[Flyin'Dutch']

Well, I predicted to my staff, that the completely ridiculous, undiscussed and irrational enforced policy forced through by the German politicians to mandate a LFT each and every day for every practice employee was not going to make it until Christmas as this was going to be a rather mahoosive logistical exercise, introduced today was not going to last until Xmas.

I was right. It got scrubbed this afternoon!

As I have written before and although n to believed by @Propwash I am happy to call out political BS where I see it.

There is no rationale for testing people every day if they are working in healthcare.

Last year we were told (both in the UK and in Germany) that by staff shortages people could be allowed to work in practices and hospitals as we are having to wear FP2 masks or better anyway, and now we should need to be tested every day?

Bonkers.

[skydriller]

There is no rationale for testing people every day if they are working in healthcare.

Isnt that the one group of people that should be tested regularly? These are the people working with generally ill folk who really dont need Covid on top of whatever else is wrong with them??

I know you go on to talk about masks, but my brief foray to a hospital here accompanying an out patient visit a few months ago revealed patients (who need a negative test <24hrs before appointment, me too) fully masked up yet docs & nurses literally showing lip service - 50% chin hammock usage. I reckon its the most dangerous thing Ive done wrt Covid risk in nearly 2 years.

Regards, SD..

[Flyin'Dutch']

Isnt that the one group of people that should be tested regularly? These are the people working with generally ill folk who really dont need Covid on top of whatever else is wrong with them??

I know you go on to talk about masks, but my brief foray to a hospital here accompanying an out patient visit a few months ago revealed patients (who need a negative test <24hrs before appointment, me too) fully masked up yet docs & nurses literally showing lip service - 50% chin hammock usage. I reckon its the most dangerous thing Ive done wrt Covid risk in nearly 2 years.

Regards, SD..

That is inexcusable behaviour and I hope you have written a letter of complaint. I would.

I fear that people who behave like that would not test properly either, and you know how easy it is to get a negative test result.

No hammocks in sight here, we are all double vaxxed and boostered, bar 2 members of staff who's 6 months are up in Feb so they will get done end of January.

[eltonioni]

Organiser of illegal and (as it turned out) 'superspreader' event in NSW is fined:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-24/ ... /100646208

Not sure that it actually says superspreader but of course what you, I, or the Australian police think is such a thing will vary wildly The police do seem to have been deducting based on testing positive after the event, rather than presenting evidence that they were responsible for infecting others.

They said there was a "significant" number of people who became infected in the Hunter region with direct links to Ageeb and Lado.

The only "reasonable hypothesis" was their exposure being a result of the pair's trip, police said.

If I've read it correctly she was prosecuted for travelling inter-state, rather that for infecting anyone. While I'm not really arguing the point of whether she should or shouldn't have (Aus' has gone bonkers but they're their rules I guess) the report leaves me thinking where she herself caught it, what a "significant number" is, and just how much evidence was presented that only a "reasonable hypothesis" could be drawn. All that said, it's not even relevant to the prosecution but seems to be used as justification for their monstrous regulations, travel restrictions and lockdowns.

Reports yesterday that travel to Aus is about to open up soon, so some good news there. Are you likely to travel if it's possible?

[skydriller]

@Flyin'Dutch' this was several months ago.

But you dont answer the bit Im interested in, which is about testing healthcare staff. Is it that you think they dont need to be tested, or that once a day is too often? IIRC a lateral flow test has the result right there in front of you within a minute or so, so staff just pitch up 5 mins early and know they are clear to work - or am I missing something?? Ive been on a project where we all did a test every time a crew change happened, so every 2-3 days.

Regards, SD..

[kanga]

..
Not sure that it actually says superspreader but of course what you, I, or the Australian police think is such a thing will vary wildly The police do seem to have been deducting ..

Reports yesterday that travel to Aus is about to open up soon, so some good news there. Are you likely to travel if it's possible?

.. but the NSW Court apparently agreed with the deduction

[certainly ]

[Flyin'Dutch']

@Flyin'Dutch' this was several months ago.

But you dont answer the bit Im interested in, which is about testing healthcare staff. Is it that you think they dont need to be tested, or that once a day is too often? IIRC a lateral flow test has the result right there in front of you within a minute or so, so staff just pitch up 5 mins early and know they are clear to work - or am I missing something?? Ive been on a project where we all did a test every time a crew change happened, so every 2-3 days.

Regards, SD..

Testing asymptomatic vaccinated health care staff is irrational and serves no purpose.

A negative lateral flow test at best, well administered has a sensitivity of about 98-99%, its predictive value worse when there are few positive cases.

That has a direct result

1) at least 1 or 2 true positive people will be in fact having C19 and get through
2) there will be between 4-8 people sent home who have a positive test which is not a true positive so it will have a negative effect on staffing

and indirectly it will create

A false sense of security whereby people will adjust their behaviour -1. remember the spike on the steering wheel? 2) how often to test? There will be people who will become positive after a test and an infection has not reached the threshold test.

And an enormous administrative and cost burden.

Therefore what needs to happen

1. Vaccinate people - in health care IMO compulsory
2. With Symptoms - stay away
3. Well adjusted FFP 2 or 3 Masks and other common sense hygiene measures.

There are no easy options.

[Propwash]

As I have written before and although n to believed by @Propwash I am happy to call out political BS where I see it.


.

I am not too sure what I said to merit that.

PW

[skydriller]

A negative lateral flow test at best, well administered has a sensitivity of about 98-99%, its predictive value worse when there are few positive cases.

That has a direct result

1) at least 1 or 2 true positive people will be in fact having C19 and get through
2) there will be between 4-8 people sent home who have a positive test which is not a true positive so it will have a negative effect on staffing

IIRC on the project I had, any positive tested person was isolated then re-tested an hour or so later and if negative twice more back to work. If they were still positive they left. So if you have false positives they get picked up as false. As for the positive person that tests negative, if you are regularly testing they get picked up on the next test, dont they?

Is it more costly to test staff, or to have a Covid outbreak amongst patients, some of whom are by definition ill/at risk/vulnerable etc?? After all, money is no object when it comes to Covid, after all we already shut down the economy to "save" people at a cost of billions.

Im playing devils advocate here, I dont think that there should be any restrictions on anybody....

but.... if there is a case for the public to be restricted (as some here are suggesting, because the Covid situation is dire and positive cases are the problem) then there is, in my view, more of an obligation on healthcare staff to take every precaution than on anyone else to do so - we know for sure that alot of people actually catch Covid in Hospital, including healthcare staff.

Regards, SD..

[Flyin'Dutch']

@Propwash IIRC correctly I posted under your post a reply as to why I had written what I did; I suspect my post has been donked

@The Admin Team Is that so, it may be that I omitted to post it as I did that at work.

I had written that you had written that I was calling out UK politics' antics because I had a downer on the UK; I have explained before that I don't like political antics, irrespective where they occur, be that the in the UK, US, EU, Germany or wherever.

So when there is indefensible (in my view) political antics going on in Germany then I call that out too.

That there is a lot of undesirable antics in UK politics is unfortunate, hence the frequent 'upset' about it.

And as I wrote to someone on FB this morning who thought I should keep my snout out of the UK's antics, we do have a lot of direct family, close friends in the UK and I want them to live a happy and prosperous life and beyond that I do still have some work, which I still do (thanks to having been able to secure a work permit) and it would be rather nice if my pension contributions did not tank altogether.

Hence my 'interest'

[The Admin Team]

@Propwash IIRC correctly I posted under your post a reply as to why I had written what I did; I suspect my post has been donked

@The Admin Team Is that so, it may be that I omitted to post it as I did that at work.

That is not so.

[Flyin'Dutch']

Thank you

[johnm]

It ain't over yet and this is a timely reminder that it's a global issue

[Keveng]

It ain't over yet and this is a timely reminder that it's a global issue

Yes yet again not able to travel to see my parents! its the 3rd time this has happened , getting to the point i dont think i will see them again.

[Bill McCarthy]

Plane loads of passengers meanwhile, disembark from South Africa and disperse into the country completely unchecked until the travel ban comes into force on Sunday. Madness.