'Don't kill your gran': Britain sounds COVID alarm

By Estelle Shirbon

 

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock arrives to attend a Cabinet meeting of senior government ministers at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London, Britain, September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Pool

 

LONDON (Reuters) - British ministers and medics are urging the public to get serious again about the coronavirus after a sharp rise in infections raised fears the outbreak was slipping out of control in some parts.

 

Close to 3,000 new cases were recorded on Sunday and again on Monday - a sudden jump from numbers much closer to 1,000 for most of August, and the highest since May.

 

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said young people had become too relaxed about social distancing and could endanger older relatives through complacency.

 

"Don't kill your gran by catching coronavirus and then passing it on. And you can pass it on before you've had any symptoms at all," he told a BBC radio programme aimed at younger audiences.

 

Some 41,554 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 in Britain, the worst fatalities toll in Europe, though in recent weeks infection numbers had been lower than in several European neighbours.

 

"The numbers have been going up and we've seen in other countries where this leads, and it is not a good place," Hancock added.

 

England's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam warned of a "creeping geographic trend" as higher infection rates were being seen in many parts. "That is really a signal that we've got to change this now, got to start taking it seriously, very seriously again," he told Channel 4 News.

 

Britain enforced a relatively strict lockdown between late March and early July, but has been gradually easing it since. Pubs, restaurants, shops and gyms are open, albeit with social distancing.

 

The government increased penalties for serious breaches in August after police broke up several raves.

 

Tighter restrictions have been reimposed in places with a spike, including Manchester in northern England, Glasgow and other areas of Scotland, and Caerphilly county in Wales.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-09-08

 

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suckling succotash????

13 minutes ago, Sharp said:

suckling succotash????

I always thought it suffering succotash????

 

Have I been wrong all these years!

 

Thank god the schools are safe..... In Boris we trust......... 

 

(200 pupils in Liverpool send home (to mum and dad???).....but that will be the scousers fault)

9 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

I always thought it suffering succotash????

 

Have I been wrong all these years!

 

????...Predictive texting ..your correct of course !!

34 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Some 41,554 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 in Britain

Were they fit & healthy prior to being tested?

 

What age group?

 

What was the primary cause of death?

It’s pointless.  This has now become a politically problem for governments.  The health issue seems to have become secondary.

Jonathan Tam one of many Deputy Chief Medical Officers, plank of the week, according to some video I saw.

Leads me to wonder why do Doctors go into comparatively, normally unimportant and less well paid public service roles. Could it be that they are not very good Doctors. I mean the career path for a good Doctor is emergency room, surgery, high turnover places, followed by specialising, consulting advising etc  making heaps of money. Some less ambitious become GPs and still do very well and can be quite good at the patient interaction and management part of it. Where do the crappy, not very good Doctors go?

@khunken

 

Like to tell me why my post makes you 'sad'?

too late mate, she's already stiff, but that's okay lets hit the pub lol...

7 hours ago, Bluetongue said:

Jonathan Tam one of many Deputy Chief Medical Officers, plank of the week, according to some video I saw.

Leads me to wonder why do Doctors go into comparatively, normally unimportant and less well paid public service roles. Could it be that they are not very good Doctors. I mean the career path for a good Doctor is emergency room, surgery, high turnover places, followed by specialising, consulting advising etc  making heaps of money. Some less ambitious become GPs and still do very well and can be quite good at the patient interaction and management part of it. Where do the crappy, not very good Doctors go?

The clue is in your first sentence.

On 9/8/2020 at 6:44 AM, faraday said:

Were they fit & healthy prior to being tested?

 

What age group?

 

What was the primary cause of death?

These are superb questions to ask. Analyzing the data of who is contracting and dying from COVID-19 could help governments impose more specific and targeted restrictions. For example, in the US, only 6% of COVID-19 deaths were from COVID-19 alone. The other 94% had complications from an average of 2.6 other significant health issues. The vast majority were elderly. With these stats in mind, locking everyone up does not make logical sense when a thinking person even remotely considers the damage to education, jobs and other parts of countries' respective economies. And this is just a few stats. Then there is data from different parts of countries and states that logic dictates would result in different solutions. For example, does a rural area in England need the same restrictions as London? Not likely.

 

This is an area where governments of countries perform poorly. They often institute one-size-fits-all solutions that don't address problems effectively and without creating massive collateral damage.

Unfortunately, I killed my gran off earlier this year. I know, but thought I'd cheer her up with a visit.

17 hours ago, chilli42 said:

It’s pointless.  This has now become a politically problem for governments.  The health issue seems to have become secondary.

It was always secondary. The only time it was upmost in the government's minds was when locking down people to avoid spending taxpayers' money on taxpayers.

15 hours ago, Bluetongue said:

Where do the crappy, not very good Doctors go?

If they don't rise up the ladder, they become a Staff grade, which means that they are unable to pass the Fellowship exams, that propel them towards consultant.

 

General practice is another, although many choose to do so. I think it would be hugely tedious, seeing 20 patients every morning, most with a cold.

 

@thaibeachlovers

 

Can you contribute to this? 

 

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