Is Covid now over?

Well of course I know it isn't but is anyone bothered about it anymore?

Today for instance there were 33,000 testing positive, 94 deaths reported and the official rate of infection per 100,000 people is 285.1

Even a few weeks back people were shocked when the forecast for unlocking predicted 50,000 cases per day - but now 33,000 is happening and no one bats an eyelid about it?

We've had people literally screaming on here about Covid deaths in this country - all a Tory plot and all that - but not a mention now about 100 people a day dying from Covid.

As for the rate, let me set that in some sort of context.

When Covid first hit, travel abroad to country's with a rate of 20 cases per 100,000 population (per 7 day average) were prohibited - the current official rate (which I think has a 5 day lag in it - as cases after that are still in the process of being processed) is 285!

People around my way never bothered much about any rules during lockdowns so little chance of them voluntarily wearing masks and limiting social contacts.

There's still about a third in the 20 to 29 age group still not bothered having even their first jab - and I'd bet my 10p that cases will rocket again as soon as the schools and university's go back again.

Nobody seems to give two hoots anymore, so is Covid over as far as you are concerned because it certainly seems that way to me?

Oh for what it is worth my nephew, his wife who has MS and two kids all went down with Covid about a month ago (they are all well again thanks - it hit is wife hard but she had been double vaccinated although she didn't need the hospital).

The only reason I mention this is because it was their son who is college aged, who caught it from his mates and ended up giving it to the rest of them - my nephew had only bothered to get his first jab - even though he knows is dad is one of those most vulnerable and is shielding!

Point being if my own extended family can't be arsed - even though there are two people directly related to them who are at risk - why should I, or anyone else, expect others to 'do the right thing'?

I think Covid is over as far as most are now concerned and how they behave.

Do you feel the same?

I noticed very few masks on show at the match on Saturday. Apart from the kiosk staff, I saw none on the concourse.
There probably were a few, but I certainly didn't see them.
I think people are wishing it away, rather than believing it's gone. I'd still say it would be wise to be wary.
We've come a long way, and lost a lot of loved ones, so let's not bottle it now.

The following are just from this mornings Covid related headlines.

Seems people are acting that they believe Covid is over as far as they are concerned

Posted at 8:34
30% of England's young adults not jabbed

Three in 10 adults under the age of 30 have not had a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to NHS England estimates.

Uptake is around 81% for people in their 30s and 89% for those in their 40s. It is 90% in all other age groups.

The lower rate among younger adults persists despite concerted efforts to encourage uptake. Food delivery and ride-hailing firms including Uber, Bolt and Deliveroo have been offering incentives to get people vaccinated.

Dr Mary Ramsay, Public Health England's head of immunisations, said infection rates were highest in this age group and stressed that Covid-19 "can be serious for some".



Posted at 10:02
Gatwick boss calls for removal of testing requirements for travel

The boss of Gatwick Airport says.."Our government needs to act now and remove unnecessary and costly PCR testing requirements for passengers, particularly for those double vaccinated.

"UK travel recovery should not be allowed to lag behind the US and Europe.



10:47
Fewer people social distancing - ONS

Fewer people say they are social distancing in England, Scotland and Wales, official figures suggest.

The Office for National Statistics reports that 49% of adults say they always or often maintain social distancing - compared to 53% last week.

The figures are based on a survey of around 5,000 households, conducted between 4 and 8 August



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-58197655

And a further one...

12:18
BREAKING
Around one in 75 people in England had Covid last week - ONS

Around one in 75 people in private households in England had Covid last week, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The figure, for the week to 6 August, is unchanged on the previous week.

The data is based on swab tests of a random group of people in the community.

Folk are getting inured to Covid, partially because they're weary of hearing about it and partially because they want to believe it's no longer a threat.
That said, vulnerable individuals are still super cautious about contact so it's as though concern has moved from being the general consensus that we collectively protect society to an individual matter.
Our collective guard has dropped.

Scotland recorded their most new cases in one day ever on Tuesday!

Of these cases half of the cases were from people under 25, with almost 40% of them being from under 19's.

Should be fun when schools go back and uni starts again!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-58315956

what then if your immune from covid and arent going to catch it, last year i hadbad flu twice in a months time it doesnt mean i spread the stuff.....sometimes ppl are just immune and there are lots of them.

dutchwhites63 wrote:what then if your immune from covid and arent going to catch it, last year i had bad flu twice in a months time it doesnt mean i spread the stuff.....sometimes ppl are just immune and there are lots of them.

Good for you if you are.

You should offer yourself to medical research so they can figure out what makes you immune whilst the rest of the world isn't.

That would soon help put a stop to things wouldn't it.

As for me, I'm pretty sure I'm not immune and that's why I had my two jabs to protect myself the best I could.

Fwiw the World Health Organisation latest data is as follows -

Globally, as of 5:56pm CEST, 24 August 2021, there have been 212,357,898 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 4,439,843 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 23 August 2021, a total of 4,619,976,274 vaccine doses have been administered.

https://covid19.who.int/

It stands at 2% risk of death as I read it on the worldometer website here...

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

karlypants wrote:It stands at 2% risk of death as I read it on the worldometer website here...

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

2% risk is nothing if you are pretty confident you won't die from it.

2% risk is frightening if you are at an age and frailness that you think it may well kill you if you catch it.

Depends which side of the line you are on as to how important it is to you I suppose.

I would guess from this tonight that rates will soon be shooting up in Bolton, although I doubt many involved have had a jab or even gives Covid a second thought!

pic.twitter.com/ctDrHF47ZH

— mark crowther (@mark_crowther3) August 24, 2021

Good to see life getting back to normal

BoltonTillIDie wrote:Good to see life getting back to normal

I'm not sure it is?

These are just some of today's headlines -

15:00
'Significant' Covid surge expected - government adviser

It is "realistic" to say there will be a "significant" surge in coronavirus infections as schools return and people attend summer festivals, an expert advising the government on the virus has told the BBC.

Prof Ravindra Gupta, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, says: "Of course there is going to be an associated surge in cases, given that the young people in these events are largely going to be unvaccinated.

"So that's just something that is predictable and will happen, despite best efforts."

Covid infection protection waning in double jabbed

Researchers say they are seeing some waning of protection against Covid infections in double-jabbed people.

The real-world study includes data on positive Covid PCR test results between May and July 2021 among more than a million people who had received two doses of Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine.

Protection after two shots of Pfizer decreased from 88% at one month to 74% at five to six months.

For AstraZeneca, the fall was from 77% to 67% at four to five months.

Waning protection is to be expected, say experts.

Prof Tim Spector, lead investigator on the Zoe Covid Study app behind the research, said the findings could explain recent breakthrough infections that some fully vaccinated people have been reporting.

He estimates that protection against infection could drop to 50% by the winter and boosters will be needed, but other experts urge caution about making predictions for the months ahead.

This study once again illustrates why we need to get used to Covid circulating - this is not a virus that's going to go away.

Whatever the cause though, experts have been clear we should expect to be repeatedly infected over our lifetimes.

The important thing is that each re-infection should be milder as the vaccines remain highly effective at preventing serious illness.

Full article here -

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-58322882

15:10
Scottish daily infections above 5,000 for first time

Scotland has recorded more than 5,000 Covid cases in the past 24 hours - the highest figure for a single day since the pandemic began.



And from abroad - and remember the longer Covid is out there, the more often it continues to mutate!

Posted at 14:34
Sydney's daily infections hit record

Posted at 14:18
Nearly all of Vietnam cases recorded since May

Posted at 14:04
Hospitals in Switzerland 'could be overrun in weeks'

13:17
Japan extends Covid measures

Posted at 12:5712:57
NRA gun lobby cancels annual meeting amid surge in cases

The powerful US gun rights group, the National Rifle Association, has cancelled its annual meeting because of a rise in Covid-19 infections in Texas.

The conference was due to be held next week, but the group decided to scrap it "after analysing relevant data regarding Covid-19 in Harris County, Texas".

"We are mindful that NRA Annual Meeting patrons will return home to family, friends and co-workers from all over the country, so any impacts from the virus could have broader implications," the group said in a statement.

Posted at 12:35
Effectiveness of vaccines drop in US after Delta surge

Posted at 10:36
New Zealand reports another 62 cases

New Zealand - which had no community transmission for much of the year - has recorded another 62 community cases, another high for 2021.

All of New Zealand will remain at the highest lockdown - Level 4 - until 11:59pm on Friday 27 August, with a review on Friday.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-58326657


We might be getting back to something like normal here for now but I expect to see positive tests shoot up following schools and uni returns - and then it all depends from that how that translates to people going into hospital.

And in the background is what new mutations of Covid around the world occur and what effects they may have on whether we all need to be vaccinated again.

I don't think we are out of the woods yet unfortunately.

I'm still in my bunker.

Cajunboy wrote:I'm still in my bunker.

The reality of it all is the world has to carry on and the survival of the fittest will dominate as always.

Covid is with us for good now and we've got to live with it the best we can.

It's blatantly clear that a huge chunk of under 25 year olds simply don't give a toss about it - and rightly or wrongly that isn't going to change - unless the virus mutates and starts killing them off in large numbers - then they will rush for the jabs.

Assuming that won't happen the most likely best result for mankind is that they all catch it safely and build up quickly a herd immunity to it - I say for mankind because the longer people aren't vaccinated the longer time the virus has to mutate and that could be anywhere in the world eg Kent, South Africa, Brazil, India, etc...

This is more news from today -

Covid in Scotland: Return of schools 'fuelling' record case numbers

Scotland's record number of Covid cases is partly being fuelled by the return of schools after the summer holidays, the deputy first minister has said.

John Swinney said the data showed that high numbers of young people had tested positive in recent days.

And he said the case for secondary pupils continuing to wear facemasks in school was growing "ever stronger".

Speaking to the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme, Mr Swinney said there was no doubt that pupils and staff returning to school over the past fortnight had contributed to the "unprecedented" number of cases.

"Undoubtedly the gathering of people together in schools will have fuelled that to some extent, and you can see that in the proportion of younger people who are testing positive."

Full article here -

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-58328945


It seems obvious that the same rise in cases will follow when our schools go back - it's going to be even worse when unis open again!

The bottom line will always be if the hospitals can cope and it looks for now they will but unfortunately we simply don't know what is round the corner - who had even heard of the Delta virus six months ago and now it is the main Covid strain worldwide.

Todays UK stats -

16:05
BREAKING
UK records more than 35,000 new Covid cases
There have been another 35,847 coronavirus cases recorded in the UK - a rise from 30,838 the previous day.

And there have been a further 149 deaths of people who had tested positive in the previous 28 days. On Tuesday, 174 deaths were reported.

Keep safe in your bunker Cajun, it's probably the best place to be until next autumn I reckon.

Just thought I put this here - just to show how many people must acted as though covid was all over months and months ago!

Covid: More than 300,000 suspected of breaking quarantine rules

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-58517123

Thought this was interesting - a study of 51,281 Covid deaths between January and July this year shows only 256 occurred after two doses - and they were mostly people at very high risk from illness from Covid-19.

Of the 51,281 deaths involving Covid registered in England between 2 January and 2 July 2021:

640 (1.2%) were people who had received both vaccine doses

This total includes people who had been infected before they were vaccinated

Some 458 deaths (0.8%) were people who died at least 21 days after their second dose

Just 256 deaths (0.5%) were people who were both fully vaccinated and who had their first positive PCR test at least 14 days after their second dose

"Breakthrough" deaths - occurring at least two weeks after the second jab along with a first positive PCR Covid test - tend to happen in the most vulnerable, men and those with weakened immune systems, with the average age being 84.

Among those who died after two doses, 13% were immunocompromised, 61% were male and more than 75% were clinically extremely vulnerable.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-58545548

Can't wait for my third jab and the ONS study blows out of the water the "people who have been jabbed are still dying" bullshit excuse for not getting jabbed.

I thought this was interesting -

Posted at 11:03
School brings back face masks after Covid case spike

Face masks have been reintroduced at a school in England following a spike in cases, a headteacher has said.

Giselle Lynch, head teacher at St Augustine of Canterbury High School in St Helens, told BBC Radio 5 Live testing had revealed one positive case when her school re-opened on 2 September.

“We retested them on Tuesday 7 September and we had no positives – but by Friday we started getting positives being reported by parents and by the Monday it was out of control, it was just ridiculous – we’re talking 50 cases,” she says.

“So, that day, I made the decision to close the school for a deep clean and to reintroduce face masks – and increase the amount of testing we do."

She says that after bringing back face coverings, hand sanitisers, one-way systems and controlled lunch breaks, the number of cases seem to be levelling out.

“We are now telling parents that if one child has it they must keep their other children off too...

“We are running online sessions again too so pupils can keep on top of things.”

The Department for Education said more than 91% of school children were back in the classroom last week.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-58662328#lx-commentary-top


I know it is only one school but it just shows how Covid spreads so quickly!

To be fair I did expect a massive rise in cases since the schools went back but that generally doesn't seem to have happened.

I fully expect a massive rise now that uni's have just gone back too - let's have a look at how things go in the next few weeks - fingers crossed they prove me wrong too.

For the record we are the third highest country behind the USA and India for daily infections as of yesterday all but 300 people per 100,000 in the UK and NI.

Deaths and people in hospital with Covid are not insignificant but nothing like the other two peaks and the NHS isn't being overwhelmed in general but is/has been in the worst effected areas.

Seems for now unlocking is working - just as well because around where I live people knocked that on the head months ago!

I think it's a bit mad that we filled up the unibol when 150 people power day are dying.

When it was 50 people a day last year we were all queueing up outside supermarkets and clapping for the NHS.

Thought this was interesting -

Covid: One in 20 secondary-age children infected in England

One in every 20 children of secondary school age in England is infected with coronavirus, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics.

This is the highest reported rate for this age group - or any other - since the pandemic began.

Children's risk from the virus is very low, and serious illness is rare.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-58763845


Almost as though the government are happy for the kids to get it and become immune and get us to herd immunity as fast as possible.

It does make sense but if I had a kid who was vulnerable to catching Covid it would be a massive worry.