Generic Virus Thread

[Genie]

6 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Me an the Mrs went for a 2nd test at Edgbaston Cricket ground Tuesday. There was no one there, an it was 12:30 should have been peak times.

This is the thing, if people want a test they can get one. If less than 100k people turn up then it is what it is. There are so many other things to report on. Especially how this government has failed us, than to beat them with this stick of not reaching the finger in the air number they had a punt at a month ago but it would be reached if people wanted it.

Edited May 6, 2020 by Genie

[foreveryoung]

1 minute ago, Genie said:

This is the thing, if people want a test they can get one. If less than 100k people turn up then it is what it is. There are so many other things to report on. Especially how this government has failed us, than to beat them with this stick of not reaching the finger in the air number they had a punt at a month ago but it would be reached if people wanted it.

Agreed, I dont think this is a stick you can prod the goverment with. There are testing places now all over the country. If people arent going there you cant do much to get the figures up. 

[Stevo985]

2 minutes ago, Genie said:

This is the thing, if people want a test they can get one. If less than 100k people turn up then it is what it is. There are so many other things to report on. Especially how this government has failed us, than to beat them with this stick of not reaching the finger in the air number they had a punt at a month ago but it would be reached if people wanted it.

If the government hadn't made such a song and dance of the target, and then another massive song and dance about meeting the target (even though they hadn't) then I don't think people would be beating them with that stick at all.

In fact the sad thing is, I actually think the increase in testing is a success story. I don't think it's happened soon enough in general, i think there should have been more emphasis earlier in the outbreak on increasing testing. But relative to where we were in early April I think the work they've put in to increase testing and the amount they've increased it has been impressive.

But they've shot themselves in the foot by over promising and then trying to fool everyone into thinking they'd hit that promise.

[snowychap]

30 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

If you seriously think I was literally suggesting every China man, Italian and Iranian had come into the country , a billion+ people maybe, then I wasn't. If that is how you have taken it then I will edit the post to say not literally so I don't cause any further confusion. Thank you for pulling me up on it.

No, Mark, I wasn't thinking you were suggesting that.

What I was suggesting was an urging of caution in the language you were using.

I'm sorry but making comments about 'every Tom, Dick, Italian, Iranian, China man' is not just silly, it's incendiary even if you were trying to convey a different message (which undoubtedly you were).

Just walk back a step.

[Genie]

5 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

If the government hadn't made such a song and dance of the target, and then another massive song and dance about meeting the target (even though they hadn't) then I don't think people would be beating them with that stick at all.

I’m not really sure they made that much of a fuss about it. They set a target for the end of the month and then every day they were asked about how it wasn’t going to happen, and how they felt about missing the target, and what they were going to do about missing the target etc. With everything else going on most eyes were diverted to the impending target miss... which doesn’t really matter.

Maybe it was wrong to set a target. I have a tiny bit of sympathy for them because they are right in that there is the capacity for greater than 100k tests a day. Maybe the issue was they over estimated the demand. 

[snowychap]

19 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Me an the Mrs went for a 2nd test at Edgbaston Cricket ground Tuesday. There was no one there, an it was 12:30 should have been peak times.

and

[Stevo985]

Just now, Genie said:

I’m not really sure they made that much of a fuss about it. They set a target for the end of the month and then every day they were asked about how it wasn’t going to happen, and how they felt about missing the target, and what they were going to do about missing the target etc. With everything else going on most eyes were diverted to the impending target miss... which doesn’t really matter.

Maybe it was wrong to set a target. I have a tiny bit of sympathy for them because they are right in that there is the capacity for greater than 100k tests a day. Maybe the issue was they over estimated the demand. 

But if they hadn't kept saying "Yeah we'll meet the target" and then lied about meeting the target, then nobody would have cared.

If they'd come out and said "Look we can increase our capacity to 100k but we may miss the target on test carried out because of X, Y and Z" then nobody would have cared

But they're so obsessed with not ever admitting anything could possibly be anything other than perfect that they had to keep lying and twisting things to make it look like they were meeting the target. People only kept asking about it because it was painfully obvious they wouldn't meet it yet they were insisting they would. If they'd just been straight and said we'll miss it but the capacity will be there and we're doing these things to make sure everyone who wants a test gets one then I think people would have left it.

[VILLAMARV]

2 hours ago, wazzap24 said:

As I read on Twitter earlier, both population density and population density are a problem for us. 

Have I missed something?

[Genie]

16 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

But if they hadn't kept saying "Yeah we'll meet the target" and then lied about meeting the target, then nobody would have cared.

If they'd come out and said "Look we can increase our capacity to 100k but we may miss the target on test carried out because of X, Y and Z" then nobody would have cared

But they're so obsessed with not ever admitting anything could possibly be anything other than perfect that they had to keep lying and twisting things to make it look like they were meeting the target. People only kept asking about it because it was painfully obvious they wouldn't meet it yet they were insisting they would. If they'd just been straight and said we'll miss it but the capacity will be there and we're doing these things to make sure everyone who wants a test gets one then I think people would have left it.

Didn’t Matt Hancock do exactly that (change language from complete 100k tests to have capacity for 100k tests) to much criticism in the media and fun poking even in this thread. It was a climb down, and they reported that the day they “achieved” the target was including tests sent out but not processed.

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Genie

[Stevo985]

8 minutes ago, Genie said:

Didn’t Matt Hancock do exactly that (change language from complete 100k tests to have capacity for 100k tests) to much criticism in the media and fun poking even in this thread. 

 

No he didn't do exactly that, that's the point. He changed the language of how they were hitting the target, not of the target, and tried to pretend that it was always like that.

If he'd said that they might not hit it through carried out but he'd ensure the capacity was there, then again I think people would have been ok. But instead he had to try to make out that they were hitting the target and that's what they meant all along.

It's the dishonesty that people don't like. Just be straight.

8 minutes ago, Genie said:

It was a climb down, 

 

But it wasn't. Again if it had been a climb down I don't think people would have minded. It was a doubling down that they WOULD hit their target, but change the language slightly and hope nobody notices. Anyone who saw him answering Starmer's question in PMQ's last week (or the week before? can't remember) about it would see it wasn't a climb down whatsoever.

8 minutes ago, Genie said:

and they reported that the day they “achieved” the target was including tests sent out but not processed.

 

Exactly. They reported they'd achieved it when they hadn't achieved it, because they were already in too deep on promising they'd meet their unachievable target that they couldn't possibly backtrack.

Again if they'd said we missed it but we've performed 72,000 tests and we've got 50k more in the post then people wouldn't have minded. But leading with "we've achieved it" and then seeing that they haven't when you look at the detail isn't the same thing

Edited May 6, 2020 by Stevo985

[chrisp65]

6 minutes ago, Genie said:

Didn’t Matt Hancock do exactly that (change language from complete 100k tests to have capacity for 100k tests) to much criticism in the media and fun poking even in this thread. It was a climb down, and they reported that the day they “achieved” the target was including tests sent out but not processed.

 

When he did finally ‘change’ language he embarrassed himself further by insisting that had always been the case.

It’s been like watching a toddler lie about who shit on the carpet.

[Genie]

5 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

When he did finally ‘change’ language he embarrassed himself further by insisting that had always been the case.

It’s been like watching a toddler lie about who shit on the carpet.

and you wonder why he was reluctant to change tact mid month...

100k by the end of the month, 50k, 200k, it really doesn’t matter does it? They massively increased the capacity (possibly too much) is the point so fair play on that.

It feels like something from the Trump school of smoke and mirrors. “I’m going to build a wall” then like moths to a flame the media will latch onto it and all the more important stuff slides by unopposed. Why are people debating it for page after page? It doesn’t really matter that he actually fell short of the target of 100k per day by about 10%. 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Genie

[VILLAMARV]

Targets. Huh. Good God. What is it good for?

[Stevo985]

3 minutes ago, Genie said:

and you wonder why he was reluctant to change tact mid month...

100k by the end of the month, 50k, 200k, it really doesn’t matter does it? They massively increased the capacity (possibly too much) is the point so fair play on that.

It feels like something from the Trump school of smoke and mirrors. “I’m going to build a wall” then like moths to a flame the media will latch onto it and all the more important stuff slides by unopposed. Why are people debating it for page after page? It doesn’t really matter that he actually fell short of the target of 100k per day by about 10%. 

I agree:

36 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

In fact the sad thing is, I actually think the increase in testing is a success story. I don't think it's happened soon enough in general, i think there should have been more emphasis earlier in the outbreak on increasing testing. But relative to where we were in early April I think the work they've put in to increase testing and the amount they've increased it has been impressive.

But they've shot themselves in the foot by over promising and then trying to fool everyone into thinking they'd hit that promise.

 

[chrisp65]

1 minute ago, Genie said:

and you wonder why he was reluctant to change tact mid month...

100k by the end of the month, 50k, 200k, it really doesn’t matter does it? They massively increased the capacity (possibly too much) is the point so fair play on that.

It feels like something from the Trump school of smoke and mirrors. “I’m going to build a wall” then like moths to a flame the media will latch onto it and all the more important stuff slides by unopposed. Why are people debating it for page after page? It doesn’t really matter that he actually fell short of the target of 100k year by about 10%. 

I’m lost on what your point is sorry.

They set themselves a pointless goal. Stuck with it religiously for weeks, then changed the goalposts and insisted they hadn’t changed the goalposts. Are you saying we should just relax about weird incompetence and lies?

What would you like us to talk about instead? Leave nutters on SAGE? The dubious awarding of dubious contracts? Taking back control at our borders? Care Homes left to just all die off? The lies about the ordering of PPE? Hastily drawn up law that exempts 18 year olds from prosecution? 

We’re discussing it all here. Or should we just chill out and trust Boris Johnson on the days he pops in to work?

 

 

[NurembergVillan]

1 hour ago, foreveryoung said:

Me an the Mrs went for a 2nd test at Edgbaston Cricket ground Tuesday. There was no one there, an it was 12:30 should have been peak times.

I should think not! If there's no football there shouldn't be international cricket either!

[Wainy316]

1 hour ago, foreveryoung said:

Me an the Mrs went for a 2nd test at Edgbaston Cricket ground Tuesday. 

Who won the 1st test?

[terrytini]

1 hour ago, Genie said:

This is the thing, if people want a test they can get one. If less than 100k people turn up then it is what it is. There are so many other things to report on. Especially how this government has failed us, than to beat them with this stick of not reaching the finger in the air number they had a punt at a month ago but it would be reached if people wanted it.

You can’t get a test just because you want one. You have to meet criteria. 
 
 

Which in turn means we still are not doing the mass testing ( followed by tracing) we should be doing.

[VILLAMARV]

Why isn't the target eradicating covid 19?

 

[Jareth]

Watched Rhod Gilbert tonight being a (pre Covid) carer. It is all that matters and please forward this carer's poem on exponentionally.