Coronavirus - COVID-19

In theory people should be taking them twice a week but I'm not out and about enough to justify that. I take a test if I feel that I might have been exposed and/or if I'm visiting someone more vulnerable than me. I almost took a test last week as I felt grotty but I think it was just a side effect of hurting my wrist and only getting a few hours sleep over several nights. I hadn't seen anyone in a week, so it was unlikely to be the bug. Better now. There are some alarming stories about how infectious this new variant is and we must be slightly wary of how mild it apparently is because so far, the majority who have caught it are younger age groups. We'll know in about a week if this is going to be a major problem. Keep calm and carry on Coventry.

Hopefully most of you already have an oxymeter to check your oxygen levels when you have trouble breathing. If you haven't got one, treat yourself/family to an early Christmas present.

Hi all, Hi Helen, My Pam was quite a disciplinarian regards health care. I miss her so bad. She was never a hypochondriac, far from it, but she often ordered me indoors when needed. The cold that I have now would have no doubt cleared up if I had stayed indoors last week. I did a flow test on Friday & negative for covid. I was stupid yesterday, going out to play at chapel. I nodded off during a hymn, having hit a wall of tiredness. A well known carol that for at least two verses I was playing on autopilot. No joke! I stayed indoors for the rest of the day, sleeping most of the time. I'm nearly normal today. What a pip!

Hi all, Very sad news, that the latest hype in Covid cases has resulted in the suspension of the Belgrade panto.

Hardly hype, Philip Several members of the "Panto Company" have tested positive

Coventry is experiencing a huge spike in cases. Not necessarily hospitalised, but a lot of very poorly people. Over 700 new cases per day latest. My issue that is clearing up nicely now (a tummy wall infection) may have been a hangover from my Covid from over a year ago. My infection last November was just like a mild tummy bug. My GP is convinced that many of the non-Covid illnesses are Covid in origin.

My sister and her husband are the set department of an am dram group and were about to do the Diary of Anne Frank in 2020 before the pandemic. All cancelled the week before it became to dangerous to stage. They've just managed to squeeze it in before the current crisis. People were all vaxxed, tested, masked and distanced bar the cast. They sold more tickets than usual and despite the extra costs they managed to break even. They were expecting to lose loads.

Hi Phil, Glad you are feeling better. According to Government Coronavirus Statistics, Coventry is in the bottom 10% for cases /100k people, averaging 170/day last week. Possibly a slight upturn in the last few days, but still better than the end of October. Event the doom laden Coventry Telegraph is having to look to Stratford upon Avon for the bad news! I won't say "Don't panic", but maybe we can panic a little less . Got to keep something in reserve .

So having heard that at long last we can now have our overseas vaccinations recognised in order that we will be eligible for a booster, I went through the online application process. This entails making a booking for an appointment, though it is unclear what that involves. After entering my NHS number I'm told I'm number 7736 in a queue and expect a 5 minute wait! Well after 5 minutes I'm still over 4000, I imagine they haven't actually dealt with 3700 people, instead 3700 people have given up waiting. Anyway after about 20 minutes I have to enter our postcode to find the nearest vaccination centre and I then get the message "We cannot find a vaccination centre matching the details you have provided". They say to call 119.

Sorry to hear that. They should have priority spots for those over 60.

Hi all, It's hardly surprising that there's so much confusion. A different story.

The difficulty is - a milder disease that infects more people might equal a more deadly disease that infects fewer. Using South Africa as a model for how it will affect the UK isn't that useful for a lot of reasons. Personally I think we need to test the system. We can't afford endless lockdowns. There will be more variants and more waves and any vaccines are always likely to be playing catch up. People need to take greater personal responsibility. That means getting creative over how to do Christmas safely. It means not taking as many day to day risks so you don't end up in A&E with a broken arm or cut finger during the worst of the winter. It means that those who feel invulnerable for whatever reason don't live like the pandemic is over and meet up with those who might react badly. It means saying no to doing something if the chance of catching covid is too high and you risk being part of the problem. I have a family member who is unvaccinated by choice, has a full social life and is so far uninfected but will visit other family members, including over Christmas, who are vulnerable for several reasons. The person isn't unpleasant, far from it, and would be devastated if others were harmed by those decisions. A lot of people think that lockdowns, vaccines and masks have been imposed on society but at the end of the day it's your friends and relatives you're protecting, not the government. People will be torn between welcoming or rejecting those who have chosen not to be vaccinated. A lot of emotional blackmail will be used by both sides. If the pressure on the NHS was lower we could make other decisions but this winter we need to party like it was 2020, without the government telling us to.

Deja vu? 19th December 2020

Funny how some folk will finally smoke themselves to death but won't have the vaccine. Each to his own. An expensive way to go considering the price of cigarettes these days.

Hi all, I suppose that the very nature of our forum, the fact that we share ideas, not always from the same viewpoint or necessarily in agreement, but we are considering the situation & the scenario. Lots of folk find that difficult to do. So when they hear the word "mild", their mind stops at that & goes no further. The ability to reason isn't everyone's cup of tea.