I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
Why not?
10,000 tests a day would be correct for Scotland's population. 2000 is horrendous failure no matter how you cut it.
Indeed, I was saying so this morning. Questions need to be asked, and as before I'm not making a political point, mass testing is the route out of lockdown. Each day England now has the capacity to test enough people to pursue quite a few ways out of lockdown, it's no use if Scotland hasn't. I'm all for PHE opening up English testing capacity to Scotland, send some of those tests out to Scottish NHS staff and other front line workers who need them and process them in one of the pillar 2 labs. Tbh, I'd be making that offer in public if I were in Hancock's position if the testing situation hasn't improved in Scotland in a few days.
Does anyone know of a graph of daily deaths by region of those with COVID? We keep seeing the hospitalisations graph in the daily presser but I can't recall seeing this. We see London markedly falling but not much elsewhere, so I was wondering if this is just hospitalisations or if deaths are now also equally spread across the country.
Is this the sort of thing you are looking for?
The HSJ does a good daily update breaking down by region
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Union doesn't believe the Scottish governments own figures of 2,063.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
Why not?
10,000 tests a day would be correct for Scotland's population. 2000 is horrendous failure no matter how you cut it.
Indeed, I was saying so this morning. Questions need to be asked, and as before I'm not making a political point, mass testing is the route out of lockdown. Each day England now has the capacity to test enough people to pursue quite a few ways out of lockdown, it's no use if Scotland hasn't. I'm all for PHE opening up English testing capacity to Scotland, send some of those tests out to Scottish NHS staff and other front line workers who need them and process them in one of the pillar 2 labs. Tbh, I'd be making that offer in public if I were in Hancock's position if the testing situation hasn't improved in Scotland in a few days.
Either way, it's amazing how motivated politicians become when it's their reputation on the line.
Yes, he has. Agreed on the second part, it's also interesting that the pillar 2 tests (private sector) is where the huge gains are being made. If it was up to the PHE types they wouldn't be allowed in and we'd be plodding along at 25k per day.
The whinge that the government have 'changed' the way they count the tests is garbage. They didn't send out test kits at all previously, so there's no change in the counting method, just an additional category of tests, which is what we all wanted, right?
This has been the most blatant case of opponents of the government obsessing to find something they can blame them for that I've ever seen. And that's from a very large sample.
The important thing is that the government have done what they said they were trying to do - increase testing capacity dramatically - and with remarkable efficiency. Hats off not so much to the government, more to the civil servants who actually did the logistical and planning work. Kudos to them. They get lots of brickbats but rarely get praise when it goes well.
I’m not having that. The government started far off the pace of its comparator countries. It has had to scramble to catch up. It has scrambled quite well, though the chicanery with which it has fiddled its own test is unedifying. That can’t be called remarkable efficiency. It’s just another case of fear lending wings.
Meanwhile, the body count is far higher in Britain than it need have been, largely due to the government’s initial inattention and lack of seriousness about this crisis. Perhaps we can celebrate this procedural success after all the dead have been given decent burials?
Someone has asked why they are counting tests that were posted out yesterday. 39k sent out yesterday but not had back were counted and then would be 10s of thousands drive through tests where the results arent processed.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
Someone has asked why they are counting tests that were posted out yesterday. 39k sent out yesterday but not had back were counted and then would be 10s of thousands drive through tests where the results arent processed.
Either way, it's amazing how motivated politicians become when it's their reputation on the line.
It's not really confusing at all. Even on the most negative nit-picking BJO-style assessment of the figures, they managed to get to 122K tests within a couple of days of the end of April, which is absolutely remarkable.
Err, have you seen the pictures of the airport terminals? Virtually no-one is coming from high-risk areas, or anywhere much else for that matter, and if they do come they are immediately in lockdown the same as the rest of us. So it's really not an issue at the moment.
No Rich, they can go to a place of work the same the rest of us if they can't work from home.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
No the government said a couple of weeks ago posted out tests will be coming online for those who can't get to the testing venues. Why should only those who can get to drive through centres get a test?
Either way, it's amazing how motivated politicians become when it's their reputation on the line.
It's not really confusing at all. Even on the most negative nit-picking BJO-style assessment of the figures, they managed to get to 122K tests within a couple of days of the end of April, which is absolutely remarkable.
Upthread someone said that they changed the rules. Quite frankly I don't care if the made it or not, the general improvement is what counts and let's hope it's sustainable and doesn't dip back below 100,000 when the cameras aren't on..
In other news. Brexit trade negotiations face collapse unless the EU abandons its demands for continued access to UK fishing waters, sources close to the talks have said.
Brussels has called for EU boats to keep access under “existing conditions” as a price for the free trade agreement being negotiated by the two sides. The UK insists any fishing agreement must be separate from the trade deal with access negotiated annually in a similar fashion to Norway’s agreement with the bloc.
A UK source close to the negotiations said that the EU’s red line would need to change, otherwise the talks could be terminated in June.
Does anyone know of a graph of daily deaths by region of those with COVID? We keep seeing the hospitalisations graph in the daily presser but I can't recall seeing this. We see London markedly falling but not much elsewhere, so I was wondering if this is just hospitalisations or if deaths are now also equally spread across the country.
Is this the sort of thing you are looking for?
The HSJ does a good daily update breaking down by region
Either way, it's amazing how motivated politicians become when it's their reputation on the line.
It's not really confusing at all. Even on the most negative nit-picking BJO-style assessment of the figures, they managed to get to 122K tests within a couple of days of the end of April, which is absolutely remarkable.
Upthread someone said that they changed the rules. Quite frankly I don't care if the made it or not, the general improvement is what counts and let's hope it's sustainable and doesn't dip back below 100,000 when the cameras aren't on..
The cameras won't be off testing until this whole thing is over, whatever year that is.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
But it's a great idea, post the kit with instructions and a padded envelope, post the sample back and get your result a couple of days later. For non-urgent cases such as people living with those who are isolating it's definitely a good avenue to not waste capacity at faster testing routes or clog up the drive through centres unnecessarily.
In other news. Brexit trade negotiations face collapse unless the EU abandons its demands for continued access to UK fishing waters, sources close to the talks have said.
Brussels has called for EU boats to keep access under “existing conditions” as a price for the free trade agreement being negotiated by the two sides. The UK insists any fishing agreement must be separate from the trade deal with access negotiated annually in a similar fashion to Norway’s agreement with the bloc.
A UK source close to the negotiations said that the EU’s red line would need to change, otherwise the talks could be terminated in June.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
The posted tests were announced a while back - when the online form for signing up for a test was opened out to cover many more people.
Err, have you seen the pictures of the airport terminals? Virtually no-one is coming from high-risk areas, or anywhere much else for that matter, and if they do come they are immediately in lockdown the same as the rest of us. So it's really not an issue at the moment.
No Rich, they can go to a place of work the same the rest of us if they can't work from home.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
But it's a great idea, post the kit with instructions and a padded envelope, post the sample back and get your result a couple of days later. For non-urgent cases such as people living with those who are isolating it's definitely a good avenue to not waste capacity at faster testing routes or clog up the drive through centres unnecessarily.
Triouble is the lack of positive confirmation they really do 'deserve' tests. This could just as well be diverting capacity disproportionately from the priority staff, more than the added capacity in itslef improves the situation. No idea if this is happening to any extent.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Union doesn't believe the Scottish governments own figures of 2,063.
It was in today's briefing which you presumably don't watch for Hunnish patriotic reasons.
Speaking for myself I prefer to be alive and not die from a horrible disease fighting for every breath.
Have I been driven to irrationality through a culture of fear?
I set the bar a little higher than simply 'prefer not to die'. I prefer not to have chest pains, not to have tightness of breathing, not to have fatigue, and a very slow recovery rate. These are the symptoms of Sean's, er sorry Eadric's friend, a standard Covid Case. Hospitalisation would be much worse, being on a ventilator would be horrific.
In other news. Brexit trade negotiations face collapse unless the EU abandons its demands for continued access to UK fishing waters, sources close to the talks have said.
Brussels has called for EU boats to keep access under “existing conditions” as a price for the free trade agreement being negotiated by the two sides. The UK insists any fishing agreement must be separate from the trade deal with access negotiated annually in a similar fashion to Norway’s agreement with the bloc.
A UK source close to the negotiations said that the EU’s red line would need to change, otherwise the talks could be terminated in June.
Speaking for myself I prefer to be alive and not die from a horrible disease fighting for every breath.
Have I been driven to irrationality through a culture of fear?
No, but there are a slew of well-known fear factors that make us misperceive risks - overstating some (e.g. risks we cannot control, e.g. Ebola and COVID), and understating others (e.g. risks that come on slowly or which we don't think will effect us, e.g. climate change).
In that sense, our risk perception can be 'irrational' - but in evolutionary terms, it is very rational to overstate some fears and understate others.
To be fair, the article is more nuanced than the summary implies, but it is a bit of a strawman argument, I feel. Those proposing lockdown are in general making a calculation that the unprecedented and major, but temporary, restriction of liberty is worth lives saved and other social or economic benefits. You might validly decide that the calculation doesn't compute or that nothing can compensate for the loss of liberty, but it is not valid to suggest that others aren't making a calculation that adds up for them.
The whinge that the government have 'changed' the way they count the tests is garbage. They didn't send out test kits at all previously, so there's no change in the counting method, just an additional category of tests, which is what we all wanted, right?
This has been the most blatant case of opponents of the government obsessing to find something they can blame them for that I've ever seen. And that's from a very large sample.
The important thing is that the government have done what they said they were trying to do - increase testing capacity dramatically - and with remarkable efficiency. Hats off not so much to the government, more to the civil servants who actually did the logistical and planning work. Kudos to them. They get lots of brickbats but rarely get praise when it goes well.
I’m not having that. The government started far off the pace of its comparator countries. It has had to scramble to catch up. It has scrambled quite well, though the chicanery with which it has fiddled its own test is unedifying. That can’t be called remarkable efficiency. It’s just another case of fear lending wings.
Meanwhile, the body count is far higher in Britain than it need have been, largely due to the government’s initial inattention and lack of seriousness about this crisis. Perhaps we can celebrate this procedural success after all the dead have been given decent burials?
You've changed the subject. Upping the testing capacity is not a 'procedural' success, it's a practical, down-to-earth, physical and logistical success, much to the disappointment of the government's opponents. The latter have been denied their hoped-for celebration of failure to meet a target, and it's deliciously unedifying to watch.
As for the body count, the jury is very much out on that. I don't buy into this lack of attention stuff - the scientists were very much trying to make difficult judgements in an incredibly fast-moving situation on very scanty evidence.
Pretty much like all the neighbourhood parties around here.
Perhaps I should explain - we live in the agricultural reserve which is pretty rural, despite its proximity to DC and Baltimore. Lots of people hunt, so lots of camo and guns, and they frequently do it together as a social event with beer.
One striking feature I found about Maryland is that the rural areas are just as GOP leaning as say Indiana, it's simply the relative population of the DC burbs and Baltimore outweigh those areas very comfortably. Illinois is probably the most striking example of just how geographically urbanised a Dem heavy vote can be in a state.
Washington State and Oregon likewise.
Much of New York State is very rural and conservative.
Pennsylvania is the interesting one: it's very evenly divided between Philly and Pittsburgh and their 'burbs at each end of the state, and what's often described as "Kentucky in between".
I dont think many people realise how rural it gets fairly quickly outside of NYC. It isnt like the sprawl that comes out of London where you can travel in every direction for a long time and it really is just lessening of the population density with small gaps between fairly sizeable towns.
You go North of NYC and you can be in the arse end of nowhere with no clue how close you are to a mega city.
Well the same is true in London if you go to the north east. Chingford is in London but on the very edge of Epping Forest, wander through the forest and there’s pretty much sod all until you reach the East Anglian coast. East Anglia is very sparsely populated.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
The posted tests were announced a while back - when the online form for signing up for a test was opened out to cover many more people.
Indeed, wasn't there a whole bunch of guff about how the website ran out in just a few minutes?
Either way, I don't see what the issue is. Posted tests are a good idea.
Yes kinabalu I agree, one must consider primary concerns like the stage of the economic cycle, the size of the deficit as well as secondary concerns like the size of the debt to get a big picture view.
Do you agree with that?
- bang!
And yes, of course, no probs reciprocating.
The debt, the deficit, where one thinks one is in the economic cycle, these are all key to assessing the state of the public finances.
Debt is "secondary"? Hmm. Not for me. Or rather not necessarily. It really does depend. For example, if yields shoot up the amount of debt you're carrying and its maturity profile can be rather important.
But that's a mere quibble. We have nailed it. Not only that, I think our lengthy exchange on this most arcane of topics has benefited the whole board.
FPT you asked me this: “ Tax on residential property. Tap into the £6 trillion. Do you like the sound of that?”
And the answer is yes (*) - hence my suggestion to have CGT on your home.
(*) I don’t like it in the sense I’d prefer not to pay more tax but needs must etc.
Reality Check Having set a target of 100,000 tests per day by the end of April, the government now says it reached 122,347 tests on Wednesday (the last day of the month).
The government had been averaging around 20,000 tests a day but this increased significantly over the last week.
When home testing kits became a significant part of the testing strategy last week, the Department of Health began counting those sent out as part of its daily test figures.
So, it doesn’t mean the test was actually used by someone on that day - or even received.
Previously, only instances in which the swab had been processed through a lab were counted as a test.
But the new definition - added on 27 April - included tests "posted to an individual at home".
On 29 April, the definition was extended yet further to also encompass "tests sent to... satellite testing locations".
According to figures released on 30 April, home testing kits accounted for over 18,000 of the daily tests, or a quarter of the total.
Err, have you seen the pictures of the airport terminals? Virtually no-one is coming from high-risk areas, or anywhere much else for that matter, and if they do come they are immediately in lockdown the same as the rest of us. So it's really not an issue at the moment.
No Rich, they can go to a place of work the same the rest of us if they can't work from home.
Provided they can work safely there, obeying the social distancing rules.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
But it's a great idea, post the kit with instructions and a padded envelope, post the sample back and get your result a couple of days later. For non-urgent cases such as people living with those who are isolating it's definitely a good avenue to not waste capacity at faster testing routes or clog up the drive through centres unnecessarily.
Triouble is the lack of positive confirmation they really do 'deserve' tests. This could just as well be diverting capacity disproportionately from the priority staff, more than the added capacity in itslef improves the situation. No idea if this is happening to any extent.
Everyone who thinks they're sick with it deserves a test. I don't know about you but we don't eat the very last piece of dried pasta before heading out to the shops. Someone thinks they might have Covid, but they're so mild it's not really affecting them. So they call, get a home test and it comes back positive. Bingo, they know they need to stay in and not make that trip out to the shops that they otherwise might have done.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
But it's a great idea, post the kit with instructions and a padded envelope, post the sample back and get your result a couple of days later. For non-urgent cases such as people living with those who are isolating it's definitely a good avenue to not waste capacity at faster testing routes or clog up the drive through centres unnecessarily.
Triouble is the lack of positive confirmation they really do 'deserve' tests. This could just as well be diverting capacity disproportionately from the priority staff, more than the added capacity in itslef improves the situation. No idea if this is happening to any extent.
I doubt the postal tests are being used for priority cases, they will be getting drive through appointments or being told to go to the mobile testing centres. The postal ones are for less urgent cases. If a doctor is self isolating she will be told to go to the drive in, her husband will get sent a postal test aiui.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Union doesn't believe the Scottish governments own figures of 2,063.
It was in today's briefing which you presumably don't watch for Hunnish patriotic reasons.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
The posted tests were announced a while back - when the online form for signing up for a test was opened out to cover many more people.
I don't remember the flurry of inappropriate self touching about them until today on here though. I don't even remember them being included in the hypothetical fudging that would get JFK Hancock over the line.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
No the government said a couple of weeks ago posted out tests will be coming online for those who can't get to the testing venues. Why should only those who can get to drive through centres get a test?
There's also a big lag with the results. So I'm not quite sure how they can say "we did x tests yesterday and y were positive". I just drove through the Guildford testing centre, your test goes in a bin on the way out and you are told you should get your results by text within 48 hours, but it could take up to 5 days. So my test result is unlikely to be on Sunday's stats although the test will be.
Active cases: 100943 including 1578 (-116) in ICU and 1965 new cases Deaths: +269 (28236) Healed/discharged: +2304 (78249) Tests: +74208 (2053425)
81,796 of the active cases are at home. Ah, in the last week they added a new column The 2,053,425 tests have been done on 1,398,633 people.
Piemonte has now passed Emilia Romagna and Veneto in terms of cases. Emilia is sitll #2 in terms of certified deaths. Veneto have an impressive number of tests: 362k vs 390k in Lombardia (Veneto is about half of the size of Lombardia).
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
It didn't matter if the target was met today or next week either way it would have been a victory.
Let's just say that setting a target was a victory. It took real guts and leadership to stand up there and set a target. Especially a "stretch" target. Bit of fiddling the numbers at the end? Sure. But that was needed to meet the target and therefore it had to be done. Imagine what would have happened otherwise. Hardly bears thinking about.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
But it's a great idea, post the kit with instructions and a padded envelope, post the sample back and get your result a couple of days later. For non-urgent cases such as people living with those who are isolating it's definitely a good avenue to not waste capacity at faster testing routes or clog up the drive through centres unnecessarily.
Triouble is the lack of positive confirmation they really do 'deserve' tests. This could just as well be diverting capacity disproportionately from the priority staff, more than the added capacity in itslef improves the situation. No idea if this is happening to any extent.
It is probably easier to keep on increasing the number of tests, rather than keep on with what was happening before with testing.
Which was where Foxy et al were telling us of people needing multiple signatures to get a test.
Does anyone know of a graph of daily deaths by region of those with COVID? We keep seeing the hospitalisations graph in the daily presser but I can't recall seeing this. We see London markedly falling but not much elsewhere, so I was wondering if this is just hospitalisations or if deaths are now also equally spread across the country.
Is this the sort of thing you are looking for?
The HSJ does a good daily update breaking down by region
In other news. Brexit trade negotiations face collapse unless the EU abandons its demands for continued access to UK fishing waters, sources close to the talks have said.
Brussels has called for EU boats to keep access under “existing conditions” as a price for the free trade agreement being negotiated by the two sides. The UK insists any fishing agreement must be separate from the trade deal with access negotiated annually in a similar fashion to Norway’s agreement with the bloc.
A UK source close to the negotiations said that the EU’s red line would need to change, otherwise the talks could be terminated in June.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
The posted tests were announced a while back - when the online form for signing up for a test was opened out to cover many more people.
Indeed, wasn't there a whole bunch of guff about how the website ran out in just a few minutes?
Either way, I don't see what the issue is. Posted tests are a good idea.
The issue when to count it as a test. A test that hasn't even reached the recipient are included as a test by the Government.
The whinge that the government have 'changed' the way they count the tests is garbage. They didn't send out test kits at all previously, so there's no change in the counting method, just an additional category of tests, which is what we all wanted, right?
This has been the most blatant case of opponents of the government obsessing to find something they can blame them for that I've ever seen. And that's from a very large sample.
The important thing is that the government have done what they said they were trying to do - increase testing capacity dramatically - and with remarkable efficiency. Hats off not so much to the government, more to the civil servants who actually did the logistical and planning work. Kudos to them. They get lots of brickbats but rarely get praise when it goes well.
I’m not having that. The government started far off the pace of its comparator countries. It has had to scramble to catch up. It has scrambled quite well, though the chicanery with which it has fiddled its own test is unedifying. That can’t be called remarkable efficiency. It’s just another case of fear lending wings.
Meanwhile, the body count is far higher in Britain than it need have been, largely due to the government’s initial inattention and lack of seriousness about this crisis. Perhaps we can celebrate this procedural success after all the dead have been given decent burials?
You've changed the subject. Upping the testing capacity is not a 'procedural' success, it's a practical, down-to-earth, physical and logistical success, much to the disappointment of the government's opponents. The latter have been denied their hoped-for celebration of failure to meet a target, and it's deliciously unedifying to watch.
As for the body count, the jury is very much out on that. I don't buy into this lack of attention stuff - the scientists were very much trying to make difficult judgements in an incredibly fast-moving situation on very scanty evidence.
You can tell the government weren’t taking it seriously enough at the start because the Health Minister went down with Covid-19. As did the Health Secretary. As did the Prime Minister. And his partner. And the Chief Medical Officer.
None of them understood what they were dealing with at even the most basic level.
Err, have you seen the pictures of the airport terminals? Virtually no-one is coming from high-risk areas, or anywhere much else for that matter, and if they do come they are immediately in lockdown the same as the rest of us. So it's really not an issue at the moment.
Lockdown NOT Quarantine. There's a difference. In quarantine you don't leave your home at all for 14 days. In "Lockdown" if you can't WFH and are in essential services you go to work, you can exercise outside daily, you can go shopping or for medical attention. It's not the same. No wonder Guernsey is saying the final phase will be lifting travel restrictions.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
No the government said a couple of weeks ago posted out tests will be coming online for those who can't get to the testing venues. Why should only those who can get to drive through centres get a test?
There's also a big lag with the results. So I'm not quite sure how they can say "we did x tests yesterday and y were positive". I just drove through the Guildford testing centre, your test goes in a bin on the way out and you are told you should get your results by text within 48 hours, but it could take up to 5 days. So my test result is unlikely to be on Sunday's stats although the test will be.
Hope you've dodged the plague !
Will be interesting to see how quick your turnaround is.
Yes kinabalu I agree, one must consider primary concerns like the stage of the economic cycle, the size of the deficit as well as secondary concerns like the size of the debt to get a big picture view.
Do you agree with that?
- bang!
And yes, of course, no probs reciprocating.
The debt, the deficit, where one thinks one is in the economic cycle, these are all key to assessing the state of the public finances.
Debt is "secondary"? Hmm. Not for me. Or rather not necessarily. It really does depend. For example, if yields shoot up the amount of debt you're carrying and its maturity profile can be rather important.
But that's a mere quibble. We have nailed it. Not only that, I think our lengthy exchange on this most arcane of topics has benefited the whole board.
Absolutely yields matter though its worth remembering most bonds have a long maturity of 10 to 30 to 50 years. Even if yields change up or down it takes a long time for that to filter through to all bonds. That is why the deficit matters more again because the deficit must be borrowed now and not just a fraction of it now like bond renewals.
Reality Check Having set a target of 100,000 tests per day by the end of April, the government now says it reached 122,347 tests on Wednesday (the last day of the month).
The government had been averaging around 20,000 tests a day but this increased significantly over the last week.
When home testing kits became a significant part of the testing strategy last week, the Department of Health began counting those sent out as part of its daily test figures.
So, it doesn’t mean the test was actually used by someone on that day - or even received.
Previously, only instances in which the swab had been processed through a lab were counted as a test.
But the new definition - added on 27 April - included tests "posted to an individual at home".
On 29 April, the definition was extended yet further to also encompass "tests sent to... satellite testing locations".
According to figures released on 30 April, home testing kits accounted for over 18,000 of the daily tests, or a quarter of the total.
27k out of 122k - honestly who cares?
Posted tests are a good idea, people were freaking out about the inability to get to a testing centre now they're whining that some tests are posted which can reach anyone in the country even those in the backwoods who don't drive.
Err, have you seen the pictures of the airport terminals? Virtually no-one is coming from high-risk areas, or anywhere much else for that matter, and if they do come they are immediately in lockdown the same as the rest of us. So it's really not an issue at the moment.
No Rich, they can go to a place of work the same the rest of us if they can't work from home.
No country really has Covid more than we do at the moment, and some places less so, so on average international arrivals are diluting the prevalence, not adding to it.
Err, have you seen the pictures of the airport terminals? Virtually no-one is coming from high-risk areas, or anywhere much else for that matter, and if they do come they are immediately in lockdown the same as the rest of us. So it's really not an issue at the moment.
No Rich, they can go to a place of work the same the rest of us if they can't work from home.
No country really has Covid more than we do at the moment, and some places less so, so on average international arrivals are diluting the prevalence, not adding to it.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
The posted tests were announced a while back - when the online form for signing up for a test was opened out to cover many more people.
I don't remember the flurry of inappropriate self touching about them until today on here though. I don't even remember them being included in the hypothetical fudging that would get JFK Hancock over the line.
Even without the home testing tests we're looking at 95k completed. If Wales and Scotland had done per capita same as England it would be past 100k even without the home testing kits.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
The posted tests were announced a while back - when the online form for signing up for a test was opened out to cover many more people.
Indeed, wasn't there a whole bunch of guff about how the website ran out in just a few minutes?
Either way, I don't see what the issue is. Posted tests are a good idea.
The issue when to count it as a test. A test that hasn't even reached the recipient are included as a test by the Government.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Union doesn't believe the Scottish governments own figures of 2,063.
It was in today's briefing which you presumably don't watch for Hunnish patriotic reasons.
The Scottish govt released the tweets - not my problem if they have 2 sets of books.
C'mon Harry, don't be a snowflake. I though you'd taken it on board when I schooled you on your victimised delusion that folk could be prosecuted for use of the word Hun under the OBF act.
The whinge that the government have 'changed' the way they count the tests is garbage. They didn't send out test kits at all previously, so there's no change in the counting method, just an additional category of tests, which is what we all wanted, right?
This has been the most blatant case of opponents of the government obsessing to find something they can blame them for that I've ever seen. And that's from a very large sample.
The important thing is that the government have done what they said they were trying to do - increase testing capacity dramatically - and with remarkable efficiency. Hats off not so much to the government, more to the civil servants who actually did the logistical and planning work. Kudos to them. They get lots of brickbats but rarely get praise when it goes well.
I’m not having that. The government started far off the pace of its comparator countries. It has had to scramble to catch up. It has scrambled quite well, though the chicanery with which it has fiddled its own test is unedifying. That can’t be called remarkable efficiency. It’s just another case of fear lending wings.
Meanwhile, the body count is far higher in Britain than it need have been, largely due to the government’s initial inattention and lack of seriousness about this crisis. Perhaps we can celebrate this procedural success after all the dead have been given decent burials?
You've changed the subject. Upping the testing capacity is not a 'procedural' success, it's a practical, down-to-earth, physical and logistical success, much to the disappointment of the government's opponents. The latter have been denied their hoped-for celebration of failure to meet a target, and it's deliciously unedifying to watch.
As for the body count, the jury is very much out on that. I don't buy into this lack of attention stuff - the scientists were very much trying to make difficult judgements in an incredibly fast-moving situation on very scanty evidence.
You can tell the government weren’t taking it seriously enough at the start because the Health Minister went down with Covid-19. As did the Health Secretary. As did the Prime Minister. And his partner. And the Chief Medical Officer.
None of them understood what they were dealing with at even the most basic level.
Err, have you seen the pictures of the airport terminals? Virtually no-one is coming from high-risk areas, or anywhere much else for that matter, and if they do come they are immediately in lockdown the same as the rest of us. So it's really not an issue at the moment.
Lockdown NOT Quarantine. There's a difference. In quarantine you don't leave your home at all for 14 days. In "Lockdown" if you can't WFH and are in essential services you go to work, you can exercise outside daily, you can go shopping or for medical attention. It's not the same. No wonder Guernsey is saying the final phase will be lifting travel restrictions.
If a doctor returns from New Zealand should they be quarantined or go to work?
Yes kinabalu I agree, one must consider primary concerns like the stage of the economic cycle, the size of the deficit as well as secondary concerns like the size of the debt to get a big picture view.
Do you agree with that?
- bang!
And yes, of course, no probs reciprocating.
The debt, the deficit, where one thinks one is in the economic cycle, these are all key to assessing the state of the public finances.
Debt is "secondary"? Hmm. Not for me. Or rather not necessarily. It really does depend. For example, if yields shoot up the amount of debt you're carrying and its maturity profile can be rather important.
But that's a mere quibble. We have nailed it. Not only that, I think our lengthy exchange on this most arcane of topics has benefited the whole board.
FPT you asked me this: “ Tax on residential property. Tap into the £6 trillion. Do you like the sound of that?”
And the answer is yes (*) - hence my suggestion to have CGT on your home.
(*) I don’t like it in the sense I’d prefer not to pay more tax but needs must etc.
Ah right thanks. Yes, I saw that in your piece. Worth considering.
But I more meant a levy on value. Maybe one off, maybe annual.
Err, have you seen the pictures of the airport terminals? Virtually no-one is coming from high-risk areas, or anywhere much else for that matter, and if they do come they are immediately in lockdown the same as the rest of us. So it's really not an issue at the moment.
Lockdown NOT Quarantine. There's a difference. In quarantine you don't leave your home at all for 14 days. In "Lockdown" if you can't WFH and are in essential services you go to work, you can exercise outside daily, you can go shopping or for medical attention. It's not the same. No wonder Guernsey is saying the final phase will be lifting travel restrictions.
I didn't say it was the same. So what? We are talking about whether arrivals add significantly to the risk. The government experts think not. Some blokes on the internet are quite certain that it's a major failure of the government.
The most extraordinary aspect of the Michigan story is that carrying arms into the capitol building is apparently perfectly legal.
The extent to which americans love guns and insist they be allowed to carry them everywhere is utterly bafflinf, even if one accepts the argument about owning them in the first place.
Its pathetic during a pandemic to see some disappointed that the country is doing well with testing now. Seriously absurd and through the looking glass.
Oh just give up. The Left and Remainerdom wanted this as a stick with which to beat the government. Now your stick is broken. Because the government actually did something good.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
No the government said a couple of weeks ago posted out tests will be coming online for those who can't get to the testing venues. Why should only those who can get to drive through centres get a test?
There's also a big lag with the results. So I'm not quite sure how they can say "we did x tests yesterday and y were positive". I just drove through the Guildford testing centre, your test goes in a bin on the way out and you are told you should get your results by text within 48 hours, but it could take up to 5 days. So my test result is unlikely to be on Sunday's stats although the test will be.
Hope you've dodged the plague !
Will be interesting to see how quick your turnaround is.
Yes I'll keep you updated. Mild symptoms: I'm not coughing and didn't think I had a temperature but now I'm starting to feel a bit under the weather. Some fatigue, tight chest, tickly throat and dry eyes. Felt more than usually breathless during yesterday's run, and sluggish, resting heart rate elevated. I suspect it's nust a cold piggybacking on my seasonal hay fever but I'm entitled to a test and I am supposedly higher risk so I thought I ought to. Will be helping Matt's figures anyway. Very efficient, got there 15 minutes early, drove straight through, only 2 cars ahead of me in the lane
Lol, at last some certitude in a disquieting world. The PB experts who year in year out have proved that they know feck all about Scottish politics still know feck all about Scottish politics.
Lol, at last some certitude in a disquieting world. The PB experts who year in year out have proved that they know feck all about Scottish politics still know feck all about Scottish politics.
The phenomenon that most governments have become more popular in terms of voting intention, around the world, holds true in Scotland as well.
You can tell the government weren’t taking it seriously enough at the start because the Health Minister went down with Covid-19. As did the Health Secretary. As did the Prime Minister. And his partner. And the Chief Medical Officer.
None of them understood what they were dealing with at even the most basic level.
That's a very weak complaint. Lots of politicians, medical officers and officials around the world have gone down with this virus, presumably because they meet a lot of people and spend a lot of time in meetings talking.
The fact that the Chief Medical Officer was one of them rather destroys your argument. Is he on your list of ignorant, incompetent, Brexit-obsessed dilettantes?
Err, have you seen the pictures of the airport terminals? Virtually no-one is coming from high-risk areas, or anywhere much else for that matter, and if they do come they are immediately in lockdown the same as the rest of us. So it's really not an issue at the moment.
Lockdown NOT Quarantine. There's a difference. In quarantine you don't leave your home at all for 14 days. In "Lockdown" if you can't WFH and are in essential services you go to work, you can exercise outside daily, you can go shopping or for medical attention. It's not the same. No wonder Guernsey is saying the final phase will be lifting travel restrictions.
If a doctor returns from New Zealand should they be quarantined or go to work?
From New Zealand, go to work. From the USA, quarantined.
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
I don't see what the contradiction is there. It wouldn't have mattered all that much if it had been missed but was at least relatively close, yet it is clearly a victory if it isn't missed, politically if not mattering so much around impact.
Err, have you seen the pictures of the airport terminals? Virtually no-one is coming from high-risk areas, or anywhere much else for that matter, and if they do come they are immediately in lockdown the same as the rest of us. So it's really not an issue at the moment.
Lockdown NOT Quarantine. There's a difference. In quarantine you don't leave your home at all for 14 days. In "Lockdown" if you can't WFH and are in essential services you go to work, you can exercise outside daily, you can go shopping or for medical attention. It's not the same. No wonder Guernsey is saying the final phase will be lifting travel restrictions.
If a doctor returns from New Zealand should they be quarantined or go to work?
Yes quarantined as soon as the Government has posted them a letter to tell them to set off
I see the 'it's not important if the target isn't met today' lads have miraculously pivoted to 'what a victory for Matt Clem Fitzgerald Hilda Hancock!!!'
Just 2000 tests in Scotland - WTF is the SNP up to ?
Well they're not posting out 50k tests, that's for sure.
They're not posting out any are they?
Amazing, despite not having heard of posted out tests until today, the PB acolytes are now BIG fans.
No the government said a couple of weeks ago posted out tests will be coming online for those who can't get to the testing venues. Why should only those who can get to drive through centres get a test?
There's also a big lag with the results. So I'm not quite sure how they can say "we did x tests yesterday and y were positive". I just drove through the Guildford testing centre, your test goes in a bin on the way out and you are told you should get your results by text within 48 hours, but it could take up to 5 days. So my test result is unlikely to be on Sunday's stats although the test will be.
Hope you've dodged the plague !
Will be interesting to see how quick your turnaround is.
Yes I'll keep you updated. Mild symptoms: I'm not coughing and didn't think I had a temperature but now I'm starting to feel a bit under the weather. Some fatigue, tight chest, tickly throat and dry eyes. Felt more than usually breathless during yesterday's run, and sluggish, resting heart rate elevated. I suspect it's nust a cold piggybacking on my seasonal hay fever but I'm entitled to a test and I am supposedly higher risk so I thought I ought to. Will be helping Matt's figures anyway. Very efficient, got there 15 minutes early, drove straight through, only 2 cars ahead of me in the lane
And that's precisely what having a good capacity can sort out - milder cases.
Lol, at last some certitude in a disquieting world. The PB experts who year in year out have proved that they know feck all about Scottish politics still know feck all about Scottish politics.
The phenomenon that most governments have become more popular in terms of voting intention, around the world, holds true in Scotland as well.
But as referred to, the Scotch experts on here predicted this would somehow not apply to Scotland.
You can tell the government weren’t taking it seriously enough at the start because the Health Minister went down with Covid-19. As did the Health Secretary. As did the Prime Minister. And his partner. And the Chief Medical Officer.
None of them understood what they were dealing with at even the most basic level.
That's a very weak complaint. Lots of politicians, medical officers and officials around the world have gone down with this virus, presumably because they meet a lot of people and spend a lot of time in meetings talking.
The fact that the Chief Medical Officer was one of them rather destroys your argument. Is he on your list of ignorant, incompetent, Brexit-obsessed dilettantes?
I haven’t mentioned Brexit at all. And yes, I do think the Chief Medical Officer has performed poorly.
But like all fish, this one rots from the head. The fact that the Prime Minister took half of February off and couldn’t be bothered to turn up to five Cobra meetings on the subject is indicative of a hallmark lack of urgency or interest in dull detail. And he was found out.
Err, have you seen the pictures of the airport terminals? Virtually no-one is coming from high-risk areas, or anywhere much else for that matter, and if they do come they are immediately in lockdown the same as the rest of us. So it's really not an issue at the moment.
Lockdown NOT Quarantine. There's a difference. In quarantine you don't leave your home at all for 14 days. In "Lockdown" if you can't WFH and are in essential services you go to work, you can exercise outside daily, you can go shopping or for medical attention. It's not the same. No wonder Guernsey is saying the final phase will be lifting travel restrictions.
If a doctor returns from New Zealand should they be quarantined or go to work?
Yes quarantined as soon as the Government has posted them a letter to tell them to set off
Go to work. They are less likely to have CV than a British doctor. You can give them a test if you like.
Its pathetic during a pandemic to see some disappointed that the country is doing well with testing now. Seriously absurd and through the looking glass.
We can't build field hospitals like the Chinese. We did.
We are going to run out of ventilators. We didn't.
We can't ramp up testing fast enough. We have.
We are going to run out of PPE. We haven't.
Obviously nobody would choose to start where we did knowing what we now know about COVID-19. That aside, the response from the NHS, wider public services, the army, and private industry has been remarkable, not forgetting the high degree of compliance by the public.
I for one am extremely grateful by the huge effort made by so many people to fight this virus.
Comments
Children do not become as ill from the virus.
Children transmit the virus to the same degree as adults.
But TUD below has added others from other tyesting in Scotland. I dunno whence.
Meanwhile, the body count is far higher in Britain than it need have been, largely due to the government’s initial inattention and lack of seriousness about this crisis. Perhaps we can celebrate this procedural success after all the dead have been given decent burials?
Fiasco
One wonders what negotiations may be going on behind the scenes.
Brexit trade negotiations face collapse unless the EU abandons its demands for continued access to UK fishing waters, sources close to the talks have said.
Brussels has called for EU boats to keep access under “existing conditions” as a price for the free trade agreement being negotiated by the two sides. The UK insists any fishing agreement must be separate from the trade deal with access negotiated annually in a similar fashion to Norway’s agreement with the bloc.
A UK source close to the negotiations said that the EU’s red line would need to change, otherwise the talks could be terminated in June.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/04/30/brexit-talks-face-collapse-unless-eu-abandon-demands-continued/
https://twitter.com/HolyroodDaily/status/1256190024439271434?s=20
As for the body count, the jury is very much out on that. I don't buy into this lack of attention stuff - the scientists were very much trying to make difficult judgements in an incredibly fast-moving situation on very scanty evidence.
Either way, I don't see what the issue is. Posted tests are a good idea.
Tests that havent even been received by the testee are counted
Tax on residential property. Tap into the £6 trillion. Do you like the sound of that?”
And the answer is yes (*) - hence my suggestion to have CGT on your home.
(*) I don’t like it in the sense I’d prefer not to pay more tax but needs must etc.
17:30 What the UK government means by hitting its testing target
Reality Check
Having set a target of 100,000 tests per day by the end of April, the government now says it reached 122,347 tests on Wednesday (the last day of the month).
The government had been averaging around 20,000 tests a day but this increased significantly over the last week.
When home testing kits became a significant part of the testing strategy last week, the Department of Health began counting those sent out as part of its daily test figures.
So, it doesn’t mean the test was actually used by someone on that day - or even received.
Previously, only instances in which the swab had been processed through a lab were counted as a test.
But the new definition - added on 27 April - included tests "posted to an individual at home".
On 29 April, the definition was extended yet further to also encompass "tests sent to... satellite testing locations".
According to figures released on 30 April, home testing kits accounted for over 18,000 of the daily tests, or a quarter of the total.
The Scottish govt released the tweets - not my problem if they have 2 sets of books.
Ah, in the last week they added a new column
The 2,053,425 tests have been done on 1,398,633 people.
Piemonte has now passed Emilia Romagna and Veneto in terms of cases. Emilia is sitll #2 in terms of certified deaths.
Veneto have an impressive number of tests: 362k vs 390k in Lombardia (Veneto is about half of the size of Lombardia).
Which was where Foxy et al were telling us of people needing multiple signatures to get a test.
None of them understood what they were dealing with at even the most basic level.
https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1256263266730467329
Will be interesting to see how quick your turnaround is.
Posted tests are a good idea, people were freaking out about the inability to get to a testing centre now they're whining that some tests are posted which can reach anyone in the country even those in the backwoods who don't drive.
Add to that unprocessed from mobile sites
Yvone Fovargue is now challenging Chris Bryant
Still 3 candidates Business, Energe and Industrial Strategy Chair:
Stella Creasy, Darren Jones and Angela Eagle
Nominations close on Monday
Honestly this is petty little nitpicking now.
https://twitter.com/lewis_goodall/status/1256263829622849536?s=21
But I more meant a levy on value. Maybe one off, maybe annual.
TBC when I catch you next. Off now.
When is a test on 30th April not a test when its not been used FFS
It really isnt rocket science is it!!!
I suspect it's nust a cold piggybacking on my seasonal hay fever but I'm entitled to a test and I am supposedly higher risk so I thought I ought to. Will be helping Matt's figures anyway. Very efficient, got there 15 minutes early, drove straight through, only 2 cars ahead of me in the lane
The PB experts who year in year out have proved that they know feck all about Scottish politics still know feck all about Scottish politics.
The fact that the Chief Medical Officer was one of them rather destroys your argument. Is he on your list of ignorant, incompetent, Brexit-obsessed dilettantes?
Either they are being very badly advised or they’re not listening.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XetplHcM7aQ&list=PLf02uWXhaGRng_YzH-Ser_VEV4lGSLX_1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connections_(TV_series)
which I didn't know about before.
But like all fish, this one rots from the head. The fact that the Prime Minister took half of February off and couldn’t be bothered to turn up to five Cobra meetings on the subject is indicative of a hallmark lack of urgency or interest in dull detail. And he was found out.
We are going to run out of ventilators. We didn't.
We can't ramp up testing fast enough. We have.
We are going to run out of PPE. We haven't.
Obviously nobody would choose to start where we did knowing what we now know about COVID-19. That aside, the response from the NHS, wider public services, the army, and private industry has been remarkable, not forgetting the high degree of compliance by the public.
I for one am extremely grateful by the huge effort made by so many people to fight this virus.