Anyone traced to a known carrier through the soon to be released NHS CV19 app will be eligible to order a home swab test kit via the app. The app will log your Bluetooth signals and this will be used to track back your movements should you unknowingly come in close contact with a positive person.

The app is undergoing final trails and will be released before the UK begins to ease restrictions.

Originally Posted by: Gavin D 

That's very good news, but I hope we don't just rely on an app and we use extensive human tracers too, deployed at local level. There is a lot of room for error and cheating with an app and many old people don't have smartphones.

Originally Posted by: xioni2 

 I think an “army” of contract tracers is also within the plan. 

Fingers crossed. 

Originally Posted by: Joe Bloggs 

Well imagine my shock, turns out this Guardian cummings story was exactly what I said. Normal procedure being spun by the Grunyard.

Originally Posted by: Quantum 

Surely though  as more testing is progressively being done then more positive cases are being found and are going to be found.Out of those 4-5k cases the question is how many end up in hospital,how many only develop mild symptoms,how many stay asymptomatic.Therefore the most reliable indicator is the hospital admissions numbers for Covid and that should be the indicator re future decisions. Thankfully it is going the right way,declining. You cannot just look at this from purely a health point of view and lockdowns are a crude and blunt instrument and extremely damaging in other ways. It will be interesting to see how Sweeden comes out the other side of this crisis as imo they have taken a very balanced approach.

Originally Posted by: springsunshine 

Not sure about Equador but Singapore’s outbreak has been a picnic compared to the UK. 

I just find it very strange that the virus hasn’t exploded in say for example, Cambodia. I was there in early Feb and there were barely any restrictions at all, and they will have had a huge number of Chinese visitors in the previous couple of months. They don’t have a feasible health system either. Perhaps it’s rampant over there but completely unreported. 

I do find it strange how many countries (despite not taking much firm action), seem to have been spared in comparison. This is what is leading me to the climatic link. 

Thailand should also be absolutely riddled but has also escaped relatively lightly compared to here. 

This is what is leading me, on an anecdotal basis, to a climatic link, however tenuous that may be. 

Originally Posted by: Joe Bloggs 

From the BBC news ticker:
"In New York City, calls to the hotline for exposure to certain household chemicals more than doubled in the 18 hours after Mr Trump's remarks - 30 cases compared to 13 for the same time frame last year".

Hmm. Okay, so he said what he said (look at that), but interesting there were a number who 'dabbled' with household chemicals last year. Is Trump responsible for these as well?

Originally Posted by: Phil G 

No high absolute numbers, but still not a pleasant reading. US hospitals will soon release numbers on this phenomenon

Young, healthy people barely sick with covid-19 are dying from strokes

Originally Posted by: xioni2 

 There's no real value in looking at the number pf positive cases as we are ramping up the testing. 

Originally Posted by: speckledjim 

We don't know if Cummings took part in the discussions in SAGE, but that's less important. Just his presence there could bias the discussion and advice. He has absolutely no place being there.

Originally Posted by: xioni2 

We don't know if Cummings took part in the discussions in SAGE, but that's less important. Just his presence there could bias the discussion and advice. He has absolutely no place being there.

Originally Posted by: xioni2 

There should be investigation what's causing these 4-5k new cases every day as numbers should be coming down now. I can only think its caused in supermarkets where there is any kind of congregation, indoors, people with and without muzzles, touching food, payment keypads. I wonder if this 2m is adequate also. Until a reason is found for these numbers and suitable action taken, we can't really move on unless the numbers we see now are acceptable by the govt, not!

Originally Posted by: Phil G 

Not sure about Equador but Singapore’s outbreak has been a picnic compared to the UK. 

I just find it very strange that the virus hasn’t exploded in say for example, Cambodia. I was there in early Feb and there were barely any restrictions at all, and they will have had a huge number of Chinese visitors in the previous couple of months. They don’t have a feasible health system either. Perhaps it’s rampant over there but completely unreported. 

I do find it strange how many countries (despite not taking much firm action), seem to have been spared in comparison. This is what is leading me to the climatic link. 

Thailand should also be absolutely riddled but has also escaped relatively lightly compared to here. 

This is what is leading me, on an anecdotal basis, to a climatic link, however tenuous that may be. 

Originally Posted by: Joe Bloggs 

We don't know if Cummings took part in the discussions in SAGE, but that's less important. Just his presence there could bias the discussion and advice. He has absolutely no place being there.

Originally Posted by: xioni2 

Before Trump made his silly comment, the expert scientist he had before him was discussing a new study that showed UV light and humidity had a major impact on virus transmission. But not heat, and he was at pains to say its not about heat - only sunlight and humidity

The evidence from tropical areas backs this up. Very few cases in Southern India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Malaysia, Indonesia

Not sure about Ecuador but perhaps there is low humidity here?

For us, the weather for the next few weeks will be cool and wet, so not much UV available to help us. Combined with public flouting of lockdown and also businesses opening up unilaterally, like housebuilding and DIY shops, we could see another increase

The drop in cases we are seeing now could be down to compliance of lockdown in early April and the sunny weather

Originally Posted by: The Beast from the East 

As so many public health experts keep saying, this is the cheapest way out of this and the one most tried with good results.

Originally Posted by: xioni2 

Is Trump accountable...

For those that dabbled with household chemicals last year: No.

For the extra cases who've exposed themselves to household chemicals since his press conference remarks: Yes.

Originally Posted by: SJV 

Agreed. The fact he was even there takes the independence of the SAGE panel away and for me that is enough 

Originally Posted by: SJV 

 I don't think between 4-5k new cases every day since 12th April is a drop in numbers. 

Originally Posted by: Phil G 

Its routine for representatives from #10 to attend SAGE meetings. If you think this is a problem, that's fine but the grunyard article implied something exceptional was happening which is not the case. What happened also happened during past administrations.

Originally Posted by: Quantum 

I think that the virus is prevalent in those countries but perhaps they are not as badly affected. If it is true that obesity is one of the major factors in those that get v ill then I can understand why the likes of Cambodia and Thailand have relatively few deaths.

Originally Posted by: speckledjim 

Just read this on the BBC regarding the current pandemic.

"Twenty thousand deaths represents a huge amount of illness, human pain and personal loss," says Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter. "But it's also important to remember that, although Covid-19 is a far more serious illness than seasonal flu, in each of the winters of 2014-5 and 2017-18 there were over 26,000 deaths associated with flu, which did not receive much attention."

 Not saying this is like Flu but if the same lockdown, coverage and daily death reporting was like for Covid-19 what would the reaction be? And remember those figures are for a virus with a yearly available vaccine. 

Originally Posted by: bledur 

That's very good news, but I hope we don't just rely on an app and we use extensive human tracers too, deployed at local level. There is a lot of room for error and cheating with an app and many old people don't have smartphones.

Originally Posted by: xioni2 

Yep. It's really not hard to grasp.

Originally Posted by: NickR