Coronavirus

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Prior to mask becoming mandatory in this country, I would go to my local supermarket and very few people would be wearing one and bother follow social distancing. In fact, I wore a mask to the laundrette when it became mandatory and was told to "take that stupid thing off" as she was having trouble hearing me.

The only person I know who had the virus was my friend's girlfriend. They live with each other and he didn't get the virus or at least have enough symptoms to be tested or even mildly concerned. We have all these measures, Big Brother style announcements in the supermarkets, mandatory face covering and so on but most people I feel simply don't see what the big deal is, including myself.

Again, for me something is grossly wrong here in terms of numbers and level of seriousness. Much earlier on for example, China changed the way they counted figures from people actually being tested to those "showing symptoms" which dramatically increased the official numbers. Even here, we had to reduce our death figure by around 5,000 because people who got the virus but died by something completely unrelated, even at different times, got counted in the figures.

I think the government and WHO are more interested in looking righteous than having a practical and honest approach to this.
 
Nathanial Essex said:
most people I feel simply don't see what the big deal is, including myself.
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I think this is certainly the line of thinking taken by most people, but suspect that anybody who has lost somebody to the virus sees things a little differently.

Realistically, it’s only going to seriously affect a small percentage of the population - but given that many of these deaths will have been avoidable and that it could literally happen to anybody, I do question how people can be so nonchalant about the situation.
 
tomboz said:
I think this is certainly the line of thinking taken by most people, but suspect that anybody who has lost somebody to the virus sees things a little differently.

Realistically, it’s only going to seriously affect a small percentage of the population - but given that many of these deaths will have been avoidable and that it could literally happen to anybody, I do question how people can be so nonchalant about the situation.
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Fair enough and my comment saying it not being a big deal was insensitive so I apologise and withdraw that comment. I think to start with people were not so care free but as it has gone on and the dramatic reporting of deaths have stopped, people just have to get on with their lives I feel. It’s like never driving a car to avoid being in a car accident. People are just going to take the attitude that awkwardly avoiding people and wearing mask everywhere is just not worth the hassle.
 
Nathanial Essex said:
Fair enough and my comment saying it not being a big deal was insensitive so I apologise and withdraw that comment. I think to start with people were not so care free but as it has gone on and the dramatic reporting of deaths have stopped, people just have to get on with their lives I feel. It’s like never driving a car to avoid being in a car accident. People are just going to take the attitude that awkwardly avoiding people and wearing mask everywhere is just not worth the hassle.
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No need to apologize (not to me at least). I think the indifference we’re seeing is a natural response to the situation, especially considering the mixed messages we’re getting from state leaders.

I think a big part of it comes from the message that it’s okay to ride public transport, to go to work or school, to go out to restaurants. It’s hard to take warnings from the government seriously when they’re effectively telling people that all of these things are safe as gathering with a group of friends or family is surely no more dangerous than gathering with a bunch of strangers, coworkers or peers.
 
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Stick to peer reviewed reports and science journals. If you do read the media, stick to the more reputable broadsheet style papers, ignore clickbait headlines and conjecture, and find the 'nitty gritty' within the article. Find the source of what they cite. The various fact checking websites out there are also invaluable resources. Also, be wary of people on social media who behave and act as if they are experts or know what they are talking about.

I know some people who died of this. And right now one of the senior managers within my organisation is off work after testing positive for it. From what I gather he is quite poorly with it and he's only in his 20s.

One thing to remember also, is people focus solely on mortality and current hospitalisations/deaths, yet a lot of early studies show many people - including those with minor symptoms and who were not hospitalised - suffering with various neurological issues, fatigue and organ damage long after contracting the virus. There have been a few studies that have showed a significant proportion of those exposed to the virus might have long term health issues as a result of the virus. Even if it's too early to know the true impact, I think it's wise to take this seriously.

My thoughts aren't meant to be an attack on anyone here, but I thought I would just share how I feel about this. I'm also concerned about people's jobs and the economy and think we have a big problem on our hands in terms of how we carefully manage all this.

Edit: Sorry, I didn't mean this to sound condescending, but reading it back it kinda does. I just get sick of seeing the spread of misinformation on social media.
 
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tomboz said:
I think a big part of it comes from the message that it’s okay to ride public transport, to go to work or school, to go out to restaurants. It’s hard to take warnings from the government seriously when they’re effectively telling people that all of these things are safe as gathering with a group of friends or family is surely no more dangerous than gathering with a bunch of strangers, coworkers or peers.
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There's also the issue of the shifting of the goalposts (at least in my country) where the original goal was to not overwhelm the hospitals, flatten the curve, and keep deaths down whereas now it seems to have moved to preventing anyone from getting it or we shut down again.

Reprise said:
One thing to remember also, is people focus solely on mortality and current hospitalisations/deaths, yet a lot of early studies show many people - including those with minor symptoms and who were not hospitalised - suffering with various neurological issues, fatigue and organ damage long after contracting the virus. There have been a few studies that have showed a significant proportion of those exposed to the virus might have long term health issues as a result of the virus. Even if it's too early to know the true impact, I think it's wise to take this seriously.
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It should absolutely be taken seriously, but you can't force people to (at least not in my country). The severity of the virus needs to be weighed against the economic disaster-- there are no solutions; only trade-offs. Only time will tell but thrusting the entire world into an economic recession that could last decades won't seem worth it if this virus really has a 90%+ survival rate; similarly, it's going to be a nightmare if those supposedly asymptomatic children develop debilitating respiratory problems later in life.
 
iknifaugood said:
There's also the issue of the shifting of the goalposts (at least in my country) where the original goal was to not overwhelm the hospitals, flatten the curve, and keep deaths down whereas now it seems to have moved to preventing anyone from getting it or we shut down again.


It should absolutely be taken seriously, but you can't force people to (at least not in my country). The severity of the virus needs to be weighed against the economic disaster-- there are no solutions; only trade-offs. Only time will tell but thrusting the entire world into an economic recession that could last decades won't seem worth it if this virus really has a 90%+ survival rate; similarly, it's going to be a nightmare if those supposedly asymptomatic children develop debilitating respiratory problems later in life.
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Also doesn't help that Trudeau is saying one thing, then Ford is getting more strict, etc., etc.

It should always be about flattening the curve as to not overwhelm hospitals; the virus is going nowhere and people WILL get it, it's just a matter of time.
 
When this all kicked off, you had people filming shopkeepers and shaming them for upping the price of their goods. Now, when I'm surfing LinkedIn you have people secretly taking photos of people not wearing their masks properly, or at all, for a few clicks of the like button. In other words, some people are more concerned about looking righteous than the actual virus itself and I think government and politicians (as usual) fall into that category. So concerned that they've forgotten what they initially said about flattening the curve and just doing what they think looks good.

I'm flabbergasted with their logic: "Go back to work even if you can work from home, eat out and we'll give you 20% off your meal, go back to school, meet with friends, start playing sports, open gyms and reduce the 2 meter rule to 1". And when virus numbers increase (which are most definitely not even counted properly) you want to threaten another lockdown? The stupidity of our leaders....
 
Nathanial Essex said:
When this all kicked off, you had people filming shopkeepers and shaming them for upping the price of their goods. Now, when I'm surfing LinkedIn you have people secretly taking photos of people not wearing their masks properly, or at all, for a few clicks of the like button. In other words, some people are more concerned about looking righteous than the actual virus itself and I think government and politicians (as usual) fall into that category. So concerned that they've forgotten what they initially said about flattening the curve and just doing what they think looks good.

I'm flabbergasted with their logic: "Go back to work even if you can work from home, eat out and we'll give you 20% off your meal, go back to school, meet with friends, start playing sports, open gyms and reduce the 2 meter rule to 1". And when virus numbers increase (which are most definitely not even counted properly) you want to threaten another lockdown? The stupidity of our leaders....
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I blame the media for the hysteria and subsequent lunacy of this whole shitstorm. Trust in, and the relevancy of, the media was at an all-time low before this all kicked off - thanks to the lies about Brexit and Trump, especially; their coverage of those events was abysmal - so I believe once the reports started coming in about all these people being struck ill and dying with pneumonia-like symptoms in China, their ears pricked up. Once reports started coming in that people around the world were suffering from the same symptoms, the media hit the big red button, rubbed their hands together, and sat back to enjoy the show.

Then came the panic buying; then the shortage of masks, gloves, and hand sanitiser; then came the price gouging; then came the police and army in the streets; then came the social unrest; then came the statistics and graphs; then came the censorship of those with dissenting views and opinions; then came the lockdown; then came the draconian measures; then came the "Clap for Carers" fad; then came the snitching on neighbours; and so on.

It just went on and on and fucking on, and yet the data and statistics were being ignored in favour of letting the circus play out.

The media reported on all of this with glee. Why? Because it made people scared. It made people scared and therefore more likely to look to the media for answers. Viewing figures went through the roof, as did advertising revenue. Doom and gloom always sells much better than hope and happiness because we are wired to pay more attention to that which poses a danger so we can learn not to follow that path. Fear. That's what did it. We have never experienced anything like this in our lifetime, so we were in the unknown, but now we have the data and it is clear the virus is nowhere near as bad as once thought.

In the olden days, in the event of a pandemic, the old and vulnerable would be quarantined while everyone else would brave the storm in order to keep society going. But we've become soft; we've had it so easy that adversity is seen as a no-no that we must all be protected from. Fuck that shit.

Now the government appear to be using Twitter as the gauge for public opinion. Twitter, of which approximately 13.7 million accounts are registered in the UK, in a country of sixty-seven million. These accounts belong mostly to young people who, as mentioned previously, have never known such adversity, so they're freaking out and begging for protection, even though they are statistically going to be just fine, even if they get the virus.

This has to end.

EDIT: And now panic buying has started again. Selfish cunts. "BUT WHAT ABOUT MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?!?!" God bless this country 😤
 
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Don't get me started on the panic buying. I remember one guy proudly showing off his kitchen stacked up with canned spaghetti and beans. I bet it's the same people who throw a fit when you don't "clap for the NHS". In regards to the media, part of me feels that the majority of people really don't care and once they remove the rules things will go back to normal (aside from companies enforcing stuff) as soon as. I've been out recently to a soft-play for example and very few people bothered with masks. Before mask were even mandatory, the vast majority of people in the supermarket were not wearing them.

I gave up on the news a long time ago. I always used to have it on in the background but for the past few years it's just been Brexit and this virus. Also noticed how Sky News is slowly turning into something more concerned with sensationalism than factual reporting.
 
Nathanial Essex said:
Don't get me started on the panic buying. I remember one guy proudly showing off his kitchen stacked up with canned spaghetti and beans. I bet it's the same people who throw a fit when you don't "clap for the NHS". In regards to the media, part of me feels that the majority of people really don't care and once they remove the rules things will go back to normal (aside from companies enforcing stuff) as soon as. I've been out recently to a soft-play for example and very few people bothered with masks. Before mask were even mandatory, the vast majority of people in the supermarket were not wearing them.

I gave up on the news a long time ago. I always used to have it on in the background but for the past few years it's just been Brexit and this virus. Also noticed how Sky News is slowly turning into something more concerned with sensationalism than factual reporting.
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As I said: selfish cunts. It blows my mind that the people who panic buy don't realise that if they didn't panic buy, and just bought their usual amount of shopping on each journey, there would be no need for supermarkets to implement rationing because there wouldn't be any shortages. It is because of these self-centred wankers that such measures have been introduced, all because they all thought they were among the first to think of doing so, when, in reality, a lot more people had exactly the same idea. But that won't stop them from trying their luck. Hey presto, we're back to the same conditions we were forced into back in March and April. Bravo.

And if these same people were ever questioned on their behaviour, their response would be something along the lines of, "I'm just doing what is best for my family! Do you want my family to starve?!" Well, if pricks like the aforementioned didn't panic buy in the first place, there wouldn't be any chance of anyone's family starving. Fucking hell, man.

Oh, for sure the vast majority of the population don't care for the measures. That is not because they are inconsiderate, however, but because they either didn't buy into the hysteria from the beginning or they gave the measures a chance and now they're fed up of it all, and I can't blame either. I fall into the former category myself; I abided by social distancing out of consideration for others, but not leaving the house whenever I so desired, for example? Nope, not playing. The result? Not a single person I ever came into contact with ever showed symptoms of having the virus, and even the ones who were scared around the time the spread began have since grown tired of the measures, no longer wearing masks, no longer ensuring they stand two metres away, etc.
 
I haven't gone out of the house as much (save to go on weekly drives with my wife) as before, however I haven't NOT gone out as well; I keep my distance, wear my mask, sanitise/wash my hands and try to be as quick and efficient as possible, when doing my business; I too have not been in contact, nor has anyone gotten it from me (I haven't had it, btw).

As with almost EVERYTHING in life, common sense goes a very long way.
 
So talking about the panic buying reminded me of a guy who i'm no longer friends with. He bought over 100 toilet rolls and cleaned a shop's stock out. When I called him out on it, he threatened to come round my house and break my legs. 6 months later, I have still yet to receive an apology.

Mind you, this is the same guy who called me a paedophile because I had a Hatsune Miku wallpaper for my desktop and goes round sleeping with his friends' ex's.
 
bcdcdude said:
So talking about the panic buying reminded me of a guy who i'm no longer friends with. He bought over 100 toilet rolls and cleaned a shop's stock out. When I called him out on it, he threatened to come round my house and break my legs. 6 months later, I have still yet to receive an apology.

Mind you, this is the same guy who called me a paedophile because I had a Hatsune Miku wallpaper for my desktop and goes round sleeping with his friends' ex's.
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Sounds like a stand-up guy - so much so that we can only hope he is standing up when the next open top bus he is on goes under a bridge at 60mph.
 
bcdcdude said:
So talking about the panic buying reminded me of a guy who i'm no longer friends with. He bought over 100 toilet rolls and cleaned a shop's stock out. When I called him out on it, he threatened to come round my house and break my legs. 6 months later, I have still yet to receive an apology.

Mind you, this is the same guy who called me a paedophile because I had a Hatsune Miku wallpaper for my desktop and goes round sleeping with his friends' ex's.
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Wow... I don't even know what to say. I don't want to judge, but sounds like he has some mental health issues or anger management problems.
 
Reprise said:
Wow... I don't even know what to say. I don't want to judge, but sounds like he has some mental health issues or anger management problems.
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I think he does to be honest. On a good day, he'd have your back. One of our friends had a major seizure that almost killed him at a party and he was the one who made sure he wasn't hurting himself or was at any more discomfort. That said, when I set my leg on fire (long story) at another party, he was the only sober one there (I arrived at 11pm arms full of vinyl) and didn't offer to take me to the hospital (I only found out a year or so later). After putting it on cold water, we put an ice pack on it and within half an hour was back out on the dancefloor. 5 years later, I still have a 6" 2nd degree burn on my leg.

I also think he's the sort of fellow that thinks everything is a joke, but God forbid you should make a joke out of him. I would partly let it be water under the bridge if he would just accept that what he did was horrible. A mutual friend of ours told me that recently when asked about me he said "I miss the guy, but on the other hand, fuck him".

At any rate, I don't need that negativity in my life~
 
cineworld has announced they are closing all their cinemas (uk/ireland) due to covid/lockdown killing the Industry.. i'm not a big fan of the cinema but it sucks because cineworld seemed good. i used my closes one quite a bit.
 
red said:
cineworld has announced they are closing all their cinemas (uk/ireland) due to covid/lockdown killing the Industry.. i'm not a big fan of the cinema but it sucks because cineworld seemed good. i used my closes one quite a bit.
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Sad times. I invested some money in them hoping they could weather the storm. This virus just sucks all round.
 
bcdcdude said:
So talking about the panic buying reminded me of a guy who i'm no longer friends with. He bought over 100 toilet rolls and cleaned a shop's stock out. When I called him out on it, he threatened to come round my house and break my legs. 6 months later, I have still yet to receive an apology.

Mind you, this is the same guy who called me a paedophile because I had a Hatsune Miku wallpaper for my desktop and goes round sleeping with his friends' ex's.
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Pictures of young, half-dressed anime girls (is there any other type?) are a bit noncey though mate.
 
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