Coronavirus - UK
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Right. I've just had a Coronavirus test. Had flu-like symptoms and a dryish cough for a few days. Here's the detail.
BOOKING
Go online and enter your name and mobile number. You then get a SMS after 5 minutes which gives you a secure link.
Access that link, you enter personal details & your NHS number. Once you do that you get a choice of testing stations and times. Choose your appointment and you get sent an SMS and/or email with details and a QR code. You can get a test the same day in 30 minutes slots or the next day with 5 minutes slots. I booked a place 20 miles away
THE TEST
You arrive at the testing station, your QR code is scanned and you get directed to a reception area where your details are confirmed and then you head-off to the test area. Not as bad as has been suggested. I coughed a bit with the throat swab and the nostril swab was fine - hardly noticed it. You then leave and get the YES/NO test in 48-72 hrs via email/SMS
The whole thing was very simple, easy and slick - someone's done a bloody good job with this. Place was virtually empty and the Tester told me they were running at 10-15% capacity.
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@Victor-Meldrew That ties in with the tests that Mrs C and Ms Cato No1 took down here. Ms Cato No2 had hers done in Hereford and whilst the test itself went as described the time taken for the result and the unclear outcome were not inspiring. I guess the time factor will be impacted by how busy they are.
Sadly for the Cato family they cannot test for hypochondria at the same time.
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Have heard thru the medical mafia grapevine that the NHS-run labs can have the worst delays. Poss. as they are dealing with greater variations in testing volumes (or because it's NHS-run....).
One I went to was run by Serco & Boots
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Coronavirus - Overall:
@MiketheSnow said in Coronavirus - Overall:
She must be a really shit aunt for them to drive 260 miles instead of 260 yards.
With all due respect Mike, we don't know if she had Coronavirus or not, or whether she was able to care for the child
You may be unaware, but It was reported this AM that his London-based uncle died of Coronavirus and another relative was poss. hospitalised - it may have been rife in the London-based family.
You're absolutely right.
And Cummings himself or Johnson informing us of this 'possible' situation necessitating the journey to Durham would have nipped this in the bud.
But they didn't, possibly because they couldn't, and this is where we are.
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He's live
No regrets, no apology.
Can I clarify one thing that I couldn't quite get from his press conference.
Drove to parent's farm in Durham.
Had no physical contact with anyone except his wife and child.
So what was the point of driving all that way when they could have done exactly the same in their own home in London?
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@MiketheSnow said in Coronavirus - Overall:
He's live
No regrets, no apology.
Can I clarify one thing that I couldn't quite get from his press conference.
Drove to parent's farm in Durham.
Had no physical contact with anyone except his wife and child.
So what was the point of driving all that way when they could have done exactly the same in their own home in London?
The ability to have food and essential supplies delivered?
So far (15 behind) seems he did not break the rules, even if what he did was outside many people's interpretation of what they meant.
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@pakman said in Coronavirus - Overall:
@Bones said in Coronavirus - Overall:
Circus. What a fucken pointless waste of time. What on earth did they hope to achieve from that? No way in hell that was going to change anyone's mind or help in anyway.
Keep calm and Carry on?
Fire up and cry over spilt milk.
I'm still waiting for the media to take up my campaign against people with pools. It's just not fair! I can't swim godammit!
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@pakman said in Coronavirus - Overall:
@MiketheSnow said in Coronavirus - Overall:
He's live
No regrets, no apology.
Can I clarify one thing that I couldn't quite get from his press conference.
Drove to parent's farm in Durham.
Had no physical contact with anyone except his wife and child.
So what was the point of driving all that way when they could have done exactly the same in their own home in London?
The ability to have food and essential supplies delivered?
So far (15 behind) seems he did not break the rules, even if what he did was outside many people's interpretation of what they meant.
And if the shit hit the fan and both he and his wife became incapacitated then two young family members (nieces aged 17 and 20 I think) were on hand to take care of their 4-year old child.
Two questions which weren't asked which I'd love to hear the answers to
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You've told us you took expert medical opinion to determine whether you were fit to return to London to work. Why didn't you take expert medical opinion to determine whether it was safe & prudent to travel to Durham?
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Did you take a non-essential car journey during your time away from London? Simple yes, no answer.
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@MiketheSnow said in Coronavirus - Overall:
@pakman said in Coronavirus - Overall:
@MiketheSnow said in Coronavirus - Overall:
He's live
No regrets, no apology.
Can I clarify one thing that I couldn't quite get from his press conference.
Drove to parent's farm in Durham.
Had no physical contact with anyone except his wife and child.
So what was the point of driving all that way when they could have done exactly the same in their own home in London?
The ability to have food and essential supplies delivered?
So far (15 behind) seems he did not break the rules, even if what he did was outside many people's interpretation of what they meant.
And if the shit hit the fan and both he and his wife became incapacitated then two young family members (nieces aged 17 and 20 I think) were on hand to take care of their 4-year old child.
Two questions which weren't asked which I'd love to hear the answers to
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You've told us you took expert medical opinion to determine whether you were fit to return to London to work. Why didn't you take expert medical opinion to determine whether it was safe & prudent to travel to Durham?
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Did you take a non-essential car journey during your time away from London? Simple yes, no answer.
Ever consider a career in journalism -- you'd walk into a job in UK?!
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@MiketheSnow said in Coronavirus - Overall:
So what was the point of driving all that way when they could have done exactly the same in their own home in London?
So he had child care available and could also be away from his London residence where demonstrators were targeting him and his family (he was receiving death threats)
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@Bones said in Coronavirus - Overall:
Circus. What a fucken pointless waste of time. What on earth did they hope to achieve from that? No way in hell that was going to change anyone's mind or help in anyway.
They're in a big hole.
Pretty clear this wouldn't be the clusterfuck if a statement with the facts had gone out 48 hours ago
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@MiketheSnow said in Coronavirus - Overall:
Why didn't you take expert medical opinion to determine whether it was safe & prudent to travel to Durham?
He planned to drop his family off in Durham and then return to London. He got ill once he got there
Did you take a non-essential car journey during your time away from London? Simple yes, no answer.
He said he took a 20 minutes drive to see if he was capable of driving with his eyesight. Perhaps he should have driven to a ophthalmologist instead, but most have closed.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Coronavirus - Overall:
@Bones said in Coronavirus - Overall:
Circus. What a fucken pointless waste of time. What on earth did they hope to achieve from that? No way in hell that was going to change anyone's mind or help in anyway.
They're in a big hole.
Pretty clear this wouldn't be the clusterfuck if a statement with the facts had gone out 48 hours ago
It really doesn't fucken matter eh. But sadly, yeah you're right.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Coronavirus - Overall:
@MiketheSnow said in Coronavirus - Overall:
So what was the point of driving all that way when they could have done exactly the same in their own home in London?
So he had child care available and could also be away from his London residence where demonstrators were targeting him and his family (he was receiving death threats)
Time to take off again then.
Lots more now.
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Boris's media front up had car crash written all over it. Reason? Cummings.
We have better things to sort out. Sack the fucker and get on with sorting out the country.
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@Catogrande said in Coronavirus - Overall:
Boris's media front up had car crash written all over it. Reason? Cummings.
We have better things to sort out. Sack the fucker and get on with sorting out the country.
Too late now. Damage has been done.
He's ignoring the first thing and moving onto the second
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Coronavirus - Overall:
@Catogrande said in Coronavirus - Overall:
Boris's media front up had car crash written all over it. Reason? Cummings.
We have better things to sort out. Sack the fucker and get on with sorting out the country.
Too late now. Damage has been done.
He's ignoring the first thing and moving onto the second
There’s a part of me that wants that to succeed, because we need some go forward, but another part that thinks he needs to address the issue. Plus I really don’t like Cummings. Of course this may cloud my judgment, but ..
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The devil isn't in the detail here it is solely in the perception.
It very much looks like that was his preferred solution, not his only one, and many other people held fast and did not stretch the boundaries because it simply suited them better.
He needs to apologise at least to everyone who didn't travel to visit family after a death or also had 'complicated' situations that they found the less preferable option to take.
Boris has painted himself in a corner here and is taking the 'double down' approach. This could really come back to bite him in the future.
In sports terms this is like an underarm bowl. Technically correct but 'not cricket'