It's rumoured a hard lockdown may be imposed again in the Netherlands,  possibly even starting this weekend. Please no...

2 hours ago, Valerie said:

It's rumoured a hard lockdown may be imposed again in the Netherlands,  possibly even starting this weekend. Please no...

Good luck! Here there are rumours of stricter measures, but I don’t think they can put a lockdown in place as people will not follow after all the rules broken by the government last Christmas.

4 hours ago, RMH said:

Good luck! Here there are rumours of stricter measures, but I don’t think they can put a lockdown in place as people will not follow after all the rules broken by the government last Christmas.

After Christmas I reckon they make changes.

On the football front Villa vs Burnely off, 6 down 4 to go. Will Leeds vs Arsenal survive as the only PL game today?

8 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

After Christmas I reckon they make changes.

On the football front Villa vs Burnely off, 6 down 4 to go. Will Leeds vs Arsenal survive as the only PL game today?

Possibly, but people here in the uk are not willing to follow another lockdown. They are still discussing in parliament whether wearing a mask inside shops and transport, or asking for covid passes are democratic measures or not (notwithstanding that at Stamford bridge have been asking for the covid pass since the restart of the season).

Yeah, I mentioned about the Villa game in the following our most… topic. It’s unbelievable and it may bias the future games as when we will play Villa they’ll be rested and we will have played two more games.

Lockdown in UK apparently happening at the start of January. 
 

NEW: Covid-19 regulations being drawn up by the Government: 

➡️ 2 week circuit breaker after Xmas
➡️ Indoor mixing banned
➡️ Pubs and restaurants outdoors only 
➡️ Rule of 6 outdoors to return 
➡️ Schools and shops will remain open 

Via @thetimes

 

Presumably that will be football back to behind closed doors again. 
 

Love that the government are proposing outdoor pubs only. They haven’t thought that one through. 

11 hours ago, Valerie said:

It's rumoured a hard lockdown may be imposed again in the Netherlands,  possibly even starting this weekend. Please no...

Yep, hard lockdown until at least mid-January. All non-essential businesses close as of tomorrow, professional sports matches are allowed behind closed doors.

At Christmas a maximum of 4 guests per day are allowed, but the general rule is 2. Soooo, let the discussion with my very elderly parents - still grumbling about last year's Christmas - start 

5 hours ago, RMH said:

Possibly, but people here in the uk are not willing to follow another lockdown. They are still discussing in parliament whether wearing a mask inside shops and transport, or asking for covid passes are democratic measures or not (notwithstanding that at Stamford bridge have been asking for the covid pass since the restart of the season).

Yeah, I mentioned about the Villa game in the following our most… topic. It’s unbelievable and it may bias the future games as when we will play Villa they’ll be rested and we will have played two more games.

I actually think it may work in our favour if anything.

Often in these situations the fresher team on paper suffer from a lack of match fitness compared to the team who's been playing.

1 hour ago, Argo said:

I actually think it may work in our favour if anything.

Often in these situations the fresher team on paper suffer from a lack of match fitness compared to the team who's been playing.

I don’t think that will be the case when we have half of the team injured, recovering and with covid, and those that have kept playing have done so through pain. We are so depleted that we had on Thursday two keepers on the bench. Villa won’t be lacking match fitness after a week and a few days rest, they’ll all be up for it and fresh while our team will be as knackered as it’s been for the last couple of games.

4 hours ago, Valerie said:

Yep, hard lockdown until at least mid-January. All non-essential businesses close as of tomorrow, professional sports matches are allowed behind closed doors.

At Christmas a maximum of 4 guests per day are allowed, but the general rule is 2. Soooo, let the discussion with my very elderly parents - still grumbling about last year's Christmas - start 

Blimey, all the luck!

6 hours ago, Valerie said:

Yep, hard lockdown until at least mid-January. All non-essential businesses close as of tomorrow, professional sports matches are allowed behind closed doors.

At Christmas a maximum of 4 guests per day are allowed, but the general rule is 2. Soooo, let the discussion with my very elderly parents - still grumbling about last year's Christmas - start 

Yeah it’s not great, but at least you have a government who are proactive, even if it’s to the detriment of Christmas spirit, the government here wouldn’t have a backbone to do something like that.

I’m not even sure we will go into lockdown, obviously I’m sounding very pro-lockdown but I genuinely think it is something we need with the new variant.

When is it going to end though? It’s been bloody 2 years already

18 minutes ago, dansubrosa said:

Yeah it’s not great, but at least you have a government who are proactive, even if it’s to the detriment of Christmas spirit, the government here wouldn’t have a backbone to do something like that.

I’m not even sure we will go into lockdown, obviously I’m sounding very pro-lockdown but I genuinely think it is something we need with the new variant.

When is it going to end though? It’s been bloody 2 years already

Lot of money to be made in vaccines that need boosters rather than cures mate.

Edited December 19, 20214 yr by axman2526

Last night Germany reclassified the UK to be in the highest risk category alongside the likes of South Africa, etc. This basically means my Christmas plans are out the window for the second year in a row.

Meanwhile, in the UK, there will be several PL matched today with stadiums rammed full of tens of thousands of fans. It's ridiculous.

50 minutes ago, bluedave said:

Last night Germany reclassified the UK to be in the highest risk category alongside the likes of South Africa, etc. This basically means my Christmas plans are out the window for the second year in a row.

Meanwhile, in the UK, there will be several PL matched today with stadiums rammed full of tens of thousands of fans. It's ridiculous.

The latter would kind of justify the former 

Sorry to hear about your plans @bluedave It's f**king disappointing.

On 18/12/2021 at 19:26, Valerie said:

Yep, hard lockdown until at least mid-January. All non-essential businesses close as of tomorrow, professional sports matches are allowed behind closed doors.

At Christmas a maximum of 4 guests per day are allowed, but the general rule is 2. Soooo, let the discussion with my very elderly parents - still grumbling about last year's Christmas - start 

isn't that a strong suggestion not a rule? besides they don't have any authority to enter your house. 

Leaked pictures of Boris pictures drinking outside in the summer with a group of people when you could only meet up with one person. 
 

Seriously, why should anyone listen to that muppet? 

Just now, JM7 said:

Seriously, why should anyone listen to that muppet? 

Havertz and RLC tested positive before the Wolves game, joining Werner, CHO, Lukaku and Chilwell in confirmed cases. Jorgi returned a positive followed by negative one, so who knows if that becomes positive tomorrow or Tuesday like Havertz did.

AC picked up an injury in training, Trev, Kante and Ziyech assessed next 2 days for possible injuries from Wolves game.

Club not willing to involve youth players as they are in a separate bubble and had last game called off due to covid cases.

15 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Havertz and RLC tested positive before the Wolves game, joining Werner, CHO, Lukaku and Chilwell in confirmed cases. Jorgi returned a positive followed by negative one, so who knows if that becomes positive tomorrow or Tuesday like Havertz did.

AC picked up an injury in training, Trev, Kante and Ziyech assessed next 2 days for possible injuries from Wolves game.

Club not willing to involve youth players as they are in a separate bubble and had last game called off due to covid cases.

Also Jorginho travelled with the first team and shared dinner with them all right before testing positive. So there is a strong chance further players will be added to the list tomorrow/Tuesday.

14 minutes ago, forbzy said:

Also Jorginho travelled with the first team and shared dinner with them all right before testing positive. So there is a strong chance further players will be added to the list tomorrow/Tuesday.

Aye he did. Then tested negative latter. Who knows if he really had it or not.

8 hours ago, azpi28 said:

isn't that a strong suggestion not a rule? besides they don't have any authority to enter your house. 

That's not the point, in my opinion. Why form a big group - whilst quite possibly not keeping social distance - during the outbreak of a highly contagious variant, merely arguing that it's only a suggestion that can't be policed? One of the reasons this goes on and on is because people weigh the risks in a manner that suits them.

5 hours ago, Valerie said:

That's not the point, in my opinion. Why form a big group - whilst quite possibly not keeping social distance - during the outbreak of a highly contagious variant, merely arguing that it's only a suggestion that can't be policed? One of the reasons this goes on and on is because people weigh the risks in a manner that suits them.

i understand that with elderly parents you don't want to take any chances. I'm also not advocating for behaving recklessly. I just want to bring some balance to the scare tactics that are always being deployed by the media 

first of all this new variant seems to be highly contagious but a milder variant, with as most common symptom having a bit of a cold and a headache & feeling tired, with significantly less impact on the lungs. Being vaccinated still gives you good protection, not from getting infected, but from getting seriously ill. In the UK there are over 1 million Omnicron infections and 12 recorded deaths, which is a 0.0012% chance of dying (it doesn't say but you can bet there are comorbidities involved). The chance of getting hit by lighting for example is 0.006% (5 times more likely).  Furthermore being vaccinated will also protect you from getting seriously ill. To absolutely stop living with these kinds of odds is ridiculous. This doesn't mean you should just be reckless, it just means that you should use common sense like staying home when you feel ill, test yourself when you do, and be careful around people who are vulnerable. But when people consent to take that risk, who are vaccinated and healthy, there is absolutely no reason why you would not be able to go for a (scaled down) Christmas dinner. Family and friends and social interactions are also important factors that contribute to being healthy. 

There is NO WAY that you can avoid being infected while seeing any amount of people (it's just a matter of chance) as this variant is 70x more contagious, only if you stay inside like a hermit forever are you able to avoid this variant. The whole argument that this could be stopped if people would all follow the strictest of rules is demonstrable false as in the US the strictest states perform worse than the ones with less regulations and for example Sweden which didn't have very strict rules also have better numbers than a lot of the stricter countries. Something else which annoys me a lot is this false sense of security when people wear cloth masks (which don't do anything) or surgical masks (which do hardly anything), not to mention they wear it wrong and handle it wrong which leads to cross contamination. If you don't wear a N95 you are just kidding yourself because you're not protected at all, it's like driving your bike around naked but put on knee protectors. Also the 1.5 m rule is not really that relevant inside, if you're in the same poorly ventilated room as someone else, even if you're are 4 meters away, it still is very probable that someone who is infected will infect you. This will go on whatever the government does, there is no such thing as 0 covid anymore.

 

P.S. source: i'm a very neurotic person 

Edited December 20, 20214 yr by azpi28

5 hours ago, Valerie said:

That's not the point, in my opinion. Why form a big group - whilst quite possibly not keeping social distance - during the outbreak of a highly contagious variant, merely arguing that it's only a suggestion that can't be policed? One of the reasons this goes on and on is because people weigh the risks in a manner that suits them.

 Whoa, Val, what's up with you using the word "Whilst"?  I only thought Brits used that strange word.  Us humans in the US use while".

Edited December 20, 20214 yr by Phillip

56 minutes ago, azpi28 said:

i understand that with elderly parents you don't want to take any chances. I'm also not advocating for behaving recklessly. I just want to bring some balance to the scare tactics that are always being deployed by the media 

first of all this new variant seems to be highly contagious but a milder variant, with as most common symptom having a bit of a cold and a headache & feeling tired, with significantly less impact on the lungs. Being vaccinated still gives you good protection, not from getting infected, but from getting seriously ill. In the UK there are over 1 million Omnicron infections and 12 recorded deaths, which is a 0.0012% chance of dying (it doesn't say but you can bet there are comorbidities involved). The chance of getting hit by lighting for example is 0.006% (5 times more likely).  Furthermore being vaccinated will also protect you from getting seriously ill. To absolutely stop living with these kinds of odds is ridiculous. This doesn't mean you should just be reckless, it just means that you should use common sense like staying home when you feel ill, test yourself when you do, and be careful around people who are vulnerable. But when people consent to take that risk, who are vaccinated and healthy, there is absolutely no reason why you would not be able to go for a (scaled down) Christmas dinner. Family and friends and social interactions are also important factors that contribute to being healthy. 

There is NO WAY that you can avoid being infected while seeing any amount of people (it's just a matter of chance) as this variant is 70x more contagious, only if you stay inside like a hermit forever are you able to avoid this variant. The whole argument that this could be stopped if people would all follow the strictest of rules is demonstrable false as in the US the strictest states perform worse than the ones with less regulations and for example Sweden which didn't have very strict rules also have better numbers than a lot of the stricter countries. Something else which annoys me a lot is this false sense of security when people wear cloth masks (which don't do anything) or surgical masks (which do hardly anything), not to mention they wear it wrong and handle it wrong which leads to cross contamination. If you don't wear a N95 you are just kidding yourself because you're not protected at all, it's like driving your bike around naked but put on knee protectors. Also the 1.5 m rule is not really that relevant inside, if you're in the same poorly ventilated room as someone else, even if you're are 4 meters away, it still is very probable that someone who is infected will infect you. This will go on whatever the government does, there is no such thing as 0 covid anymore.

 

P.S. source: i'm a very neurotic person 

I don’t know where you got your numbers, but f**k me you’re way off! There are 37,101 confirmed omicron cases in the UK (official government figures https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1042235/20211219_OS_Daily_Omicron_Overview.pdf), with 104 in hospital and 12 dead. As you may know, the number of dead on a day does not correlate to the number of positives on that date, there’s a lag of about 10 days (if I remember correctly). So of the 37k confirmed today, in ten days we’ll see how many die (hopefully none). Difficult to know it’s pathogenicity just yet give the recent discovery of the variant.

I agree with Val, and we should all be careful. It’s not only about us, it’s about society as a whole, including the most vulnerable. The more that it circulates, even if asymptomatic in most people, the more vulnerable people will get it. And, the more it circulates, the more chances of mutating again into another variant. So there are societal, epidemiological and biological reasons to be careful. Now, I have said all this but I’m the first one that went to the Everton game (though decided not to travel to Wolverhampton to minimise contacts before travelling to see my parents).

33 minutes ago, RMH said:

I don’t know where you got your numbers, but f**k me you’re way off! There are 37,101 confirmed omicron cases in the UK (official government figures https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1042235/20211219_OS_Daily_Omicron_Overview.pdf), with 104 in hospital and 12 dead. As you may know, the number of dead on a day does not correlate to the number of positives on that date, there’s a lag of about 10 days (if I remember correctly). So of the 37k confirmed today, in ten days we’ll see how many die (hopefully none). Difficult to know it’s pathogenicity just yet give the recent discovery of the variant.

I agree with Val, and we should all be careful. It’s not only about us, it’s about society as a whole, including the most vulnerable. The more that it circulates, even if asymptomatic in most people, the more vulnerable people will get it. And, the more it circulates, the more chances of mutating again into another variant. So there are societal, epidemiological and biological reasons to be careful. Now, I have said all this but I’m the first one that went to the Everton game (though decided not to travel to Wolverhampton to minimise contacts before travelling to see my parents).

oh my bad 

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/09/the-uk-braces-for-1-million-omicron-cases-as-covid-variant-spreads.html

it was another headline designed to scare people, i fell for it  should have actually take the time to read… 

 

but the south african data suggests that it's milder and they've been having to deal with it for over a month now 

unfortunately i cannot edit my post anymore, but most points are still valid, maybe some moderator can take out the misinformation

i don't disagree with Valerie, i'm actually very careful myself, i just think it's part of living in a free society that you are allowed to make stupid decisions 

Quote

“Man really is stupid, phenomenally stupid. That is, he’s by no means stupid, but rather he’s so ungrateful that it would be hard to find the likes of him. I, for example, would not be the least bit surprised if suddenly, out of the blue, amid the universal future reasonableness, some gentleman of ignoble, or, better, of retrograde and jeering physiognomy, should emerge, set his arms akimbo, and say to us all: “Well, gentlemen, why don’t we reduce all this reasonableness to dust with one good kick, for the sole purpose of sending all these logarithms to the devil and living once more according to our own stupid will!

That would still be nothing, but what is offensive is that he’d be sure to find followers: that’s how man is arranged. And all this for the emptiest of reasons, which would seem not even worth mentioning: namely, that man, whoever he might be, has always and everywhere liked to act as he wants, and not at all as reason and profit dictate; and one can want even against one’s own profit, and one sometimes even positively must (this is my idea now).

–Dostoevksy, Notes from Underground

 

Edited December 20, 20214 yr by azpi28

I for one won't be complying with any measures should they come in. I've had my vaccines and boosters, I've worn masks, I've complied explicitally with other lockdowns; this time, however, they can f**k off. I don't think I'll be the only one either. Especially from people in my generation. Us 90s babies and beyond get stick from the older generation for our 'selfishness' and 'careless' attitude towards society; yet we're not the ones that have been fortunate enough to have our livelihoods put on the back burner in order to protect the older societies. Enough is enough; if those who want a lockdown from their nice mortgage-free house, on their nice retirement package or in their nice high salary jobs; let them, the rest of us are gonna crack on and try build a future for ourselves. No more to it. No more to the f**king disastrous effect it has on mental health. No more to living in constant fear of something that will be with us until the end of time. All these governments around the world locking down their societies on modelling and opinions of Scientists; when in reality, none of their f**king models have come true. They can all f**k off back to their private estates and hide behind the sofa (of course they won't be, they'll be out socialising with their colleagues while all the poor sheeple curtain twitch for the next 2 weeks). c**ts.