The inevitable impact of Covid19

[rigsby]

You, me?
We might just be lucky, we might have had it and not known.
Many a winter I went without flu, manflu,or a sniff while all around me seemed to be full of snot and muck.
Why, how?

Columbian flu?......I had a few times back in the day and now have natural immunity.

 

[rigsby]

Come and work with me for a day or two - I can introduce you to many who currently have it and myself I am trying to avoid as I have a much needed holiday pending which requires a PCR before i can get in the country.
I am more concerned on the long term effect of having to stick those long cotton buds down my throat weekly and up my nose daily

I would refuse......You don't think for one second any royalty or politician does that.

 

[Billy Bests boot laces]

You, me?
We might just be lucky, we might have had it and not known.
Many a winter I went without flu, manflu,or a sniff while all around me seemed to be full of snot and muck.
Why, how?

Touch wood i've escaped it so far as well!. My youngest son (35) recently got it, & was quite ill for 2-3 days.
I like to think the amount of salmon etc i regularly consume, plus taking really strong Vit D pills in winter months help?. Guess it's all down to our individual genes?. Over the years my partner got Flu a couple of times, yet although being in the same household, i didn't!.
Totally weird.

 

[* ORM *]

You lot think yourselves lucky you’re not in Hong Kong.

I am on day 20 of 21 in quarantine. 4 of those days were in a Government facility where to say the facilities are sparse is generous. The other 17 are in a hotel, naturally at my expense. Excluding the PCR test for departure so far I have had 14 PCR tests with another one to take 5 days after leaving QT. if I so much as step out of my hotel door it is a fine and potential jail and people have been caught.

The zero Covid policy here has now descended into farce with the culling of 2000 hamsters and other small rodents despite there being no proof of transmission. Kids have been forced in tears to give up their Christmas present (I kid you not!) Then authorities are blaming this wave on 2 staff of their own flagship helper. They have also blamed Nepalese, Indians, Pakistanis, foreign domestic helpers (maids), frozen meat, expats travelling back home to name just a few.

They continue to refuse to mandate vaccination for the elderly who, after 12 plus months of jabs are still resisting in droves. Mandatory testing is widespread daily. Confirmed cases are sent to hospital (even if asymptomatic) for a minimum of 10 days and then (only after two negative tests) to a government monitoring facility for a further 14 days. Conditions there are worse than the 4 day government QT facility I had to attend. Close contacts of cases are sent to the facility I went to for 14 days.

Public protest is impossible. I could go on but you wouldn’t believe me.

Over the border China is blaming its latest outbreak in the winter Olympic city on infected parcels from Canada. Something is going to break at the Olympics and hopefully break China (and therefore HK’s zero Covid obsession).

 

[Billy Bests boot laces]

You lot think yourselves lucky you’re not in Hong Kong.

I am on day 20 of 21 in quarantine. 4 of those days were in a Government facility where to say the facilities are sparse is generous. The other 17 are in a hotel, naturally at my expense. Excluding the PCR test for departure so far I have had 14 PCR tests with another one to take 5 days after leaving QT. if I so much as step out of my hotel door it is a fine and potential jail and people have been caught.

The zero Covid policy here has now descended into farce with the culling of 2000 hamsters and other small rodents despite there being no proof of transmission. Kids have been forced in tears to give up their Christmas present (I kid you not!) Then authorities are blaming this wave on 2 staff of their own flagship helper. They have also blamed Nepalese, Indians, Pakistanis, foreign domestic helpers (maids), frozen meat, expats travelling back home to name just a few.

They continue to refuse to mandate vaccination for the elderly who, after 12 plus months of jabs are still resisting in droves. Mandatory testing is widespread daily. Confirmed cases are sent to hospital (even if asymptomatic) for a minimum of 10 days and then (only after two negative tests) to a government monitoring facility for a further 14 days. Conditions there are worse than the 4 day government QT facility I had to attend. Close contacts of cases are sent to the facility I went to for 14 days.

Public protest is impossible. I could go on but you wouldn’t believe me.

Over the border China is blaming its latest outbreak in the winter Olympic city on infected parcels from Canada. Something is going to break at the Olympics and hopefully break China (and therefore HK’s zero Covid obsession).

Dear me, are any other countries as paranoid as there?. Out of interest, does your company still pay you whilst your in quarantine, or is it non negotiable?.

 

[* ORM *]

Dear me, are any other countries as paranoid as there?. Out of interest, does your company still pay you whilst your in quarantine, or is it non negotiable?.

Luckily I work for a Bank. In the Government facility which has existed for 2 years, in HK of all places, wifi only worked if you were close to the entrance and the mobile signal wasn’t enough to support a hotspot for the laptop. Bear in mind when I came out here 10 years ago it was standard fare to be able to do a video call on the underground. I could at least do work calls.

Others are not so lucky. Bear in mind we also have the ridiculous policy of close contacts being sent to that government facility for 14 days even if they are continually tested with no Covid. Some retailers, restaurants etc cannot afford to pay those staff. They also have the boredom factor.

At least in the hotel I am busy with work late into most evening s (I don’t have to be but it helps pass the time. I also have my X-box though I only use it for YouTube and Netflix and my Firestick.

My company has also finally bowed to peer pressure and agreed to fund up to 5000 US For the cost of accommodation so this year at least my hotel costs are covered.

The other thing to point out is that the government change the rules almost daily here. 8 countries including UK are banned so people have to spend 21 nights elsewhere before flying back to HK. This caught me last year and I did 3 weeks working (from a rooftop pool) in Dubai. They run the risk of those counties getting added to the ban.

Then there are airline bans and this is ridiculous. 3 positive tests on arrival, four positives in 1 week or incorrect paperwork and the airline is banned for 2 weeks. Net result. Routes are banned and then last 1 maybe 2 flights before another 2 week ban. Many airlines have now given up until HK comes to its senses BA and Virgin for starters.

Our flagship airline typically has staff including cabin staff quarantined for over 150 days per year. Add in time actually being airborne and typically six hours to process PCR testing and admin on arrival and these people are barely seeing their families. The government is now suing its own (privately owned) flagship because two staff tested positive after breaking the QT rules. Net result, resignations, staff sickness and more routes being pulled. Earlier this week less than 200 arrivals in a 24 hour period. Anyone that’s been to HK knows how busy the airport usually is.

Compulsory testing notices are issued in abundance every day. Good luck with trying to dodge those. You cannot cheat the app (people have tried snd been caught, fined or worse) and if you test positive then the 10 minimum plus 14 days mentioned before. They also get you through credit cards, octopus cards (contactless payment) and ultimately CCTV they are that determined. Close contact 14 days confinement in a cell 8 paces by 3 paces!

Even With all of the above I still love HK. Mainly because I live in the countryside in the foothills of a mountain. Elsewhere the exodus both of expats and locals has started.

Side note on that. The UK is supported BNO and other applications (British National Overseas) to repatriate to UK. People here are not shirkers. There’s no such thing as unemployment benefit so they’re used to graft. The biggest issue they will face is coming into the big wide world. HK is comparatively safe. In most places women and children can walk the streets at 3am without looking over their shoulders.

 

[Supershrimper]

I've tried really hard to catch it but just like everyone else I know who hasn't had a single jab, just had no luck. Nights in pubs, live bands, football and crowded trains. All without a mask, yet others around me have "long covid".....The more jabs they have the longer it gets.

I should probably test regularly as that seems to work. Although I would rather have the real thing as a false positive gives no natural immunity.

If your trying to catch it intentionally then sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.

Hana Horka: Czech singer dies after catching Covid intentionally

Hana Horka's son tells the BBC his mother was unvaccinated but wanted to acquire immunity.

www.bbc.co.uk

I suppose if you want natural immunity due to any concerns you may have with the vaccine then hopefully now with the milder Omicron variant you shouldn't feel too bad. Although the other variants do still remain in circulation

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

Luckily I work for a Bank. In the Government facility which has existed for 2 years, in HK of all places, wifi only worked if you were close to the entrance and the mobile signal wasn’t enough to support a hotspot for the laptop. Bear in mind when I came out here 10 years ago it was standard fare to be able to do a video call on the underground. I could at least do work calls.

Others are not so lucky. Bear in mind we also have the ridiculous policy of close contacts being sent to that government facility for 14 days even if they are continually tested with no Covid. Some retailers, restaurants etc cannot afford to pay those staff. They also have the boredom factor.

At least in the hotel I am busy with work late into most evening s (I don’t have to be but it helps pass the time. I also have my X-box though I only use it for YouTube and Netflix and my Firestick.

My company has also finally bowed to peer pressure and agreed to fund up to 5000 US For the cost of accommodation so this year at least my hotel costs are covered.

The other thing to point out is that the government change the rules almost daily here. 8 countries including UK are banned so people have to spend 21 nights elsewhere before flying back to HK. This caught me last year and I did 3 weeks working (from a rooftop pool) in Dubai. They run the risk of those counties getting added to the ban.

Then there are airline bans and this is ridiculous. 3 positive tests on arrival, four positives in 1 week or incorrect paperwork and the airline is banned for 2 weeks. Net result. Routes are banned and then last 1 maybe 2 flights before another 2 week ban. Many airlines have now given up until HK comes to its senses BA and Virgin for starters.

Our flagship airline typically has staff including cabin staff quarantined for over 150 days per year. Add in time actually being airborne and typically six hours to process PCR testing and admin on arrival and these people are barely seeing their families. The government is now suing its own (privately owned) flagship because two staff tested positive after breaking the QT rules. Net result, resignations, staff sickness and more routes being pulled. Earlier this week less than 200 arrivals in a 24 hour period. Anyone that’s been to HK knows how busy the airport usually is.

Compulsory testing notices are issued in abundance every day. Good luck with trying to dodge those. You cannot cheat the app (people have tried snd been caught, fined or worse) and if you test positive then the 10 minimum plus 14 days mentioned before. They also get you through credit cards, octopus cards (contactless payment) and ultimately CCTV they are that determined. Close contact 14 days confinement in a cell 8 paces by 3 paces!

Even With all of the above I still love HK. Mainly because I live in the countryside in the foothills of a mountain. Elsewhere the exodus both of expats and locals has started.

Side note on that. The UK is supported BNO and other applications (British National Overseas) to repatriate to UK. People here are not shirkers. There’s no such thing as unemployment benefit so they’re used to graft. The biggest issue they will face is coming into the big wide world. HK is comparatively safe. In most places women and children can walk the streets at 3am without looking over their shoulders.

This shows you how far paranoia and control of the population can really go. Our restrictions have been pretty tame really .. well aside from the damage to business, international travel, the economy, mental health, kids’ education and the knock on effects on treatment for other illnesses. But relatively tame.

I haven’t minded wearing a mask if it helps people feel safer. But if you’re triple vaccinated, test before seeing vulnerable people and you’re careful, why the worry?

Some have spent the last 2 years in a state of constant anxiety. Not helped by the doom & gloom media. Where I personally draw the line at masks is in schools. Especially primary schools. Some kids/adults..I hate to think of the effects of all this ..especially if they were anxious, shy or had mental health issues to start with.

 

[wakes123]

Luckily I work for a Bank. In the Government facility which has existed for 2 years, in HK of all places, wifi only worked if you were close to the entrance and the mobile signal wasn’t enough to support a hotspot for the laptop. Bear in mind when I came out here 10 years ago it was standard fare to be able to do a video call on the underground. I could at least do work calls.

Others are not so lucky. Bear in mind we also have the ridiculous policy of close contacts being sent to that government facility for 14 days even if they are continually tested with no Covid. Some retailers, restaurants etc cannot afford to pay those staff. They also have the boredom factor.

At least in the hotel I am busy with work late into most evening s (I don’t have to be but it helps pass the time. I also have my X-box though I only use it for YouTube and Netflix and my Firestick.

My company has also finally bowed to peer pressure and agreed to fund up to 5000 US For the cost of accommodation so this year at least my hotel costs are covered.

The other thing to point out is that the government change the rules almost daily here. 8 countries including UK are banned so people have to spend 21 nights elsewhere before flying back to HK. This caught me last year and I did 3 weeks working (from a rooftop pool) in Dubai. They run the risk of those counties getting added to the ban.

Then there are airline bans and this is ridiculous. 3 positive tests on arrival, four positives in 1 week or incorrect paperwork and the airline is banned for 2 weeks. Net result. Routes are banned and then last 1 maybe 2 flights before another 2 week ban. Many airlines have now given up until HK comes to its senses BA and Virgin for starters.

Our flagship airline typically has staff including cabin staff quarantined for over 150 days per year. Add in time actually being airborne and typically six hours to process PCR testing and admin on arrival and these people are barely seeing their families. The government is now suing its own (privately owned) flagship because two staff tested positive after breaking the QT rules. Net result, resignations, staff sickness and more routes being pulled. Earlier this week less than 200 arrivals in a 24 hour period. Anyone that’s been to HK knows how busy the airport usually is.

Compulsory testing notices are issued in abundance every day. Good luck with trying to dodge those. You cannot cheat the app (people have tried snd been caught, fined or worse) and if you test positive then the 10 minimum plus 14 days mentioned before. They also get you through credit cards, octopus cards (contactless payment) and ultimately CCTV they are that determined. Close contact 14 days confinement in a cell 8 paces by 3 paces!

Even With all of the above I still love HK. Mainly because I live in the countryside in the foothills of a mountain. Elsewhere the exodus both of expats and locals has started.

Side note on that. The UK is supported BNO and other applications (British National Overseas) to repatriate to UK. People here are not shirkers. There’s no such thing as unemployment benefit so they’re used to graft. The biggest issue they will face is coming into the big wide world. HK is comparatively safe. In most places women and children can walk the streets at 3am without looking over their shoulders.

This is complete madness.

 

[* ORM *]

This is complete madness.

The trouble is that the population is so numbed by the threat of the National Security Law (accelerated after the protests) that any will to fight has long gone. We don’t have internet controls here yet as they do in the mainland, but they are sure to be on the horizon. There is no effective opposition as all candidates now have to be vetted by Beijing. The handover was meant to be 2047. It I’ll be long done by 2027. I’m just buliding up the retirement fund. 15 percent tax has its upside and determining when to jump, be that 2,3 years or otherwise.

Daily politics and daily Covid life doesn’t impact me and I WFH in a house not a sky rise. The real HK is much, much more than what you see on TV.

 

[rigsby]

Luckily I work for a Bank. In the Government facility which has existed for 2 years, in HK of all places, wifi only worked if you were close to the entrance and the mobile signal wasn’t enough to support a hotspot for the laptop. Bear in mind when I came out here 10 years ago it was standard fare to be able to do a video call on the underground. I could at least do work calls.

Others are not so lucky. Bear in mind we also have the ridiculous policy of close contacts being sent to that government facility for 14 days even if they are continually tested with no Covid. Some retailers, restaurants etc cannot afford to pay those staff. They also have the boredom factor.

At least in the hotel I am busy with work late into most evening s (I don’t have to be but it helps pass the time. I also have my X-box though I only use it for YouTube and Netflix and my Firestick.

My company has also finally bowed to peer pressure and agreed to fund up to 5000 US For the cost of accommodation so this year at least my hotel costs are covered.

The other thing to point out is that the government change the rules almost daily here. 8 countries including UK are banned so people have to spend 21 nights elsewhere before flying back to HK. This caught me last year and I did 3 weeks working (from a rooftop pool) in Dubai. They run the risk of those counties getting added to the ban.

Then there are airline bans and this is ridiculous. 3 positive tests on arrival, four positives in 1 week or incorrect paperwork and the airline is banned for 2 weeks. Net result. Routes are banned and then last 1 maybe 2 flights before another 2 week ban. Many airlines have now given up until HK comes to its senses BA and Virgin for starters.

Our flagship airline typically has staff including cabin staff quarantined for over 150 days per year. Add in time actually being airborne and typically six hours to process PCR testing and admin on arrival and these people are barely seeing their families. The government is now suing its own (privately owned) flagship because two staff tested positive after breaking the QT rules. Net result, resignations, staff sickness and more routes being pulled. Earlier this week less than 200 arrivals in a 24 hour period. Anyone that’s been to HK knows how busy the airport usually is.

Compulsory testing notices are issued in abundance every day. Good luck with trying to dodge those. You cannot cheat the app (people have tried snd been caught, fined or worse) and if you test positive then the 10 minimum plus 14 days mentioned before. They also get you through credit cards, octopus cards (contactless payment) and ultimately CCTV they are that determined. Close contact 14 days confinement in a cell 8 paces by 3 paces!

Even With all of the above I still love HK. Mainly because I live in the countryside in the foothills of a mountain. Elsewhere the exodus both of expats and locals has started.

Side note on that. The UK is supported BNO and other applications (British National Overseas) to repatriate to UK. People here are not shirkers. There’s no such thing as unemployment benefit so they’re used to graft. The biggest issue they will face is coming into the big wide world. HK is comparatively safe. In most places women and children can walk the streets at 3am without looking over their shoulders.

If there really was a dangerous pandemic there would be no flights at all. In the meantime omicron can only be spread around the world by those that travel. We should have much stricter travel rules entering and leaving GB.

 

[Sandbach Shrimper]

I've had all three jabs but don't feel safe yet, especially on public transport. It's very depressing when you have to question whether it's a good idea to travel to RH, or anywhere really, especially as I'm very much in the minority when it comes to wearing masks.

Not being funny and obviously I don't know your health circumstances, but if you don't feel "safe" after three jabs, when will you? Life is too short to spend it living in fear.

 

[hlane17]

Not being funny and obviously I don't know your health circumstances, but if you don't feel "safe" after three jabs, when will you? Life is too short to spend it living in fear.

I get your sentiment and I hope people will see a day soon where they will feel comfortable once again.

I'm ready now (have been for quite some time) and you probably are too by the sounds of it, but some will be a little further behind for one reason or another.

I cannot really blame those who are hesitant considering the bombardment of concerning information we've had in the last couple years, some more positive news every now and then might have helped to ease the anxiety a bit.

 

[pottster]

Each to their own and people do what they feel is best for them. But after having 3 jabs there much else I can really do. A mask wont stop you inhaling the virus as its airborne. Just get on and live life. There are countries with stricter lock downs and measures and it doesnt seem to have helped them.

 

[blueblueblue]

You lot think yourselves lucky you’re not in Hong Kong.

I am on day 20 of 21 in quarantine. 4 of those days were in a Government facility where to say the facilities are sparse is generous. The other 17 are in a hotel, naturally at my expense. Excluding the PCR test for departure so far I have had 14 PCR tests with another one to take 5 days after leaving QT. if I so much as step out of my hotel door it is a fine and potential jail and people have been caught.

The zero Covid policy here has now descended into farce with the culling of 2000 hamsters and other small rodents despite there being no proof of transmission. Kids have been forced in tears to give up their Christmas present (I kid you not!) Then authorities are blaming this wave on 2 staff of their own flagship helper. They have also blamed Nepalese, Indians, Pakistanis, foreign domestic helpers (maids), frozen meat, expats travelling back home to name just a few.

They continue to refuse to mandate vaccination for the elderly who, after 12 plus months of jabs are still resisting in droves. Mandatory testing is widespread daily. Confirmed cases are sent to hospital (even if asymptomatic) for a minimum of 10 days and then (only after two negative tests) to a government monitoring facility for a further 14 days. Conditions there are worse than the 4 day government QT facility I had to attend. Close contacts of cases are sent to the facility I went to for 14 days.

Public protest is impossible. I could go on but you wouldn’t believe me.

Over the border China is blaming its latest outbreak in the winter Olympic city on infected parcels from Canada. Something is going to break at the Olympics and hopefully break China (and therefore HK’s zero Covid obsession).

That is shocking. That's a China state for you, I've always felt sorry for the people of Hong Kong ever since we gave it back to China.

I've said it before, the UK should withdraw from the winter Olympics.

 

[Kris]

Not being funny and obviously I don't know your health circumstances, but if you don't feel "safe" after three jabs, when will you? Life is too short to spend it living in fear.

It's partly context-based. You and many others who live in and around Southend will likely feel more relaxed and less at risk because it's not as packed as London and the air is fresher.

However, I live in the borough of Newham, where, at least at the beginning of the pandemic, infection/death rates were the highest in the UK. Like I mentioned previously, the number of people jabbed here is completely disproportionate to most areas in the UK - hence the dire figures.

I definitely feel less vulnerable now that I've had the three jabs but like I said in the previous post, my partner is a virologist who is an expert on how viruses develop, and she remains unconvinced that we are on top of Covid because of the rate that Omicron is spreading.

It does appear that the symptoms of Omicron are less dangerous, which is a good thing of course, but equally it appears the most potent in terms of infection rates. For now at least common sense remains the priority as far as I'm concerned.

 

[* ORM *]

That is shocking. That's a China state for you, I've always felt sorry for the people of Hong Kong ever since we gave it back to China.

I've said it before, the UK should withdraw from the winter Olympics.

Except that for many athletes that have sacrificed so much this may be a once in a lifetime opportunity for them even if they are not in the running for a medal. By all means boycott official representation but don’t stop the athletes

 

[BenfleetBlue77]

I've tried really hard to catch it but just like everyone else I know who hasn't had a single jab, just had no luck. Nights in pubs, live bands, football and crowded trains. All without a mask, yet others around me have "long covid".....The more jabs they have the longer it gets.

I should probably test regularly as that seems to work. Although I would rather have the real thing as a false positive gives no natural immunity.

'Long Covid' has been with us for millennia and was commonly referred to as post-viral fatigue syndrome prior to being rebranded to fit the narrative.

 

[Sandbach Shrimper]

A freedom of information request to the Office for National Statistics has revealed that only 17,371 of the COVID deaths in England and Wales had no underlying conditions. Still a considerable number, of course, but a fraction of the total tally.

Just thought it was an interesting statistic and probably one you won't hear much in the media.

 

[southendkid]

I should probably test regularly as that seems to work. Although I would rather have the real thing as a false positive gives no natural immunity.

If you haven't tested yourself regularly and you're actively trying to get it without luck then you probably have already had it, you just didn't realise.