Are you observing Lockdown 2.0?

[Seeker]

I suspect they are hoping that the R number will drop over the next month which will ease the pressure on the hospitals and that the vaccine will be ready (or nearly ready) by the end of the lockdown period.

[embee]

Effectively the same here, hardly any noticeable difference in how folk are behaving.
As for a strategy, the extension of the furlough scheme until next spring pretty much says it all, between now and next spring/summer I expect a cycle of in/out of lockdown/tier 1,2,3 until the weather warms up again and the virus naturally begins to decline.

Originally Posted by punyXpress

The Government Instruction has reverted to " Stay At Home " so everyone is obeying Cummings, D & doing as they darned well like.
He's a lot to answer for but no-one in government dare question him.

I remember a comment from someone when the possibility of Johnson sacking Cummings was discussed at the time. They said Johnson sacking Cummings would be like Baldrick sacking Blackadder.

[SV650rules]

Very thought provoking article from Spectator attached as PDF ( Spectator has a paywall ).

A good point in the article is that so far, according to Office for
National Statistics data, the average Covid victim is 79 years old
with at least 2 'co-morbidities' ( underlying health conditions
like diabetes ).

[Swin]

I can't work from home due to the nature of my job, ride a bike into Central London and work in a large office with a small number of staff, so haven't really been too badly affected by the Covid epidemic.

We've observed the stay at home advice to the letter, must admit that the traffic on the way in this morning didn't seem any less than a normal day, so I suspect a lot of people aren't following the advice

[redtrummy]

We think we had the virus back in late winter but have been careful since anyway.
We are aware that more infections mean an extra burden on the NHS, and vulnerable people and those that need hospital treatment could find it not available. Prior to this latest lockdown we did visit the odd pub but only those we had confidence in.

So yes we are following the Governments dictate as illogical as it is in its detail in places, hoping that a safe and effective vaccine is available soon.

[embee]

The news on a promising vaccine is definitely a hopeful news item. A difficulty does seem that it needs to be stored at very low temp (-80C), specialist freezer territory, but apparently other versions are under development.

They'll have to work a pretty clever public information exercise so folk realise that a vaccine doesn't stop you getting infected and doesn't get rid of the virus from the environment, just that your immune system has a head start so you hopefully don't develop serious symptoms. I assume it means you don't become particularly infectious, not sure about that though.

A glimmer of hope anyway.

[DJ123]

Originally Posted by embee

The news on a promising vaccine is definitely a hopeful news item. A difficulty does seem that it needs to be stored at very low temp (-80C), specialist freezer territory, but apparently other versions are under development.

They'll have to work a pretty clever public information exercise so folk realise that a vaccine doesn't stop you getting infected and doesn't get rid of the virus from the environment, just that your immune system has a head start so you hopefully don't develop serious symptoms. I assume it means you don't become particularly infectious, not sure about that though.

A glimmer of hope anyway.

The issue i still see, same as with the Flu vaccine, is as you say it can only help you fight it and will not guarantee you can't get it.
If they stick to their plan of giving it to first responders & the vulnerable, that should initially help to prevent any chance of saturating the NHS.

[keith_d]

Originally Posted by embee

The news on a promising vaccine is definitely a hopeful news item. A difficulty does seem that it needs to be stored at very low temp (-80C), specialist freezer territory, but apparently other versions are under development.

Dry Ice sublimes at -78C, so refrigerated shipping shouldn't be a big problem. Once it's defrosted the vaccine has a shelf life of 4 or 5 days in a regular fridge. It is entirely feasible to deliver a consignment on Monday and provide vaccinations from Tuesday to Friday in most GP's practices.

There is still the challenge of getting patients to turn up on time and stay 2m apart while they're waiting. But with a bit of effort it would be possible to vaccinate a patient every few minutes.

Definitely a step in the right direction.

[svenrico]

Haven't done anything outside what is allowed. Not been on the bike since this latest lockdown started but if I want to go for a runout I might , but I would be wary of going for a longer ride. The weather at this time of year is a consideration anyway !

[gadget]

I intend to go for a ride at some point soon if only to keep the wheels turning ... both on me and the bike, even if it's down to a coast for a couple of hours.
I wont be in convoy, just me on my lonesome, no contact with anybody, so I don't see that I or anyone else we be put at risk and from what I understand it is ok to do so within reasonable travelling distances.