To mask up or not?

Location
Devon
I don't understand why politicians aren't up to date with the correct information. They aren't helping. When Saj made his speech today I heard the opposition quoting that figure from the Guardian article saying masks reduce transmission by >50%.
The UK Gov admitted back in the summer that masks do sweet FA to stop the spread of covid unless you wear a medical grade mask.

Masks have not reduced covid rates in either Wales or Scotland the last 6 months as they have had higher infection rates than Britain where you have not had to wear masks all summer!
 

Easedoff

Member
Livestock Farmer
The UK Gov admitted back in the summer that masks do sweet FA to stop the spread of covid unless you wear a medical grade mask.

Masks have not reduced covid rates in either Wales or Scotland the last 6 months as they have had higher infection rates than Britain where you have not had to wear masks all summer!
Could you tell us, using all the wisdom you have at your disposal, what would the numbers of cases of covid and covid deaths have been in Scotland and Wales in the past six months, had nobody worn a mask?
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
Yes but what is the point of trying to get everyone to have the current vaccine shot ( 3rd shot ) when they have said it will not work against this new strain??

Better off to give a third shot to the very high at risk group and hold fire on everyone else untill/ if a rejigged vaccine is needed for this new strain.

Because if you have the 3rd shot now and then this new strain turns out to be a problem ( which is very unlikely ) then you will be forced into having a 4th shot so nigh on taking a vaccine every 3 months... that is just plain nuts!
They are hopeful it will actually work to the extent that it avoids severe illness. They do not actually know much of anything about the new variant yet apart from the fact that it seems to be spreading like wildfire. They and we have not got the luxury of waiting to find out before taking action. That much they seem to have learnt.

If you don’t agree, don’t get vaccinated, but don’t expect the vaccinated to weep at your funeral.
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
For what?
To save lives and keep the health services from being overwhelmed with the seriously ill and dying from Covid infections.

If you have had a herd of young cattle get infected with virus pneumonia, you will know how fast it spreads and how deadly the consequences can be and how the shear number of infections can quickly overwhelm your staff’s capacity to cope. Ditto a mastitis storm or a TB storm taking out your cattle. Or an abortion storm in sheep.
 

primmiemoo

Member
Location
Devon
The cost to the economy has been so savage I don't believe we will see any more lockdowns whatever happens. We will just have to learn to live with this virus and at some point in the future it will have disappeared into the woodwork as just another coronavirus.

The vaccines are working, and juuuust about enough folk are doing enough to slow it spreading. I hope the procedures learnt to treat the worst affected will be refined further, as well.
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
But they're not being overwhelmed. And we have deliberately restricted capacity.
Some hospitals were early on and they deliberately invested massive resources into greatly expanding the number of hospital beds and ventilators. The labour issue is another matter entirely and they just cannot recruit and train the specialists needed at the best of times, let alone in a crisis and when foreigners have been made unwelcome and gone home never to return.

There have been more than 261 million cases and five million excess deaths around the globe since the pandemic started in 2020, according to data from John Hopkins University.
 
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primmiemoo

Member
Location
Devon
Why do you think Governments are so paternalistic? They don't have a history of being so.

We had a pandemic plan which was worked on every year. They thew it out and went for lockdowns, totally baffling. And the media bounced us into it too

Now, a maternalistic government will be interesting 🤔
Won't be long in arriving ... ?
 

Charlie Gill

Member
Location
Kent
The UK Gov admitted back in the summer that masks do sweet FA to stop the spread of covid unless you wear a medical grade mask.

Masks have not reduced covid rates in either Wales or Scotland the last 6 months as they have had higher infection rates than Britain where you have not had to wear masks all summer!
I think they do make a difference though, just not 53%. When some people hear misinformation coming out of Westminster they start to think they are being 'played'
 
Some hospitals were early on and they deliberately invested massive resources into greatly expanding the number of hospital beds and ventilators. The labour issue is another matter entirely and they just cannot recruit and train the specialists needed at the best of times, let alone in a crisis and when foreigners have been made unwelcome and gone home never to return.

Some where. Lots weren't.

I accept there was a lot we didn't know back then. There is now - but we don't need to panic "just in case"
 
Location
Devon
I think they do make a difference though, just not 53%. When some people hear misinformation coming out of Westminster they start to think they are being 'played'
If they have made a difference then why does Wales/ Scotland have/ have had far higher covid rates than Britain the last few months?

And intrestingly when masks were bought in for Britain covid rates suddenly jumped upwards shortly afterwards.

Of course if wearing a mask makes you feel safer then you should wear one ( and the same with gloves etc )
 
If they have made a difference then why does Wales/ Scotland have/ have had far higher covid rates than Britain the last few months?

And intrestingly when masks were bought in for Britain covid rates suddenly jumped upwards shortly afterwards.

Of course if wearing a mask makes you feel safer then you should wear one ( and the same with gloves etc )

Apparently Wales and Scotland would have had much higher rates of death if we took the masks off....53% higher.

Seems unlikely doesn't it?
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
If they have made a difference then why does Wales/ Scotland have/ have had far higher covid rates than Britain the last few months?

And intrestingly when masks were bought in for Britain covid rates suddenly jumped upwards shortly afterwards.

Of course if wearing a mask makes you feel safer then you should wear one ( and the same with gloves etc )
Covid rates everywhere in the UK increased after the school holidays ended. There has been talk of starting the Christmas school holidays early to slow its spread.

The craze for binging on Cola among school kids before feigning illness and getting a lateral flow test doesn’t help rates I’m sure. Kids will be kids though.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 77 43.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 62 34.6%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.8%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 4 2.2%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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