Why Does The Government Continue To Publish Daily Covid Infection Rates?

[dave50]

What is the point? It only gives fuel to the lock down fanatics. We are all getting vaccinated, we need to ease all restrictions now and that includes stopping sending school children home to self isolate just because one child may have tested positive. Why, when the young are hardly affected by it anyway? Stop over reacting and learn to live with it and move on, just like we do with the flu virus. We don't need to know the daily figures anymore, it's pointless, counter productive and frankly, I'm not interested.

[bobbinwales]

Because they'd be accused of hiding something.
Next please
Please stop over reacting dave50

[bobbinwales]

Maybe they should do the old 'football scores on the news before match of the day' and say on the news
"If you dont want to know the latest figures look away now"

[10ClarionSt]

But Dave, that has been the case since March 2020. Clueless PM; no alternatives; allow V&W to dictate; State Control of population; lack of leadership; rules don't apply to "them"; otherwise, er, otherwise, erm. You're right of course.

[10ClarionSt]

Actually, I think the figures should be published daily because it emphasises the need, and justification, to halt the State Control. The figures bear out just how useless the govt has been since March 2020. "Lockdown" brought nothing but death, infection, unemployment, lack of medical care, reduced education etc., so keep publishing the figures and as a consequence, keep asking the govt to justify any action in response to those figures. And they can't.

[davebro]

It's about time virus news was taking a back seat. Certainly when restrictions are lifted (19th?) I don't want to hear any more about it.

[Hopkirk]

Head above the parapet here. I think the government have done a pretty good job.

[bobbinwales]

But the hospital/deaths and vaccinnation figures will support lifting restrictions on July 18th so whats the problem.

[10ClarionSt]

Which govt would that be, Hopkirk? The Uk govt? The one that had the highest infection rates in the world for deaths, infections and hospitalisations? The one that didn't have aclue what to do, so told everyone to head for the hills, keep away from each and get a wash? I suppose some people would call that a pretty good job. But then again......

[eve1974]

The answer is in your first paragraph 10cs.

It’s to fuel the lockdown fanatics

[eve1974]

Shld Hv said in Daves first paragraph not 10cs

[bobbinwales]

//the one that had the highest infection rates in the world for deaths, infections and hospitalisations?//
What each of the UK goverments did was pretty much the same as what every other major gov did except perhaps we were too slow by a week in locking down and should have restricted more in Autumn 2020, but actually are figures are now pretty much in line per million population with Spain, Italy, Belgium, France and we'er certainly nothing like the highest in the world, so your wrong again

[bobbinwales]

Look away now dave50.

10clarionstreet, not sure I agree with Hopkirk about Boris/Matt's performance or even Nicola's but clearly he's more right than your mistaken claim we'er the highest in the world. All figures are pretty consistant between nations where reliable data is available.
From the Worldometers site...
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?ISCI=030202

# Country. Cases. Deaths. Deaths/1M pop
1 Peru 2,049,567 192,163 5,749
2 Hungary 808,128 29,992 3,113
3 Bosnia Herz 205,004 9,663 2,964
4 Czechia 1,667,287 30,303 2,824
5 Gibraltar 4,348 94 2,791
6 San Marino 5,091 90 2,647
7 N Macedonia 155,682 5,484 2,632
8 Bulgaria 421,751 18,049 2,617
9 Montenegro 100,230 1,610 2,563
10 Brazil 18,513,305 516,119 2,411
11 Slovakia 391,609 12,510 2,290
12 Belgium 1,084,550 25,170 2,162
13 Slovenia 257,287 4,419 2,125
14 Italy 4,259,133 127,542 2,113
15 Colombia 4,213,074 105,934 2,060
16 Argentina 4,447,701 93,668 2,054
17 Croatia 359,736 8,205 2,011
18 Poland 2,879,81 175,005 1,984
19 UK 4,775,301 128,126 1,878
20 USA 34,527,493 619,980 1,862
21 Mexico 2,513,164 232,803 1,787
22 Paraguay 421,589 12,763 1,768
23 Romania 1,080,740 33,605 1,759
24 Spain 3,799,733 80,829 1,728
25 France 5,772,844 111,057 1,698

Have a nice day. Off to work soon

[theshedman]

In the majority of cases these high infection rates seem to be in the same parts of the country that they have been since the start of it that I can see anyway. Making everyone have these rules needs to be looked at and just imposed on areas that it seems to me are not listening to the guidelines. We in the south west have had very low infection rates. Then they have the G7 where people have come from everywhere and the rate goes right up. Exeter has high rate again, and again it is mostly at the University. Some people are just not listening and many of them are the ones who moan about the restrictions. Sort yourselves out.

[TheChair]

//but actually are figures are now pretty much in line per million population with Spain, Italy, //
Cases in the 7 days up to 28/06
UK: 1,372 per million
Italy: 76 per million
Spain: 378 per million

[burlyshirley]

Totally agree with you dave, sick to death of it all now. They keep telling us it's never going to go away (like flu) and yet the restrictions go on and on and on ! Time to get on with our lives and look after ourselves.

[woofgang]

If you don't want to know don't look....like football scores.

[ToraToraTora]

yes it's silly to keep publishing the rates without any sort of context and logic.

[ToraToraTora]

23 died yesterday, I suspect that was not the highest cause of death in the country and TBH I don't really trust the way they allocate covid as the cause anyway.

[naomi24]

// I think the government have done a pretty good job.//

Me too, Hopkirk. I've stopped watching the 'latest figures'. It's not difficult.

[New Judge]

It's to keep the figures in the public's mind and to maintain an air of anxiety. Far better to say "22,000 new cases were reported today" than "There have been no Covid related deaths in Wales for a week and only an average of 17 a day (about one in a hundred of deaths from all causes) during that same period in the entire United Kingdom."

It's to maintain rationale for the continued restrictions and is part of the softening up exercise for July 19th. On that date either there will be no changes at all or there will be some minor insignificant tweaks. Already the message on face coverings has undergone a subtle change. Their mandatory introduction was (it was said) to help prevent the spread of the virus. It could be quite reasonably argued that they scarcely did that but now it is proposed that the mandate be retained "because they help give people reassurance." That wasn't the point of the law and to continue with the measure on that basis is disingenuous. But if you keep announcing thousands of new cases every day (without any context) the gullible public will comply.

We in the UK are being taken for a massive ride, particularly in respect of quarantine. There are now so many exceptions to the requirement to quarantine when arriving from abroad that pretty soon it will be just me and Mrs NJ who are not exempt. Anybody else for whom the requirement is mildly inconvenient seems to be granted an exemption. The whole Covid issue has now become a scandal of epic proportions and I fear if changes are not made soon there is going to be real trouble here.