Kajjal
Guru
- Location
- Wheely World
It’s a useful plot which shows the countries that have struggled more such as Italy with a significantly older population and Belgium whilst being a country is very regionally devolved.
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mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
That's probably part of it but I think (and this could be checked on the FT lockdown tracker, which Our World In Data doesn't have IIRC) that EU countries locked down harder than the UK's "lockdown lite" in November, didn't lift in December like the UK did and I'm not sure any had a Christmas Day relaxation. As I posted at the time, I also think some people here in the UK stopped taking so much care once vaccines were approved, and they were mostly younger people who probably still aren't being vaccinated. Time will tell whether that was worthwhile or not, but those Nov/Dec differences seem to be where we really diverged.
News from abroad: France and Belgium TV news both seem to be blaming their latest cases (increasing in Belgium where non-victual shops have reopened, roughly steady in France despite tougher restrictions) on the new variants spreading through schools, then being taken home to parents who generally are too young to have been vaccinated yet, who then take it to work before symptoms show if at all.
It seems French PM Castex will outline new restrictions at 6pm UK time tonight. https://www.euronews.com/2021/03/18/french-pm-jean-castex-expected-to-outline-new-virus-restrictions - The Belgian equivalent of COBRA meets tomorrow but leaks today suggest masking more years of children and maybe keeping some years doing online classes.On a brighter note, it seems Rutte has "won" the elections in NL, with his pandemic management probably outweighing a scandal about institutional bias (looks like racism but officially that wasn't declared yet so that a criminal investigation could proceed, as I understand it) and mismanagement at the Tax and Customs Administration. The election result looks like it will enable the previous centre-right coalition (People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, Christian Democratic Appeal, Democrats 66 and Christian Union) to continue with a stronger but still slim majority (in the region of 80 out of 150), if it agrees. Or a centre-right-left coalition seems possible but more difficult and seems unlikely.
Anyway, maybe a new NL government can take measures that don't get overturned by the courts for trying to use regulations when legislation was needed and they can actually stop the rise!
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
Virus impact has got serious with Greggs declaring their first loss in many years.
Pies and pasties are no trivial matter in the north east, but I'm reassured the company still intends to open 100 new shops this year.
Pies and pasties are no trivial matter in the north east, but I'm reassured the company still intends to open 100 new shops this year.
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
I don't know about elsewhere (of course), but they've ballsed-up locally by doing what looks like the bare minimum needed to avoid being closed down, but still indoor queuing and not much in the way of screening, whereas many other cafes (including some chains) have moved to selling through the doorway, often with menus and samples displayed in the window by the queue. All of the three local Greggs's that I remember have competitors nearby, who I think are busier than them now. I think people don't want to queue indoors in a hot shop during this pandemic, even in winter.
It's merely a temporary blip to a firm their size, I expect, but I wonder if they would reconfigure their branches more with the benefit of hindsight.
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Oh I expect it's allowed to try to make people queue indoors, but that doesn't mean people like it.
Also, some of the numbers on posters seem incredibly high. The nearest mall pharmacy says 42 are allowed on its poster but it only has one door and the internal flow is a conflicted nonsense so it never got near that in the before times. 🤷
Why do these comparisons with Germany seem to matter so much? It's hardly comparing like with like. The essential difference since the vaccines were authorised is supply, with as we all know late EU ordering and a massive drop in the supply contracted by AZ. I would still like to know to what extent this is cause and effect.
The start of a drop in the death rate has been noted on the news. A reasonable number of over 80's have now been vaccinated, in some places all of those in care homes. This is where the fatality rate has been highest, and it is starting to fall. This may be reversed if the newer versions of the virus get out of control amongst the more general population.
I took you to mean the betting whether the German death rate may yet catch up with Britain, in which case I would agree. Not something to be celebrated, I hope no-one in Britain is planning a party if it ever happens.
I have seen no Schadenfreude here over what has occurred in Britain, some admiration for getting on with vaccination in contrast to ... , but a dislike of Boris Johnson as a 'populist'. I saw a clip of him in Parliament talking about 'helping our European friends and partners' over the vaccine supply when he has spent the last few years doing all he can to destroy that, and it is difficult to take!
AZ will be injected again as of tomorrow, but the health minister's long waffling explanation brought to mind the proverb where words are many transgression is not lacking.
roubaixtuesday
self serving virtue signaller
The point of the wager was (from my perspective at least) to show that the vaccination programme will not compensate for the earlier fiasco in the UK.
Apologies all round as it's obviously come across differently.
I hope it does!
I might be a bit tired and jaded tonight and seeing what's not there, but I have read commenters on a certain event beginning with B who either simply see this as an excuse to bash the EU (and criticism is certainly justified) or come across as glad about it. I really hope this is not representative of the new Britain.
I hate to quote Cameron but this is a case where we really are all in this together!
roubaixtuesday
self serving virtue signaller
Wholeheartedly agree.
deptfordmarmoset
Full time tea drinker
- Location
- Armonmy Way
I was responsible for citing Germany v UK cases earlier on. This was because of a post showing a graph where UK cases fell below Germany's and the comment that things weren't looking good on the continent. I thought that the 6 months of Germany managing covid better than the UK could not be summed up as a problem on the continent when the UK had 3 weeks at the bottom of the contagion table. I may be wrong but I felt that the Schadenfreude was evident in the opposite direction.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
I've only been to a Greggs (in Sunderland) once during the lockdown.
Compliance was reasonable, a short queue outside to preserve the 'only two in the shop' rule, and a few perspex screens dotted around inside.
They were not, however, as good as Costa Coffee next door who were spot on in every respect.
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
The bit around Paris has been put into lockdown for a month. Exercise within 10km of home this time. https://www.france24.com/en/video/2...ted-covid-19-lockdown-for-paris-other-regions
Apparently Libé newspaper's front cover this morning was headlined "Re-Lockdown: Fark, One Month!" (but without the CC filter).
deptfordmarmoset
Full time tea drinker
- Location
- Armonmy Way
