surgical mask, whilst being reusable.
You don't seem to be able to get FFP rated masks (even FFP1 rated) for love nor money, even as a clinician.


If that was the whole story then (stocks and price gougers allowing) everyone should wear a mask of some kind. But. The problem then comes with the false sense of security.
Everything we know about human behaviour shows us that if you give someone the illusion of security, they increase risk taking activities, be it seat belts, scrum caps or face masks.
In this case, it means that people wear a mask, which they think is effective, and A] don't wear it properly, rendering it way, way less effective B] touch their face more, leading to greater spread from their hands (even if gloved*) C] actively keep pulling at the mask, rendering it almost completely ineffective, and D] go out when they shouldn't, stand closer to people than they should, spend longer in places than they should, etc etc etc.

*Gloves are also pretty useless the way most people are using them - they are most effective as a visual cue that you're about to touch your face, and so deciding not to.

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

Are those Infliximab infusions? They were close to a miracle cure for my other half, but she came off them when we were expecting our first child, and when they tried it again (well a bio-similar alternative) a few years later during a flare-up she suffered an allergic reaction unfortunately. How are you finding it?

yeah. I've been on them since my dx (five years now) along with Imuran and whatever acid reflux I feel like at the time. I've been allergic to them the entire time but I get IV benadryl and steroids before and it keeps the coughing under control. Everyone person I know who gets it, so like three others, is also allergic to it and needs to take meds before the infusions. The biggest thing for me has been supplementing with vitamins since I seem to not be able to absorb any through food and I'm sensitive to anemia, d3 deficiency, and b12 deficiency. Just up my doses for a couple of days when I'm super lethargic.

I've been told that if you go off of remicaide/Infliximab for more than 10 weeks it might not be able to work again. Did your partner switch to humira (or anything else) or are they battling through the allergies?

 

[dullonien]

yeah. I've been on them since my dx (five years now) along with Imuran and whatever acid reflux I feel like at the time. I've been allergic to them the entire time but I get IV benadryl and steroids before and it keeps the coughing under control. Everyone person I know who gets it, so like three others, is also allergic to it and needs to take meds before the infusions. The biggest thing for me has been supplementing with vitamins since I seem to not be able to absorb any through food and I'm sensitive to anemia, d3 deficiency, and b12 deficiency. Just up my doses for a couple of days when I'm super lethargic.

I've been told that if you go off of remicaide/Infliximab for more than 10 weeks it might not be able to work again. Did your partner switch to humira (or anything else) or are they battling through the allergies?

Her doctors were originally unwilling to try her back on infliximab due to the allergy risks after stopping for a prolonged period, however they had already tried humira which unfortunately had no effect, and she also doesn't respond to steroids. This was a few years ago now, but at the time she ended up in a pretty bad way and spent a while in hospital with her large bowel removed to stem the spread. She's been well since though and doesn't mind living with an ostomy bag given that it has improved her day to day life massively.

Anyway, don't want to derail the thread too much, but good to hear that you've got a treatment that works for you. We've been living with it for the last 13 years, so I know it can be very difficult at times, but we've had a couple of good spells during that time, long may the current one continue!

 

[Gavin]

DUP in Northern Ireland are calling for cemeteries to be open to the public.

What are the rules in other countries regarding cemeteries?

 

[Bada-Bing!]

There is - surgical (and anti-pollution type, or home-made barrier type) masks work to a degree. A low degree.

They work best when an infected person wears one, and coughs or sneezes (or breathes but that's a much lower risk) in a public space, in which case the mask will significantly shrink the cloud of infected droplets. This is its job.
People knowingly infected / symptomatic shouldn't be out in public spaces. We don't have enough data to suggest how many people are shedding virus before developing symptoms - but it seems to be much less than originally feared, and for a maximum of a day or so.

In terms of protecting the wearer from other people... they're really a bit shit. Is an infected person sneezes right in your (masked) face, then IF correctly worn and correctly removed, it should reduce your viral load by about 50% (as opposed to 80% for a standard dust mask for diy or 95% for PPF2 level recommended for any medical person working within 2m of an asymptomatic patient).

Quite honestly, any barrier mask will work as well as a surgical mask, so long as it fits snuggly. The price gougers have driven the price up by 1500-3000% (£10-15 used to get you a box of 250, now you see a box of 50 going for £70-150). You can still get cycling / anti-pollution type masks for about £15 or activated charcoal (no better than the previous for this) for about £25, which will be about as effective as a surgical mask, whilst being reusable.
You don't seem to be able to get FFP rated masks (even FFP1 rated) for love nor money, even as a clinician.


If that was the whole story then (stocks and price gougers allowing) everyone should wear a mask of some kind. But. The problem then comes with the false sense of security.
Everything we know about human behaviour shows us that if you give someone the illusion of security, they increase risk taking activities, be it seat belts, scrum caps or face masks.
In this case, it means that people wear a mask, which they think is effective, and A] don't wear it properly, rendering it way, way less effective B] touch their face more, leading to greater spread from their hands (even if gloved*) C] actively keep pulling at the mask, rendering it almost completely ineffective, and D] go out when they shouldn't, stand closer to people than they should, spend longer in places than they should, etc etc etc.

*Gloves are also pretty useless the way most people are using them - they are most effective as a visual cue that you're about to touch your face, and so deciding not to.

Good post.

My concerns are also that even if i get a supply of facemasks, how often do they need to be changed; are they washable and then reusable. Am I denying other health workers a supply of them, which are much more important to them than for me. Are goggles/eye protection also necessary, seeing as the the masks only cover the mouth and nose?

Then there's the waste the amount of used facemasks are going to cause. Is my scarf tied around my face, washable and reuse able going to equally effective than shelling out for face masks, which are going to end up on landfill.

That's not even getting the gloves - normal gloves ok? or are we gonna see a creation of waste caused by latex gloves being used.

Having said that I do believe it is inevitable that the Government are going to change policy on face masks, as part of a wider policy of easing lockdown restrictions. But there needs to be wider education of how and what masks to use, as well as effective handwashing, and social distancing. If home made ones are as effective as paying £x for face masks, how to put it on properly and what do you do when you have to eat etc. There's a lot of misinformation and mixed messages out there.

In South East Asia, it's become the part of the culture to wear them and frowned upon if you don't because it shows you are not thinking of your fellow citizen, in addition to the well being of oneself.

 

[ncurd]

In South East Asia, it's become the part of the culture to wear them and frowned upon if you don't because it shows you are not thinking of your fellow citizen, in addition to the well being of oneself.

In SEA its a cultural thing more bought about by air pollution than disease wearing face masks just seamed natural to them.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

In SEA its a cultural thing more bought about by air pollution than disease wearing face masks just seamed natural to them.

Yes, that as well. But say in HK, the SARs virus in 2002/03 really scared the **** out of peeps into wearing them. In Japan - I reckon 1 in 2 of the peeps I came across wore face masks. I also think for them it suits their culture because of the inherent shyness of peeps and it's a comfort thing.