Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[The Master]

9 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

Its not so much the virus numbers, or even Scotgovs interpretation of them that worries me, its more the chain reaction of media hysterics and wilful misinterpretation of the numbers resulting in Scotgov bowing to pressure from people who have been scared into not knowing any better.....

This is why she needs to keep updates to being in Parliament only.

It stops STV’s latest work experience student asking “hOw MaNy CaSeS bEfOrE lOcKdOwN?” every single time. 

[Abdul_Latif]

19 minutes ago, The Master said:

This is why she needs to keep updates to being in Parliament only.

It stops STV’s latest work experience student asking “hOw MaNy CaSeS bEfOrE lOcKdOwN?” every single time. 

Scottish journalism is in the gutter and these briefing have made it all the more obvious. BBC and STV news journos asking inane questions like fitba pundits looking for a back page. Embarrassing in the extreme.

[Lyle Lanley]

Quote

PUB  bosses have warned of “severe and irreversible damage” to the industry if Nicola Sturgeon clobbers the sector with new curbs.

The First Minister is to make a statement today where she’s expected to reiterate that reimposing restrictions in the coming weeks is possible if the surge in cases continues.

Last night, one insider said ministers could peg back opening hours - and even shut nightclubs again.

But senior sources insisted there was still no immediate plan for new restrictions , with ministers and officials hopeful that the dramatic surge in cases - partly fuelled by high test numbers - will settle down in the coming days.

Ms Sturgeon’s parly address comes after Scotland recorded seven more deaths of people with recently confirmed Covid and 6,029 new cases.

And 585 people who recently caught the virus were in hospital, up by 34 in a day, with 54 patients in intensive care, up two. This compares to pandemic peaks of 2053 in hospital and 221 in intensive care.

Ahead of Ms Sturgeon’s statement, Scottish Government national clinical director Jason Leitch said public health officials’ advice to ministers would be that “you have to stop transmission”.

He added: “Transmission happens indoors, unventilated, in crowds. So if you wanted to stop transmission, you need to think about areas that fit that criteria that you can just turn back a little bit.”

Asked if that meant nightclubs and pubs, he said that “might be where you start”, but said ministers would also have to consider the economic implications.

Last night Scottish Beer and Pub Association spokesman Paul Togneri said: “Any further restrictions placed on the hospitality industry would do severe and irreversible damage to an already fragile sector at the worst possible time.

“Professor Leitch is right to highlight the economic complexities that factor into the decision-making process.”

Glasgow businessman Donald MacLeod, who owns the Garage and Cathouse clubs, said he feared ministers were “switching the tap on and off on a whim” which would leave the night-time industry “in paralysis”.

He said: “It seems to me they’re putting the frighteners on here and I just wish they’d stop it.

“I wish they’d let us get on with our lives because we now have 80 odd per cent double vaccinated. People might be contracting the virus but there’s no pressure that I can see.

“It’s about time we started accepting that the vaccine is doing its job.

“Are we going to be doing this alone, being the only part of the UK closing down again?

“Eighteen months of this has been awful and we must move out of it. The mental stress of this is incredible - it’s taken its toll on a lot of people.”

FURLOUGH ENDING

Sources have said that the end of the UK Government’s furlough scheme on September 30 is a factor weighing on SNP ministers’ minds, and could make closures now more likely.

Last night, SNP Finance Secretary Kate Forbes - isolating due to a family member testing positive - told a Holyrood committee via video link that there was money available for business support or furlough if Scotland were to impose fresh restrictions, with furlough ending in four weeks.

Senior hospitality industry sources said any move to impose fresh restrictions on the sector was likely to be met by legal challenges on “proportionality” grounds, with hospital cases only just above levels when hours were extended to midnight in July.

Colin Wilkinson, managing director of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: “If pubs and clubs have to close again – in a so-called circuit-breaker – it will be absolutely devasting for our industry.

“We’ve talked about a perfect storm – another lockdown would be a tsunami from which many simply won’t recover.

“We’re trying to recover from the pandemic, businesses are striving to get up and running again at a time when there are now supply chain issues and staff shortages. Everything that can be thrown at businesses in the licensed hospitality sector has been – businesses just can’t take any more.”

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/7635507/nicola-sturgeon-scotland-lockdown-statement-pubs-restrictions/

 

Looking like hospitality is getting shafted here.  

Edited September 1, 2021 by Lyle Lanley

[MP_MFC]

Sounds more like Musson and the sun really trying to not look like tits about the story about the circuit breaker last week that got swiftly shot down to me.

[super_carson]

Not sure if this is true for everywhere or just where I am, but apparently schools can no longer make a parent get a PCR test for their child.  Even if they have symptoms, it's up to the parent whether or not they send them in and/or get a PCR test. 

 

[Billy Jean King]

PUB  bosses have warned of “severe and irreversible damage” to the industry if Nicola Sturgeon clobbers the sector with new curbs.
The First Minister is to make a statement today where she’s expected to reiterate that reimposing restrictions in the coming weeks is possible if the surge in cases continues.
Last night, one insider said ministers could peg back opening hours - and even shut nightclubs again.
But senior sources insisted there was still no immediate plan for new restrictions , with ministers and officials hopeful that the dramatic surge in cases - partly fuelled by high test numbers - will settle down in the coming days.
Ms Sturgeon’s parly address comes after Scotland recorded seven more deaths of people with recently confirmed Covid and 6,029 new cases.
And 585 people who recently caught the virus were in hospital, up by 34 in a day, with 54 patients in intensive care, up two. This compares to pandemic peaks of 2053 in hospital and 221 in intensive care.
Ahead of Ms Sturgeon’s statement, Scottish Government national clinical director Jason Leitch said public health officials’ advice to ministers would be that “you have to stop transmission”.
He added: “Transmission happens indoors, unventilated, in crowds. So if you wanted to stop transmission, you need to think about areas that fit that criteria that you can just turn back a little bit.”
Asked if that meant nightclubs and pubs, he said that “might be where you start”, but said ministers would also have to consider the economic implications.
Last night Scottish Beer and Pub Association spokesman Paul Togneri said: “Any further restrictions placed on the hospitality industry would do severe and irreversible damage to an already fragile sector at the worst possible time.
“Professor Leitch is right to highlight the economic complexities that factor into the decision-making process.”
Glasgow businessman Donald MacLeod, who owns the Garage and Cathouse clubs, said he feared ministers were “switching the tap on and off on a whim” which would leave the night-time industry “in paralysis”.
He said: “It seems to me they’re putting the frighteners on here and I just wish they’d stop it.
“I wish they’d let us get on with our lives because we now have 80 odd per cent double vaccinated. People might be contracting the virus but there’s no pressure that I can see.
“It’s about time we started accepting that the vaccine is doing its job.
“Are we going to be doing this alone, being the only part of the UK closing down again?
“Eighteen months of this has been awful and we must move out of it. The mental stress of this is incredible - it’s taken its toll on a lot of people.”
FURLOUGH ENDING
Sources have said that the end of the UK Government’s furlough scheme on September 30 is a factor weighing on SNP ministers’ minds, and could make closures now more likely.
Last night, SNP Finance Secretary Kate Forbes - isolating due to a family member testing positive - told a Holyrood committee via video link that there was money available for business support or furlough if Scotland were to impose fresh restrictions, with furlough ending in four weeks.
Senior hospitality industry sources said any move to impose fresh restrictions on the sector was likely to be met by legal challenges on “proportionality” grounds, with hospital cases only just above levels when hours were extended to midnight in July.
Colin Wilkinson, managing director of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: “If pubs and clubs have to close again – in a so-called circuit-breaker – it will be absolutely devasting for our industry.
“We’ve talked about a perfect storm – another lockdown would be a tsunami from which many simply won’t recover.
“We’re trying to recover from the pandemic, businesses are striving to get up and running again at a time when there are now supply chain issues and staff shortages. Everything that can be thrown at businesses in the licensed hospitality sector has been – businesses just can’t take any more.”
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/7635507/nicola-sturgeon-scotland-lockdown-statement-pubs-restrictions/

 
Looking like hospitality is getting shafted here.  


It's the Sun (again). The media position is now entrenched. They don't like the position where she refuses to answer their inane questions regarding a "threshold" so they frame their questions knowing full well she (or any other politician) will never say categorically we will never return to restrictions in the future. That is then taken as "we are about to reimpose restrictions" before every briefing or statement. They are fucking reprehensible cretins and they know full well they are playing on the mental health of their readers. It really is pathetic stuff.

[Billy Jean King]

Not sure if this is true for everywhere or just where I am, but apparently schools can no longer make a parent get a PCR test for their child.  Even if they have symptoms, it's up to the parent whether or not they send them in and/or get a PCR test. 
 

It's never been up to the schools to "make" parents get their child tested. That said no parent should continue to send their child to school with symptoms, they should be isolating in that situation test or no test but surely parents would not keep a child off school in the off chance so what's the alternative ?

[super_carson]

It's never been up to the schools to "make" parents get their child tested. That said no parent should continue to send their child to school with symptoms, they should be isolating in that situation test or no test but surely parents would not keep a child off school in the off chance so what's the alternative ?

You're right, but schools send a pupil home if they had symptoms. The parent would either have to test their child or wait until the symptoms went away.

Either way, the policy seems to be now called warn and inform. I don't really mind it at all as kids should only be missing school if they're are actually ill; there's been enough disruption over the last year.

[Abdul_Latif]

 

7 hours ago, Lyle Lanley said:

Last night, SNP Finance Secretary Kate Forbes - isolating due to a family member testing positive - told a Holyrood committee via video link that there was money available for business support or furlough if Scotland were to impose fresh restrictions, with furlough ending in four weeks.

Interested to know where she found the money in the space of 24 hours.
 

Previous day she said we didn’t have a pot to piss in, and now she’s claiming we can fund furlough, if sectors are forced to shut.

Don’t believe it for a second.

 

[Elixir]

7 hours ago, Lyle Lanley said:

Glasgow businessman Donald MacLeod, who owns the Garage and Cathouse clubs, said he feared ministers were “switching the tap on and off on a whim” which would leave the night-time industry “in paralysis”.

He said: “It seems to me they’re putting the frighteners on here and I just wish they’d stop it.

“I wish they’d let us get on with our lives because we now have 80 odd per cent double vaccinated. People might be contracting the virus but there’s no pressure that I can see.

“It’s about time we started accepting that the vaccine is doing its job.

“Are we going to be doing this alone, being the only part of the UK closing down again?

“Eighteen months of this has been awful and we must move out of it. The mental stress of this is incredible - it’s taken its toll on a lot of people.”

Donald dishing out the TELTS. 

 

7 hours ago, Lyle Lanley said:

Senior hospitality industry sources said any move to impose fresh restrictions on the sector was likely to be met by legal challenges on “proportionality” grounds, with hospital cases only just above levels when hours were extended to midnight in July.

[Gaz]

1 hour ago, super_carson said:

Not sure if this is true for everywhere or just where I am, but apparently schools can no longer make a parent get a PCR test for their child.  Even if they have symptoms, it's up to the parent whether or not they send them in and/or get a PCR test. 

Not sure if you've got your wires crossed here. Schools haven't ever been able to 'make' a parent get a PCR test.

[Elixir]

41 minutes ago, Abdul_Latif said:

Interested to know where she found the money in the space of 24 hours.
 

Previous day she said we didn’t have a pot to piss in, and now she’s claiming we can fund furlough, if sectors are forced to shut.

Don’t believe it for a second.

I think the God-botherer Forbes is meaning that furlough funding is only there for the next four weeks, so we could 'dae something now', but 'no in a month's time'. Just poorly written up the STV journo.

[Abdul_Latif]

2 minutes ago, Gaz said:

Not sure if you've got your wires crossed here. Schools haven't ever been able to 'make' a parent get a PCR test.

I was under the impression if a kid is sent home they have to return a negative test before being allowed back or isolate the 10 days…

[Gaz]

Just now, Abdul_Latif said:

I was under the impression if a kid is sent home they have to return a negative test before being allowed back or isolate the 10 days…

Yeah, but that's not the same. The parents can choose to keep the child off instead of getting them tested.

[ICTChris]

Saw this tweet about working from home

fair enough. I do think that some people miss the potential impact of this on people who can’t work from home comfortably. A little further down on the thread you get this:

I do think there’s a bit of misery guts Twitter doomerism at play with working from home. If you listen to people, even on here, someone asking what’s in your sandwich is an intolerable imposition. 

[scottsdad]

15 hours ago, Zen Archer (Raconteur) said:

 

 

The red shirt crewman going maskless - subtle!

[super_carson]

1 hour ago, Gaz said:

Not sure if you've got your wires crossed here. Schools haven't ever been able to 'make' a parent get a PCR test.

Sorry, "make" was probably the wrong choice of word - perhaps "encourage".  Someone could be sent home if they had symptoms pending the result of a PCR, but it was down to the parent as to whether or not they got tested.  Now, if someone comes in with symptoms, if the parent feels they are well enough to be in school then that's that.  

[flyingscot]

42 minutes ago, ICTChris said:

fair enough. I do think that some people miss the potential impact of this on people who can’t work from home comfortably. 

I find I work more effectively in the office and I like the break my 20 minute drive gives me. Get to listen to music or audio book and it breaks up the day. I didn't enjoy the feeling of being at work all the time, nor my heating and power bills! Each to their own I guess. 

Not everyone can build a home office or office shed. We had younger folk in small flats without proper desk space and people living alone not seeing anyone day to day. I think the social aspect of our office is fairly good, my colleagues are decent at helping out if you have an issue etc. 

I'm wary about the 'productivity is higher' stuff. We found people were working well into the evening - emails between our teams at 8pm and 9pm weren't uncommon and were being answered then too. People were working more hours, so whilst productivity might have been up it was because people were doing 10-12 hours of work a day and working for free in the evenings. The company did warn against doing this tbf. 

[Sergeant Wilson]

1 hour ago, ICTChris said:

Saw this tweet about working from home

fair enough. I do think that some people miss the potential impact of this on people who can’t work from home comfortably. A little further down on the thread you get this:

I do think there’s a bit of misery guts Twitter doomerism at play with working from home. If you listen to people, even on here, someone asking what’s in your sandwich is an intolerable imposition. 

I try to ensure the expression on my face prevents anyone coming close enough to ask a question.

[Lyle Lanley]