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Having seen Drakeford on TV this morning having is usual bash at the Westminster Government for ' abandoning the science' while he is keeping people safe in Wales, I wonder, if Labour were in power in Westminster, how much more aligned we in Wales would be to England's Covid rules and regulations?
I think what this has established is that, those who disagree with the results of the survey are more likely to express their opinion on the validity of the survey itself.
It's quite an interesting thing to ponder. Of course, all hypothetical, but if we did have a Labour govt during the pandemic it would have been one run by Jeremy Corbyn.
It's interesting to think about how he would have handled it. I dont think it would have been radically different, but I think he would have been a bit overawed, and I think we would have stuck to the EMA vaccine roll out, and I wonder if he would have been so open to working with the private sector on procurement and involvement with the NHS etc?
In terms of restrictions, whatever else Corbyn may be, he isnt really an authoritarian. I think he has a strong liberal streak, and is more like Johnson than Drakeford in that respect. I also think he would have recognised the mental wellbeing issues caused by it all and not sought to keep us locked down for longer than necessary.
My suspicion with Drakeford is that he is using this as a bit of a political power play. That is undoubtedly the case with Sturgeon, and I think it is to a lesser extent for Drakeford. In some cases he's just keen to do some things differently so he can claim to have done so and that devolution is working etc etc.
I also sense deep inside he quite enjoys the power, whereas Johnson, reckless as he is, at least feels embarrased to take our freedoms.
The point I tried to make in a humorous way in my reply to TOBW is the fact that the result of most surveys is almost predetermined by the way the question is asked, or indeed by the question itself. The questions asked tend to lead the person being 'surveyed' to the answer that the pollster wants to hear.
That in itself renders all polls subject to being taken with a 'pinch of salt'.
Mr Drakeford on TV again today.. that wasn't a covid briefing it was a party political broadcast.
The same thing that Ms Sturgeon was castigated for, using the crisis to make politically motivated statement. It isn't supposed to be allowed.
It's bugger all to do with surveys and more to do with fact and science and it does seem Omicron is a very mild version of Covid backed up by the facts there are lots of positive cases and less deaths and folk on ventilation units . Drakeford is playing politics as much as Boris , the only difference is once again whe are late to the opening up party (expected pun) and as business ,jobs and economy falters in Wales along with mental anxiety caused by lockdowns .
And a year from now old Drakeford will fall back on the ( its all Westminsters fault) mantra as Wales struggles from his slowness to open up our economy and protect jobs and livelihoods.
Boris maybe a clown at times but at least he has some boldness and drive to rescue the economy , and Furlough and the vaccine decesions were very forward thinking .
So boldness to drive and rescue the economy is more important than the effects of a virus which, while it is less deadly than previous variants, still results in lots taking time off work and jobs not being done, whereas a more measured approach should result in less people off work and less people being ill.
But its not just about rescuing the economy its about giving people back their freedoms, about people not being locked down unnecessarily, about mental health of millions of people on the understanding, largely vindicated, that this variant was far less deadly than previous ones.
Many people in positions to do so (not least the unions and leaders of the NHS) have constantly tried to up the risk factor, to make the government react, to lockdown, to prevent, to restrict. The government finally got it balls back and did what is best for the majority, and the figures would appear to support the actions.
If you think that tens of millions of people should be restricted (Oops sorry me Drakeford) Protected for the fewer numbers at risk, even when the numbers show that the vast majority of those having a serious life threatening reaction to the disease have not bothered to get vaccinated, then there is no point in continuing the conversation. You are determined to argue that lockdown is good and freedom is bad. So be it.
Your last point has made me laugh. Boris getting all angst about the thought of taking away personal freedoms by asking people to wear a face mask on public transport, whilst his government bring in The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill and rip up the Human Rights Act.
I am not here to argue that lockdown is good and freedom is bad. You clearly haven't read enough of my posts on this issue or you'd know that is not the case.
I know lots of people who are still wary to go out and enjoy life. The more restrictions are lifted, the more wary they will become.
I've read on here that working from home is bad for everyone. I can prove otherwise. I've read on here that everyone wants restrictions lifted. I can prove otherwise.
The biggest danger from Covid at present is mass absence from work and public and essential services not being fulfilled. Responsible governments, couldn't care less what party is in charge, needs to manage this. We're not at a stage where Covid is just a cold and those who have it would be expected to come into work.
No Eric you cannot 'prove' otherwise unless you can canvas the whole country and 'prove' that working from home is good for everyone. For each of your comments there are those for and against. I acknowledged that when I pointed out that the HNS and unions have been trying to lock things throughout this emergency. They are clearly against, eahc for their own reasons.
You may know people who are afraid to go out and people who prefer to work from home. I do not know any person bar 1 who is afraid to go out, but I know several who like the idea of not having to go out and getting everything done for them.
I know some people are in need of isolation but isn't it true that people we hear about on the news and in the reports who are terrified because they have no immune systems also didn't have the immune systems before the pandemic and they managed their lives satisfactorily. These stories are researched by people who want to broadcast the worst possible scenarios becuase it sells paper or gets clicks.
Human beings are social animals, we prosper from contact with others we grow from it. We need interaction it is in our make-up. Working from home and/or self isolating removes that from a person's life.
Fine if they want to do that but the whole nation doesn't need to be forced to do it with them. It is utter bollox!
We havent been in lockdown. Weve been more than able to interact.
Strange comments.
I too know lots of people who are wary to go out and enjoy life. I'm not surprised because from dawn until dusk the media continue to highlight Covid as the big news and that frightens many.
Working from home is obviously not bad for everyone, but for my nephew it means sitting in his bedsit with his laptop on the bed, and that's not good. There must be many like him.
We are two years into Covid yet UK governments are still putting restrictions on peoples' lives as if no lessons have been learned. In Wales nearly 2 million people have had three jabs and we know how effective that is. Additionally, there are two oral antivirals available which can reduce the severity of a Covid infection by around 90%.
With such effective pharmaceuticals available it is time we treated it like a cold and I applaud Bojo for taking the lead.
Drakeford boasts that Wales has the best vaccination rate, that antivirals are available for anyone at particular risk, but then introduces rules and regulations that impact our lives and the Welsh economy. It doesn't make sense.
Time to get back to as we were pre-Covid.
I give up Jordi. I started a thread about this which hardly registered but a Covid conspiracy theory or Drakeford character assassination thread will go for 20 odd pages. I used to find this stuff funny but now it just depresses me. I'll stick to watching us play to improve the mood. Oh, wait!
Its no suprise reading some of the comments. Its the typical Tory attitude im all right screw you.
This is a Global Pandemic. Its great the vaccination programme has gone so well in this and the other richer countries. However this isnt the case globally and in poorer countries. You could swear some have been living in the post war UK listening to some comments.
Until the world is vaccinated we are not out of it. Lift all restrictions. Yeah feck the 80 year old on the bus im not wearing a mask. Lets just travel everywhere without masks no need to isolate even with covid and spread the virus amongst other countries or allow another variant in our own.
We need to get back to as close as normal as we can with some sensible restrictions.
However we need the rest of the world vaccinated. Its scandalous that countries are not allowed to mass produce vaccines due to the vaccine patent. Credit must go to the US , Russia and China for backing the vaccine waver.
However the UK govt ???.... nah we are ok.