The Covid19 thread

[Adam Ef]

Our local Lidl has a number plate recognition camara for it's car park on the way in and out. You have to scan your receipt under a touch screen and then input your number plate to not be fined for parking without shopping there. They stopped the system a while back due to it being touch screen for obvious reasons. As of this Monday they've reintroduced it due to lockdon rules ending. I imagine it's going to be a great hub for spreading Covid. All so they can catch a few people and a private company can fine people. I won't be shopping there using any transport with a number plate again any time soon.

[Bibio]

if they tried that up here the screen would get smashed in about half a day.

[Seeker]

I bet my MP that new covid restrictions would be imposed within 3 weeks from Freedom Day (Tory Death Cull Day, July 19th). Had he taken me up, I suspect I would win:
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/ministers-...230109907.html

[SV650rules]

Wish people would stop panicking about infection rates and look at hospital admissions, serious illness and deaths as the benchmark.... infections in younger people give natural immunity, which is much better than immunity from a dubious cocktail of virus mRNA and chemicals.

[Craig380]

The number of cases is still useful data for monitoring infection rates, but it certainly doesn't need to be shouted by the news every day. Given the percentage of population vaccinated in the UK, the truly meaningful stats are hospital admissions and deaths where Covid is the direct cause.

[SV650rules]

Here is an article from Spectator about the real cost of 'zero covid' policy, Australia did the opposite of Sweden. ( I could have posted a link, but Spectator is behind a paywall )


Matthew Lynn

Australia proves the cost of zero Covid





26 July 2021, 1:55pm





The UK is growing at the fastest pace in 80 years. The United States, fuelled by President Biden’s stimulus programme, is expanding at a breath-taking pace, while Sweden is growing at a rapid rate. Most of the global economy is bouncing back from the Covid recession at remarkable speed. There is, however, one exception. Australia. What has long been one of the most successful economies in the world is heading back not just into lockdown but into recession as well — and giving the world a sharp lesson in the cost of ‘zero Covid’.
Over the last year, Australia, along with New Zealand, has been heaped with praise for the way it has managed to keep Covid-19 under control. There is, of course, plenty of justification for that. Infection and death rates are dramatically lower than they are in most other countries. And yet, there is a price attached. Many local economists are now forecasting that a recession is almost certain in the latest quarter.
There is no great surprise about that. With rising local infections, and New South Wales and Victoria under lockdown, two states that account for more than half the country’s GDP output is being hammered. No one can produce very much when they can’t go out.

That, of course, is happening in one of the richest and most successful economies of recent times. Only a couple of years ago Australia was being celebrated for completing almost three decades without a recession, the longest run of uninterrupted growth since accurate GDP records started to be collected in the 1930s. Now it is slumping just as the rest of the world is recovering. In fact, it is about to show the economic cost of a zero Covid strategy. The country has imposed the tightest lockdowns and border closures in the world. Sure, that has worked in the sense that it has a far lower death rate than any other major counrtry. The trouble is, it also has a chaotic vaccination programme, and keeps going back into lockdown.

In truth, the big problem with zero Covid is that there is no exit strategy. The virus isn’t eliminated, it just keeps on circulating at low levels. While that is true, the borders have to remain closed and there are repeated lockdowns to stop infections running out of control.
Lots of ‘experts’ have been lecturing us for the last 16 months that there was no trade-off between health and the economy, and that zero Covid would be better for output in the medium term. Australia is about to show that isn’t really the case. Zero Covid will take a huge economic toll and may last for years. It is perfectly respectable to argue for it if that's what you want — but there is no point in pretending that there won’t be a heavy price in lost output and jobs. And over time that will take a toll on society as well.



Written byMatthew LynnMatthew Lynn is a financial columnist and author of ‘Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis’ and ‘The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031’

[DJ123]

Essentially that is a logical answer to shutting everything down; reduced economic activity and the subsequent cuts/fails of Business and jobs.

Perhaps Australia & New Zealand will review their policy given it hasn't worked for a continuous extended period of time and will have to adopt the 'living with' approach and the Vaccine route.

[Seeker]

The article on Australia mentions its "chaotic vaccination program" in passing, as of 2 days ago they had only fully vaccinated 13% of the population. The Liberal Party (a centre-right group) have mis-handled that.

It neglects to mention the trade spat with China - ever since Australia asked for an independent inquiry to find covid's origin China has been adding tariffs (200% on wine, 80% on barley), blocking various shipments and buying US coal instead of Oz coal.
https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-...lia-import-ban

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-...ities/12984218

So suggesting that the differing approaches to lockdown is the sole reason for growth rates is not valid. China is/was Australia's biggest trading partner and they are playing hardball to punish Australia.

[svenrico]

What is the situation with an independent inquiry to find covid's origin , is there a 'lack of cooperation' from
China ?!

[embee]

Statistics, a tricky fellow indeed. Growth depends where you measure it from .................

Australia GDP is above where it was in Dec19 (pre-pandemic), the drop in Q2-2020 (full hit from pandemic) was from about $500bn to $460bn ( -8%), which has recovered to just over $500bn again.

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/ec...latest-release

The UK is now about 10% lower than it was in Q4-2019. We saw a much bigger drop to Q2-2020 hence the recovery looks bigger, but we're still behind.
£545bn drop to £426bn (-22%) then recovered to £500bn, give or take a touch. In fact we've dropped again very slightly, but things are a bit turbulent so take with a pinch of salt.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/gross...ries/abmi/ukea