COVID-19 coronavirus

[CamilleDeville]

Hell I’m just looking for the can in the candy store. I don’t get why most businesses have their restrooms off limits. Covid travels through the air and everyone has their masks below their nose anyway, plus half of them coughed in their hands before masking up and then they touch everything. No cloth mask will stop the virus if someone has it. Louisiana going to phase 3 Sep. 15, yay!

[Pista]

No cloth mask will stop the virus if someone has it.

That's not entirely true. Certainly it's not a magic solution, but they will stop the transference of airborne nasties very effectively
This demo uses one of those mega thin, common or garden masks & shows just how marked the difference between wearing & not wearing a mask.

[eastmidswhizzkid]

no masks are much protection for the wearer statistically. But it stops you enjoying the ages-old pre covid pass-time of spitting in a strangers mouth or sneezing on a baby.

[CamilleDeville]

Yes very true, it is true of any virus that you should stay home if you’re sick and certainly shouldn’t cough in people’s faces. I’m just tired of all the Willy nilly info. First there weren’t enough masks and no one in my area bothered anyway, even 75 year old men looked at me like I was silly because I wore one. No one was falling ill so I quit bothering. Then there was an influx of masks, in fact that was a reason I was sent home from my job at the end of July, factories in China focused on masks instead of silk flowers, we ran out. Suddenly it was mandatory to wear masks, well yeah, the big corporations didn’t want to be stuck with them. And why were so many of them open when so many small businesses weren’t allowed, and now are going out of business. Big corporations donate to politics for one thing. It’s not like the virus has gone away, but now it’s ok to for things to start opening back up. I’m not trying to dissuade anyone from wearing masks, I’m just not agreeing with the way things have been handled

[Quiff Boy]

It’s definitely been a bit of a s**t show. Different countries have handled it with varying degrees of success, but it’s always been an evolving situation and developments can take a week or two to bubble up, meaning any govt is chasing its tail to an extent.

But yeah some are handling it better that others.

We’re in a pretty s**t situation here in the uk and I live in one of the areas that’s in and out of lockdown every time they get new figures

Thing is, this thing ain’t going anywhere so until they get it more under control, I strongly believe we should just wear a f**king mask, wash our hands, socially distance and stop it spreading any further.

Everyone has a different experience of it, and many folks will have never encountered it up close or known anyone with it. I have. Don’t f**k around with it.

[eastmidswhizzkid]

what gets me the most is the way the government here is constantly changing the reasons and priorities behind its current polices re: covid. and not because the situation has changed or the methods of containment improved or because relevant information has been superceeded but simply to fit in with their image. not even their barely disguised "kill the poor" attitude but simply so as their previous policies dont look inept or stupid.

we did too little too late to prevent the shocking high death rates here. we are an island ffs and we had plenty of advance warning but we left the borders wide open, whilst waiting until the horse had become catfood and glue before bolting the door with regard to social distancing masks etc. However we managed to get a grip on the spread of the virus to a manageable level, although that was mostly through the publics common sense to be fair. we may have moaned like f**k but thats the default british way and moaning didnt stop the majority doing the right thing. as a leicester dweller i know the data to back up our initial punitive extra lockdown was either non-existant, misrepresented or both, but as a central city we were used as an example of what would happen to ill-behaving areas; as was proven by the way we were suddenly not getting 10x the infections of every other city and after just 2 weeks extra lockdown we were fine. a miracle really seeing as the previous 12-16 weeks had apparently seen us go off the scale but i digress...

now we are looking at a rise in figures, a possible/probable 2nd spike and a winter lockdown. why the f**k did the kids get sent back to school with no plans to reverse the decision? any parent will tell you that schools are a breeding ground for anything that can be passed on between humans. ive only ever had hair lice twice in my life and that was when i had step-kids attending primary school. (and yes when i had hair smartarses). pubs and clubs are still going to be open. if they are that safe a place then why didnt we reopen sooner with social distancing instead of half crippling the industry? instead we have laws -not temporary measures brought in to stamp on the rave culture -a scene so ridiculously small and niche these days its almost as if the pandemic were a convenient excuse for legislation they wanted anyway...

i'd say this country has gone to the dogs but to be fair the dogs would have made less of a pigs ear of the job.

[Quiff Boy]

Can’t disagree with any of that @eastmidswhizzkid

[Electrochrome]

No cloth mask will stop the virus if someone has it.

That's not entirely true. Certainly it's not a magic solution, but they will stop the transference of airborne nasties very effectively
This demo uses one of those mega thin, common or garden masks & shows just how marked the difference between wearing & not wearing a mask.

Great video. I've been donning surgical masks more often than cloth masks of late. And I've been going out more, too...just need to be careful, distance from people who still refuse to do their part.

The most striking thing is that this is the first time in a LONG time that a generation has been asked to DO something, everyone, as a small sacrifice (all things considered). And we're still failing to unite.

[sam donut]

You'd think that even, for whatever reason, you had doubts about masks, social distancing, the virus, whatever, you'd have the decency out of politeness and respect to your fellow human to do the best you can, but the half-wit deniers* seem to see it as a badge of honour to waltz around Asda without a mask, splutterin' and a sneezin' and moaning about their rights. These so-called libertarians are just f**king giant spoiled babies who ought to be spanked**.
To be fair, I've encountered very few people in real life refusing to wear masks, but I've not had to snoop too far out of my own echo-chamber on twitter to stumble across a lot of these idiots.

*oh, is that tight thickness?
**not an endorsement of spanking children.

[Swinnow]

Odd how these "libertarians" are mostly the same ones who "stand guard" on the Kent coast and watch over the likes of the not at all at risk statues of Baden-Powell.

Not in my name ya f*ckwits.

[sam donut]

Exactly. Worshiping at the altar of the turd that refuses to flush, Farage.

[CamilleDeville]

I agree, with all of you. The main problem here is these stubborn men who have too much ego in their cosmos to just put on a mask. You’d think they were being asked to wear a bra in public. They have too much pride, and go around trying to make other people doing the right thing feel stupid. But the governors of every state were too wishy washy putting things into effect. I’m fortunate that I live in a small town, I know the more populated areas have been hard hit. It sure has been bringing out the worst in a lot of people.

[Pista]

Wishy washy is a good way to describe it.
I think also one startling thing I keep seeing is that announcements are made to apply certain restrictions, lockdowns, quarantines, etc, but with a commencement date in some days time.
As if covid is going to take a quick break & give everyone a bit of a head start.

[Quiff Boy]

I agree, with all of you. The main problem here is these stubborn men who have too much ego in their cosmos to just put on a mask. You’d think they were being asked to wear a bra in public. They have too much pride, and go around trying to make other people doing the right thing feel stupid. But the governors of every state were too wishy washy putting things into effect. I’m fortunate that I live in a small town, I know the more populated areas have been hard hit. It sure has been bringing out the worst in a lot of people.

we have the same issue with bravado/machismo here too.

we also have a similar issue to the US with the right - who historically have typically the group more aligned with (albeit extreme, neo-fascist) law and order - deciding to rebel against the establishment and be anti-mask as some kind of standpoint against some imagined oppression and infringement of civil liberties. probably connected to some toxic masculinity thing, fed by far-right anti-vax/5g conspiracy theory loons.

c*nts, all of them, quite frankly.

[CamilleDeville]

You ain’t never lied. That’s southern for yes, that is precisely what the problem is lol

[OLDFART]

I genuinely think most people are just trying to keep a roof over there heads through all this , maybe my job is different from most on here ( fitting kitchens and bathrooms with my brother ) , most people are doing the right thing but are confused by the mixed messages from this bunch of muppets in government , think the good outweighs the bad . maybe i'm just a hopeless optimist .

[Pista]

think the good outweighs the bad . maybe i'm just a hopeless optimist .

I think you're right.
It's easy to get a skewed view of things on soshul medya of what the public are actually doing sometimes.
But it's also very true that the message is as clear as mud and especially when different spokespeople say contradicting things.
That's when people start asking what is & isn't permitted & quite a few of those questions are so ridiculous you have to wonder just how confusing the messaging has got on a local level.
On top of that, for the UK in any case, Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland all seem to be doing different things to England.
It's a clusterfcuk really. & because it appears that way & people are confused & frightened, they are getting fed up & kicking off which is just what the UK authorities want as they can then shift the blame for the mess onto the idiots who are kicking off.
That's my view of the UK from here in central Europe at least.
Here in Hungary it's a totally different situation. Orban (snake that he is) knows he has left hospitals to rot & as soon as the lurgy started escalating he closed the borders to everything bar freight. The rules were simple. Stay home. Only go out for essential stuff & you could only go to shops after midday unless you were 65 or over.
He put an emergency law in place & the west screamed "DICTATOR!"
My family & friends thought we were under martial law because of the media FFS.
But (& it pains me deeply to admit it) he did exactly the right thing. No drawn out debates in parliament (which was never shut down incidentally. Contrary to what CNN reported). Just quick, co-ordinated action to minimise the spread & contain the virus.
As the situation had been properly contained, the restrictions were taken off certain regions as their infection rates dropped until, eventually, Orban handed power back to parliament & local authorities as he had promised to do (another thing the western media insisted he would not do).
Everything here is back to normal & has been for months now. Only difference is you won't be allowed into shops without masks. There are folks on the door who will actually tell you to sling your hook.
Now that infections in surrounding countries are on the up he's shut the borders again. He has to really. The health infrastructure is so fcuked up that to unleash covid on it would be catastrophic.
But all through this, I have not seen any large scale demonstrations/marches from moronic wing nuts who think they know better than someone who studied medicine/ virology etc.. for 6+ years.
A friend of mine just visited from the UK for a couple of weeks. She has a house here that she lets out over the summer & I look after the place. She was pretty surprised at just how normal everything seemed to be & it wasn't until she got back to the UK that she found herself bombarded with forms for the track & trace white elephant to fill in & a zillion questions.
Bottom line is, it's easy to follow guidelines if you know why you have to & what they are. The more confusing they are, the less likely you'll get a public buy in.

[Swinnow]

Yeah the absolute dog's dinner that is devolution within the UK and the crazy mayoral hotch-potch in some metropolitan areas doesn't help the mixed messaging. All these changes were done for short term political reasons and come the return of 'normality' we need to review them and get back to equality of representation for all across the four constituent countries.

[markfiend]

I think the UK govt's plan at present is:

1) Government issues confusing and contradictory advice
2) People get confused and disheartened and fail to follow advice
3) Government blames inevitable spike in numbers on people not following advice

[Quiff Boy]

I think the UK govt's plan at present is:

1) Government issues confusing and contradictory advice
2) People get confused and disheartened and fail to follow advice
3) Government blames inevitable spike in numbers on people not following advice

yep, certainly seems that way.

[Pista]

I think the UK govt's plan at present is:

1) Government issues confusing and contradictory advice
2) People get confused and disheartened and fail to follow advice
3) Government blames inevitable spike in numbers on people not following advice

yep, certainly seems that way.

[MadameButterfly]

on the discussion of wearing masks. here in the Netherlands it is NOT compulsory to wear them except when using public transport. the reason is because the distance rule cannot then be in place. so on buses, trains and trams you have to wear a mask. but as soon as you are out the station masks are removed and people carry on with whatever they have to do. i think we are or the only country or one of the few where it is not compulsory. the government has seen no reason for it because of the distancing rule and obviously the washing of hands. when you look at those statistics of people being infected it is not unusually higher than our surrounding countries so if you ask me keeping the 1&1/2 metre distance away from people helps.
we are a strange little country but just goes to show how different the rules are per country.

[EvilBastard]

Over here (or at least in my small bit of Over Here) masks are compulsory anywhere where distancing is not possible or difficult. Public transport, shops - lots of places have signs saying "No Mask, No Service, No Exceptions". Some people mask up while walking down the street, I tend not to but have one in my pocket so that I can go to the supermarket. Some people don't get it - I see them on the bus, mask covering mouth but not nose, or pulled down completely - but my natural English sense of reserve precludes me from approaching them and beating them to death with a sharpened spork while yelling, "What, the rules don't apply to you, cunt?". On the plus side, our positivity rate is almost zero, the "new death" curve seems to have flattened out, and the fatality rate is dropping also, so presumably we're doing something right. Shame about the rest of the country, which appears to be full of people who don't get it (although I am amused every time I read about someone like this tw@ or that tw@, not because laughing at dead people is fun (although it is - I mean, let's face it, it's not like they can complain) but because if there is a god I'll bet that s/he has a keen sense of irony).

[markfiend]

The problem with the "idiot refuses to wear mask; idiot dies" narrative is that it more usually plays out as "idiot refuses to wear mask; idiot infects passers-by who then die".

[Pista]