The Coronavirus Thread

[Scot Dutchy]

It just keeps coming:

Government quietly drops 1.3m Covid tests from England tally

Exclusive: Double counting raises fresh questions about accuracy of testing figures

The government has quietly removed 1.3m coronavirus tests from its data because of double counting, raising fresh questions about the accuracy of the testing figures.

In the government’s daily coronavirus update on Wednesday, it announced it had lowered the figure for “tests made available” by about 10% and discontinued the metric.

An update on the page read: “An adjustment of -1,308,071 has been made to the historic data for the ‘tests made available’ metric. The adjustments have been made as a result of more accurate data collection and reporting processes recently being adopted within pillar 2.”

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the changes affected data reported between 14 May and 12 August. It said there had been “a double-counting of test kits that had been dispatched”, “which had not been removed from the lab’s processed data”.

Nice one squirrel.

[Scot Dutchy]

Further a slight problem with testing and tracing.

Four key failings of England's Covid-19 test-and-trace system

Researchers have warned the scheme must improve before English schools reopen

England’s contact-tracing system needs to improve within weeks to avoid a second wave when schools reopen in September, a study found, while councils are launching their own systems to plug holes in the £10bn central government effort. Here are the key areas in which the system is failing.

[Hermit]

Curfew is a martial law provision. So is restricting movement.

It can be, but most people's first encounter with curfew is nothing of the sort. In my sub-teens I was under orders to be back home by sundown. I bet millions of children had the same experience.

That was parental curfew.

Correct. That's why I wrote "It can be".

One imposed by government through one or more of its agencies is martial law.

That too can be. Section 119 of Australia's constitution does in fact allow for the declaration of martial law. It has never been invoked.

Section 51 of the Defence Act also makes provision for it. It states:

Where the Governor of a State has proclaimed that domestic violence exists therein, the Governor-General, upon the application of the Executive Government of the State, may, by proclamation, declare that domestic violence exists in that State, and may call out the Permanent Forces and in the event of their numbers being insufficient may also call out such of the Emergency Forces and the Reserve Forces as may be necessary for the protection of that State, and the services of the Forces so called out may be utilised accordingly for the protection of that State against domestic violence

Like section 119 of the Constitution Section 51 of the Defence Act has never been invoked either.

[Scot Dutchy]

Who is bothered what is in the Australian constitution?

[Scot Dutchy]

We have an international political football game:

Coronavirus live news: France hits back at UK quarantine;

Grant Shapps, the UK’s transport secretary, said there are currently around 160,000 British holidaymakers in France, all of whom will have to quarantine for 14 days if they return after 4am UK time on Saturday.

Travel analysts have estimated that about half a million Britons have booked to go out to France this month.

“It’s a dynamic situation, and I don’t think that anybody ... would want us to do anything other than protect public health and public safety,” Shapps told the UK’s Sky News.

“That does mean where we see countries breach a certain level of cases ... then we have no real choice but to act,” he added.

The bloody hypocrisy of the guy is unbelievable.
Who is going to check on them back in Blighty.

[Scot Dutchy]

Hermit. The definition of martial law:

Martial law

Covers a multitude of sins.

[Hermit]

Who is bothered what is in the Australian constitution?

Let's go through this again. You claimed that curfew is a martial law provision. I replied that although Australia's Constitution makes provisions for declarations of martial law, they have never been invoked.

[Hermit]

Hermit. The definition of martial law:

Martial law

Covers a multitude of sins.

So what? Martial law has never been declared in Australia.

[Scot Dutchy]

The UK government has confirmed that six countries, including France, will be removed from its travel corridor list, following a surge in Covid-19 cases. Arrivals into the UK from France, the Netherlands, Malta, Monaco, Aruba and Turks & Caicos will have to quarantine for 14 days on their return or face a fine, will come into effect at 4am on Saturday. The UK will be “ruthless” over quarantine, UK PM Boris Johnson said

FFS Boris. You could not control a paper bag.

[Scot Dutchy]

Hermit. The definition of martial law:

Martial law

Covers a multitude of sins.

So what? Martial law has never been declared in Australia.

[Scot Dutchy]

From wiki

Australia

The Black War was a period of violent conflict between British colonists and Aboriginal Australians in Tasmania from the mid-1820s to 1832. With an escalation of violence in the late 1820s, Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur declared martial law in November 1828—effectively providing legal immunity for killing Aboriginal people.[3] It would remain in force for more than three years, the longest period of martial law in Australian history.

So it has happened more than once.

[JimC]

Curfew is a martial law provision. So is restricting movement.

Incorrect. It has nothing to do with martial law or defence personal. It is a civil matter, enforced by standard policing. It is, however, an extraordinary measure, and will disappear with the end of Stage 4...

[JimC]

From wiki

Australia

The Black War was a period of violent conflict between British colonists and Aboriginal Australians in Tasmania from the mid-1820s to 1832. With an escalation of violence in the late 1820s, Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur declared martial law in November 1828—effectively providing legal immunity for killing Aboriginal people.[3] It would remain in force for more than three years, the longest period of martial law in Australian history.

So it has happened more than once.

That was when we were a British colony. As I stated earlier, it has not been used since Federation, when we became an independent country.

[Scot Dutchy]

Those masks are so effective:

New Zealand Covid-19 outbreak: 13 new cases as virus spreads outside Auckland

Two cases emerge in rural town, sparking concerns local health services could be overwhelmed

[Scot Dutchy]

From wiki

Australia

The Black War was a period of violent conflict between British colonists and Aboriginal Australians in Tasmania from the mid-1820s to 1832. With an escalation of violence in the late 1820s, Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur declared martial law in November 1828—effectively providing legal immunity for killing Aboriginal people.[3] It would remain in force for more than three years, the longest period of martial law in Australian history.

So it has happened more than once.

That was when we were a British colony. As I stated earlier, it has not been used since Federation, when we became an independent country.

That was not so long ago? You are still not totally independent? Liz is still your head of state?