Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[TheScarf]

Proof that face masks work eh?

[Todd_is_God]

Absolutely incredible that, despite having close to 80% of over 60s double dosed, we are not far off testing 1% of our population on a daily basis.

Deary me, what a mess.

[Todd_is_God]

2 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

Proof that face masks work eh?

At what point does it become fair to ask if improper use of facemasks actually increases transmission, to the point there is a net detriment from mask mandates?

[D.V.T.]

Scottish numbers: 25 August 2021
5,021 new cases of COVID-19 reported
47,991 new tests for COVID-19 that reported results - highest ever number of tests, previous was 42,843
11.0% of these were positive
5 new reported death(s) of people who have tested positive
44 people were in intensive care yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19 (43 yesterday, 39 last Wed)
391 people were in hospital yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19 (364, 324)
4,088,894 (+3,372) people have received the first dose of the Covid vaccination and 3,603,429 (+31,387) have received their second dose

31,000 second doses is good to see.

[Michael W]

That is very good day for second doses. 

Case count is, erm, mental. I hope I'm wrong but a few days of that and the pressure will start for a rethink. 

[superbigal]

Daily Cases Update:  Day 20 in a row of our 4th wave of infections, case rises up a large 9.60% to 430.5 as we smash through the peak of the 3rd wave. Expect a jump of over 10% tomorrow to around 475.   The rise is 122% in the last week.

Yesterdays number has now been upgraded to 5,249. Todays another 5,021.  if replicated for a week we will rise to an unbelievable 650 cases per 100K and Scotland will go to the 2nd most infectious nation in the world.

Dunbartonshire now in a private battle for top of the league.  D&G has actually dropped while every other council is up.

Figures for Jags  1st Vaccines  2,854 to 3,342 ,  2nd vaccines  15,103 to 16,284

Total Cases Scotland 7 days 16th August to 22nd August were  21,471 now 23,532 up 9.60%, Positivity was 10.3% now 10.7%.  Cases per 100K were 392.8 now 430.5

Home Nations Daily update  :  UK Average 334.4 to 339.3 up 1.47%, England 326.6 to 327.6 up 0.31%, Wales 320.5 to 336.2 up 4.90%, Northern Ireland  598.9 to 614.6 up 2.62%

In Europe for travellers  Ireland  250.2 to 251.8 (Weekly change +2%),  Greece 214.9 to 222.5 (Weekly change +3%), France 226.0 to 221.0 (Weekly change -13%),  Switzerland 199.2 to 204.8 (weekly change +19%),  Portugal 159.3 to 159.6 (Weekly change -1%), Spain 160.5 to 151.4 (Weekly change -21%), These are still the only main countries over 150 cases per 100K 

Apart from Spain & France virtually everywhere is now on the rise.

Scotland peaks in Wave 3 at 425.1 for 27th June to 3rd July, (UK was 229.9) . Cases that day were 23,222 and positivity 10.8%

Scotland previously peaked in wave 2 at 301.9 for figures 29th Dec to 4th Jan, (UK was 642.1)    Cases that day were 16,496 and test positivity rate was 11.9%  

Council progress in last 24 Hours as follows.

Click cases by neighbourhood to see the spread on the geographical map. 
https://public.tableau.com/profile/phs.covid.19#!/vizhome/COVID-19DailyDashboard_15960160643010/Overview

West Dunbartonshire  696.2 to 787.9  The top spot rises another 13.18%

East Dunbartonshire   577.5 to 668.5 Up 15.76% as Dunbartonshire competes for top spot.

East Renfrewshire 603.8 to 651.7  

Dumfries & Galloway  619.1 to 611.6  Wow down for the day. 

Clackmannanshire  545.9 to 604.4 

Renfrewshire   508.9 to 580.3

South Lanarkshire 493.4 to 566.7

Glasgow City 507.4 to 562.9 

Argyll & Bute  510.4 to 553.7   

North Lanarkshire 486.3 to 553.4

Inverclyde  473.7 to 516.5

City Of Edinburgh  452.4 to 491.5

North Ayrshire  407.4 to 434.3 

Stirling  347.6 to 391.2

West Lothian  356.9 to 380.3

South Ayrshire  348.7 to 371.0

East Lothian  352.2 to 367.9

Midlothian  311.3 to 367.1

Falkirk   328.8 to 363.7

Dundee City  333.3 to 357.5

Scottish  Borders   331.5 to 355.8

Fife 327.4 to 345.3

East Ayrshire   274.7 to 300.2

Highlands   264.5 to 282.5

Angus   244.3 to 255.6

Perth & Kinross    214.6 to 222.5

Aberdeen City  191.2 to 211.7

Aberdeenshire   179.1 to 187.5

Western Isles    124.5 to 132.1

Moray  99.3 to 107.6

Shetland Islands   87.5 to 100.6

Orkney Islands   58.0 to 58.0

Edited August 25, 2021 by superbigal

[superbigal]

11 minutes ago, Michael W said:

That is very good day for second doses. 

Case count is, erm, mental. I hope I'm wrong but a few days of that and the pressure will start for a rethink. 

2nd doses figure is wrong.

It is 16,284

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/phs.covid.19/viz/COVID-19DailyDashboard_15960160643010/Overview

Edited August 25, 2021 by superbigal

[Michael W]

2 minutes ago, superbigal said:

2nd doses figure is wrong.

It is 16,284

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/phs.covid.19/viz/COVID-19DailyDashboard_15960160643010/Overview

Sturgeon out

[Arch Stanton]

Agree with Devi but it should have been done months ago.

 

 

[scottsdad]

There's always one...

 

[Suspect Device]

I liked Frogger.

 

 

Edited August 25, 2021 by Suspect Device

[Bairnardo]

1 minute ago, Suspect Device said:

I liked Frogger.

 

 

Widely available currently as "crossy road"

[Frankie S]

22 hours ago, Granny Danger said:

Just read Sturgeon’s comments.  Sensible and balanced as I would expect from a responsible and accountable political leader.  Some of the responses on here exactly what I expect from edgy no-marks on social media.

Extract from the BBC website “She said that about half of all new cases were in people under the age of 25 with 34% of Tuesday's tally in the under 19s.”

If more in the lower age groups acted more responsibly and got vaccinated then the problem wouldn’t be so bad.

During the pandemic there has been no shortage of unedifying mewling from the older generation about ‘irresponsible kids’, so it’s no surprise to find boomers wailing about vaccine hesitancy from the younger generation.

When the JVCI can’t make a convincing case that the benefits of vaccination for under 30s outweighs the potential risks, even when the risk of a dangerous adverse reaction to the vaccines is vanishingly small (1.1 cases per 100k in age group 20-29 suffering serious harm from vaccination (AZ) compared to 0.8 cases per 100k ICU admissions prevented by vaccines in the same age group, according to JVCI’s own data) then it’s crystal clear that there is very little compelling evidence to suggest that the under 30s need to be vaccinated for their own good. Indeed the evidence suggest the opposite - that vaccination is riskier for under 30s than contacting the virus, contrasting sharply with the clear benefits offered by vaccination to older cohorts.

It’s probably fair to say that (notwithstanding their general incompetence) both the Scottish and English governments are fully aware of the negligible risks presented to the younger generation by the virus, and (whatever their pronouncements to the contrary suggest) there is an unspoken acceptance in government that the virus will circulate freely among the younger, healthier age groups, and that natural immunity by infection will play almost as significant a role as vaccination in ensuring that the under 30s acquire immunity.

The contention that kids have some altruistic debt to their elders or moral obligation to get vaccinations they don’t really need for the benefit of the fully-vaccinated, who are currently enjoying maximal protection, is so deeply engrained in the popular mindset that it’s taken for granted, but it’s really just another instance of the ‘what can the younger generation do for us’ mantra that has become endemic since the start of the pandemic. Thinking back to the disgraceful Scottish government TV advertising campaign, where kids were being exhorted not to kill their grandparents, it’s not difficult to see how this view became mainstream.

What can the younger generation do for us? Well apart from accepting the hugely diminished experience that now passes for an education over the last 18 months (with more to come), and seeing their job opportunities wither on the vine, while their social opportunities and leisure pursuits (live music, arts, hospitality, nightclubs, sports, dating etc.) are stigmatised and criminalised. All the stuff that older generations were able to enjoy to the full are the very things that we’ve demanded younger generations sacrifice to keep us old timers safe.
I’ve got a 17-year old daughter who is going to Uni in September, and she’s taken it upon herself to get vaccinated, (by going to a drop-in centre, not because she’d received a blue letter - she hasn’t). I’m delighted that she chose to get vaccinated, but I’d have been just as supportive of her had she chosen not to. The pandemic has effectively ruined the last 18 months of her life, which is a much more significant proportion for her than it is for me, at a time when having a normal social life (meeting friends and prospective partners) is a crucial part of her development and mental well-being. I’m acutely aware of the sacrifices that she, her friends, and indeed all youngsters have made.

It’s long past time for double-vaccinated old timers like myself to start letting the younger generations (to whom we are already hugely indebted) enjoy their lives once again - restriction free - without stigmatising them as reckless or irresponsible, and without threatening to crack down on them and their favoured pursuits at the first opportunity. There’s a disproportionate amount of stick being used to beat younger generations with, and a negligible amount carrot on offer in a dystopian new world where governmental control of businesses and draconian restrictions on civil liberties have become the new normal.

It’s not the responsibility of the younger generations to protect the elderly any more: the vaccines are doing a perfectly good job of this, and (in conjunction with occasional boosters if needed) will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Ultimately all the fuss about vaccine hesitancy among the young is simply masking an incontrovertible truth: Covid simply isn’t much of a threat to anyone that isn’t elderly and / or afflicted with multiple co-morbidities, and the apparatus of governmental control that has inhibited, controlled and restricted our lives since the start of the pandemic has represented a much greater threat to the welfare of the younger generation than the virus.

Edited August 25, 2021 by Frankie S

[Marshmallo]

Post of the year candidate from @Frankie S

[Bairnardo]

Excellent post Frankie. Miles more eloquent than my own attempt at similar. Maybe the older generation should be more grateful to the ones who have had the vaccine than slating the ones who haven't. 

[Dawson Park Boy]

Excellent from Frankie.

Funny thing is, I represent a generation above Frankie and most of my peers feel exactly the same.

As soon as the elderly and vulnerable had been double jabbed, that should have been it.

It breaks my heart to see the disruption to their lives that my grandchildren have put up with.

How the heck our Antipodean friends can put up with all the zero Covid nonsense from the likes  of Saint Jacinda, I just don’t know?

[jessmagic]

15 minutes ago, Frankie S said:

During the pandemic there has been no shortage of unedifying mewling from the older generation about ‘irresponsible kids’, so it’s no surprise to find boomers wailing about vaccine hesitancy from the younger generation.

When the JVCI can’t make a convincing case that the benefits of vaccination for under 30s outweighs the potential risks, even when the risk of a dangerous adverse reaction to the vaccines is vanishingly small (1.1 cases per 100k in age group 20-29 suffering serious harm from vaccination (AZ) compared to 0.8 cases per 100k ICU admissions prevented by vaccines in the same age group, according to JVCI’s own data) then it’s crystal clear that there is very little compelling evidence to suggest that the under 30s need to be vaccinated for their own good. Indeed the evidence suggest the opposite - that vaccination is riskier for under 30s than contacting the virus, contrasting sharply with the clear benefits offered by vaccination to older cohorts.

It’s probably fair to say that (notwithstanding their general incompetence) both the Scottish and English governments are fully aware of the negligible risks presented to the younger generation by the virus, and (whatever their pronouncements to the contrary suggest) there is an unspoken acceptance in government that the virus will circulate freely among the younger, healthier age groups, and that natural immunity by infection will play almost as significant a role as vaccination in ensuring that the under 30s acquire immunity.

The contention that kids have some altruistic debt to their elders or moral obligation to get vaccinations they don’t really need for the benefit of the fully-vaccinated, who are currently enjoying maximal protection, is so deeply engrained in the popular mindset that it’s taken for granted, but it’s really just another instance of the ‘what can the younger generation do for us’ mantra that has become endemic since the start of the pandemic. Thinking back to the disgraceful Scottish government TV advertising campaign, where kids were being exhorted not to kill their grandparents, it’s not difficult to see how this view became mainstream.

What can the younger generation do for us? Well apart from accepting the hugely diminished experience that now passes for an education over the last 18 months (with more to come), and seeing their job opportunities wither on the vine, while their social opportunities and leisure pursuits (live music, arts, hospitality, nightclubs, sports, dating etc.) are stigmatised and criminalised. All the stuff that older generations were able to enjoy to the full are the very things that we’ve demanded younger generations sacrifice to keep us old timers safe.
I’ve got a 17-year old daughter who is going to Uni in September, and she’s taken it upon herself to get vaccinated, (by going to a drop-in centre, not because she’d received a blue letter - she hasn’t). I’m delighted that she chose to get vaccinated, but I’d have been just as supportive of her had she chosen not to. The pandemic has effectively ruined the last 18 months of her life, which is a much more significant proportion for her than it is for me, at a time when having a normal social life (meeting friends and prospective partners) is a crucial part of her development and mental well-being. I’m acutely aware of the sacrifices that she, her friends, and indeed all youngsters have made.

It’s long past time for double-vaccinated old timers like myself to start letting the younger generations (to whom we are already hugely indebted) enjoy their lives once again - restriction free - without stigmatising them as reckless or irresponsible, and without threatening to crack down on them and their favoured pursuits at the first opportunity. There’s a disproportionate amount of stick being used to beat younger generations with, and a negligible amount carrot on offer in a dystopian new world where governmental control of businesses and draconian restrictions on civil liberties have become the new normal.

It’s not the responsibility of the younger generations to protect the elderly any more: the vaccines are doing a perfectly good job of this, and (in conjunction with occasional boosters if needed) will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Ultimately all the fuss about vaccine hesitancy among the young is simply masking an incontrovertible truth: Covid simply isn’t much of a threat to anyone that isn’t elderly and / or afflicted with multiple co-morbidities, and the apparatus of governmental control that has inhibited, controlled and restricted our lives since the start of the pandemic has represented a much greater threat to the welfare of the younger generation than the virus.

Great post

[Scotty Tunbridge]

FIFA president apparently writes to BoJo for players from red list countries to be exempt from the quarantine on return.

I get the elite sports allowances for some things, but if this was to get approved there would be some uproar.

[Granny Danger]

16 minutes ago, Frankie S said:

During the pandemic there has been no shortage of unedifying mewling from the older generation about ‘irresponsible kids’, so it’s no surprise to find boomers wailing about vaccine hesitancy from the younger generation.

When the JVCI can’t make a convincing case that the benefits of vaccination for under 30s outweighs the potential risks, even when the risk of a dangerous adverse reaction to the vaccines is vanishingly small (1.1 cases per 100k in age group 20-29 suffering serious harm from vaccination (AZ) compared to 0.8 cases per 100k ICU admissions prevented by vaccines in the same age group, according to JVCI’s own data) then it’s crystal clear that there is very little compelling evidence to suggest that the under 30s need to be vaccinated for their own good. Indeed the evidence suggest the opposite - that vaccination is riskier for under 30s than contacting the virus, contrasting sharply with the clear benefits offered by vaccination to older cohorts.

It’s probably fair to say that (notwithstanding their general incompetence) both the Scottish and English governments are fully aware of the negligible risks presented to the younger generation by the virus, and (whatever their pronouncements to the contrary suggest) there is an unspoken acceptance in government that the virus will circulate freely among the younger, healthier age groups, and that natural immunity by infection will play almost as significant a role as vaccination in ensuring that the under 30s acquire immunity.

The contention that kids have some altruistic debt to their elders or moral obligation to get vaccinations they don’t really need for the benefit of the fully-vaccinated, who are currently enjoying maximal protection, is so deeply engrained in the popular mindset that it’s taken for granted, but it’s really just another instance of the ‘what can the younger generation do for us’ mantra that has become endemic since the start of the pandemic. Thinking back to the disgraceful Scottish government TV advertising campaign, where kids were being exhorted not to kill their grandparents, it’s not difficult to see how this view became mainstream.

What can the younger generation do for us? Well apart from accepting the hugely diminished experience that now passes for an education over the last 18 months (with more to come), and seeing their job opportunities wither on the vine, while their social opportunities and leisure pursuits (live music, arts, hospitality, nightclubs, sports, dating etc.) are stigmatised and criminalised. All the stuff that older generations were able to enjoy to the full are the very things that we’ve demanded younger generations sacrifice to keep us old timers safe.
I’ve got a 17-year old daughter who is going to Uni in September, and she’s taken it upon herself to get vaccinated, (by going to a drop-in centre, not because she’d received a blue letter - she hasn’t). I’m delighted that she chose to get vaccinated, but I’d have been just as supportive of her had she chosen not to. The pandemic has effectively ruined the last 18 months of her life, which is a much more significant proportion for her than it is for me, at a time when having a normal social life (meeting friends and prospective partners) is a crucial part of her development and mental well-being. I’m acutely aware of the sacrifices that she, her friends, and indeed all youngsters have made.

It’s long past time for double-vaccinated old timers like myself to start letting the younger generations (to whom we are already hugely indebted) enjoy their lives once again - restriction free - without stigmatising them as reckless or irresponsible, and without threatening to crack down on them and their favoured pursuits at the first opportunity. There’s a disproportionate amount of stick being used to beat younger generations with, and a negligible amount carrot on offer in a dystopian new world where governmental control of businesses and draconian restrictions on civil liberties have become the new normal.

It’s not the responsibility of the younger generations to protect the elderly any more: the vaccines are doing a perfectly good job of this, and (in conjunction with occasional boosters if needed) will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Ultimately all the fuss about vaccine hesitancy among the young is simply masking an incontrovertible truth: Covid simply isn’t much of a threat to anyone that isn’t elderly and / or afflicted with multiple co-morbidities, and the apparatus of governmental control that has inhibited, controlled and restricted our lives since the start of the pandemic has represented a much greater threat to the welfare of the younger generation than the virus.

I hope your glowing in the adulation of a handful of rabbit hole dwellers who honestly believe they’re talking for the wider population when they’re not.

Your mum will be proud of you.

[Bairnardo]

Just now, Granny Danger said:

I hope your glowing in the adulation of a handful of rabbit hole dwellers who honestly believe they’re talking for the wider population when they’re not.

Your mum will be proud of you.