Tetris-Rock
one of those "they/thems"
Gulp. This makes me scared about going back.
Gulp. This makes me scared about going back.
Cloud
Mlem
To be fair, they make up about 10 million of the about 66 million population in the UK... also Scotland is mostly hills and Wales is mostly sheep. So they have that going for them. But yeah it's not ideal. We seem to have settled on a steady trickle of deaths rather than going in spikes, I suppose.
Bit of a worrying uptick though since I thought they were mostly under 100 recently
Bit of a worrying uptick though since I thought they were mostly under 100 recently
Pingu
Noot noot
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Well it does include unreported deaths from the weekend but still... the UK rolling daily average is about 65 at the moment. The rolling daily average for S/NI/W combined is 0.3.
Cloud
Mlem
That was unpleasant and tricky!
If anyone gets selected for this... I'm not trying to put you off, just be brave and have at it. 20 minutes later you'll be over it. That said, I'm a complete wimp so here's my overly dramatic whinging...
Throat swab - trying to line it up while holding down my tongue with the spoon handle in the other hand (which they did not suggest, I had to Google "can't see tonsils because tongue is in way" to remind me that doctors pin it down with that lollipop stick) and trying to actually see took a while, then sort of found the angle and went for it - instant gag and cough and I instinctively took it out (you really fight with your "foreign object instincts" with these tests, I found, though I know many of the denizens here have had PLENTY OF PRACTICE taming their gag reflexes). Same with the other tonsil. Repeated a few times, I wouldn't say the 10 seconds or so per tonsil they ask (seems impossible?!) but did my best through repetition while balancing it out with the fact you're not supposed to let it touch your tongue (I think it touched the back of it, very lightly, once or twice - unless you've got extremely steady hands it's hard not to with the tiny space you're working with - so I thought best not do it too much)
I thought that was bound to the the most unpleasant part, then came the nasal swab.
Do your social distancing - I really would NOT fancy having to take the full professionally administered one where they shove one right the way through your nostril to the back of your throat. This was the "easy" version where you try to insert it an inch or so. Again I had to fight a lot harder than I expected against foreign object instincts, against something that is both tickling and sort of mildly "hurting" the lining of the nostril (it's ridiculously sensitive) on the way up. I think I managed the inch or so, it's hard to say, "insert until you feel resistance", well I felt "resistance" all the way and had to discern between psychological and physical resistance which was harder than it sounds. Did this and twizzled it round bit, repeated 3 or 4 times per nostril but not for prolonged periods as it was unbearably uncomfortable and I just couldn't seem to do it for the 10-15 seconds at a time they were asking. My eyes were streaming and I kept having to sneeze.
Then when I decided it was probably just about good enough, put it in the tube then into the biohazard bag then into the shipping box. Dried my eyes and fought off the induced sniffles for the next 20 minutes.
They must get loads of false negatives with these self administered ones, surely. I was reading the instructions and thought "meh, that sounds like a piece of piss and maybe only slightly unpleasant if you're a big overly sensitive whinger" and much like assembling an Ikea cabinet, reality made short work of my hubris. Hopefully, they exaggerate the length of time they want you to swab things and the big warnings about not touching your tongue or teeth, in a "shooting for the moon" sort of way knowing people won't manage that much on average but will at least give it more than just a tickle. Not to be ageist but I can't see a shaky handed 80 year old doing a very good job of it.
I now await the results (usually within a week, apparently) and the comments along the lines of "oh I did that, it was piss easy you big wet blanket"
Pingu
Noot noot
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RS
Leftover
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Looks like the anticipated second wave has arrived much earlier than expected.
Don’t know if that’s because countries with severe lockdowns like Spain and Belgium were always getting more cases once they open up or if it actually is a ”second wave”.
Don’t know if that’s because countries with severe lockdowns like Spain and Belgium were always getting more cases once they open up or if it actually is a ”second wave”.
Mats
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any info on how the Swedish authorities are gonna handle round 2?
I hope there's some kind of viable middle ground where we can protect certain demographics while not pausing life completely. if I am going to work from home again for three months I need some distraction! (as in white wine lunch dates with friends in similar situations)
I think a total lockdown in the UK would be impossible to administer, especially over Christmas, and Boris seems dead against it comparing it to TRIDENT of all things.
Sweden seems to be fairing quite well at the minute.
Sweden seems to be fairing quite well at the minute.
ZenGiraffe
Panini S.p.a.
I am a bit confused on the difference between a second wave and a second peak. It seems to be used interchangeably but they are i think technically different things? Would this be the second peak of the first wave?
Rita
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I would assume so as the first wave is still ongoing albeit at lower levels.
Mats
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With such tiny numbers any outbreak is going to distort the numbers to that extent though, I don't think you can read much into the daily figures.
RS
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Sometimes it sounds like they think we won’t have a second wave, because we’ve had no lockdown.
RS
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Mats
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Sometimes it sounds like they think we won’t have a second wave, because we’ve had no lockdown.
and to think they can't seem to grasp why neither Norway, Finland or Denmark won't let you in...
Rita
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Surely any outbreak has the potential to spread like WILDFIRE though. That is what scares me.
28 new deaths today
OR MAYBE NOT!
That'll teach me for believing our right wing press.
Pingu
Noot noot
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Well hopefully they can do a Leicester (or a less extreme version if that's not needed) on these localised outbreaks. They'll be much easier to spot and areas much easier to isolate due to the Scottish numbers generally being so much lower across the board.
RS
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Such cunty neighbours.
Rita
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On Saturday the figure was 26 new cases which was the highest daily figure since June. Monday was some form of bank holiday so I am not sure if that was why Tuesdays figure was so low. WHO KNOWS? I probably do pay too much attention to daily figures.
Mats
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see you in Malmö!
RS
Leftover
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Can’t wait to infect you
Mats
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Cloud
Mlem
I am hearing Boris seems to think we will get a spike within WEEKS. Experts have said not to lockdown too hastily and we should last until August. So September is HIGHLY LIKELY apparently.
Great, makes me wonder what exactly the point is of being dragged back into work next week only for the second wave to come a few weeks later :/
I guess this time we'll probably be told TOUGH SHIT GET ON WITH IT and that anyone living with vulnerable people should have changed their living arrangements by now. Which would be fine and dandy except who wants to up sticks and commit to paying rent when almost everyone's job is hanging by a thread?
Music
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I actually much prefer going to the gym now as you book an hour slot and it's limited capacity and at most I've seen about 15 people there and it's a pretty large gym. The weights section is cordoned off into sections so you have your own space and there's sanitiser spray everywhere to disinfect before and after using. I'm using it while I can before we get stuck back in lockdown again it seems
Cloud
Mlem
Fed up with seeing masks littered all over as people just chuck them on the ground. Selling packs of 20 disposables for a fiver is really NOT CONDUCIVE to saving the planet (or our existence on it anyway), which is a more long term concern than covid. Just bloody... get a cloth mask and stick it in your pocket... you don't need to keep buying and chucking the blue things. This is a rant (and a preach to the choir) so I don't have a Link to Science, but I'm pretty sure there's very little difference in a supermarket between wearing a cloth face covering and wearing a "proper blue one".
Kate
mildly communist
Cunts will be cunts 
Cloud
Mlem
Could they like, not 
Generic Account
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Join a wee exercise class
Dark Carnival
Serving cunt
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Lockdown old people! I don't think my sanity will handle a second lockdown well.