[COVID-19] - Things to do when under lockdown

[General Melchett]

Similar. I only drink Fridays to Sundays normally and have largely managed to stick to that. Can't say the temptation hasn't been there though.

Probably shouldn't own up to this in public but Mrs OH and I spent yesterday doing a 1,000 piece jigsaw. 10 am to 10 pm solid less about an hour for meal breaks. Amazingly we were still talking at the end of it.

I am always impressed with couples who live together AND go out exercising together. I'd be advocating separate exercising in order to get a precious hour of 'me time' at home.

 

[TheOvalBall]

Fortunately, i can now walk my dogs. I have bulldogs, and they were getting fat and i worried a lot, because bulldogs develop breathing problems when too fat. I live in a townhouse complex, and i started walking them today inside the complex. I am so relieved. I love my dogs so much and i just want them to be healthy.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

I am always impressed with couples who live together AND go out exercising together. I'd be advocating separate exercising in order to get a precious hour of 'me time' at home.

the wife and i are still both working from home so largely dont spend more time together even though we're in the same house, we try and get out running a few times a week or at least a walk...bought a skipping rope too....havent skipped since primary school...ITS HARD!

 

[Which Tyler]

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_YD9zFJpj4/

 

[Scotty]

My dog may have got a 2 and a half hour walk yesterday because my wife kicked off that i was to noisy during her conference call. God she's only small she slept for 3 hours straight when i get home.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Metallica streaming a concert every Monday on their YouTube at 8pm EDT (whatever that is)
Slane castle tonight

Just to go back to this:
I presumed they'd be up for 24hrs or so, but looks they're just up indefinitely now - 6 concerts up on their channel in their Metallica Mondays playlist so far (mostly from the 2010s but the latest is from 91)

 

[Which Tyler]

 

[Bada-Bing!]

So Rishi extended the Furlough scheme to October. Same terms until July and then he expects firms to start contributing towards it and bring employees back on a part time basis from August to October, as it is scaled back. Going to cost billions and add to the public debt. Still, better than withdrawing it and letting millions become unemployed. Tax rises the remainder of this parliament and next are inevitable.

 

[General Melchett]

So Rishi extended the Furlough scheme to October. Same terms until July and then he expects firms to start contributing towards it and bring employees back on a part time basis from August to October, as it is scaled back. Going to cost billions and add to the public debt. Still, better than withdrawing it and letting millions become unemployed. Tax rises the remainder of this parliament and next are inevitable.

There is going to be so much furlough fraud going on. Desperate firms struggling to stay afloat continuing to claim after employees have returned to work not to mention dishonest ones who just want to milk the system knowing they will pay it back through taxes in the years to come.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Should have been getting ****** up to the point I forget my own name at a festival next week but instead I'm getting really into online poker. Don't know which has the bigger potential downsides to be honest!

 

[Bada-Bing!]

There is going to be so much furlough fraud going on. Desperate firms struggling to stay afloat continuing to claim after employees have returned to work not to mention dishonest ones who just want to milk the system knowing they will pay it back through taxes in the years to come.

Yeh, there will be unfortunately. My sister was telling me her friend was put on furlough and was still going into the office to work. When she was told that was illegal, the friend just said that it's a small firm and if she didn't then the firm will close down anyway.

 

[ncurd]

Yeh, there will be unfortunately. My sister was telling me her friend was put on furlough and was still going into the office to work. When she was told that was illegal, the friend just said that it's a small firm and if she didn't then the firm will close down anyway.

Yup loads of that kind of thing going on.


On 2 meter rule, I'm getting the vibe the CMO and CSA are stopping it changing I'm 99% sure if they weren't it would of been gone by now. It feels like the government are desperately trying to get it changed.

 

[The Seeker]

Thailand lifts Covid 19 curfew after three weeks of no new cases.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-thailand-idUSKBN23M0G8?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1BEGDI7y7OrykteB4k5dPr70qwblpzScwnRQ4CM3y8b-uEnWp9bTT_WAE

 

[General Melchett]

Yup loads of that kind of thing going on.

On 2 meter rule, I'm getting the vibe the CMO and CSA are stopping it changing I'm 99% sure if they weren't it would of been gone by now. It feels like the government are desperately trying to get it changed.

I find that very strange given that the CMO and CSA are merely (albeit important) advisers to the Government and have no actual authority. I can see shops and business having to face a lot of additional cost and hassle having to change all their signage from 2m to 1 or 1.5m within the next few weeks after common sense prevails.

 

[ncurd]

I find that very strange given that the CMO and CSA are merely (albeit important) advisers to the Government and have no actual authority. I can see shops and business having to face a lot of additional cost and hassle having to change all their signage from 2m to 1 or 1.5m within the next few weeks after common sense prevails.

Their authority is willingness to speak about the government you have to remember in terms of this crisis the CMO and CSA really do know where the bodies are burried and could potentially utterly screw the government.

I literally cannot think of a reason the government would not of reduced it except the medical advice.

 

[General Melchett]

Their authority is willingness to speak about the government you have to remember in terms of this crisis the CMO and CSA really do know where the bodies are burried and could potentially utterly screw the government.

I literally cannot think of a reason the government would not of reduced it except the medical advice.

They are civil servants and can't (and probably have no desire to) get involved politically. They themselves have even said as much during the No.10 media briefings. Their advice should stay behind closed doors and they should not be talking to the media unless asked to by the Government who are ultimately responsible for public health. If the Government suddenly decide to start ignoring them then I would expect them to refuse to join the media briefings.

 

[Which Tyler]

Out of interest - can someone please explain why 2m (based on actual science) is supposed to be excessive; but 1 or 1.5 is "common sense"
~Also why common sense is better than actual science?

2m was NOT a distance just arbitarily plucked out of thin air.
It was a distance based on sread of respiratory droplets via breathing, coughing and sneezing etc.
Smaller droplets travel further; as do those expired more forcefully - they also contain less viral load.

There is no magic distance where it suddenly becomes safe; whilst it's unsafe before that; it's a sliding scale of risk - with further being safe.
Large droplets (with large viral load) typically travel 1.2-2.4 metres - 2m is pretty low risk; 1m is pretty high risk; somewhere in between is somewhere in between. This stuff predates Covid by decades. Opinion varies on what level of risk is acceptable - it doesn't really vary on what the risk level is for different distances.

If everyone is wearing a mask, then this comes down; as they will stop some droplets; and slow down others, meaning they travel less far. But that necessitates mask wearing.
Research on how effective masks are at this, and where they move the "safe point" to is essentially impossible, as we're mostly talking about unregulated masks (whether home-made, FFP1, polution protection etc etc - and by definition, not all made to the same standard).

 

[General Melchett]

Out of interest - can someone please explain why 2m (based on actual science) is supposed to be excessive; but 1 or 1.5 is "common sense"
~Also why common sense is better than actual science?

2m was NOT a distance just arbitarily plucked out of thin air.
It was a distance based on sread of respiratory droplets via breathing, coughing and sneezing etc.
Smaller droplets travel further; as do those expired more forcefully - they also contain less viral load.

There is no magic distance where it suddenly becomes safe; whilst it's unsafe before that; it's a sliding scale of risk - with further being safe.
Large droplets (with large viral load) typically travel 1.2-2.4 metres - 2m is pretty low risk; 1m is pretty high risk; somewhere in between is somewhere in between. This stuff predates Covid by decades. Opinion varies on what level of risk is acceptable - it doesn't really vary on what the risk level is for different distances.

If everyone is wearing a mask, then this comes down; as they will stop some droplets; and slow down others, meaning they travel less far. But that necessitates mask wearing.
Research on how effective masks are at this, and where they move the "safe point" to is essentially impossible, as we're mostly talking about unregulated masks (whether home-made, FFP1, polution protection etc etc - and by definition, not all made to the same standard).

The clamour to reduce the distance is clearly related to restarting the economy. I have seen some business owners saying that dropping the distance to say 1 or 1.5 metres could be offset with say a requirement for all customers to wear masks. That way they could get twice as many customers in a shop at the same time but with the risk still mitigated to an acceptable level. I assume the thinking is that 2 metres was appropriate when the R rate was above 1 and people are looking to reassess what the acceptable risk level is with the R rate now reduced. It's very difficult to have a blanket approach if the R rate varies across the country. I'm not saying which is right or wrong but it looks to be turning into Health v Economy balancing act.

 

[Which Tyler]

The R value came down, because social distancing worked. Which includes the 2m rule.
From a healthcare perspective, tinkering with the 2m rule to increase the R value is a simple non-starter. From a political perspective, it's understandable - but have no doubt; it's a trade-off between saving lives, and saving finances.

None of which makes 2m excessive, or 1, or 1.5 "common sense" or remotely necessary.