For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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#1862033
I'm not usually one for 'Government in league with big business ' or whatever, but the PCR testing routines for travel look like a government sponsored scam.

What possible need can there be to test double jabbed travellers with a PCR test at c£150 a time?

If an AZ jab costs 5 or 6 quid wouldn't we be better donating the money to jabs for needy countries?
nallen, 100poundburger, flybymike and 2 others liked this
#1862051
Charles Hunt wrote:I'm not usually one for 'Government in league with big business ' or whatever, but the PCR testing routines for travel look like a government sponsored scam.

..


..rather, just another predictable result of the ideology that 'if somethng is needed, government need only require that it happen, and leave it to the free market to get it done. The resulting cost to the end-user need not be government's business' ?

I am reminded of the 'FM immune' requirement for VHF transceivers. OfCom said it must be done in case they wanted to auction off the broadcast spectrum immediately below the air band (which, ISTR, never happened). OfCom said that cost to users was not their business, and aircraft safety was a matter for CAA not OfCom. CAA said that transceivers, if used (as they had to be in some airspace) must be modified if OfCom said so, because transmitter licensing was their, not CAA's business; cost to user not CAA's business. And then there was the 8.33 KHz saga .. :roll:
johnm liked this
#1862058
JAM, like (I assume) all other 'businesses' in the bailiwick of Tewkesbury Borough Council (which includes Staverton), has received the following. Some may decry this is 'nanny statery', others applaud it as prompting well-being of staff and clients/visitors:

"LET'S KEEP GOING BY SUPPORTING, RESPECTING AND PROTECTING OTHERS. _
A message from .., Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Public Health and ..,
Head of Community Services-
Tewkesbury Borough Council.

_ Dear Borough Business,

Thank you for your support during what has been a challenging time for our business community and the county as a whole.

Gloucestershire businesses have and will continue to play a vital role in helping to keep our community safe and as cases continue to rise its right and encouraged that we all move forward with caution.

Every business should feel empowered to do what is best for their staff and their customers following a thorough review of their risk assessment. Although no longer a legal requirement, face coverings, social distancing alongside regular handwashing and increased ventilation remain effective ways to help reduce the risk of spreading Covid. I am sure many businesses and residents will have already made the decision to continue with some or all of these measures.

I would also urge organisations to support us in promoting a positive vaccination message to make sure workplaces are as safe as possible. Getting both doses of the vaccine is our best chance of protecting ourselves from the most severe symptoms of COVID-19 and those people who are most at risk from the virus. There are lots of drop in clinics taking place all over the county offering first and second dose vaccines giving your staff the flexibility to go at a time that suits them and your business:
https://covid19.glos.nhs.uk/vaccinations/

Test, trace and isolate continue to play an important role in helping to manage the virus. We also know that the more Covid is passed from person to person, the more chance it has to mutate and develop into new variants which could be more transmissible. Please remember that it remains a legal requirement to self-isolate if you are Covid positive and, until at least 16 August, for all contacts of a positive case to isolate.

Twice-weekly rapid testing for people with no symptoms is also key to stopping Covid in its tracks. By detecting the virus in people who have no symptoms and may not know they have it you can prevent the virus spreading to other people in your organisation. There are more than 100 pharmacies county-wide acting as collection points for test kits to use at home with many pharmacies now offering on-site testing. Visit
www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/testing

Thank you again for your ongoing support. Together we can help keep life moving.

(..), Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Public Health
(..), Head of Community Services – Tewkesbury Borough Council."
johnm, T6Harvard liked this
#1862060
legal requirement to self-isolate if you are Covid positive and, until at least 16 August, for all contacts of a positive case to isolate.


Really? Guidance certainly, but unless contacted by T&T when did it become a legal requirement to isolate if you're a "contact of a positive case"?

Did I get it wrong or is this illegitimate legal scaremongering guff from a local authority?
#1862066
Charles Hunt wrote:What possible need can there be to test double jabbed travellers with a PCR test at c£150 a time?

Being fully vaccinated doesn't mean you won't catch the disease. Since you are more likely to have mild or no symptoms you will be more likely to be happily mixing with friends, family, colleagues, etc & happily spreading the disease.
JAFO, MikeB, kanga and 1 others liked this
#1862075
low&slow wrote:
Charles Hunt wrote:What possible need can there be to test double jabbed travellers with a PCR test at c£150 a time?

Being fully vaccinated doesn't mean you won't catch the disease. Since you are more likely to have mild or no symptoms you will be more likely to be happily mixing with friends, family, colleagues, etc & happily spreading the disease.


At a conceptual level I agree, but if the vaccines give protection as to the severity of the disease (due to cutting down or reducing the effectiveness of the viral load?) then I suspect that the ability to transmit is significantly reduced also.
Flyin'Dutch' liked this
User avatar
By Flyin'Dutch'
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1862087
johnm wrote:The real answer would take us over the political boundary I’m afraid.


Now we would not want that @johnm, would we.

:shock:

To manage my spleen venting urge I frequent Twitter - it is a great place to do so and nobody takes any notice. And as long as you don't use any rude words nobody cares.

:D
#1862180
Australia:

"NSW suspends elective surgery as COVID-19 outbreak sees growing number of hospital cases"

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-30/ ... /100338986

.. but in perhaps better news:

"Sydney anti-lockdown protest fears ease after no-one turns up"

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-31/ ... /100339936

:)
MikeB liked this
#1862305
kanga wrote:Australia:

..

.. but in perhaps better news:

"Sydney anti-lockdown protest fears ease after no-one turns up"

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-31/ ... /100339936

:)


https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-31/ ... /100339936

Heavy police presence and lack of protesters welcomed by locals. Also:

"..The ABC found last week's rally was spearheaded by a German-based conspiracy group who also organised similar marches in Melbourne and Queensland.

Messaging, including graphics and instructions for protesters, was then picked up by local anti-vaccination and anti-lockdown groups in NSW.

The same German group organised worldwide "freedom" rallies in May but made no official posts about any planned protests today.."
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