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24 Dec, 5 tweets, 2 min read
EXCLUSIVE: in an extremely 2020 plot twist, the UK's biggest covid testing lab is now home to an outbreak

Three out of four lab teams at the Milton Keynes Lighthouse Lab have been affected, as have office and administrative staff
news.sky.com/story/covid-19…
One lab worker blamed lax safety procedures and said rules were being broken in order to meet targets

However it happened, the outbreak has hit the lab hard. In one 70-person lab team, there are currently 20 scientists isolating
news.sky.com/story/covid-19…
The Department of Health and Social Care said it was aware of the outbreak, but denied any safety guidelines had been broken

I understand the Health and Safety Executive visited the Lighthouse Lab recently. Perhaps it will have a view
news.sky.com/story/covid-19…
Can't quite believe I'm still working on Christmas Eve, but I guess it's been that kind of year

Now I really *am* putting my phone down. Merry Christmas everyone! Stay safe out there
And of course best wishes to all the people working over Christmas to keep us safe, including everyone at the Lighthouse Labs. Thanks. I know it's not easy, but it is appreciated

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More from @rowlsmanthorpe

Rowland Manthorpe Profile picture
16 Dec
What's happening with the data about the vaccine? Well, let's put it this way: there's a lot to sort out

A THREAD on my reporting today
This is Dr Elliot Singer, a GP in Waltham Forest. If anyone can be called a community doctor, it’s him. He wasn’t just born locally, he was delivered by the GP who used to have his practice

He’s delighted to be delivering the vaccine, but the tech is causing “huge frustration“
There are numerous software systems involved with vaccination, but two are central. 1. Recording who's had the vaccine (and which vaccine, what batch etc). 2. Inviting and booking patients for appointments - what's known as "call and recall"

There are problems with both
Read 15 tweets
Rowland Manthorpe Profile picture
15 Dec
I just wish I knew what an online harm actually was
Funny to see the online harms bill positioned as a blow against big tech when it will give them the power to make sweeping decisions on enforcement while simultaneously making it much harder for smaller competitors
Rule of politics: displays of strength are often signs of weakness. Online harms delegates many aspects of justice to tech companies. It's effectively an admission that the state can't do the work itself
Read 13 tweets
Rowland Manthorpe Profile picture
14 Dec
Cold take: mutations happen all the time. I would like more information on this new variant, especially before it's linked to the rise of cases in the south east
The expert view on the variant is considerably more cautious than Matt Hancock's

As so often, @alanmcn1 puts it best. Catching this variant is a tremendous achievement, but study is ongoing, so *it is important to keep a calm and rational perspective*
sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reactio…
Based on this and conversations with experts it seems as if the idea that the strain is faster-spreading is mainly conjecture

It's been found in the SE, where cases are rising, but *any* variant will be found in the the place with most cases. Correlation ≠ causation
Read 4 tweets
Rowland Manthorpe Profile picture
21 Nov
After news of lockdown leaked on 30 October, something changed in England. Right across the country, people started to go out

Over the next five days, movement surged in towns and cities

A short thread on a mass phenomenon
news.sky.com/story/covid-19…
Using Google data, it's possible to track movement in different regions of the UK

Looking at the period between the leak and lockdown starting, the clarity of the trend is striking

Take Norwich, Derby and Blackburn with Darwen. Three very different areas, one unified response
With some notable exceptions (looking at you Cornwall), the whole of England responded in this way

Take Southampton, Cambridge and Hull. Again, three very different areas. But in this period they moved as one
Read 12 tweets
Rowland Manthorpe Profile picture
19 Nov
NEW: leaked slides show the "path to Christmas" for Test and Trace

Items on the list include "rebuild public trust" and "reset our relationship with local authorities"

We were told it would be world-beating. With problems like this, is Test and Trace even fit for purpose?
The slides were presented in a video call hosted by Test and Trace's most senior executives, including Dido Harding

This is the plan - aka the "countdown to Christmas" - in more detail

Note the distinct lack of detail under the local council element 👀
My story on the Christmas "reset"

DHSC has been approached for comment - will post that when it arrives
news.sky.com/story/covid-19…
Read 6 tweets
Rowland Manthorpe Profile picture
14 Nov
Yesterday SAGE released a one-page document called "potential trajectories for covid-19 in the next six months"

It's not going to brighten your day, but it's one of the best summaries of where we are and where we're heading

Some notes 🧵
1. The “first” and “second” waves are very different

The second is growing much slower because of the impact of social distancing. Before this lockdown, contact rates were about half of pre-lockdown levels

But that's still not low enough.
2. Social distancing needs to be very extensive

SAGE: “With a basic reproduction number of 3, controls need to reduce infectious contacts by two thirds”

For a rough sense of what they means in practice, here's a chart of movement in London. It's been above 33% since June
Read 10 tweets

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