Coronavirus outbreak

[mjr]

Free sport is in there too - cycling groups (arguably a middle-class sport these days, but no fees required).

No, even subscription group cycling is back down to sixes, unless you've seen something that I haven't. Cycling UK updated their advice last week, after two weeks of saying 30 was allowed but 15 would be better. As far as I know, BC never went above six, although I've seen a nearby club out with more.

If you think any free mass sport/activity is exempt, please link to where it says that. I hope you're right but fear I am.

 

[Low Gear Guy]

The North East is looking at a more strict lockdown from this evening

Cue for a last night of drinking in the city centre

 

[Tanis8472]

In Westminster or the North East?

I believe people would be more inclined to comply if the rules appeared to make sense and not have exceptions for hunting, lacrosse, salmon fishing and other "posh" pastimes, as well as seemingly anything involving payment, including many subscription sports clubs. It's difficult to accept not being able to see all your family in one visit when there's groups of 22 sweaty panting Sunday League footballers kicking lumps out of each other in a very not socially distanced way each week and their helpers and families shouting over each other on the touchline - and as far as I know, that's legal because the Football Association has submitted some approved plan and risk assessments to DCMS even if there's no sign that anything has changed on the ground.

There's also the stupidity of allowing different groups of six to meet in the same unventilated room as long as they don't mingle but with no time limit, or for someone to be part of unlimited different groups of six during the day, with not even advice to limit that as far as I've seen.

About this ^^^.Sorry was being very blunt.

 

[matticus]

BC group riding may be in groups of 6, but I believe mass races are still happening. Certainly TTs with big fields are allowed.

There is a local "Open" Hill Climb with prizes coming up soon - the sponsors could easily switch to paying everyone's entry fee. So IN PRINCIPLE there is no bar to free sport; it's just an unintended quirk of the bureaucracy we currently have.

 

[DCLane]

BC group riding may be in groups of 6, but I believe mass races are still happening. Certainly TTs with big fields are allowed.

There is a local "Open" Hill Climb with prizes coming up soon - the sponsors could easily switch to paying everyone's entry fee. So IN PRINCIPLE there is no bar to free sport; it's just an unintended quirk of the bureaucracy we currently have.

Racing is still happening - but in smaller groups. Pre-entry only, pre-event screening and temperature checks. I've been racing at Newcastle-under-Lyme which has put together some excellent principles that BC have praised: https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/a...s-return-of-racing-after-four-month-absence-0

As for TT's / hillclimbs they are happening but with tight restrictions. No more than 5 competitors near the start, own pen/mask to sign on, own pins, results online only.

 

[randynewmanscat]

I don't know much about the others but he is a nasty piece of work and quite possibly a fraud

His name rings a bell. One of the doctors bought by the Libyan government to provide evidence of imminent death of convicted bomber Al Megrahi who rose like lazarus from his sick bed and lived on with friends and family.
I'd be interested to see which oath Karol signed or swore on.

 

[randynewmanscat]

My local Co-op's not checking anyone or asking them to wear a face covering - not since they've got screens up. They don't wear them either.

Over in Knowsley today for a velodrome session and the store nearby had about 30% of people wearing them, with the staff not doing so.

I'm guessing complacency has set in.

On the other hand in the track session we were health checked before entry plus screening. No face coverings worn for the session but kept in a small enough bubble; well under the BC guidelines. Nice track too.

Same as my friend in South Manchester told me on Monday. He said many people just wore them as chin ornaments in case they needed to flip them up should the need (being asked to) arose.
Over here the corona is gaining pace again due to the French living up to their stereotype of taking holidays seriously. However a trip to the shops is a different story and you will not see one person in any shop not wearing a mask.

 

[pawl]

Same as my friend in South Manchester told me on Monday. He said many people just wore them as chin ornaments in case they needed to flip them up should the need (being asked to) arose.
Over here the corona is gaining pace again due to the French living up to their stereotype of taking holidays seriously. However a trip to the shops is a different story and you will not see one person in any shop not wearing a mask.

I have been impressed by the amount of fans at the side of the road wearing face protection.Chapeau
Also noticed the motorcycle riders are wearing face protection.Even those wearing full face masks 👍👍

 

[marinyork]

No, even subscription group cycling is back down to sixes, unless you've seen something that I haven't. Cycling UK updated their advice last week, after two weeks of saying 30 was allowed but 15 would be better. As far as I know, BC never went above six, although I've seen a nearby club out with more.

If you think any free mass sport/activity is exempt, please link to where it says that. I hope you're right but fear I am.

There seems to be a divide on this on groups.

Many more informal groups seem to be wanting to maximise the numbers. The more serious sounding groups seem to be saying stay at six, with what would have been superbig deal events with lots of people running larger with lots of organising. That makes sense as some have put in a lot of thought whereas the more informal groups were always slapping on a max 30 and generally will have thought about it less. So for them it's just a continuation.

On my evening sojourn I saw a group of 43 closely packed walkers on Tuesday night and a gym group of 13. My on-line gym group are using it as an excuse to get out walking every Saturday in groups bigger than six .

Mental health stuff has been talking about this in terms of groups, although they are allowed more than six they aren't wanting to do so, or stick to numbers close to six e.g. eight and ten are numbers I've heard.

 

[Rusty Nails]

Has there ever been any scientific/statistical/epidemiological justification for 6 as a group number. Is it just that it is an easy to remember rule of thumb number that covers a lot of families? How much difference would groups of 4 or 8 make?

Do the Scotland or Wales numbers, which do not count those under the age of 12 in the 6, make a huge difference, ie 3 couples with 3 kids each makes a group of 15 which is within their guidelines.

I think that it is this, what many see as arbitrary, choice of a number that makes some people not see it as that inviolable, although I can well see that any choice of numbers will have its critics.

I am not worried about the group size being 6 as that, conveniently, is the number in my close family, including one toddler. So Christmas won't be affected.....hopefully.

 

[marinyork]

Has there ever been any scientific/statistical/epidemiological justification for 6 as a group number. Is it just that it is an easy to remember rule of thumb number that covers a lot of families? How much difference would groups of 4 or 8 make?

The Whitty and the Harries have said, more quite some time ago that it's believed words to the effect that the virus spreads most effectively in groups of 10-20 people indoors where they know each other well. They've never said where this comes from directly.

I know a contact tracer and they are a lot busier now than a month ago where they had no work. They said that contacts were mostly transmission indoors in people's houses with extended family and very close friends/parties as was the rumour circulating that track & trace thought this and fed it into the government.

 

[marinyork]

I might add that although track and trace isn't working well, it's interesting as if one believes this evidence, what other ways are there of ascertaining what goes on indoors in private settings? The police seem to have said about larger gatherings indoors in close proximity a lot recently. What I took from this was the 30 law was meaning that was often what people aimed for and often spilled over/out of control into larger gatherings.

 

[mjr]

Has there ever been any scientific/statistical/epidemiological justification for 6 as a group number. Is it just that it is an easy to remember rule of thumb number that covers a lot of families? How much difference would groups of 4 or 8 make?

I can give you a geometric/epidemiological one in that once you get more than 6 people, someone can be surrounded and unable to move away without encroaching on the 2m distancing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packing_problem#Hexagonal_packing_of_circles

Interestingly, no maximum is given in WHO advice on small public gatherings and the general advice only says to avoid crowds and crowded places.

Maybe gov.uk are guessing that Brits are daffodils who won't quarantine if they have coughing or sneezing or have other potential covid symptoms? But then I would expect advice to allow some sort of minimum time between seeing different groups of six. As it stands, I could go spend 30 minutes in each one of my neighbours' houses talking to them, one after another with no break between, and that would be legal and not even against any gov.uk advice, despite being a really rather stupid thing to do.

In other news, Alitalia is now running "covid-free" flights. All passengers must either pass a coronavirus rapid test at the airport or present a certificate of passing a clear test in the previous 72 hours. I wonder how long until the first fake certificate or covid outbreak is linked to one of them.

 

[marinyork]

In other news, Alitalia is now running "covid-free" flights. All passengers must either pass a coronavirus rapid test at the airport or present a certificate of passing a clear test in the previous 72 hours. I wonder how long until the first fake certificate or covid outbreak is linked to one of them.

Italian tv were going on about it. They were promising saliva tests soon and even quicker results than 30 mins. It didn't say what data this was based on!

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

A video being widely shared on Facebook and Instagram is being accompanied by false claims that receiving a coronavirus vaccine has already been made mandatory and that it will be used to inject microchips into people.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-54187391

Words - I have none.