As Boris Johnson’s premiership unravels following the backlash from the ‘partygate’ revelations of illicit Downing Street lockdown shindigs, the Prime Minister has announced not only the end of Plan B measures from January 26th – including vaccine passports, work-from-home guidance and face masks – but his intention to end the remaining measures as well. He told the Commons:
Today’s latest ONS data show clearly that infection levels are falling in England and while there are some places where cases are likely to continue rising, including in primary schools, our scientists believe it is likely that the omicron wave has now peaked nationally.
There remain, of course, significant pressures on the NHS across our country, and especially in the North East and North West, but hospital admissions which were doubling every nine days just two weeks ago have now stabilised, with admissions in London even falling. The numbers in intensive care not only remain low but are actually also falling.
So, this morning, the Cabinet concluded that because of the extraordinary booster campaign, together with the way the public have responded to the Plan B measures, we can return to Plan A in England and allow Plan B regulations to expire.
As a result, from the start of Thursday next week mandatory certification will end. Organisations can, of course, choose to use the NHS Covid pass voluntarily but we will end the compulsory use of Covid status certification in England.
Announcing the end of work-from-home guidance with immediate effect, he said: “People should speak to their employers about arrangements for returning to the office.”
He also said that face masks would no longer be mandated in classrooms from tomorrow, or anywhere else after Plan B measures lapse:
Having looked at the data carefully, the Cabinet concluded that once regulations lapse the Government will no longer mandate the wearing of face masks anywhere.
From tomorrow, we will no longer require face masks in classrooms and the Department for Education will shortly remove national guidance on their use in communal areas.
In the country at large we will continue to suggest the use of face coverings in enclosed or crowded spaces, particularly when you come into contact with people you don’t normally meet – but we will trust the judgement of the British people and no longer criminalise anyone who chooses not to wear one.
He also signalled his intention to end the legal requirement to self-isolate, including bringing forward the current expiry date from March 24th:
The self-isolation regulations expire on March 24th, at which point I very much expect not to renew them. Indeed, were the data to allow, I’d like to seek a vote in this House to bring that date forward. As Covid becomes endemic, we will need to replace legal requirements with advice and guidance, urging people with the virus to be careful and considerate of others.
He added that restrictions on visits to care homes will be eased, with Health Secretary Sajid Javid setting out plans “in the coming days”.
The ONS brought out its latest infection survey data early today, showing a sharp drop in coronavirus prevalence in the U.K. last week, as already seen in the falling reported infection numbers.
It’s not all good news, though. Asked by Conservative MP Dr. Andrew Murrison whether given leaked advice to ministers that the NHS vaccine mandate “is neither rational nor proportionate”, would he “think again before redundancy letters start going out as from February 3rd”, the Prime Minister reiterated his support for the policy:
The arguments have been made well made by colleagues across the House today. I just remind him this is something that is supported by the NHS themselves for patient safety. It is a very difficult point when it comes to patients who have contracted fatal Covid. People do want their medical staff to be vaccinated. I would just repeat what I have said throughout the afternoon, I do think it is the responsibility of all healthcare professionals to be vaccinated.
The fight goes on. There’s also the question of who might replace Boris should the current plot to oust him succeed, with a worry that someone even more keen on restrictions might end up in the top job.
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Is the algorithm used to determine what counts as “close contact” documented/ published somewhere? And ideally, also the implementation.
If it either isn’t or involves any amount of non-deterministic behaviour, there’s no reason to ascribe more weight to its outputs than to that of flipping a coin.
The authorities have been very vague, other than suggesting that it involves being “in close proximity” for at least 15 minutes.I assume that the time function is relatively easy to calibrate, but that the determination of proximity may depend on the architecture in the immediate vicinity, the state of the smart-phone’s battery, and possible interference from WiFi etc. (I’m pretty sure this was why Robert Jenrick was immediately slapped down a couple of weeks ago when he suggested that the authorities might reduce the sensitivity of the system.) It’s not something that is under their control. (See https://www.techwalla.com/articles/the-effective-range-of-bluetooth)
I wonder how long the android OS has been performing Traffic analysis on EVERYONE via bluetooth.
If they’ve been “vague” about this, the default assumption is that the algorithm is the usual “random” mix of out-of-the-blue assumptions, timeouts and hacks intended to reduce the frequency of crashes “real-world software” tends to contain. If it’s also supposed to be “sensitive”, it’s entirely possible that it keeps tack of past results in order to emit as many positive ones as whoever made the purchasing decision wanted to have regardless of “proximity” of anyone to anything.
Hidden software developed to the “specification” of a political agenda is completely untrustworthy.
Good rant…..
But the reality is the full source code is available to the public along with compilation instructions on the NHSX Git hub.
So its the polar opposite to hidden and vague.
I did see somewhere a week or so back an explanation of the algorithm. It is based on a points system and is integrated. Up to five minutes 1m way from an infected phone gives one amount of points, 15 minutes for 2m gives another amount. The total, integrated over time so you can move away from somebody then back again, triggers the alert when it exceeds a certain number (1500 points if |I remember). What it doesn’t reflect is that the 1m/2m calculation is really a finger in the air as the range and strength of bluetooth depends on all sorts of factors.
Nobody mentioned that it might be triggering on white noise…
How do we ping the political classes out of office? They can easily make a decision like in Texas
Texas Prohibits Vaccine Passports
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOXPa5IRqBM
Stand in South Hill Park Bracknell every Sunday from 10am meet fellow anti lockdown freedom lovers, keep yourself sane, make new friends and have a laugh.
Join our Stand in the Park – Bracknell – Telegram Group
http://t.me/astandintheparkbracknell
The full source code of the app is available online so yes the algorithm is completely public, as is the implementation.
Its all on GitHub.
The car industry has joined calls for the Government to bring forward the date for exempting fully-vaccinated adults from self-isolation rules.
might as well exempt everyone from self-isolating – its unlikely the un-vaxxed are dim enough to have the absurd app (except those who want to be pinged)
I know of a small pub chain who suggested that all staff remove the app on ‘Freedom Day’ (unofficially of course). Meanwhile the competition have had to temporarily close 2 of their pubs due to staff shortage caused by the very same.
In the same way, my vet has a notice on their staff notice board instructing their staff to ensure that the app is deactivated when they are on the premises.
One word : ‘Ludicrous’.
But what isn’t that comes out of government?
More evidence that the pre-2020 pandemic plans were right.
In my view there is no justification for any of this. “Asymptomatic” transmission is an unproven theory, and there is no certainty about how close or how long someone should be near to another before isolating.
In my view we should scrap all of this and lateral flow as well. PCR testing is designed for those with symptoms only. Temperature scanners are used in some places – that would be better than all these tests and pings (if needed at all).
Pingdemic is just lockdown with a new name
I wonder if this “pingdemic” is the result of buggy software or hackers having some fun. Both, perhaps?
Imagine receiving a ping notification for a sub-par performance on your weekly social credit ledger. No of course not, But PCR scores using Ct > 35 is fine. Carry one.
PS: I love the CCP
—
Digital wallet: IamLosin6It#1984
Can’t they just get VanTam to announce that Track’n’Trace has saved 20 million infections and over 60,000 deaths? That way everyone would rejoice at its success and the 680,000 pings a week would be worth it.
The app is basically used by people who cant be bothered going to work.
ITs completely optional, if it advises you to isolate, that too is completely voluntary.
So these people are deliberately choosing to not go to work. Its a convenient excuse.
They might have sent out 689313 ping alerts but that’s not the number being received. Many have deleted the app, many others are ignoring. Others taking tests but not uploading results. The decline in case numbers reflects a mini rebellion gathering pace since the onset of the pingdemic.
how do we ping the political classes out of office? They can easily make a decision like in Texas
Texas Prohibits Vaccine Passports
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOXPa5IRqBM
Stand in South Hill Park Bracknell every Sunday from 10am meet fellow anti lockdown freedom lovers, keep yourself sane, make new friends and have a laugh.
Join our Stand in the Park – Bracknell – Telegram Group
http://t.me/astandintheparkbracknell
The deaths the MSM wont report: 1000 COVID Stories Share Your Story https://1000covidstories.com/
Stand in South Hill Park Bracknell every Sunday from 10am meet fellow anti lockdown freedom lovers, keep yourself sane, make new friends and have a laugh.
Join our Stand in the Park – Bracknell – Telegram Group
http://t.me/astandintheparkbracknell