[Spoonman]

FFFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCKKKK!!

...the only notable positive so far is that hospital admissions/ICU occupancy is lower than the previous week, but the next week or two will need a careful eye on these figures - some hospitals in NI are already asking for additional staff.

[The All New KevS]

Speaking of Norn Iron, I see a lot of folk are glibly dismissing the eye spinning 183k daily cases figure as that includes five days worth of data from Belfast.

OK, so bearing in mind they reported approx 22k, if we take 80% of that figure away from today's UK total, it should be a more accurate figure for today.

By my reckoning that brings us down to about 165k or so. Well, phew, that's alright then.

[Boiler]

[...] some hospitals in NI are already asking for additional staff.

Whilst trying to settle a dispute over an individual's medical qualifications on another forum, I typed my former - and much-missed - GP's name into the GMC register. He had taken early retirement in late 2017 for personal reasons.

He was reinstated under the provision of emergency Covid regulations in March 2020.

BTW, if anyone's not yet seen this year's Royal Institution Lectures with Jonathan Van-Tam, I recommend you give them a look.

[Boiler]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59823652

Coronavirus "surge hubs" will be set up at hospitals across England in preparation for a potential wave of Omicron admissions, the NHS has said.

The eight temporary sites will each have capacity for around 100 patients, with building work starting this week. Unlike earlier "Nightingale" hospital units, they will be added to existing hospitals with plans to identify sites for a further 4,000 beds if needed.

[...]

The hubs will be located at the Royal Preston hospital in Lancashire, St James' University Hospital in Leeds, Lister Hospital in Stevenage, St George's Hospital in London, The William Harvey Hospital in Kent, North Bristol Hospital, Solihull Hospital, University Hospitals Birmingham, and University Hospitals Leicester.

(Isn't that nine hospitals?)

[Watchman]

And it doesn’t say which Leicester hospital, as there is 3 in the group

[Bones McCoy]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59823652

Coronavirus "surge hubs" will be set up at hospitals across England in preparation for a potential wave of Omicron admissions, the NHS has said.

The eight temporary sites will each have capacity for around 100 patients, with building work starting this week. Unlike earlier "Nightingale" hospital units, they will be added to existing hospitals with plans to identify sites for a further 4,000 beds if needed.

[...]

The hubs will be located at the Royal Preston hospital in Lancashire, St James' University Hospital in Leeds, Lister Hospital in Stevenage, St George's Hospital in London, The William Harvey Hospital in Kent, North Bristol Hospital, Solihull Hospital, University Hospitals Birmingham, and University Hospitals Leicester.

(Isn't that nine hospitals?)

You English with your strange Health Trusts.
Too many business development consultants.
Too few scientists.

[Cyclist]

In the 'debate' about Covid I think I might stick with the scientists who have retained their sanity

Scientists have identified antibodies that can target the unchanged parts of the novel coronavirus as it continues to mutate and evolve, an advance that could lead to new therapeutics to neutralise Omicron and other Covid-19 variants.

Identifying such “broadly neutralising” antibodies on the coronavirus spike protein, which the virus uses to enter human cells, can help develop better vaccines and antibodies which will be effective not only against Omicron but also against other variants that may emerge in the future, said David Veesler from the University of Washington School of Medicine in the US.

“This finding tells us that by focusing on antibodies that target these highly conserved sites on the spike protein, there is a way to overcome the virus’ continual evolution,” Dr Veesler said in a statement...

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/scie ... 3.html?amp

Piers Corbyn was considered the bright one of the family.

[The All New KevS]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59823652

Coronavirus "surge hubs" will be set up at hospitals across England in preparation for a potential wave of Omicron admissions, the NHS has said.

The eight temporary sites will each have capacity for around 100 patients, with building work starting this week. Unlike earlier "Nightingale" hospital units, they will be added to existing hospitals with plans to identify sites for a further 4,000 beds if needed.

[...]

The hubs will be located at the Royal Preston hospital in Lancashire, St James' University Hospital in Leeds, Lister Hospital in Stevenage, St George's Hospital in London, The William Harvey Hospital in Kent, North Bristol Hospital, Solihull Hospital, University Hospitals Birmingham, and University Hospitals Leicester.

(Isn't that nine hospitals?)

Still leaves giant swathes of England with a huge distance to travel. If you're in Penzance, then it's off to Bristol with you. Us here in East Anglia have got to go to Stevenage or London. Live anywhere between the Scottish border and the M62? Preston or Leeds.

And nothing in Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, Southampton, Nottingham etc etc etc.

What could go wrong?

[Boiler]

On the subject of masks - and a recommendation that we should start using FFP2/FFP3 masks rather than cloth "face coverings".

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... -ffp2-ffp3

People need the facts on high-efficiency masks, and need the encouragement to use them. Many of the concerns voiced about masks could easily be addressed. They can even be reworn – a fact little-known by the public. Although manufacturers recommend discarding masks after eight hours, this advice is intended for highly contaminated settings, such as an infectious disease ward.

For the public, it is in fact fine to reuse FFP masks until they break or become visibly unhygienic. Having several masks that you wear in rotation, wearing a different mask each day and then leaving it to “decontaminate”, can allay concerns about buildup of pathogens. This not only cuts down the cost, it also helps with concerns about masks as plastic waste.

[Nigredo]

Who let that tosser Piers Corbyn out of the clink?

https://metro.co.uk/2021/12/29/milton-k ... -15837934/

[Boiler]

Either the CPS couldn't find enough to charge him with or the local plod just couldn't be arsed to proceed.

Next?

However, I'm hoping one or two people in those photographs are going to get interviews when they return to work where tea, coffee and a chair are not provided.

[Bones McCoy]

Either the CPS couldn't find enough to charge him with or the local plod just couldn't be arsed to proceed.

Next?

However, I'm hoping one or two people in those photographs are going to get interviews when they return to work where tea, coffee and a chair are not provided.

Is that where Patel's home office have brought us.
Hoping that employers will keep a sharp eye out for potential domestic terrorists.

I wonder what she has planned for any self-employed hooligans.

[The All New KevS]

No more case lag today. 189213. Oooof.

332 deaths, but there is a six day backlog of English data in that.

[kreuzberger]

Re FFP2 masks, they have been compulsory here since forever. Trains, shops, football, and tonight at the Opera. We also needed Covid passes, evidence of a negative test within the last 24 hours, and had to keep the masks on for the entire duration apart from when having a glass of wine at half-time.

Safety and responsibility are not optional here.

[Boiler]

Re FFP2 masks, they have been compulsory here since forever. Trains, shops, football, and tonight at the Opera. We also needed Covid passes, evidence of a negative test within the last 24 hours, and had to keep the masks on for the entire duration apart from when having a glass of wine at half-time.

Safety and responsibility are not optional here.

I'm sure some Mail/Express/Telegraph reader can come up with some derogatory reason why that is.

Me, I've just ordered another twenty fold-flat FFP2s. Of course, if I had a brain I could have bought them through the business and claimed the tax back on safety equipment.

[Boiler]

An interesting one from the i;

Experts have warned that people should swab both their throat and nose when conducting Lateral Flow Tests (LFTs), as anecdotal evidence has demonstrated that nasal samples alone may be less effective at identifying positive cases of Omicron.

Dozens of people have reported testing negative on LFTs when only swabbing their nasal passages, including after receiving a positive PCR test result.

https://inews.co.uk/news/lateral-flow-t ... ts-1374073

[Nigredo]

Can see that just encouraging people to swab their noses more in hopes of getting a negative test.

[Boiler]

Depends. Most people welcomed the nose-only test as you didn't gag on it.

[Boiler]

From the Independent:

Nurses have been driven to “despair” as they routinely work 14-hour days amid mass shortages caused by the Omicron wave of coronavirus.

Pat Cullen, head of the Royal College of Nursing, said a “very, very depleted workforce” was facing a worse Christmas than last year due to the number of staff forced into isolation.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/heal ... 81961.html

My sister said this was the case yesterday in her department, with her husband doing overtime tonight.

[davidjay]

Either the CPS couldn't find enough to charge him with or the local plod just couldn't be arsed to proceed.

Surely to God there's more evidence against him already than there has been for Islamists banged up for possessing a copy of the Anarchists's Cookbook, or whatever the contemporary equivalent might be.