Isolation period cut to five days from Monday

[Fambo Number Mive]

From Monday people can leave isolation at the start of day six if they have two negative tests - I presume on days five and six (the BBC and Guardian don't explain it very clearly, so I would check the rules).

Given how high cases are I presume this is done to buy some support for the government from its ERG backbenchers.

He says UK Health Security Agency data shows that two thirds of cases are no longer infectious from day five.

What about the one third who are, given lateral flow tests don't pick up as many cases as PCRs?

[Fambo Number Mive]

According to Nick Triggle

The current policy of release at seven days with two negative tests means around two in five infectious cases are missed, according to the data.

So already a proportion of people who complete isolation are still infections. And this new policy will make things worse.

What are CV and CEV people meant to do?

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting says Labour welcomes the announcement the health secretary has made on the reduction of the Covid isolation period to five days, on the condition two negative tests are produced

Disgusting from Labour. Two parties of big business that don't care about ordinary people.

[Steven88]

I'm still positive on day 9, surely not many people will have two negative tests after 5 days.

[MojoJojo]

What are CV and CEV people meant to do?

What do you think should be done for CV and CEV people? The only option that would really help them would be eternal lockdown.

[Fambo Number Mive]

Some ideas I've had include:

*Allow CV and CEV people who don't feel safe working any more to claim sickness benefit and to raise sickness benefits to a liveable amount - say £1500 a month.
* Government should look into ways to increase the number of working from home jobs, which may be the only safe jobs for some CV/CEV people.
* Have windows locked open on buses to increase airflow. Have British Transport Police patrolling major bus routes to remind people to wear masks.
* Nationalise the railways and scrap trolley service on trains - it encourages people to take their masks off and eat/drink. You can still allow people to bring food and drink on board.
* Increase SSP to £180 per week to make it more affordable for people to isolate, reducing the number of people who are positive and not isolating.

Ways to fund this - windfall tax on companies like Amazon, land tax, penny on income tax, tax on gambling companies etc.

[superthunderstingcar]

What are CV and CEV people meant to do?

[Fambo Number Mive]

Making sure all CV and CEV have easy access to free N95 masks would also help. I'd like to see everyone in the UK being sent 7 N95 masks each week but if that's not possible at least send them to people who are CV and CEV.

Calling on tech giants to do more to censor COVID disinformation and openly condemning groups like the "White Rose" covid deniers and Piers Corbyn.

Doing more to support people with needle phobia would increase the numbers of people who are vaccinated, reducing the number of beds taken up by unvaxxed people with covid. This could be easier access to counselling focused around their phobia or special clinics for people with needle phobia with specially trained nurses.

Forums for CV and CEV people to feed back to the government on what measures they would like to see put in place, given lockdown is no longer an option unless we get a more deadly varient.

Doing more to help get vaccines to countries where few people are jabbed, as well as it being a moral imperative to ensure these people are vaccinated, will reduce the risk of a more deadly varient which will help protect people in Britain.

[Quote]

Took till day 9 for me to finally test negative and most people I work with were similar, despite the boss trying her best to harass us back to health via 'we're really desperate here' type messages and e-mail's.

[MojoJojo]

Some ideas I've had include:

*Allow CV and CEV people who don't feel safe working any more to claim sickness benefit and to raise sickness benefits to a liveable amount - say £1500 a month.

That's a bit vague in that presumably some CEV people will be able to claim sickness benefit because of covid already. It's probably worth noting that only 28% of CEV people worked before the pandemic.

* Government should look into ways to increase the number of working from home jobs, which may be the only safe jobs for some CV/CEV people.

That's so vague it's not really possible to discuss.

* Have windows locked open on buses to increase airflow. Have British Transport Police patrolling major bus routes to remind people to wear masks.
* Nationalise the railways and scrap trolley service on trains - it encourages people to take their masks off and eat/drink. You can still allow people to bring food and drink on board.

It's hard to imagine these having any significant effect. And if they do have some effect, all it does is spread the bump out. The only way any peak from a new variant is going to end is herd immunity. I'm not suggesting that as policy, I'm describing how it works.

* Increase SSP to £180 per week to make it more affordable for people to isolate, reducing the number of people who are positive and not isolating.

Ways to fund this - windfall tax on companies like Amazon, land tax, penny on income tax, tax on gambling companies etc.

I'm broadly in favour of these ideas, but then I was before covid as well.

[Fambo Number Mive]

Why would having windows open on buses not have any significant effect? It would significantly improve the rate of  ventilation.

I suppose it depends on how many windows the bus has - the double deckers where I am have six windows.

That's a bit vague in that presumably some CEV people will be able to claim sickness benefit because of covid already. It's probably worth noting that only 28% of CEV people worked before the pandemic.

Are CEV people able to claim sickness benefit if they don't feel safe going to work due to covid? And what about CV people?

Spreading the bump out will reduce pressure on hospitals. In York a patient who had had a heart attack. was advised to take a lift to a hospital or face a long wait. The number of patients in hospital with covid is going down slightly (1752 on the 15th) but getting rid of Plan B restrictions could reverse this.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-59996581