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Coronavirus

glorygloryeze said:
:D:D

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...t-commons-workplace-canteen-pubs-b665366.html

Parliament bars exempt from 10pm curfew
The venues are designated ‘workplace canteens’ and not subject to new rules


Parliament’s bars are exempt from the government’s new coronavirus restrictions imposed last week, including the 10pm curfew, stricter rules on face coverings and test and trace data-gathering requirements.

Bars in the House of Commons are not subject to the new rules for hospitality venues as they are designated “workplace canteens”.

Under the new rules, "workplace canteens may remain open where there is no practical alternative for staff at that workplace to obtain food”.

As well as being free to remain open beyond 10pm, the new, stricter rules regarding wearing face coverings and customers checking in at venues will also not apply to parliamentary bars, according to a report in The Times.

A spokesperson for the House of Commons confirmed that the new restrictions on hospitality do not apply to the venues on the parliamentary estate, saying: “As catering outlets providing a workplace service for over 3,100 people working on the Estate, the current regulations on hospitality venues do not apply to Commons facilities.”

They said the Members’ Dining Room, Adjournment, Smoking Room, Terrace Pavilion, Pugin Room and Members’ Tea Room fall under this category, as they provide a food and bar service.

“We continue to follow social distancing and cleaning measures as a Covid-secure workplace in order to reduce the transmission of the disease through social distancing signage, one-way systems, socially distanced seating arrangements, contactless payments, marshalling and additional cleaning.

"Parliament has a dedicated team to support the test-and-trace teams across the UK, acting as a central point of contact in the event of any suspected or confirmed cases, where an individual has been working on the Estate,” they added.

One Conservative MP condemned the decision to make House of Commons bars exempt as “appalling”.

George Freeman, MP for Mid Norfolk, wrote on Twitter: “Parliament’s bars exempt from 10pm curfew? Appalling decision – had no idea. This sort of thing is what brings Parliament into disrepute. Who makes these decisions? The Speaker’s Commission? Will look into it.”

New rules came into force in England on Thursday as the government tries to halt a second coronavirus wave. Measures affecting hospitality venues include customers and staff being required to wear face coverings (except when eating and drinking), businesses being made to display QR codes for test and trace, and the 10pm curfew.

The new rule on early closing times has been widely criticised by MPs, advisers and industry leaders.

Sacha Lord, night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, described it as “shambolic”, saying: “It's very clear, across the UK, that this ill-thought-out 10pm curfew, has pushed everyone out of venues with socially distanced measures, into the streets, into off-licences, supermarkets, overcrowded public transport and house parties. Every operator predicted this. Shambolic.”

Additionally, Professor Graham Medley, a leader member of the Sage group, has said scientific advisers “never discussed” the 10pm pubs curfew.
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Isn't parliament still exempt from the smoking ban too?
 
Just seen on the news that it will now be illegal (in the North East) to meet anyone from another household in a pub, restaurant etc.
Which effectively kills daytime/lunchtime/drink-after-work pub trade, and severely limits evening trade. Might as well shut them down again.
 
Seedy Ron said:
Presumably this way they can not offer the NE pub trade any support, because they're still open, and blame the public when it makes no difference.
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Well, they did leave the pubs open in March while telling people they shouldn’t go to them.

And they are the same government who have just sent students off to university, only to lock thousands of them up in their halls just so the universities don’t miss out on charging them full tuition fees and rent.
 
Seedy Ron said:
Presumably this way they can not offer the NE pub trade any support, because they're still open, and blame the public when it makes no difference.
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If those filthy fudging northerners would stop spreading their dirty diseases all over the place, we wouldn't need to do anything.
 
awesome dawson said:
I love a pub/bar/brewery, as much as anyone but the fact the UK Gov makes pub opening hours, the core element of a pandemic containment strategy is farcical.
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it’s the way out isn’t it?

blame it on the pub goers

that’s why

a sensible ideas would be to use some of those covid marshals we are all paying for to spot check pubs with the threat of closure if they are not following the rules.

there was no reason to have a curfew at 10
 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54328644

Police told not to download NHS Covid-19 app

The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) has confirmed officers are being told not to install the NHS Covid-19 app on their work smartphones.
The app detects when users have been in proximity to someone with the virus.
Some officers have also been told they may not need to obey self-isolate alerts generated by the app when downloaded to their personal phones.
Lancashire Constabulary has told staff to call the force's own Covid-19 helpline instead.
The BBC contacted the North-West of England force after a source claimed the advice had been given because of "security reasons".
The source also said officers had been told not to carry their personal phones while on duty if they had activated the app.
This applies to staff working in public-facing roles as well as those in back-office positions.
"The health and wellbeing of our officers, staff and the public remains our priority," a Lancashire Constabulary spokeswoman subsequently told the BBC.
"Members of staff, like all members of the public, are personally able to download the Track and Trace application should they choose to do so. Guidance provided to staff within the workplace remains in line with the national NPCC position."
The NPCC confirmed the work-phones policy was common to all forces, and said it was carrying out an urgent review of the matter.
"Police forces use a variety of mobile devices with different system restrictions," said a spokesman for the council.
"It is important that we have confidence that the NHS app will work for officers and staff consistently across the country, and it is for this reason that we have recommended that officers and staff download the app to their personal, as opposed to work devices, rather than any suggestion of security implications."

NHS Covid-19 launched last Thursday, since when it has been downloaded more than 12 million times.
In addition to contact-tracing, it also offers a way for users to scan codes when they enter a building to log they were there, as well as a means to check if they have symptoms of the coronavirus and to order a test.
The NPCC had previously raised concerns about officers sharing information with human contact tracers on the grounds it could compromise undercover work and other sensitive operations.
But since the app is designed to keep people's identities secret, this should not be a problem in this case.

 
Interesting...

Madrid refuses new lockdown as city leader argues 'people get run over every day, but that doesn't mean we ban cars' and Spain's coronavirus hospitalisations hit 350 a day
  • Madrid leader Isabel Diaz Ayuso said 'the solution is not a total confinement'
  • Protesters have hit the streets as eight more districts go into partial lockdown
  • The Spanish capital is seeing ICU wards fill up with Spain's highest infection rate

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...lock-despite-mounting-coronavirus-crisis.html
 
There have been a further 71 deaths recorded in the UK of people who had had a positive coronavirus test in the previous 28 days.

So Dave who had minor Co-vid and recovered then got eaten by a shark so his death goes on the stats as Co-Vid
 
markysimmo said:
There have been a further 71 deaths recorded in the UK of people who had had a positive coronavirus test in the previous 28 days.

So Dave who had minor Co-vid and recovered then got eaten by a shark so his death goes on the stats as Co-Vid
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While Sandra, who was tested on the day she was admitted to hospital, and ended up on a ventilator for 5 weeks before her death, doesn’t.
 
Legohamster said:
and Steve with a broken leg who gets a test on arrival and is positive counts as a hospitalisation from covid
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Which was my point - the official figures are a mess, and are being manipulated by government.

Most impartial observers agree excess deaths are the best measure to provide a true sense of where we are; they are currently running at around 20,000 higher than the government’s figures.

One thing is for sure; due to a lack of a good test and trace system the virus is heading out of control again in the U.K. Hospital admissions are on the rise (yesterday’s figure up 715 on the corresponding day the week before) and I wouldn’t think that’s solely down to 715 with broken legs testing positive.

If they continue to rise at the rate they are then the NHS will struggle to deal with the outbreak. There will be huge pressure for another lockdown.
 
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Mikey10 said:
Which was my point - the official figures are a mess, and are being manipulated by government.

Most impartial observers agree excess deaths are the best measure to provide a true sense of where we are; they are currently running at around 20,000 higher than the government’s figures.

One thing is for sure; due to a lack of a good test and trace system the virus is heading out of control again in the U.K. Hospital admissions are on the rise (yesterday’s figure up 715 on the corresponding day the week before) and I wouldn’t think that’s solely down to 715 with broken legs testing positive.

If they continue to rise at the rate they are then the NHS will struggle to deal with the outbreak. There will be huge pressure for another lockdown.
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The trouble with excess deaths is some of those are indirectly caused by Covid e.g. someone in lockdown gets depressed and commits suicide. Today there's reports out that 1m breast cancer screening appointments have been missed which inevitably will lead to excess cancer deaths.

Though I agree that excess deaths is really the only measure we have and perhaps indirect deaths do need to be counted as some of them are as a result of the general mismanagement e.g. if things had been managed better so many general appointments and operations wouldn't need to be cancelled.
 
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