Coronavirus hype biggest political hoax in history

[Javert]

I wouldn't disagree with that assessment in this case. But Boris Johnson wasn't the one who made the dire predictions (although he is ultimately responsible for acting on it) Neil Ferguson was. Other "experts" have questioned both his model and his estimates. Ferguson was also the one who ignored his own fecking advice.



"We are being led by the best science".

There isn't anything up to now that proves he was wrong - the worst case prediction was based on doing nothing whatsoever, and the predictions about what would happen with various levels of lock down haven't been that far out.



There was a period of about a week in March when we had rouhgly similar restrictions to what Sweden has - the data since then appears to show that this didn't work in this country - it increased the doubling interval of the virus but it continued to spread at an exponentially increasing rate which would have overwhelmed the NHS some weeks later.



Obviously since we did something rather than nothing, it will be impossible to ever prove conclusively whether the prediction of up to half a million deaths if we did nothing at all was right or wrong.  However, I haven't seen any actual data that proves that it was massively wrong.



Now if we were to discover that actually 70% of people have already had this disease asymptomatically, then at that point, it would become clear that he is completely wrong, but even then it wouldn't be his fault because he made the model with the data available at the time.  He is only incompetent if the assumptions he made in his model were demonstrably wrong based on known factual data when that model was created.



I've not seen any proper data indicating that more than 10% at most of the overall UK population has had Coronavirus already.  I've seen people claim that "10 times more people have had this without symptoms than with", but I haven't seen a credible source for that information.

[B0ycey]

It matters a lot what people outside are doing, when they ignore the distancing  and travel regulations.

Well in general that aren't ignoring them although you'll find the odd idiot. Although you have to explain why it matters to your personally as you have quarantined yourself away from them already before your letter. You clearly knew that it was a preventive measure before lockdown. What changed that?

[papasmurf]

Well you were right to do so, because as you said, the Tories have cocked up. But can I ask, in reality, if you locked yourself up for seven weeks (or longer) to protect yourself, what does it matter what everyone else does outside?

It matters a lot what people outside are doing, when they ignore the distancing  and travel regulations.

[B0ycey]

I put myself on lockdown weeks before I got letters from my GP and the NHS, because I knew what a cock-up the Tories would be.

Well you were right to do so, because as you said, the Tories have cocked up. But can I ask, in reality, if you locked yourself up for seven weeks (or longer) to protect yourself, what does it matter what everyone else does outside?



The whole point of lockdown was to protect the NHS and the vulnerable. That was it. It was to flatten the curve. But the messages from government was we were going to save everyone during their covid addresses to the nation. Well that is a complete F@@@ up, because for every measure you loosen now, the R0 will edge up slightly and you have to then justify that increase.  



Also irony, the R0 in the UK is 0.7-1. But that is because of the outbreaks in care homes. In society it is 0.4-.075. The lockdowns were suppose to protect the vulnerable but as it turns out our current Covid19 outbreaks due to lockdowns are attacking the vulnerable and stopping people who aren't a statistical risk from going out.

[DeppityDawg]

With Bojo The Clown making the disaster worse.

I wouldn't disagree with that assessment in this case. But Boris Johnson wasn't the one who made the dire predictions (although he is ultimately responsible for acting on it) Neil Ferguson was. Other "experts" have questioned both his model and his estimates. Ferguson was also the one who ignored his own fecking advice.



"We are being led by the best science". He better hope to fecking god that was right, because the day will come when this utter abortion of a policy response will have to be investigated.

[papasmurf]

Barry is right. This was over hyped to get everyone indoors and because you can't stop the hype, the result will be national self harm by lack of clarity.

I put myself on lockdown weeks before I got letters from my GP and the NHS, because I knew what a cock-up the Tories would be.

[B0ycey]

With Bojo The Clown making the disaster worse.

The Clown only made the disaster worse by following everyone's lead. It isn't that he is asking everyone to inject themselves with disinfectant. Now he's finding it difficult to get out of the "save lives" message by saying use your common sense instead because the lockdown was too damn successful. We have had seven weeks of people thinking we have a Ebola sytle killer virus spreading at breakneck speed if we leave our house and the risk to individuals really isn't that equal depending on your age and health. How can you break that kind of thinking when you are talking about peoples life?



Barry is right. This was over hyped to get everyone indoors and because you can't stop the hype, the result will be national self harm by lack of clarity.

[Hyperduck Quack Quack]

Frankly if brains were dynamite they would not be able to blow the wax out of their ears.

Indeed.



The pro-coronavirus protesters are taking advantage of the fact those who disagree with them are, of necessity, a silent majority.  If we support lockdown and restrictions to stop the spread of the disease, we're not exactly going to flout them by taking to the streets in mass demonstrations, are we?  We can demonstrate our support for the NHS by clapping on Thursdays - that's about all.

[papasmurf]

To me these pro-coronavirus protesters are just beyond the pale. If your house is on fire with members of your family trapped inside you don't kick up a fuss when the fire brigade parks on the double yellow lines outside your house.

Frankly if brains were dynamite they would not be able to blow the wax out of their ears.

[Hyperduck Quack Quack]

To me these pro-coronavirus protesters are just beyond the pale. If your house is on fire with members of your family trapped inside you don't kick up a fuss when the fire brigade parks on the double yellow lines outside your house.



Someone in power should be investigating whether anti-terror laws can be used against the pro-coronavirus protesters.

[papasmurf]

Hyped is the word. Add copious amounts of panic, irrational fear, and massive over reaction, and you have a complete fecking disaster. The biggest collective act of self harm in modern history.

With Bojo The Clown making the disaster worse.

[DeppityDawg]

I agree that this is no hoax, but I also agree with Scott that the reaction is somewhat hyped.

Hyped is the word. Add copious amounts of panic, irrational fear, and massive over reaction, and you have a complete fecking disaster. The biggest collective act of self harm in modern history.

[Barry]

 I wonder if they believe that tazers and rubber bullets are fake too

This rather nasty knee drop was not fake. I can see an investigation coming on over this:

https://twitter.com/PaulBrown_UK/status/1261653661043826689">//https://twitter.com/PaulBrown_UK/status/1261653661043826689



Someone remarked that if they were digging up a college lawn in Cambridge, to "save the planet", the police would be cheering them on.

[Hyperduck Quack Quack]

Now we have these crazy pro-coronavirus protesters on the streets claiming the disease is fake. They seem to be a mixture of alt-right selfists and far left anarchists who have come together as a kind of hooligans' alliance. I wonder if they believe that tazers and rubber bullets are fake too

[Barry]

Given that covid-19 is definitely not a hoax and nor were 9/11 or the holocaust, claiming they were is in bad taste just as much as claiming that the the Somme or Ypres were a hoaxes would be.

I agree that this is no hoax, but I also agree with Scott that the reaction is somewhat hyped.