JB
I agree, the virus will run its course, just like all previous variants. If it was as virulent as claimed then is it not possible we have all been exposed? If so will not our natural immune response be armed to deal with future outbreaks? Previous pandemics have ceased after a couple of years and I agree this will be an annual occurrence like Flu and colds.
Dave

Hello everyone!
Yes, with us in Switzerland it’s haywire too!
Everyone wants to know better, but nobody wants to be the scapegoat. A dubious back and forth!
Fortunately, we all have a cool hobby here and can keep ourselves busy when times are bad. (I mean the retirees now :-))
Stay healthy !
And from the cellar, the best hobbyist greetings
Capitän Haddock alias Mike 😁

Not sure if anyone knows what will happen next year Bob, hopefully it will just peter out and end up like the flu,- but if man has played with nature, who knows. Just have to stay positive, can't do much else👍😊 Booster shots could go on forever (Phizer and the others must be over the moon with the prospect of future profits !

Take care

JB

Nice to hear from you. I am glad you are OK.
The UK has only insisted that care workers have to be vaccinated, it a bit of a problem due to the shortage of staff (100,000) .
There are shortage of staff in loads of areas.
I think the lockdown has made a lot of people rethink their futures.
Eg Why sit in a lorry 12hours a day. Commute to work 2 to 3 hrs every day.
Being retired and looking back to working life, I tended to stick to jobs I was happy in, but when situations force a change, you find a different working world you would never thought of.
It's very interesting that NZ has introduce compulsory vaccination for teachers, etc.
Here they think the vaccination protection is weakening and boosters are required.
Here they keep referring to Israel who are ahead of us. Their infections and hospital admissions are rising.
I had a moderna as a booster. Felt a bit rough for a few days but OK now.
Here, Autumn has started, trees are dropping leaves, and weather cold and wet. Darker in the morning but clocks change at end of the month.
Keep safe
Bob

Hi Bob, good to hear that things have levelled off a bit there,- must be all that porridge and haggis😁. We're on level '3: whatever' here, govt have sort of given up trying to eliminate it, (stupid idea from the start, as no country has even eliminated the common cold) and now everyone has had enough and are out and about in their thousands (still masks, distancing etc). My local beach was packed all weekend, cars at a stand-still outside my place on the main road (about 500m from the beach) but our case rates seem to have been only around 40 a day, (so far.) Summer's coming so that might help a bit.

Fairly good vaccination rate, and now work passports are starting to happen, (no jab no job), but a lot of people who are still a bit hesitant/cautious are being incorrectly labeled as anti vaxers which they are not (includes people who can't have it as well). Starting to be a bit of an us and them shaming culture happening.

Seems like they are not looking at the information, as if they have been vaccinated, they should have few worries personally, but they can still give it to another vaccinated person or an unvaccinated person, so I don't know what the reason for getting so wound up about it is ? The only reason perhaps might be the numbers in hospital, taking up beds etc, but I don't think that's where a lot of it is coming from.

A number of people who have been told they can't work if they haven't had the jab (teachers, health workers and people in a number of industries) have quit in protest, so we are going to be short of more essential people. Would have been better to find an alternative work practice in a lot of cases, rather than lose staff. Not a lot of creative thinking going on in that area at the moment.

There is a company here which has just developed a good ventilator, but has the govt given them money to help mass produce it ? (and create a possible export market) no way! they would rather just keep handing out 'feel good' money to everyone till we're broke. very few people would complain about helping a terrific project like that, which will help to save lives. This govt hasn't got a clue what they are doing, all about just trying to look good, ( and being 'KIND')- morons. PM's just a show pony, -has a smile like one too🐴

Keep safe

JB

How is it going in NZ.
I see on the news your lockdown has been extended.
Just had my flu jab and a covid booster.
Infections have be dropping here but for the last week have stabilised.
Hospital figures are still dropping but they are delayed by a few weeks following the infection rate.
Unfortunately my son's family have just caught it, He is fine but his wife and two children have tested positive.
They have been isolating but are on the mend.
In England, Infections are still rising, over 45,000/day.
Cannot explain why Scotland Infections profile is different from England.
We do still have mitigation in place like mask wearing, hand washing, and vacine passport to attend nightclubs, football matches, etc.
Take care
Bob

Deleted as contraversial.........

We have the same thing here regarding the labour for all of our fruit and vegetable growers which used to arrive each year from overseas (the islands especially) We had hundreds of people here from around the world for the picking season, but the dim-witted govt would not give them extended visas - even though they were stuck here and farmers were crying out for help !!

They waited till the very last minute before relenting to some, but it was too late, as most had given up, and paid for return flights when they were available, given up accommodation etc. We're run by complete morons, all they had to do was say one word YES, but apparently, according to the immigration minister, it was a very complicated matter, REALLY ? Now flower growers, orchardists etc are having to bury tons of produce because of it.

Our prices are going up also. I think it's the same world wide, and this virus lark has been mismanaged by panic (or some other reason) from the start, and certain people are making trillions of dollars out of this, and we all know who. At least we still have our hobbies to keep us warm, - unfortunately, balsa doesn't make good firewood😁

JB

Hi Bob,

Everything is a surprise to the UK government!
If farmers are paying £35 an hour for vegetable picking what's it going to do to the price of veg in the shops? Can't see Tesco paying that when it's passed on. I cannot see why there is a shortage of lorry drivers, surely the amount of deliveries has not suddenly shot through the roof
I do sometimes wonder if Brexit has a hand in all these problems and covid is getting the blame.

cheers, Nerys

Hi, we over 50, are getting the flu vaccine.
The programme has already started but we have to go to vaccination centres this time. Gp practices used to do it.
We are also going to get covis booster shots 3 months after the last one.
Children over 12 are now getting one jab of the vaccine.
I believe with the flu vaccine contents is its a bit of a guess as the flu here has almost disappeared.
The issues here now is lack of labour to fill the vacancies. This country has been running for years on the back of cheap labour from abroad ie Eu.
We are short, in all areas, this could eventually be a positive thing as wages are rising. The business community is starting to realise that they have not been training locals and the UK government is not allowing recruitment from abroad.
Believe or not they have allowed visas for 5500 poultry worker, ie butchers.
Farmers now offering £35/hour to pick broccoli, etc.
Short of 100 000 heavy goods drivers as well.
All predicted, but seems to be a big surprise to the UK government.
Latest is panic buying of fuel.
It just goes on and on.
Bob

Good to hear things are improving there Hillro, - we are down to level 3 (yet again) and only a handful of cases at the moment (about 15 the other day, mostly from 1 source)). A few in hospital but not too bad really. Will be interesting to see what happens, as I think they have given up trying to eradicate it (perhaps we are running out of money (we're only small after all😁) The good thing is, not everyone ends up in hospital if they catch it, which is good for the immunity. Some people will never get it (like the flu) Lots of people have got over it here without being admitted, even a fair number of sports people from here getting it overseas, (rugby players etc) and not having too bad a time.

Definitely think we will have to learn to live with it, and it seems things are improving in other countries. Same here with it now affecting younger people, (funny that, - all round the world as well) Not a lot we can do really but look after ourselves, keep healthy and happy, build up our immunity and stay positive. Good that you guys are able to get out boating again which will be a big boost for the health. Funny thing is, the flu is now hitting people hard, as their immunity has suffered, from not being allowed to mingle with others for so long! You can't win😁

JB

Hi from Edinburgh, Scotland.
Latest virus figures, still dropping. Everything is back to normal. Just mask wearing on public transport left.
I hear the latest inflection are mainly young people under thirty or unvaccinated people. However there are still people that are vaccinated that are catching it.
There is a thought that we are getting close to herd immunity.

How are things in NZ and the rest of the world. How are things with you?

Hi guys.
Latested update from Edinburgh, Scotland.
Cases dropping again. It's difficult to know why but it could be because holiday makers have gone home.
Edinburgh was packed with tourists.
I understand the infections mainly from people under 30.
I have included a screen dump of the hospital admissions which are now over a 1000. These will likely drop in a couple of weeks following the infection rate.
It seems the Scottish government is trying out "we have to live with it"
The deaths related to the virus are staying level about 10 a day.
We are still wearing masks on public transport and shops, which is really not that difficult.
Not getting much info on NZ , how is it going?

Dead right PP!, as has been said by many old races, - we don't control the earth, it controls us, and can take us out at any second.😁 We can't even beat a microscopic invader !

JB

Here in the good old US of A too many people think they're staring in a John Wayne movie. Americans as a rule don't like to be told what to do. What suprises me there is certain segment of the population that doesn't trust the government be keeps voting for more government in their lives free food, housing, education, healthcare, cell phones etc. Does it mean anything in the long run? Probably not. As I like to tell my younger cell phone addicted co-workers "everyone on Facebook today will be dead in a hundred years anyway , so get over it ".
The mortality rate of the human race is 100% - no one gets out alive... Do your best to be a decent person and be well.

I think really good masks are the answer Bob, and make them compulsory. If you refuse to wear one in public (perhaps health dept certified) you are fined and identified as a person who does not receive medical care if you get sick. Just ridiculous in the US, with people demanding the right not to wear one,- just shows a total lack of intelligence and a lack of thought for other people. They seem to think it's funny, deliberately going into stores, just to cause a problem by not wearing a mask. That's why this virus is going to last, - because of morons like these.

If I win Lotto this week, I'm going into mask production👍😊

JB

I don't know if you noticed some medics are double masking.The ones we use for dust have a valve which filters intake but not exhaust. Hence the second mask.
Best to keep out of crowded areas.

Looks like we are in lockdown for 2 more weeks now, as the cases have not reduced enough, (was supposed to be till next Tues) Total pain in the butt. I've been saying that if we had totally effective masks, it would be a better idea, and I just found a YT vid of a virologist saying the same thing. The masks we have at present are reasonable for stopping us spreading it to others, but not much good the other way round (don't stop much getting in). Wonder why some company has not come up with a decent effective every day mask. Would be a pretty good seller I would think.

JB

It's going to be with us for a while Bob, that's for sure, but don't forget, testing positive for a trace of the virus may mean nothing for many people, but people with certain conditions could be affected more. (there must be a trigger somewhere) I remember my previous boss at work saying, "I've never been sick in my life" and I said to him, "You'll probably just going to drop dead one day then, if something different comes along". He didn't have an answer, so I'd be interested to see if he gets past this lot.

We are at 210 'cases' now and slowly going up, only 1 in ICU (don't know the age) Not too worried, can't do anything about it other than keeping away from people, masks etc, so not a lot of use worrying. Every time I go out and get back home, I spray my mask with Isopropyl alcohol, just in case of contamination. Felt a bit odd today, but I think that's just spring fever, (and wearing cheap backup supermarket glasses while my proper ones are having the new lenses adjusted. ) Had to happen right now, as I'll be waiting for weeks after this lockdown, and these are giving me headaches )

JB

Today's figures. Not good.
Schools back a week.

We are doomed.

Just had a look.
Since the start of recording stuff.
We have had 380, 000 positive tests.
8500 deaths.
However they say 90% of the population has antibodies showing loads of people have been infected.
However I suspect a lot of deaths would have happened anyway.
A lot were in care homes.
We were the same, lots of deaths due to flu, but hardly any this year.
My daughters family all caught it last year including the grandchildren.
The children showed no symptoms but tested positive.
They all recovered, however when they got vaccinated the side effects were worse than the decease.
Bob

We're both around the 5m mark pop wise Bob, and it's still cold and wet here, (barely starting spring) but slowly warming during the days. Hopefully the virus will slow a bit when summer comes. Last year it was so hot and dry for months the house dried out completely and the plasterboard joints cracked slightly) happened a few years ago as well,- global warming, or just unusually hot weather?

Most of us live in Auckland Christchurch and Wellington cities with lots of smaller towns/cities of around 25000 or so,- the biggest crowd is in Auckland (about 1.6m) Wellington the capitol around 416,000, Christchurch around 440,000 so we are pretty spread out. Dunedin, the Scottish capitol of NZ where I was born, has around 114,000.

No traces in the South Island as yet and no deaths as yet, as far as I know. Our govt covid site is rubbish, took me 10 mins to find this, even after typing covid deaths 2021 in the search box,-

Update on COVID-19 cases — 24 August
24 Aug 2021
Read the latest update on cases from the Ministry of Health.
There are 41 new cases of COVID-19 in the New Zealand community to confirm today. This brings the total number of cases in the community outbreak to 148.

Of these 41 new cases, 19 are female and 22 are male. 31 of these are Pacific peoples, three are Asian and seven are European.

The total number of community cases in Auckland is now 137 and 11 in Wellington.

All of the cases have or are being transferred safely to a managed isolation facility, under strict infection prevention and control procedures, including the use of full PPE.

As previously indicated, it’s not unexpected to see a rise in daily case numbers at this stage. At its peak last year, New Zealand had a daily total of 89 new cases.

There are currently 9 hospitalisations, of which 8 are associated with the current outbreak (7 related to community transmission and 1 border-related).

Update on today's cases | health.govt.nz(external link)

Not really a lot going on really, - would be interesting to see how many died from flu, cancer, and other things, but they won't put that info out of course, as it would make covid look like nothing, Usually 5000/year from flu before you start counting other things.

JB

Hi, just has an update in Scotland from yesterday. 14.5% of tests were positive.
We are testing a lot, but it seem that mostly are 20 to 30year olds
They recover quite quickly, like flu.
People that have been vaccinated can still catch the virus however its helping them to not be serious ill.
Hospital numbers are fairly steady and there are still deaths nothing like at the start.
I am 73, and I live in the suburbs of Edinburgh. First lock down was the hardest , instructions to stay at home however we still did our shopping and walks for exercise. Now, life is Normal, back to the gym, using buses, out to restaurants and bars.
We are still cautious, masks in crowded places, washing hands,etc. When out , eat and drink outside where possible. I prefer that anyway.
To summarise life back to normal, I suspect another partial lock down is possible if the admissions to Hospital rise to a level that they can't cope.
This is possible with winter coming.
I think we have a similar population to NZ however the bulk of us live in the central belt.
Bob

Here's the latest bollocks dribbled out by our Dir Gen of health Ashley Bloomfield tonight on the news, quote,- "if we had followed Scotlands' model, we would have had 20,000 deaths in NZ" EH!,WOT,! PARDON!? 10,000 more, how did he work that out?😮 and not could have -would have!

Bollocks X infinity, and they wonder why people are getting hacked off. They were going on tonight about people spreading misinformation, really!? how naughty of them, that's the govts' job 😂

JB

What should we expect in NZ Bob, as we are dictated to by a know nothing, ex young commie party, ex dj never had a 'real' job in her life (apart from waitressing for a bit) head tilting, 'be kind' media hogging FOC, pass the buck 'PM' who nobody wanted, but only got in due to our stupid MMP voting system which allows parties to make agreements with other parties so the can get 'elected', -not to mention the un-elected 'list' MPs who can be swapped into the govt if an elected MP leaves, without having a by election. All you get is a bunch of wannabe muppets who don't have a clue.

The country is going down the gurgler and all they seem worried about is whether rugby or sports teams will be able to play overseas,- don't worry about all the Kiwis stuck around the world they refuse to let back, or the critical UN person who they let in from the islands on a special emergency flight! (because the UN asked them to) I think the Aussies would have told them to take hike!

Don't know if you've seen the kms long car queues for testing they can't keep up with, (testing centers are only open till 5pm) or the vaccination centers miles away from certain areas. They have even stopped vaccinating for a while during the lockdown believe it or not ! and the vaccinating centers are out of many peoples areas, so they are not supposed to drive there during the lockdown anyhow!

It's a total shambles, and they have caused unnecessary worry for people, by telling everyone how bad this delta is then not being able to back up what they are telling people to do, (testing and vaccinating). Judging by the numbers of cars going past my place on the main road to Orewa beach today, (about 1 every 5-10) seconds people have had enough and are going for drives despite what 'Bucky' wants. A guy and a girl went past on a Harley yesterday, and they weren't just out shopping that's for sure!

I'm 68, and get it or not, I'm not going to live the rest of my life stuck in my house, ( which would probably be mentally worse) they can get stuffed, I'm going to carry on as normal (apart from going out sailing or fishing which the police will stop you doing, because you might need rescuing, which might involve other people,! Might, might might, - I've been boating all my life (sailing dinghies in 6ft seas as a kid etc) and never needed rescuing yet!

JB

Well in the UK, we are now living with it.
We can go to football matches 40,000 at a time.
The schools are back in Scotland, and all the mitigations removed.
No more one kid gets it, the class, year group. To stay home.
The government changed the rules that if you test positive you isolate and your family get tested. If the family test negative they carry on with life.
It's do or die time.
Feel sorry for NZ as you said it's impossible to keep out.
Bob

Oh goody! now in lockdown till next Tuesday in Auckland, rest of the country till this Friday. Total waste of time trying to stop the virus as it's not going away. Even people who have it and are vaccinated can still pass it on, and catch it again! This is getting beyond stupid😐 and calling positive tests, which only detect traces (which they keep calling 'cases') is misleading. The people with these traces may never be sick or end up in hospital, proven by the fact that we have 107 'cases' now and only 7 in hospital and none in ICU. At this rate the country will be bankrupt and half the businesses shut.

Saw a program on TV the other night, showing a young guy (about 14) who had had a bad case (ventilator etc for a few days) only been in hospital for a week and was having to learn to walk again, (apparently fit and healthy before catching it) scrawniest kid I've seen, little wonder he got crook,- not really the best example of a fit healthy person, to use to show how bad the virus is! An All Black in the same situation might have had more impact.

India's down from around 400,000 cases a week in June to 30,000, what does that say,- pop 1,395,420,132 with 435,000 deaths, in a country with millions of poor, and already horrendous health conditions in many areas. Seems not too bad overall? .03 of the pop. UK .19 worse for some reason,- colder climate maybe, lack of social distancing ? Who knows what will happen, we're certainly not going to get rid of it, and 'herd immunity' is apparently not an option if this keeps mutating. We are going to have to learn to live with it and lessen its' impact by changing our way of life, finding more effective vaccines etc, to keep up with or ahead of it.

JB

They say in Scotland.
If its for you! It won't go by you.

Just one of lifes' not so good surprises I suppose, you won't know what you're going to get till you get it !

JB

The detail you shared would be no use in the UK. There wouldn't be a spread sheet big enough. Infection up 100 from yesterday.
It seems that it's the 20 to 30 age group that is the highest rate.
This group are mixing a lot more than us more mature group.😊
They can fight it , 🤞🤞🤞I have knowledge of people that have caught it. Its just like having flu, and they recover within a week.😊
I

If you are interested to see how fast this virus can be transported around, check out our Govt site for Auckland and see where possible contacts went in a few weeks (Wellington as well) thanks to modern transport. 100 yrs ago it would have taken many months (maybe a year or so) to get around the same huge area!. Interesting. All started by 1 person,-

https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-health-advice-public/contact-tracing-covid-19/covid-19-contact-tracing-locations-interest#auckland

JB

The dreaded lurgey has managed to find its' way to the capitol by plane now, and positives are growing rapidly. Being positive does not mean much due to the testing they use, (cotton bud up the hooter)- it just says there is a trace,- doesn't mean you are going to 'push the boat out'. It can be nothing to most people, but mainly the susceptible ones as before, but more transmissible, and can hit the younger ones now. They are still partying like nothing's happening though, so they are not helping things. That's how our one just got going,- infected university student going to bars and clubs, in Auckland, then flying to wellington, - just peachy👎👎😠☹️😭

I'm going the truckloads of vitamin C, (my lemon tree's getting a thrashing) keeping away from people, going to the supermarket late route, to hopefully avoid it. If I get it, tough luck.- something will get you in the end, and it will be,- "come in No 68, your time's up". Not much use adding worry to the problem, only gets you down more. All you can do, is do your best to avoid it,- stay healthy, get the jab if you trust it, and keep away from people till it dies down.

JB

I agree with you.
As an teenager, I caught the flu. I was in bed for a week, totally floored. Then another week to build up strength to go back to work.
Today a bad cold is often refer to a flu.
Believe me you know when you have had flu.
Having caught it, maybe have built up some immunity.
During the last year+, flu has disappeared and colds are vastly reduced.

Unfortunately, like us, I doubt you'll be able to stay an 'island' forever,- as we just found out despite everyone being careful. It's the govts decisions which will stuff it up for you, same as ours has. This won't go away any time soon and we are going to have to live with it, like the flu or any other viruses which find us a soft target, - flu kills 500 people a year (around .01% of the pop in NZ,) 30,000 odd in the US) and that's with all the medicines and vaccines we have for it, so by comparison, this ain't been too bad for a new unknown virus, (if you compare it to the planets' population.)

Flu's way down this year, so all the protection and hygiene measures lately have obviously had a good effect. Perhaps we should keep that up permanently now.

JB

Could be that the vaccine is working, or that because people are being extra cautious, the virus is not spreading, or- most people susceptible to it have had it bad, but those who may have had a small dose, or are not susceptible - (which is the case,-as not everyone with it gets really sick,) get over it. Same as not everyone gets the flu. If you take cat flu for example, it will kill a lot of cats quickly, but the rest get over it and become mostly resistant and pass the resistance on. Unfortunately that's how nature works, animals or plants, and we are never going to have no viruses or bugs, as they are doing the same thing, as us, - trying to survive by changing. We just try and interfere with nature, that's why the planet is where it is today, a polluted overcrowded mess.

Just a cheery thought😁

JB

Hi Lads
I am lucky living in Tasmania, we have only one lockdown and hoping it stays that way !!!!

Canabus

Well in Edinburgh , Scotland there was 350 positive cases. 30% up on yesterday.
The plus side is that hopital admission are dropping and have been dropping for the last couple of months.
It's seems the vaccination is working.
For the people of NZ you are going to have great difficulty in keeping it out.

We here are being cautious, wearing masks in confined area, buses, etc and washing our hands.

Anyway keep safe

Hi Peter, It had to happen eventually, the way our dickhead PM was letting every man and his dog in, brought a sick UN worker from the islands in on an emergency mercy flight to hospital here a few weeks back, sick fishermen from Russian trawlers, tourists who wouldn't isolate when they were told to etc. We are up to ten or more cases in a few days, but I'm not too worried, -I've survived German measles, whooping cough, mumps, chicken pox, being stung by dozens of European wasps (at one time) being poisoned by a previous girlfriend (after I ended a relationship with her) lol and numerous other things, so this should be a piece of the proverbial.

Haven't been 'vaccinated' yet, as I'm dubious about possible future problems with a rushed out un-tested (on humans) 'vaccine' (apparently not a true vaccine as it does not have any of the virus in it as other vaccines have. ) It apparently modifies something in your immune system to make it recognise this virus, but according to a German/Thai Professor of immunology, it can cause your body to send out an overkill attack on anything minor in the future. My wife is a nurse who was one of the nurses in charge (at different times) of an isolation hotel (Rydges) in Auckland, another one at the Airport and the Whangaparaoa Army base where they had about 120 camper vans for an isolation facility last year,) and she also mentioned it last night when I mentioned this professors thoughts. here's a bit on it from Google,-

When we become infected with a virus like COVID-19, our immune system often goes into overdrive and can lead to a life-threatening cycle known as a cytokine storm. The SARS-CoV-2 virus, like other respiratory infections, catalyzes this overactive immune response for its own benefit.5/03/2021

While this virus may kill many people (like any virus) it is possibly better to be exposed and become immune naturally. I used to get a really bad flu each year, but since stopping smoking about 20yrs ago, I have had very few (probably only a minor one each 2 or 3 yrs now) Like this professor said, millions of people round the world may never have it, or have few if any symptoms, but are being persuaded to have a 'vaccine' unnecessarily anyhow. I think they need to be looking at what type of people are susceptible to this virus and work on a test to find who is, and immunise them, instead of just jabbing everyone.

Just a thought, - but "every man for himself" (as they say on sinking ships) lol. BTW, I'm retired, so I have more time than I know what to do with already. Have plenty of home jobs to do, but now can't get any bits for a week or so! I'm sure you guys will get it sorted over the ditch, as long as people play the game and keep social distancing and masks etc. It worked well last year up till now, and only started now because of BS 'Bucky' Adhern and her stupid mates' policy of opening the country the wrong way, and not by something we did, (we are still being careful with distancing etc, - sort of automatic now) had no community cases for about 172 days till now.

Latest case total- 20,with 2 in hospital

JB

Hope you get it quickly, I am an Aussie but in Qld. Kicked it in the teeth but we do not have the advantage of the creek between us and NSW like you do. One thing anyhow, it will give more time to work on your boats, or similar.