LIVE now: Independent SAGE's weekly briefing. Please join us for latest analysis & questions from the press & public. All welcome! pscp.tv/w/cg5lWTFNV0V3…
Gabriel Scally is presenting this week's numbers.
The number of positive tests has gone up 27%. That's a substantial increase.
Independent Sage are extremely concerned about the abolition of PHE. We do not regard this as a suitable time to abolish a body playing an important role, in particular at a local level. We regard this as a highly disruptive intervention.
This week's theme is introduced by Ann Phoenix
Summary:
UCU President, Vicky Blake. We can learn a lot from what's happening in the US.
Government advice has been consistently unclear and confusing. A lot of people I know have had coronavirus and I see that in higher education generally.
Neil Budworth, Loughborough University. Universities are looking at a balance of risks.
It's important to acknowledge that universities have already made extraordinary strides developing online practice.
We fully support any recommendations for the safety of students and staff as the highest priority.
Nobody wants to stop students having fun but we're asking for collective responsibility
Don't underestimate how dangerous this disease is. The headline of this whole pandemic is that the majority young people have observed restrictions for the communal good and we should acknowledge that.
People need to know the levels of transmission at their university, when it's getting risky, when to curtail their behaviour.
There is quite comprehensive support for international students in place from UCU - with guidance on quarantine
Universities such as Yale in the UD are making a mandatory quarantine of two weeks for those coming to the university from other parts of the UD with a high prevalence of infection.
Long term effects of Covid are a huge problem from breathlessness to psychosis. We need to know by age group how common these problems are.
There are massive issues of equality here that the government needs deal with now that could be even worse in a year's time.
Local public health directors should be involved in discussion with universities. There's also a huge burden falling on student health services who have been massively deprived of resources in recent years.
WE nee dot innovate so we can safely socialise in new ways, in breakout groups. It can be quite exciting to innovate.
Schools and universities are not in a social vacuum. We have to think about the effect on the local community and work very closely with local public health teams.
We are pushing government to do everything they can before we open schools to reduce the level infectivity in the population at large. I would close pubs and restaurants rather than risk having to close schools.
It's a wrap! Thank you for joining!
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Live now: We are one year into the pandemic. What could we have done differently? With latest figures from @chrischirp. Join us. pscp.tv/w/cyNN1TFNV0V3…
We start with the latest facts and figures from @chrischirp. The ONS survey released today shows cases in England and Wales are going down, NI is more flat and in Scotland there are signs that the number of people testing positive is going up.
As we are one year in, we know there is a way out of this pandemic, but we can't be complacent, says @chrischirp.
Watch this incredibly powerful account from palliative care doctor and writer Rachel Clarke @doctor_oxford of what life has been like working on the NHS frontline and the challenges that lie ahead for exhausted and traumatised staff.
"When you are at the front line of seeing patient after patient after patient, coming into the hospital with the same symptoms, dying in the same way, in numbers unimaginable to any of us, that hits you hard." @doctor_oxford
"The alternative to vigorous suppression of this virus is a continued experience for all patients of healthcare being provided in a way that's fundamentally transformed by the infection control measures you have to have in place to stop transmission of covid." @doctor_oxford
.@chrischirp is just talking us through the latest figures. Cases are continuing to come down (although the rate of decline is slowing) and we're now back at the levels we were at at the end of the last lockdown in Nov.
For the first time since September, cases in primary school children are higher than in secondary school children. This may reflect that currently around 25% of primary school students in school compared to 5% of secondary
Is it safe to see relatives at Christmas? What do the members of #IndependentSAGE think? And what are they personally choosing to do?
1/ First up, @Kit_Yates_Maths: "I have an 80 year old dad and a 70 year old step-mum, so we're taking the decision not to see them, even though it's legally allowed. For me, the risk is too great."
2/ @GabrielScally: "We'll see one of my daughters in the garden or outside somewhere... we've come through so much this year, it would be so wrong to risk anything at this point in time."
In case you missed our livestreamed briefing earlier, here's @Kit_Yates_Maths brilliant presentation of the latest figures. Warning: if you're in the mood for festive cheer, look away now. Thread 1/15
This is not a good situation, cases are high and they are rising rapidly
We can't promise festive cheer but we can give you the facts to make an informed choice on how best to keep your loved ones safe this Xmas. With @theAliceRoberts & @Kit_Yates_Maths crunching numbers. pscp.tv/w/cqtVCDFNV0V3…
We are live and @Kit_Yates_Maths is presenting the week's figures: 'This is the worst set of data I've presented so far, things are deteriorating quite rapidly and tiers are not keeping things under control'. Join us
'Even the toughest set of measures (Tier 3) is not enough to slow the virus down, which is extremely worrying' @Kit_Yates_Maths