Current Affairs

[towny44]

Why are 25% of people tested positive not traceable? Surely all testing forms should have a valid name and address including a valid postcode, and a valid telephone number, which now that track and trace is operating, should be checked against a database to ensure the details are correct before they are passed to the T&T team.
If people have then been found to have been too lazy or inaccurate, or have deliberately lied in filling out the forms, then action can be taken against them.
I won't specify what my punishment would be, in case it upsets any snowflakes.

[screwy]

One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the present.

Golda Meir.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Why are 25% of people tested positive not traceable? Surely all testing forms should have a valid name and address including a valid postcode, and a valid telephone number, which now that track and trace is operating, should be checked against a database to ensure the details are correct before they are passed to the T&T team.
If people have then been found to have been too lazy or inaccurate, or have deliberately lied in filling out the forms, then action can be taken against them.
I won't specify what my punishment would be, in case it upsets any snowflakes.

I too am unclear why 25% are not traceable. They must have provided accurate contact details to get their results. As for checking against a database surely that is step 1 for the tracer? I don't see the point of another step in the process. Of course the 25% of people may be deliberately uncontactable. Not answering phone. Not responding to texts.

[Manoverboard]

Why are 25% of people tested positive not traceable? Surely all testing forms should have a valid name and address including a valid postcode, and a valid telephone number, which now that track and trace is operating, should be checked against a database to ensure the details are correct before they are passed to the T&T team.
If people have then been found to have been too lazy or inaccurate, or have deliberately lied in filling out the forms, then action can be taken against them.
I won't specify what my punishment would be, in case it upsets any snowflakes.

I too am unclear why 25% are not traceable. They must have provided accurate contact details to get their results. As for checking against a database surely that is step 1 for the tracer? I don't see the point of another step in the process. Of course the 25% of people may be deliberately uncontactable. Not answering phone. Not responding to texts.

Interesting point ... Normally, if our phone rings and a name is not displayed we ignore it unless of course we are expecting a call. It will ring again a couple of times if it's important otherwise it was not or it was a wrong number. Ditto texts.
.

[david63]

Normally, if our phone rings and a name is not displayed we ignore it unless of course we are expecting a call.

Same here

[Stephen]

Probably just some ambulance chaser anyway.

[Manoverboard]

Probably just some ambulance chaser anyway.

That type of call seems to come in phases so we then set the phone up to intercept all non named calls

[Stephen]

Your right. You get that type of call fairly regular then nothing for ages. As soon as I hear some squeaky foreign voice that I can't make head nor tale of on the other end the call is immediately ended.

[Gill W]

Nobody has mentioned that the contract tracing app has been ditched.

The app that had been contracted to a Cummings crony company - that app.

So now they have to start on the Apple/Google technology, that they should have used from the get go.

However much Hancock tried to spin it, they have not been backing two horses. It’s back to the drawing board, and more time wasted.

[Manoverboard]

Nobody has mentioned that the contract tracing app has been ditched.

The app that had been contracted to a Cummings crony company - that app.

So now they have to start on the Apple/Google technology, that they should have used from the get go.

However much Hancock tried to spin it, they have not been backing two horses. It’s back to the drawing board, and more time wasted.

At the end of the day it only matters that one becomes available, not that any of them will actually be trusted by the general public. Who made / makes it really is of no interest to the vast majority, including me.

Mentioning Cummings for the zillionth time is, for me, boring rather than informative

[Gill W]

That's pretty much the excess deaths sum we're doing though we're comparing to a five year average rather than one previous year. Experts are saying we'll need to look over a period for the full picture as they expect deaths might be lower than normal after the peak because the virus may have accelerated the death of some vulnerable people rather than being the sole cause.

I saw information yesterday from another source comparing excess deaths. It included a lot of countries, but when I tried to find it again, I couldn’t.

However, this has appeared on the BBC website, with the same graphs, but for fewer countries

[url] Coronavirus: How does the UK's death toll compare with other countries? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-53078368[/url]

It indicates that our excess deaths are comparatively high, but I think we knew that anyway. Whatever metric is used, the UK is constantly up there with the ‘worst’.

Why wait to find out our position at the end of the epidemic- they should be examining why other countries have fared better right now, it may save lives in any subsequent wave of the pandemic.

[Gill W]

Nobody has mentioned that the contract tracing app has been ditched.

The app that had been contracted to a Cummings crony company - that app.

So now they have to start on the Apple/Google technology, that they should have used from the get go.

However much Hancock tried to spin it, they have not been backing two horses. It’s back to the drawing board, and more time wasted.

At the end of the day it only matters that one becomes available, not that any of them will actually be trusted by the general public. Who made / makes it really is of no interest to the vast majority, including me.

Mentioning Cummings for the zillionth time is, for me, boring rather than informative

aren’t you concerned that time has been wasted?

Regarding trust, there are a lot of people out there who are used to trusting Apple and Google with their information, but wouldn’t touch with a barge pole anything that Cummings is connected with. Therefore, there could now be a bigger uptake of an app, when it eventually arrives.

You might be bored of Cummings, but as he is the one telling Johnson what to do, he’s unfortunately a factor in everything that is happening.

[oldbluefox]

Regarding trust, there are a lot of people out there who are used to trusting Apple and Google with their information, but wouldn’t touch with a barge pole anything that Cummings is connected with.

You might be bored of Cummings, but as he is the one telling Johnson what to do, he’s unfortunately a factor in everything that is happening.

What is the link with Cummings? I presume you are referring to Alice Cummings.
I'm afraid I cannot comment on whether Cummings is telling Boris what to do or not since I do not have that insider information but he seems to be the convenient scapegoat of the lefty liberals and Remainers. Time to give it a rest.

[Gill W]

Regarding trust, there are a lot of people out there who are used to trusting Apple and Google with their information, but wouldn’t touch with a barge pole anything that Cummings is connected with.

You might be bored of Cummings, but as he is the one telling Johnson what to do, he’s unfortunately a factor in everything that is happening.

What is the link with Cummings? I presume you are referring to Alice Cummings.
I'm afraid I cannot comment on whether Cummings is telling Boris what to do or not since I do not have that insider information but he seems to be the convenient scapegoat of the lefty liberals and Remainers. Time to give it a rest.

Faculty AI is the Cummings crony company involved.

But I can see that everyone would rather bury their heads in the sand regarding anything they might find a bit awkward. It’s a defence mechanism, and I get why it’s more comfortable to do that, but what’s happening will still happen, even if you all choose to ignore it.

[david63]

there are a lot of people out there who are used to trusting Apple and Google with their information

I, along with many others, would not, and do not, trust either of those with my information.

aren’t you concerned that time has been wasted?

Actually time has been saved. What would you be saying if the app had been rolled out to the whole country and then found not to work? And please don't say that other countries are using the Apple/Google technology because whilst they may be using it the technology is not proven.

To develop this track & trace app technology would under normal circumstances take at least 12 months, and probably longer, to have a working version. The one that has been created was "tested" on the IOW and found to not work in some respects - which, as I understand it, was basically with Apple and Android "talking" to one another, something which every program developer has a problem with.

[oldbluefox]

Faculty AI is the Cummings crony company involved.

I can find no pecuniary interest or evidence of a "crony company" involving Cummings apart from Cummings using Faculty AI to work on the Leave campaign. I use eBay but that doesn't mean I have any further involvement.
Let's be honest Gill. It doesn't matter what Cummings, Boris or the Tory party do you will find fault.

[towny44]

Why are 25% of people tested positive not traceable? Surely all testing forms should have a valid name and address including a valid postcode, and a valid telephone number, which now that track and trace is operating, should be checked against a database to ensure the details are correct before they are passed to the T&T team.
If people have then been found to have been too lazy or inaccurate, or have deliberately lied in filling out the forms, then action can be taken against them.
I won't specify what my punishment would be, in case it upsets any snowflakes.

I too am unclear why 25% are not traceable. They must have provided accurate contact details to get their results. As for checking against a database surely that is step 1 for the tracer? I don't see the point of another step in the process. Of course the 25% of people may be deliberately uncontactable. Not answering phone. Not responding to texts.

Interesting point ... Normally, if our phone rings and a name is not displayed we ignore it unless of course we are expecting a call. It will ring again a couple of times if it's important otherwise it was not or it was a wrong number. Ditto texts.
.

I am surprised you don't have your phone with Sky, then you could let Skytalk shield be your secretary and answer any unknown numbers. It has certainly stopped all out unwanted calls, only callers who need me for a genuine reason stay the course and she then politely asks me if I want to talk to them.

[Manoverboard]

...... aren’t you concerned that time has been wasted?

Regarding trust, there are a lot of people out there who are used to trusting Apple and Google with their information, but wouldn’t touch with a barge pole anything that Cummings is connected with. Therefore, there could now be a bigger uptake of an app, when it eventually arrives.

You might be bored of Cummings, but as he is the one telling Johnson what to do, he’s unfortunately a factor in everything that is happening.

I am not overly concerned because until the figures drop considerably the app, or so I believe, has limited value.

My mention of trust had nothing to do with the Company involved, it related to folks walking about with apps believing that everybody else has an operational app and that if they don't get a message they are entirely safe. I do not subscribe to that particular notion.

[Manoverboard]

I am surprised you don't have your phone with Sky, then you could let Skytalk shield be your secretary and answer any unknown numbers. It has certainly stopped all out unwanted calls, only callers who need me for a genuine reason stay the course and she then politely asks me if I want to talk to them.

I had an add on box that did exactly that but I presently prefer to use the ' Block ' facility on one's newer BT phone

[towny44]

That's pretty much the excess deaths sum we're doing though we're comparing to a five year average rather than one previous year. Experts are saying we'll need to look over a period for the full picture as they expect deaths might be lower than normal after the peak because the virus may have accelerated the death of some vulnerable people rather than being the sole cause.

I saw information yesterday from another source comparing excess deaths. It included a lot of countries, but when I tried to find it again, I couldn’t.

However, this has appeared on the BBC website, with the same graphs, but for fewer countries

[url] Coronavirus: How does the UK's death toll compare with other countries? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-53078368[/url]


It indicates that our excess deaths are comparatively high, but I think we knew that anyway. Whatever metric is used, the UK is constantly up there with the ‘worst’.

Why wait to find out our position at the end of the epidemic- they should be examining why other countries have fared better right now, it may save lives in any subsequent wave of the pandemic.

Gill, all the politicians and their experts have been saying all along that they are learning and applying anything that will improve outcomes, including information from other countries. Of course you may not believe them, however their reluctance to debate our dire death rate is quite obviously a PR exercise, to avoid uncomfortable questions until they really have no choice, which is basically what we all do in any discussion.

[towny44]

I am surprised you don't have your phone with Sky, then you could let Skytalk shield be your secretary and answer any unknown numbers. It has certainly stopped all out unwanted calls, only callers who need me for a genuine reason stay the course and she then politely asks me if I want to talk to them.

I had an add on box that did exactly that but I presently prefer to use the ' Block ' facility on one's newer BT phone

I find that STS works perfectly for us, most nuisance calls seem to be eliminated automatically if STS recognises that it is one of those trawling phone lines, the rest need the caller to identify themselves and this seems to deter all except genuine new numbers. All our regular numbers are starred and are connected immediately.

[Manoverboard]

I find that STS works perfectly for us, most nuisance calls seem to be eliminated automatically if STS recognises that it is one of those trawling phone lines, the rest need the caller to identify themselves and this seems to deter all except genuine new numbers. All our regular numbers are starred and are connected immediately.

I accept that your system has some benefit but I learnt many years ago that it is not a good plan to entrust SKY with one’s network if the land line is rented to one by BT. If you get a problem they will, indeed did, blame each other and you will be caught in the middle without a service. Having BT costs more but ‘ they ‘ cannot blame anybody else ... apart from me of course.

[screwy]

I’m keeping out of this.

[david63]

Covid-19 alert level down to 3

What do the naysayers have to say about that?

[Manoverboard]

Covid-19 alert level down to 3

What do the naysayers have to say about that?

" On reflection I don't trust Google either ? "