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| re: Read any UK based news site.... | |
| Posted by: bway1430 08:08 am EDT 07/25/21 | |
| In reply to: Entirely predictable - sf 11:02 am EDT 07/23/21 | |
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| and you will see that ALW is not the only one going ballistic over the new 'pingdemic'. We have had the closing of rail lines, emergency workers being kept off-duty, loads of businesses shut due to staff shortages and empty food shelves in supermarkets thanks to the latest notification scheme - things far more serious than a few shows being postponed. ALW is only one of many who are rightfully speaking up and demanding change. Keep your popcorn for better things. This isn't entertaining to most of us. |
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| !!!! | |
| Posted by: sf 11:51 am EDT 07/25/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Read any UK based news site.... - bway1430 08:08 am EDT 07/25/21 | |
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| I live just outside London. Thank you for your condescension, but I'm perfectly well aware of what is going on all around me. Yes, absolutely a shockingly large number of people are being contacted by Test and Trace and being advised to self-isolate. The word pingdemic" is nastily cynical spin: far easier to blame the Test and Trace system for the disruption than to confront the fact that the government have taken their hands off the steering wheel again. Demanding that the rules be relaxed is not the answer; from a public health perspective, which is the only perspective that matters during a pandemic, the correct response is to work to bring the rate of infection down. Since the government has just essentially ended almost all restrictions, the R number probably isn't going to drop as quickly as it needs to, so the next move is to persuade us all to blame something else. And since this government won an 80-seat majority on the back of a manifesto pledge to strip a set of established rights from every single one of us, it's probably reasonable for them to be confident that there's no shortage of gullible idiots willing to fall hook, line, and sinker for a *very* obvious piece of spin. The rest of Europe is also in the middle of a pandemic, but our neighbours aren't currently experiencing the level of disruption we are - and I'm afraid the difference is that most of our neighbours don't have governments as incompetent as ours (and, in terms of the food supply chain, our neighbours haven't created such an unpleasantly toxic, racist environment for EU migrants that thousands upon thousands of them have chosen to leave, leading to a huge labour shortage in the food production and distribution network). We're experiencing this disruption because our government removed measures designed to keep us safe before it was prudent to do so. It's that simple. You're right about one thing - it isn't remotely entertaining. Or rather, it isn't remotely entertaining to watch a procession of fools blame the test-and-trace system for this mess. As for the rest of it, the sharp rise in the number of 'pings' is a symptom of the problem, not the cause. Bring down the infection rate, and the other problems will solve themselves. |
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| re: Thats just it.... | |
| Posted by: bway1430 03:35 am EDT 07/26/21 | |
| In reply to: !!!! - sf 11:51 am EDT 07/25/21 | |
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| Infection rates ARE going down. A spike was expected once rules were relaxed (and we still await that data) but the numbers to watch are how many who test poisitive were hospitalized or worse. The truth is that covid will be with us for at least a few more years before we become endemic. The track and trace served it's purpose early on but it is absolutely ridiculous to keep it now given the numbers of fully vaccinated people. Does that sound callous about those getting ill who are unvaccinated? Perhaps. But they are the ones putting themselves in danger. They have a choice: opt in to get vaccinated or play Russian roulette with their own health. The government can't fix that short of making vaccinations mandatory (and I would have no problem with that whatsoever). We agree in that the government has completely botched things and created mixed messages around covid that have caused confusion and chaos....and going back to the original argument, that is exactly what ALW was pissed off about and why he pulled his show until the next level of restrictions are done away with. |
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| re: Thats just it.... | |
| Posted by: sf 12:12 pm EDT 07/26/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Thats just it.... - bway1430 03:35 am EDT 07/26/21 | |
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| Infection rates weren't going down at the beginning of last week when Lloyd Webber threw his little tantrum. They're going down now, but they haven't been going down for long enough to know whether it's a sustained trend or just a blip, and we aren't far enough past the end of restrictions last week to factor that into the equation. If cases are on a sustained downward trend now, given the number of people who have been asked to self-isolate, it's probably because the test and trace system is working as intended. Yes, we're going to be living with this for a while. Yes, I'm appalled that younger people are being so slow to come forward and get vaccinated. I'm also appalled at the number of self-absorbed morons I see in indoor public spaces without masks on, because that's not going to get us out of this any faster, and it's not going to make places like theatres safer (as far as I'm concerned, vaccine passports should be mandatory and the rule in theatres and cinemas and on public transport should be no mask, no entry, no exceptions). And YES, as I said, there's no shortage of gullible idiots willing to fall for a very obvious piece of spin. If the test and trace system is helping bring down the infection rate, given that our government has (stupidly) flushed away most other protective measures, now is NOT the time to do away with it. |
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