Looking at figures around the world they are dropping in most places and deaths are going down even in countries without the vaccination programmes. In fact probably the only place in world that has the most dramatic rise in last week is the Isle Of Man. Amazing that Chopley was online today but never posted in this thread today or all week in fact when IOM is getting hit so bad.
Remind us all again Chopley how perfect they have managed this and how you have showed the way to stop the virus. Maybe you are too busy having a pint to post here. Oh forgot you can no longer do that. Amazing tho how you can gloat on here about how perfect it is in Isle of Man and how wonderful you have controlled it yet when it all goes tits up you suddenly lose your voice.
I stopped posting to this thread weeks ago, it makes my brain hurt too much. (Checking my profile my last post to this thread was Feb 19th, long before the latest outbreak and lockdown on the IOM, so please don't falsely accuse me of running away from the thread as a result of that, when I'd already made the decision to check out of this thread, as it was making me just not want to visit Casinomeister at all.)
But yes, Covid is back here and it's bad, they know what the 'index case' was, it got back onto the island via a ferry crew member, they thought they were containing the cluster of cases via contact tracing and self-isolation but it managed to get out into the wider community.
They've identified the weakness in the process that allowed it to happen, so we won't have the same mistake made again, but it's too late for this outbreak.
Honestly, I think we locked down too late this time, particularly going into the final weekend before lockdown when the advice was 'don't go out but we're not ordering anywhere to close' which a lot of people took as a cue to have a final party weekend since everyone knew at that point another lockdown was coming (the police reported they were called about multiple noisy late night parties), then they changed the advice to 'everything's alright carry on folks' for one day, and then there was more community spread and the lockdown was ordered, but at that point there was already quite a bit of community transmission. They also had the schools back in for two final days which TBH I thought was crackers, and there has been quite a bit of spread via schools too. (I'd been saying on a local WhatsApp group for days that we should be in lockdown already, or that at the very least social distancing, mask wearing, enhanced hygiene protocols etc should have been re-instated.)
I fear we are going to have a few more days of high case numbers before the lockdown starts to take effect, and we already have several people in hospital. I'm hoping that we don't get any symptoms in our household, not least because our daughter is disabled and Mrs Chopley is her primary carer. As a registered carer Mrs Chopley might be entitled to get vaccinated early, she's enquired about this. (As she's only 47 she'd be a long way down the list otherwise.)
On a personal note a colleague of mine was one of the early cases in this outbreak, he's a healthy bloke in his late 40s, works out, goes to the gym, very fit and active, he's been in hospital twice now and been on oxygen twice, has had complications into pneumonia and has basically seen his good health completely wiped out - our hope is that he recovers and doesn't end up suffering from long-Covid, but he really has been very, very ill.
As for the 'gloating' about going to the pub, I apologised for that post the very next day and explained what I'd intended by it.
So yes, we're back in lockdown, IMO mistakes were made and they need to be learned from, but we've beaten this virus back twice before, and we'll do it again, the island community pulls together at times like this, and we'll get out on the other side, I'm just hoping that we don't lose any lives to it this time around.
Astra zenneca - and my son due to his issues got his last week. Feel fine today just a sore arm. My son had a day where he felt crap but is totally fine this week. I dont understand anti vaxers - everyone to there own I suppose. But this has been a massive scientific breakthrough that has been made this past year. Anyway glad to have had shot nr 1. Hope everyone else who wants the jab gets it soon 
but guess who's a major stake holder ]
yes it is very confusing, but I find it helps having a bit of a discussion, to air out a few concerns... vaccine sceptic is a fair way of describing my outlook, I have certainly relied on my fair share of antibiotics and painkillers over the years so I'm not anti-modern medicine per se, and pleased/hopeful when I see new advanced treatments for things that plague people's lives.
