Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms does anyone understand the covid rules?

You jest, but we had a knife/machete incident yesterday, so needed one of them as well. Thankfully we contained it and the boys in blue turned up in time.

But that doesnt explain " social gathering" does it. For example, if my local classic car club arranged a meeting of 20 people in a pub, with groups of 4 or 6 per table 2m apart, is that a social gathering? Does it become one if we chat over that 2 m distance - those of us without hearing aids that is. If it is a social gathering how is it more of a virus risk than a similar situation not organised by a club and where the tables dont know each other. Does it stop being a social gathering if we all wear masks?

And then there is the bubble question. How long is a bubble a bubble? If you form a bubble are you in it for life or as long as the virus lasts? Or for a week or a day? Or can you move from bubble to bubble with each meal course? Anyone know? I would have thought that a bubble wiould be the same for the gestation perion od in infection but how long is that? 6 days or two weeks?

We did a little Mog tour in Wales last week, our base was great, the owner had done a proper Covid / H&S assessment and made sure visitors complied, each suite had it's own separate entrance, breakfast served to your room if you wanted

We called into one coastal town for a comfort stop & some shopping, and I was very uncomfortable with the lack of mask wearing by the public, we stood outside a bakers which had a max 3 people sign, patiently waited with masks on to enter when the customer numbers had dropped, the owner was wearing a mask & face shield, paid up left, walked back past the same shop 10 minutes later & it was packed with perhaps a dozen locals, not one with a mask

Sorry to hear that, I was not jesting as I do know a couple of teachers and they say that retirement cannot come fast enough given the way things have changed. It is the same for fire and ambulance staff. As if their jobs were not exciting enough already?

You could almost see a Not-the-nine-o'clock-news sketch self populating.

Two kids fighting.
One draws a knife.
A teacher walks in and shouts to control things.
The head walks in and starts asking the boys to social distance or he will have to call the health and safety officer.

Buts it okay as we are not involving colour, religion or sexual orientation in making these decisions so the world is clearly a better place than it was ten years ago.

I did a years supply teaching some 40 years ago and the stories of violence and chaos that I hear these days are no different to those I experienced. Kids, particualry from the sink estates / single parents / drunkn druggie parents need house training

Howard you need to get a role commenting for the guardian with comments like that !

A simplification of the rules as I see it.
If there is a chip & pin machine there or money to be made/saved - anything goes
Otherwise you are limited to 6 people.

Or am I getting even more cynical?

I suspect that definitive rules would be impossible to provide unless they were draconian. I would imagine that the target audiences of this latest advice are the people who have routinely ignored earlier advice about social distancing in particular, e.g younger pub and party-goers and certain social family groups. Yes, we can all find examples that seem incongruous but my own observations on public transport are that they are not running anywhere near capacity generally and from what I hear most offices seem to be able to provide reasonable space and the necessary precautions. In the end its about reducing risk rather than eliminating it I guess.

The worrying trend among the young is the belief that a, the problem doesn't apply to them and b, that the consequences for others that they may have contact with are totally over exaggerated. Conspiracy theories abound on their social media. The latest 'generic' guidance is more likely to make them think about how they go about their social lives and make transgression easier to spot.

It is pretty obvious from statistics that the basic measures do work when people apply them and those who have adopted a common sense approach rather than demanding clearer rules have benefitted from their actions with lower infection rates.

No you have just gone to the underlying logic that is driving the public statement and cut out the middleman

Our interpretation common sense view is that anyone we do not know well is a potential risk, not just covid, but all other winter diseases.
Yes, covid is increasingly detected, increasing at a rate similar to that recorded in April, but amongst the 20 to 30 generation who are not going to do as they are told, because they do not believe they are at risk...and I think they may well be right.
Even so we avoid places where they tend to go.

The Government and the Unions are both, again, overreacting, causing fear and anxiety where it is not needed.Why do I say that?
Back in the 1960s winter flu caused over 100,000 excess deaths a year, above the normal annual death total of about 450,000, so a 22% increase. Since then the winter flu excess total has fallen, mostly due to vaccination, reduced smoking and falling air pollution.
Covid will end up with about 70,000 excess deaths for 2020, so little more than a bad winter flu in the 60's.

Normally since 2015 about 1200 people die every day in the UK. If in the winter of 2020/2021 10 or 20 or even 50 die each day with Covid, so what?

I have had enough of all this. The latest rules are pointless, they serve only to cause more fear and worry.