Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[Thereisalight..]

2 minutes ago, scottmcleanscontacts said:

Thank you for that. Conic Hill looks more than do-able for a novice like me.

Never even considered Arthur's Seat. That's a good shout. Must afford some great views.

Yeah it’s definitely doable for a novice! I took my now ex there and she hated hill walking but managed it fine. Arthur’s Seat has fantastic views on a clear day! Definitely take binoculars if you go

[Caledonian1]

23 minutes ago, Zen Archer Esq. said:

If he thinks that Williams, Lofty, Gloria and Atlas are going to scare the shit out of folk he is much mistaken.

SHUT UP !!!

[Marshmallo]

 

[Dunning1874]

11 hours ago, Billy Jean King said:

12 hours ago, Marshmallo said:

Why can this not be achieved via blended learning?

For some, probably most, it can but you know as well as I do that a fair % will not give a flying fuk and for some with more "difficult" home circumstances it may be impossible. Kids learn best in school, until there is hard substantive evidence that schools are the main driver behind the 2nd wave they should remain as normal.

While I appreciate the societal importance of education compared to other areas which are facing restrictions, waiting for hard substantive evidence for the driver behind the spread of the virus and not taking action until that evidences emerges gives the virus more time to spread in the meantime; that approach for schools is the exact opposite of the approach we're taking with everything else.

There's also no hard substantive evidence that eg pubs are the driver behind the increase, but that hasn't prevented that already severely under pressure sector being given more hoops to jump through just on the off chance it helps as we need to limit indoor interaction between people from different households as much as possible. Introducing further restrictions in one area to limit that interaction is inconsistent when the places which have the most indoor interaction between households still carry on as normal, despite the opening of those areas perfectly correlating with the increase in cases.

Edited September 22, 2020 by Dunning1874

[buchan30]

Thank you for that. Conic Hill looks more than do-able for a novice like me.

 

Never even considered Arthur's Seat. That's a good shout. Must afford some great views.

Have always fancied doing arthurs seat. Depending on how close you are to the area, the fife coastal path is good for walking. My aim is to complete it bit by bit. So far been from shell bay to aberdour, so still a bit to do, but gives me motivation.

[djchapsticks]

4 hours ago, ali_91 said:

The two main issues with this is firstly that very few people are qualified to look at the data and analyse it in any meaningful way.
 

There is a perception in large swathes of the populace that they are as qualified to look at base data and draw conclusions as experts, which leads to uninformed opinions being presented as fact. 
 

Secondly, ‘the risk’ that people understand has a tendency to be a very narrow perception of what risk entails. People view risk based on what they believe the consequences will be for them, not for their elderly neighbour, or old Bob from the next town. 
 

A lot of people don’t have personal experience of what Covid actually can do (me included btw,) and so struggle to identify the very real implications of it spreading again, but can easily see the implications of not visiting their family, and so their risk/reward calculation is heavily skewed. 
 

Do agree that public perception is (wrongly imo) turning away from the government restrictions. 

Without a concrete strategy to truly get out of this though, it's hard to blame them. This is a means to an end but I'm almost certain that they don't actually know what that end is. And if there's no end, people are going to question the point.

It's gone from the hardcore halfwit element who 'don't want to wear masks or restrict my life because blah blah blah' to people who are now genuinely concerned that this is more than just a step backwards towards further restrictions but also a very public acknowledgement that they don't actually know how they will actually resolve this if the vaccine trials all fail.

Of course, like everyone else, my fingers are absolutely crossed for an effective, definitive vaccine but proper contingency should have been put in place and most importantly, communicated at some point in the last 6 months that if a vaccine doesn't work, there is another strategy. At least give people something to cling to. Currently we have some mumbled waffling about building up to tens of millions of tests a day and saliva tests that are accurate and effective in minutes but it's all at prototype stages and speculative at present.

[Carl Cort's Hamstring]

16 minutes ago, Hedgecutter said:

"A number" of Aberdeen uni students have just tested positive, this time up at their Hillhead halls.  All residents (bar rare exceptions) in one of the larger buildings are being told to self-isolate for a fortnight with immediate effect, so a great start to uni life for all ~150 of them who have been told by the uni that they'll face tough disciplinary procedures if they breach their quarantine. 

14 days stuck in this, with somebody bringing food to your door, would drive you round the f***ing bend...

My room in Hillhead was in the f*cking basement! I'd have gone all Jack Torrance after about 3 hours.

[Szamo's_Ammo]

 

[scottmcleanscontacts]

Have always fancied doing arthurs seat. Depending on how close you are to the area, the fife coastal path is good for walking. My aim is to complete it bit by bit. So far been from shell bay to aberdour, so still a bit to do, but gives me motivation.

Not too far all I'd guess. Not sure exactly where it starts but I could probably be anywhere in Fife within 45 minutes in the car.

[buchan30]

Not too far all I'd guess. Not sure exactly where it starts but I could probably be anywhere in Fife within 45 minutes in the car.

Just if you fancy it. Click on the fife pilgrim way and it gives you the individual sections.

 

https://fifecoastandcountrysidetrust.co.uk

[scottmcleanscontacts]

Yeah it’s definitely doable for a novice! I took my now ex there and she hated hill walking but managed it fine. Arthur’s Seat has fantastic views on a clear day! Definitely take binoculars if you go

Cheers again. That's another wee thing I wouldn't have considered ha. Only really finding my feet in terms of capabilities at the moment but I'm enjoying it and definitely keen to do as many as work/degree/kids will allow.

[pandarilla]

While I appreciate the societal importance of education compared to other areas which are facing restrictions, waiting for hard substantive evidence for the driver behind the spread of the virus and not taking action until that evidences emerges gives the virus more time to spread in the meantime; that approach for schools is the exact opposite of the approach we're taking with everything else.
There's also no hard substantive evidence that eg pubs are the driver behind the increase, but that hasn't prevented that already severely under pressure sector being given more hoops to jump through just on the off chance it helps as we need to limit indoor interaction between people from different households as much as possible. Introducing further restrictions in one area to limit that interaction is inconsistent when the places which have the most indoor interaction between households still carry on as normal, despite the opening of those areas perfectly correlating with the increase in cases.

I think it's less about actually education and much more about the social role that's increasingly played by schools in communities now. Getting good to kids, having them in some sort of normal routine with healthy conversations, getting them away from horrendous home conditions etc.

The last decade of austerity has seen more and more kids appearing in schools with massive deprivation problems, and schools are trying their best to solve them (with mixed success).

For me it was one of the biggest factors in the 'cure being more damaging than the virus' discussions.

Pubs are still being allowed to open, which sturgeon hinted might not be the case of she had full financial powers.

I get why they're making such distinction, I just don't agree with the measures.

[Turkmenbashi]

23 minutes ago, Hedgecutter said:

"A number" of Aberdeen uni students have just tested positive, this time up at their Hillhead halls.  All residents (bar rare exceptions) in one of the larger buildings are being told to self-isolate for a fortnight with immediate effect, so a great start to uni life for all ~150 of them who have been told by the uni that they'll face tough disciplinary procedures if they breach their quarantine. 

14 days stuck in this, with somebody bringing food to your door, would drive you round the f***ing bend...

Shit like this is just unnecessarily cruel almost. I feel some people are almost taking pleasure in having the chance to treat students like shit. 
Test the students and if they are not positive they should be freed, or at least allowed to socialise amongst each other or something.

Edited September 22, 2020 by Turkmenbashi

[scottmcleanscontacts]

Just if you fancy it. Click on the fife pilgrim way and it gives you the individual sections.
 
https://fifecoastandcountrysidetrust.co.uk

Definitely. It's quite good that the site breaks it up into sections as well.

Always need to consider that it's not a circuit though and ensure there's a way back to the car!

[NotThePars]

17 minutes ago, Day of the Lords said:

20 minutes ago, Marshmallo said:

He's got the wrong Gallagher 

Tbf they're both attention-seeking gobshites. Easily done.

I'm as surprised as anyone else that Liam Gallagher has turned out to be a good c**t but this is the world we live in. He's had some face turn in the last five years.

[Hedgecutter]

1 hour ago, Turkmenbashi said:

Shit like this is just unnecessarily cruel almost. I feel some people are almost taking pleasure in having the chance to treat students like shit

That said, I'm making the assumption that they'll be staying there, although they'll probably be allowed to self-isolate at their parents or someplace else for all I know (I suppose there's no way they can be detained there under threat of reprimand).  However, for many it would realistically need to be there if they can't organise any alternative.

Eta:  my "food to the door" comment was a flippant mere assumption as I know offshore workers who have had that treatment in hotel rooms recently, albeit for 3 or so days at a time.  In reality I'd imagine that they'd put food/drink out somewhere around the halls if they require the help and they'd be allowed out for socially-distanced walks or whatever's allowed when one self-isolates these days.  A jail cell affair does indeed seem somewhat unlikely, otherwise it would be like...

Edited September 22, 2020 by Hedgecutter

[buchan30]

Definitely. It's quite good that the site breaks it up into sections as well.

Always need to consider that it's not a circuit though and ensure there's a way back to the car!

It is one, continuous path. I just walk along, usually try and find someplace that has toilet facilities as i seem to be at that age and then walk back the way i have came.

[Donathan]

 

The routine testing is more there to prevent a game having to be called off if there are positive tests in the squad for TV reasons, right?

There are plenty of jobs where you can be within 2m of colleagues without having to be regularly tested. And you can play football recreationally without being tested. There’s no reason why testing should be required for lower league football. Technically it shouldn’t be required at Premiership level either, although I understand why Premiership clubs would choose to pay for testing to increase the chance of catching any outbreak early and preventing a cluster from infecting the league in general.

[scottmcleanscontacts]

It is one, continuous path. I just walk along, usually try and find someplace that has toilet facilities as i seem to be at that age and then walk back the way i have came.

Aye I think that's maybe a good method. I'd probably do 5/6 miles and then back. Would definitely need those facilities too, we're all getting auld and decrepit.

[djchapsticks]

Just now, ali_91 said:

I completely understand why people would think this is regressive, but at the same time what’s the alternative? You can argue over detail, but as soon as the cases started to spike action was necessary.

Not having a clear path out of this other than hoping for a vaccine isn’t a reason to not put restrictions in place for me. I agree that policy is currently more reactive than proactive, but the uncertainty means that firefighting is inevitable. 

I don't disagree with restrictions either at this point in time but it's a hell of a balancing act to get right. People will only go buy into the switching on and off of restrictions a finite amount of times before serious questions begin being asked regarding what is actually being done to resolve the situation.

I would be fully against further tightening to the point of another lockdown, though, even if no marked improvement is shown by the latest band of restrictions. For me, this would be deep into the territory of stemming a public health crisis but creating a widespread mental health one and one that will potentially be far more long lasting than Covid ever will be. A second lockdown over winter would be the nuclear option and not one worth taking IMO.