Current Affairs

[Onelife]

A link for the forum statisticians

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[Kendhni]

I have been using this one
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

[Onelife]

Well, I took the plunge this morning with my face mask, gloves and petrol can in hand …. filled up can, left it outside, walked in to be met by a large clear screen…so far so good. Alas, the shop assistant was at the bottom of the shop showing two chaps how to use the coffee machine but within a few inches off them.

The "stay alert" message is not resonating with some I'm afraid.

P.s I was the only leader I could see, but I'm sure more will follow

[Ray B]

Exactly towny, A & E reporting 50% fall in attendance, which to me say, most of the missing 50% should not have been there in the first place.

The missing 50% are surely down to the reduction in traffic / people / sporting accidents plus gang warfare and Saturday night punch ups etc. If everybody stops indoors and are too scared to go anywhere near their surgery let alone a Hospital the figures are bound to drop ... I would have thought ?

Nothing to do with all those whom the doctors appointments does not fit in with their daily lives and so jump the queues and present themselves at A&E then?

[Ray B]

I should make clear I was referring to pre covid A&E

[Manoverboard]

Well, I took the plunge this morning with my face mask, gloves and petrol can in hand ….

Why didn't you take a wet suit, mask and flippers like everybody else who goes swimming

[Manoverboard]

Exactly towny, A & E reporting 50% fall in attendance, which to me say, most of the missing 50% should not have been there in the first place.

The missing 50% are surely down to the reduction in traffic / people / sporting accidents plus gang warfare and Saturday night punch ups etc. If everybody stops indoors and are too scared to go anywhere near their surgery let alone a Hospital the figures are bound to drop ... I would have thought ?

Nothing to do with all those whom the doctors appointments does not fit in with their daily lives and so jump the queues and present themselves at A&E then?

' Some ' certainly but not 50% I would venture to suggest.

[Mervyn and Trish]

The missing 50% are surely down to the reduction in traffic / people / sporting accidents plus gang warfare and Saturday night punch ups etc. If everybody stops indoors and are too scared to go anywhere near their surgery let alone a Hospital the figures are bound to drop ... I would have thought ?

Nothing to do with all those whom the doctors appointments does not fit in with their daily lives and so jump the queues and present themselves at A&E then?

' Some ' certainly but not 50% I would venture to suggest.

Well the stats say 40% of A&E attendances are alcohol related rising to 70% on Saturday nights. So a very big chunk.

[Onelife]

Well, I took the plunge this morning with my face mask, gloves and petrol can in hand ….

Why didn't you take a wet suit, mask and flippers like everybody else who goes swimming

Because i prefer a "dry suit" when popping to get petrol for my combine harvester

Ooh ar ooh ar

[oldbluefox]

OBF suprised to see the high figures for Cumbria today, particularly Barrow. Any ideas as to why? I wouldn't have expected it. We have been very careful since well before the lockdown, a good job as Maureen was put into the shielded group. The upsetting thing is the idiots going out and about, then coming into contact with unsuspected friends and family.

The higher figures really centre around Barrow and Carlisle. Our Director of Public Health said that the figures for Barrow are "undoubtedly artificially high" because of the higher rate of testing but it is still possible that Barrow will turn out to have a higher infection and mortality rate than average.
He went on to sat we know that mortality rates are higher in older populations, urban areas, and more deprived areas – all of which are relevant to places like Barrow and Carlisle.
These two centres with their higher populations also have good transport links compared to the rest of the county and as such travel into and out of them is much higher which aids the transmission of the disease. Tourism also plays a big factor around the Christmas and New Year with a high degree of holiday/second homes and a greater chance of Covid being brought in.
Basically Ray, I don't know!!!! I think it's a culmination of factors all coming together.

[oldbluefox]

Well the stats say 40% of A&E attendances are alcohol related rising to 70% on Saturday nights. So a very big chunk.

Is it not time we started charging for treatment of alcohol related incidents? Those figures are ridiculously high.
When my mother was taken into hospital we were quite apologetic and the nurses told us they didn't mind treating those who genuinely needed emergency care but they did get annoyed with those who presented on a regular basis for minor problems which could easily be treated at home or by a visit to the doctor's.

[Onelife]

A coronavirus vaccine being tested by a team in the UK will be priced to allow as wide as possible access to it, according to the the Oxford University professor co-leading its development.

Adrian Hill, director of Oxford's Jenner Institute, which has teamed up with and it's going to be made in many different locations. That was always our plan."

The experimental vaccine, known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, is one of the front runners in the global race to provide protection against the new coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Preliminary data from a small trial of the experimental vaccine in six monkeys found that some of the animals given a single shot developed antibodies against the virus within 14 days, and all developed protective antibodies within 28 days.

The team are currently conducting human trials to see if the vaccine works and expect to have the first results in mid-June.

the drugmaker AstraZeneca to develop the vaccine, said ensuring wide distribution and low cost have been central to the project from the start.

"This not going to be an expensive vaccine," Hill told Reuters in an interview. "It's going to be a single dose vaccine. It's going to be made for global supply

Source…Independent

Sounds promising …fingers crossed

[Stephen]

Well the stats say 40% of A&E attendances are alcohol related rising to 70% on Saturday nights. So a very big chunk.

Is it not time we started charging for treatment of alcohol related incidents? Those figures are ridiculously high.
When my mother was taken into hospital we were quite apologetic and the nurses told us they didn't mind treating those who genuinely needed emergency care but they did get annoyed with those who presented on a regular basis for minor problems which could easily be treated at home or by a visit to the doctor's.

Good luck with that Foxy

[towny44]

A coronavirus vaccine being tested by a team in the UK will be priced to allow as wide as possible access to it, according to the the Oxford University professor co-leading its development.

Adrian Hill, director of Oxford's Jenner Institute, which has teamed up with and it's going to be made in many different locations. That was always our plan."

The experimental vaccine, known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, is one of the front runners in the global race to provide protection against the new coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Preliminary data from a small trial of the experimental vaccine in six monkeys found that some of the animals given a single shot developed antibodies against the virus within 14 days, and all developed protective antibodies within 28 days.

The team are currently conducting human trials to see if the vaccine works and expect to have the first results in mid-June.

the drugmaker AstraZeneca to develop the vaccine, said ensuring wide distribution and low cost have been central to the project from the start.

"This not going to be an expensive vaccine," Hill told Reuters in an interview. "It's going to be a single dose vaccine. It's going to be made for global supply

Source…Independent

Sounds promising …fingers crossed

That is probably why AZ shares have rocketed up over the last 3 weeks, hopefully this is helping to ensure my pension will be secure in the future.

[Manoverboard]

.... hopefully this is helping to ensure my pension will be secure in the future.

AZ, eh .... smoking Beagles and all that at Nether Alderley

[Mervyn and Trish]

Apparently the Beagles are all vaping these days

[towny44]

.... hopefully this is helping to ensure my pension will be secure in the future.

AZ, eh .... smoking Beagles and all that at Nether Alderley

Dredging up some ancient 1970s ICI history there Moby.

[Onelife]

Thankfully the use of animal testing for cosmetic products has long gone. I can’t say that I’m too keen on using our nearest animal relatives as guinea pigs, however, because of their genetic makeup one perhaps can understand why. I don’t like to see any animal suffer whether that be in a sporting context or scientific research….but it does bring us back to the question of… only the strongest survive…with of course a little help from our less advanced primates.

[Kendhni]

Thankfully the use of animal testing for cosmetic products has long gone. I can’t say that I’m too keen on using our nearest animal relatives as guinea pigs, however, because of their genetic makeup one perhaps can understand why. I don’t like to see any animal suffer whether that be in a sporting context or scientific research….but it does bring us back to the question of… only the strongest survive…with of course a little help from our less advanced primates.

Sadly onelife that is not actually true. We still use animal for testing within the UK (what tests are they used for behind lab doors I don't know) and where the British public deem the thought of animal testing to be unpalatable they simply ship those tests overseas before selling the products in the UK.

I know you mentioned 'cosmetic products' but, on a slightly different, but very similar note, animals are still abused all over the world for drug testing. There is no secret that many of the COVID-19 vaccine candidates have already moved, or will soon move, to animal testing.

[Manoverboard]

.... hopefully this is helping to ensure my pension will be secure in the future.

AZ, eh .... smoking Beagles and all that at Nether Alderley

Dredging up some ancient 1970s ICI history there Moby.

ICI were probably the main employers in the Macclesfield area during that period and Nether Alderley was not a million miles from where we lived.

Your posting just reminded me of the smoking Beagles, such a lovely looking dog. Perhaps they should have chosen an ugly looking breed but I guess they were all non smokers.

[towny44]

AZ, eh .... smoking Beagles and all that at Nether Alderley

Dredging up some ancient 1970s ICI history there Moby.

ICI were probably the main employers in the Macclesfield area during that period and Nether Alderley was not a million miles from where we lived.

Your posting just reminded me of the smoking Beagles, such a lovely looking dog. Perhaps they should have chosen an ugly looking breed but I guess they were all non smokers.

I am not 100% certain but I imagine that Nether Alderley was probably doing research on behalf of ICI Stevenston in Ayrshire, which is where the new smoking mixture (NSM) was being developed. Strange to think this was an explosives factory, but NSM was made from cellulose, which can of course be used in the manufacture of explosives. ICI Nobel was merged with ICI Dyestuffs, where I started, to become ICI Organics division, and NSM was managed from Manchester. I don't think it ever got much beyond the development stage, and I do remember trying one of the cigarettes which tasted appalling and was a very dry smoking experience, unlike the normal smooth and slightly moist taste of tobacco cigarettes.
Not one of ICI's better inventions and very soon burnt itself out.

[Mervyn and Trish]

As a teenager we live in Suffolk and our next door neighbour worked at the ICI paint factory. I don't think that was tested on animals......

[Onelife]

Thankfully the use of animal testing for cosmetic products has long gone. I can’t say that I’m too keen on using our nearest animal relatives as guinea pigs, however, because of their genetic makeup one perhaps can understand why. I don’t like to see any animal suffer whether that be in a sporting context or scientific research….but it does bring us back to the question of… only the strongest survive…with of course a little help from our less advanced primates.

Sadly onelife that is not actually true. We still use animal for testing within the UK (what tests are they used for behind lab doors I don't know) and where the British public deem the thought of animal testing to be unpalatable they simply ship those tests overseas before selling the products in the UK.

I know you mentioned 'cosmetic products' but, on a slightly different, but very similar note, animals are still abused all over the world for drug testing. There is no secret that many of the COVID-19 vaccine candidates have already moved, or will soon move, to animal testing.

Sorry ken.....but which "sadly that is not true" are you referring too. I'm confused.

I'm no animal activist, like many l choose to turn a blind eye to what goes on behind closed doors......thankfully or not depending on your prospective most governments restrict media coverage of what really does amount to animal cruelty behind closed doors.....For the greater good and all that l suppose.

However l'm sure if we were exposed to what goes on we would all be out there with our banners.

[Manoverboard]

As a teenager we live in Suffolk and our next door neighbour worked at the ICI paint factory. I don't think that was tested on animals......

Not even the brown, white and black paint ...

[Manoverboard]

I am not 100% certain but I imagine that Nether Alderley was probably doing research ....

Top secret research according to the locals so imagine my surprise when, in our recently purchased property, I unearthed a well concealed blueprint of their entire security set up. Dutifully I returned it to ICI of course.