No as I understand it it was all deaths from C19.

Really. Barbour making ppe is surely more about the government buying that stuff and then paying for it through taxes. Is that not how the nhs is funded.

This is not about making something and selling it on the open market it is about National need.


It keeps nhs staff alive, it keeps Carers alive, it keeps old people alive, it keeps patients alive.


That is a financial responsibility the tax payer should burden.

Are you condoning, inadequate provision of ESSENTIAL clothing (PPE) to SAVE MONEY - I think that you have lost the plot AGAIN

Surely we aren’t measuring differently to other countries

I know.
With him it's the cost of everything and the value of nothing. People are just a commodity, of little value. Mind you, he's a good fit with the ruling party, despite their current thirst for spending.
You just know that when we start to poke our noses through the other side of the current pandemic, the work, dedication and risk that some have taken will be quickly forgotten and we'll all be back "in this together", wages frozen or possibly cut to bring down the eye watering deficit.
A re-release of "Ghost Town" by the Specials will be in order.

Going off on a slight tangent, it would be a very good time to impose long term restrictions on flights, to reduce carbon emissions etc.
I know that there wont be anything like the numbers of people moving between countries initially and it would be an ideal chance to set some limits on flying.

As we are now, one or two overseas trips would be an absolute luxury anyway.

All this lot can do is criticise and complain with the benefit of hindsight. I picture see them sat behind their keyboards with smug grins and folded arms.

They ignore the facts, they ignore that this is a novel virus and everything that entails, they ignore that we're in a massive global emergency. They expect everything and they expect it now, and if it doesn't all run to their lofty expectations it's all down to 'Boris' and the government.

If only Boris had seen Durham Giant's post a few weeks ago.

This is one of my bugbears doing any international comparison work in economics. You are often not comparing like with like.

For me the best way to measure the impact of covid-19 will be to look at the total weekly deaths registered (all causes) that the ONS produces, in a few years time. Take say the 5 year average before 2020 of the deaths per week in each week of the year as your baseline (this will take in to account higher totals in winter when there is flu circulating). Then compare this to the deaths by week in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Assume that in the absence of covid-19, you would have been on the baseline of the previous 5-year average, and measure the 'excess'. If you look over a long period like 3 years, you will be able to see the effect of deaths that would have otherwise happened anyway over that time, being hastened by covid. You may see that amongst the older age groups, when the pandemic is over, a lower weekly death rate than average for a while, because a lot of those who would have died in 2021/22 have already died in 2020. If the weekly death rates returned in line with their previous average by say 2023, then you would measure the excess deaths in 2020-22 as likely to have been caused by covid, including all the spillover deaths from things like patients who didn't catch the virus but died due to the NHS having fewer resources available to treat them for something else.

We're not seeing emergency NHS treatment impacted yet by all accounts, and there is significant spare critical care capacity at present (2,600 beds as of yesterday), although there will almost certainly be deaths caused by people not seeking medical attention due to a perceived risk of attending hospital, and other lockdown/isolation-related deaths, including those linked to mental health.

My 75 year old mother attended North Manchester General last week for heart issues (turned out to be angina, nothing serious thankfully). The paramedics and her GP insisted she went as the CV19 and non-CV19 areas are completely separate. Another member of my family took their 6 year old to a different hospital yesterday (fell off his bed and split his head open) - same story. No wait for treatment at either.

Yes, the numbers won't become clear for a few years, and we still rely on accurate and honest reporting from some quarters. The US could yet see some massive numbers. Brazil and Russia are about to implode although I suspect the numbers will never be truly disclosed. Japan struggling. Africa - who knows.