It may be 'done' when the EU accepts we are an independent sovereign nation and as the third largest importer in the world it is very much in their interests to trade with us. At present they judge it is better to be uncooperative and thus ensure their members do not try to leave as well.

Hopefully we will start making and growing much more which will cause the EU to perhaps think of the damage they are doing to themselves as well as to us

Good appointment but why has he been shunted into a variety of jobs over the last few months?

Clearly the EU is out to ensure no more of their colonies try to escape by making life difficult for us, so that is likely to be a long term appointment until the EU accept we are a sovereign and independent nation and bearing in mind the huge balance of trade in their favour it is in their interests, as well as ours, to have a good relationship

Colin

There are several things that concern me;

Firstly who died with and who died of covid
secondly is the interpretation of statistics and thirdly the source of infection and the end results

With regards to the latter, it is truly shocking that care homes and hospitals would seem to be left to their own devices with inevitable consequences for the vulnerable who should have been protected.

It is a National scandal that does not seem to have ignited, that up to 40% of covid cases were acquired in hospital and that quarantine was not practiced by use of the Nightingales . Hospitals are not always good at combatting infection as we see with MRSA, which periodically flares up.

To supplement that, those currently going into hospital are on average, likely much sicker than in ‘normal’ times as people are deliberately avoiding hospitals. So although they might test positive on arrival it seems more than likely that if they die within 30 days it is very probably due to the problem that forced them to go to hospital in the first place rather than covid. Ironically of course, it appears that up to 40% of patients testing positive caught it in hospital.

So there are a lot of difficulties involved in producing data citing the numbers dying of covid within 30 days of testing positive and I wondered if after nearly a year of this pandemic, whether or not the data presented by the press and government sufficiently reflects all the nuances, caveats, and context.

I have quoted various articles in the past but would have had no reasons to keep them.
If you go here to our local news from Thursday evening 5th November, click on ‘Evening News’
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006pfr1/episode...

It is confirmed the hospital was not overwhelmed and Intriguingly there is an interview with Ian Currie, Medical Director of Torbay Hospital-speaking of the deaths. The interview with him follows immediately on from the start of the programme ;

The interviewer asks him if patients are dying OF covid or WITH covid;

“Many who have died are unfortunately elderly and have other medical conditions and are dying because of these other medical conditions WITH Covid and some patients are dying of Covid”

I think this is the first time i have heard anyone so senior say a number are dying WITH covid and some are dying OF covid.

Which brings us right to the heart of the matter of being able to officially differentiate between the two, as dying OF covid rather than WITH Covid thereby inflating the numbers is a matter of what was recorded on the death certificate and this distinction may have become blurred.

Mr Currie also remarks that ‘people have contracted covid inside hospital, which is common to many other hospitals in the region.”

I will look out for new analysis of the matter as we should have sufficient stats to get a better picture assuming the analysis was done in the first place of actual cause of death..

As for the excess deaths, I like people who use official statistics, analyse them correctly and make clear statements. Simon is one such person and I have cited others. Architects are well used to dealing with maths and I have no interest in his politics. The stats appear to speak for themselves. What we lack with many analysis is that our population is much larger and much older than in the past and this must be taken into account

"Influenza
A significant link between low humidity and the easy spread of the influenza virus has been found. One study10 found that in peak times of low absolute humidity, such as winter when the air is dry, the transmission of the flu increases."

A similar concern has now been found with covid.

If people are indoors they need to ensure the place is well ventilated and open windows even in cold weather, keep the house warm, around 20C (68F) or more and humidity around 50%

iJust what we need. To borrow many billions in order to give it away to RIch people-often dictators-in foreign countries.

Stop this virtue signalling and whilst you are about it stop spending trillions on silly windmills and solar panels and give us some grown up power stations

Call me Virgil

I went through the vaccine experience last Saturday and very impressive it was. However I remain concerned about the single dose with the next 10 weeks later, as even the makers seem dubious.

Until we get a second-assuming it will top up the first-those in the top four groups (we were in group five) need to remain cautious, but there was nothing at the vaccination centre that told people to remain cautious and I know of several people who were going straight off to see grandchildren

Victor

I have never said anything of the sort. I think you are confusing a variety of people with different and more extreme views. I had my covid jab on Saturday and praised it on this very site.

Here are the stats from the ONS written by several different statisticians ..Covid infections ranges from death through to people not knowing they had it. The vast majority of people that catch it will survive. Those are the stats.

This is very comprehensive.
https://architectsforsocialhousing.co.uk/2021/01/...

see figure 6. This was a follow up to CW article

Covid figures are scary – and misleading

https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/bbc-covid-fig...

Deaths have been far worse than they should have been because of not protecting the care homes, nor the hospitals, and thinking it was best to be inside small unventilated houses instead of safely in the fresh air.

We have turned the world upside down, which Is not to say we should not have taken precautions, of course we needed to. I have never said otherwise. But quarantining the fit and healthy as well as the very vulnerable was not the right thing to do.

So, Median age at death is 83. Older than the average life span Most with a number of serious illnesses. Many with covid not OF covid.

Everyone on this board would have lived 95% of their lives with an excess death rate worse than 2020. I exclude those born after 2009.

We have wreaked the most terrible and unprecedented damage on society, education, employment, civil liberties, the prospects of the young, the economy, mental health and many millions of people have not received treatment as we became the National Covid service, many of whom will die as a result or suffer terrible pain and suffering.

This is not the plague. We needed to protect the vulnerable but instead have put everyone into quarantine with terrible consequences, whilst letting covid rip through our care homes, hospitals and imprisoning people in the worst place they could be, their own homes, a huge nexus of infection.

Madness.

It would be good to actually realise we have gone much too far with bed reduction which is now at around a quarter of Germany levels and this in an increasingly elderly, obese and growong population.

Hah! Hammer, Nail, head!