EDUCATION

Why are the ejits who run Education (if only) surprised that there are predictions for a surge in Covid numbers. After all it is the government who made the fatal decision to reduce restrictions over Christmas. They also have had access to data about growing infection rates amongst school students. I am fed up with people saying that this unprecedented pandemic is throwing curve balls. Yes it was unprecedented and there is some leeway in excusing incompetence back in March/April. However the last 6 months have produced a litany of bad decisions whose consequences should have been foreseen.

So teachers have to prepare lessons for remote learning, to teach those exam classes that are in school together with those vulnerable children. And organise testing. Even if the Army or volunteers are roped in to help, it is still the school that has to organise it. And they will probably give a contract to Serco to provide the tests! I am not sure I would want a random stranger poking things up my Childs nose and throat! The tests are also not particularly effective, some say it is better than nothing; but it might give false results, a negative test might give false confidence, and the accuracy is said to be about 50% Will they all be verified – which normally takes a while. On a phone in I heard someone complaining about left wing union snowflakes whom should just get on with helping the nation in this pandemic – my response would be that maybe all lorries should have loads of 100 tonnes?

But perhaps more than anything I would ask Mr Williamson and his sidekick Gibbs, why this was not planned for during the summer? This WAS predicted.

So a prediction. There will be a surge in January and some schools will be shut in some areas. This will result in discussions about exams in England. Someone will have a bright idea that test, track and then isolate could work really well if administered via a school. And proper testing of those who need it rather than a politically motivated mass testing. Are Cornwall, Isle of Wight, etc. also included?

MORE MIS-INFORMATION

All countries in Europe are suffering. This is a true statement. But look closer. We have had about 3 times as many deaths as Germany. We are about on par with Italy. Everyone is struggling, but most are taking more stringent measures than us.

AN INTERACTIVE MAP – Tier 3 update

Worth looking at. For this area the range is astounding – Congresbury and Kewstoke is 430/100000 whilst Winscome/Sandford is around 47; and Wrington is to low to record!

So this area and Bristol have been moved down to tier 2 which we have seen does not work. So Mr. Penrose, Mr. Fox, Mr.Rees-Mogg can hopefully be held to account when numbers of deaths rise.

FARMING

OK, let me start off by saying that I know nothing about farming (well a smidgen, it involves growing plants and animals to feed and cloth us). Actually it is this smidgen that I want to expand.

Farming since the introduction of the EU Common Agricultural Policy would seem to have been tremendously successful. No shortages in the shops, reasonably stable prices. But the environmental cost cannot be offset by set aside and other environmental schemes.

This is ridiculous. It is like asking 10% of people to walk/cycle whilst everyone else pollutes the air, and expecting them to thrive. So Johnson stop the political games with farms. Let us have a policy which ensures sustainability for the crops/animals and the wildlife; for the whole countryside. Too many species are seeing reductions by huge %’s – some might be due to global warming (and here again farming plays its part) – but I suspect most is down to farming practises?

COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

I was thinking about why a c-b a for Covid restrictions would not be valid.

So firstly a look at costs of a lockdown. presumably an economic figure can be calculated with reasonable accuracy (Unemployment and welfare costs plus loss of tax income). Add on reduced tax from firms with reduced capacity (e.g. Airlines). I am sure this is a considerable cost. Then there is the social cost of isolation and measures on mental welfare. And the benefits of a lockdown are much more difficult to calculate – lower costs for NHS. Maybe some small environmental gains. I would calculate the cost of Tier 3 for the whole nation at about £40 billion (back of an envelope).

Costs of opening up economy. Economically it is probably fairer to calculate the reduction in economic costs as there will still be restrictions. Costs of increased pressure on NHS and reduced capacity for other things can probably be calculated – I have no idea of the cost a covid patient per day? Or the economic cost of a death at different ages, or the impacts of long covid. Just as lockdown creates mental health problems, the converse is also true with people being worried about being outside with lack of observance of safety rules. The social cost of deaths is also un-quantifiable. From what we hqve4 seen so far it would seem that any opening up of the economy will be met with a strict lockdown soon after.

Whilst the economic impacts maybe retrieved in the long term, the social costs cannot. Which leads to the final point. Vaccines are on their way – so probably 4/5 months more of restrictions before a return to some sort of normality.

But also remember that the more we intrude into the natural world, the more likely it is that further virus outbreaks will occur (AIDS, SARS, BIRD FLU, etc.).

Maybe it is time to increase the aid budget in an attempt to reduce the discrepancies in wealth between countries. This would reduce the population explosion in Africa and South Asia. In turn this would reduce the environmental pressure on habitats. We should also invest in using our land more sustainably. I feel a new post coming on!

COVID STATS

Again interesting. Areas in Tier 3 with pub shut downs have all had significant reductions in cases. Eastern England has seen big rises – due to shopping? So locked own seems to work, but coming out of lockdown as in Wales seems to have made things worse! 2 weeks is obviously not enough. Should Bristol and North Somerset come down a tier – I would say no. Lets get the rate down to below 50 first.

A GEOGRAPHY OF COVID

The graphs below are fascinating. They show the prevalence of covid geographically. To read full article click here

Graph showing Covid-19 deaths per 100,000 people by area type
Source: ONS data for England and Wales.
Notes: Age-standardised mortality rates with 95% confidence intervals. Area types: 1: Major conurbation; 2: Minor conurbation; 3: Urban city/town; 4: Rural town/city; 5: Rural town/fringe; 6: Sparse rural town/fringe; 7: Village; 8: Sparse village; 9: Hamlets; 10: Sparse hamlets

There are 4 main reasons for these discrepancies.1. Population density. 2. Transport Networks. 3. Crowded housing. 4. Industry and occupational structure.

As the figures show deaths it is surprising to see just how high major conurbation are as they have a generally younger population. The older population in hamlets might explain area 9, although it could also be due to commuting for shopping, work, etc.?

WEATHER PHENOMENA

I find the weather fascinating – some interesting phenomena include the following -look for pictures on YouTube.

St.Elmo’s Fire – Elmo’s fire is sometimes observed at night from the tops of ships’ masts when electrified clouds are overhead. The mast appears to be on fire but does not burn. StElmo’s‘ fire tends to occur toward the end of a thunderstorm.

Haboob – Giant walls of dust that form in desert areas in front of a thunderstorm cell. They are created by downward thrusts of cold air inside the storm cell, which blows sand and dust outward. These events can be seen in places such as the Sahara Desert and southwestern United States.

Broken Spectre – A Brocken spectre, also called Brocken bow or mountain spectre, is the magnified shadow of an observer cast upon clouds opposite the Sun’s direction.