England Briefing On TV at 5pm and Commons Statement this Evening

[Viktoria]

Interesting programme today, scientists disputed the whole approach to the virus, treatment,testing and spread.
Can’t remember all of it ,but was interesting ,I was nodding in agreement at some points.
Viktoria.

[Maiden Stone]

I am referring to employers who do not take action to make a secure, safe environment for their workers, not people who attend parties etc.
You would sack workers who deliberately endanger the lives of others. I just wondered about the employers.

How about this?
"summary closure powers" for firms "not deemed to be Covid-safe"
Part of evidence of Rt. Hon. Andy Burnham, Mayor, Greater Manchester to House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, 27th Oct. 2020. Wants local enforcement powers to temporarily close venues for failing to adhere to Covid-19 rules. Has been asking for this for some time, e.g. reported in Manchester Evening News 16th Sept. "Police and councils should be given ability to move quickly to shut down businesses that ignore restrictions aimed at keeping staff and customers safe." Recommended "intelligence-led closures".
The Lords committee took evidence from mayors of Greater Manchester and Liverpool and business representatives about Covid.

[Rena]

Mark - your reply about the spread via travel - in my opinion - hits the nail on the head.

I have long been of the opinion that once earlier restrictions were lifted & people were allowed to travel abroad - we would see an increase. 

Back in September I was told of a young woman who went to Spain for a week with 5 friends.  3 days after her return she tested positive for Covid but in that time how many others were potential victims?   All the people on her flight plus those she socialised with in the 3 days after her return?

A recent study, not yet peer-reviewed, has found that 80% of cases in Scotland and Wales and 50%   in England in mid-September were variant 20A.EU1. It's been traced to agricultural workers in Spain  who spread it to the general population in Spain in June and July. One of the lead scientists who conducted the study was interviewed on "Today", BBC Radio 4 this week. There are reports in various media.

It's several, several weeks since I heard that each country seemed to have its own mutant "brand" of Covid-19, so I was interested to see it mentioned again.

I see the UK has started training sniffer dogs to single out people with the virus, although it's a bit late in the day now.

As for virus tests, I would have thought that using a temperature guage on people walking in the streets and/or entering sujpermarkets, etc., which we saw on TV being used in China and Korea would have helped enormously in keeping the virus in check in this country too.

[BushInn1746]

Maiden Stone you mention something in the newspaper.

However, under the UK Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984, Chapter 22, Section 45I [45 Letter i] (5).

45I Power to order health measures in relation to premises, our Local Authority could go before a Magistrate and request an Order to shut a place down.

(5)“ Related person ” means—

(a)a person who has or may have infected or contaminated the premises,

(b)a person who has or may have infected or contaminated a person who or thing which is or has been on the premises,

(c)a person whom the premises have or may have infected or contaminated, or

(d)a person who has or may have been infected or contaminated by a person who or thing which is or has been on the premises.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/22
 ----------
Sequencing by the Quadram Institute in England and elsewhere, means its spread is traceable.
 ----------
The Pie Chart here shows the Strains (here they are known as single and dual letters L; G; GH; GR; S; V):-
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200925/D614G-mutation-now-the-dominant-variant-in-the-global-COVID-19-pandemic.aspx

SARS coronavirus 2 / SARS-CoV-2 (D614G Preprint)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7310631/
 ---------
The Pie Chart suggests Europe has mixed strains now, but likely each Strain began somewhere as Viktoria suggests.

Mark

[Maiden Stone]

Transgressers are arrested, and almost always given a short, sharp jail sentence - 4 weeks, or 6 weeks, or 8 weeks for the worst cases.
Those breaking rules have to be punished.

It can done.

Wouldn't work in England. Prisons bulging. Courts have backlogs of cases which might take more than a year to get through. Some remand prisoners are potentially spending longer in custody than the typical prison sentence they would get if convicted. Young people (under 18) on remand spending up to 23 hours in solitary confinement. On the plus side, only a couple of dozen prisoners have died of Covid-19 and not the thousands of deaths which had been feared at the outset.

[BushInn1746]

I am referring to employers who do not take action to make a secure, safe environment for their workers, not people who attend parties etc.
You would sack workers who deliberately endanger the lives of others. I just wondered about the employers.

How about this?
"summary closure powers" for firms "not deemed to be Covid-safe"
Part of evidence of Rt. Hon. Andy Burnham, Mayor, Greater Manchester to House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, 27th Oct. 2020. Wants local enforcement powers to temporarily close venues for failing to adhere to Covid-19 rules. Has been asking for this for some time, e.g. reported in Manchester Evening News 16th Sept. "Police and councils should be given ability to move quickly to shut down businesses that ignore restrictions aimed at keeping staff and customers safe." Recommended "intelligence-led closures".
The Lords committee took evidence from mayors of Greater Manchester and Liverpool and business representatives about Covid.

This one pre-dates September 2020
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/containing-and-managing-local-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreaks/covid-19-contain-framework-a-guide-for-local-decision-makers

"UTLAs will have powers to close individual premises, public outdoor places and prevent specific events. This means that UTLAs will no longer have to make representations to a magistrate in order to close a premises." ...

[Rena]

Maiden Stone you mention something in the newspaper.

However, under the UK Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984, Chapter 22, Section 45I [45 Letter i] (5).

45I Power to order health measures in relation to premises, our Local Authority could go before a Magistrate and request an Order to shut a place down.

(5)“ Related person ” means—

(a)a person who has or may have infected or contaminated the premises,

(b)a person who has or may have infected or contaminated a person who or thing which is or has been on the premises,

(c)a person whom the premises have or may have infected or contaminated, or

(d)a person who has or may have been infected or contaminated by a person who or thing which is or has been on the premises.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/22
 ----------
Sequencing by the Quadram Institute in England and elsewhere, means its spread is traceable.
 ----------
The Pie Chart here shows the Strains (here they are known as single and dual letters L; G; GH; GR; S; V):-
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200925/D614G-mutation-now-the-dominant-variant-in-the-global-COVID-19-pandemic.aspx

SARS coronavirus 2 / SARS-CoV-2 (D614G Preprint)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7310631/
 ---------
The Pie Chart suggests Europe has mixed strains now, but likely each Strain began somewhere as Viktoria suggests.

Mark

Thanks for taking the trouble to find this Mark, I knew something of the sort was available to prosecute.

the current situation where councillors, etc., are wringing their hands reminds me of a few decades ago when councillors were adamant they didn't have powers to close down cruel dog breeding farms.  Needless to say, they did but hadn't known it.

[Maiden Stone]

Mark, thanks for replies 57 & 59.
 I've read more laws and guidelines in the past 8 months than at any time since I left college.

[BushInn1746]

Mark, thanks for replies 57 & 59.
 I've read more laws and guidelines in the past 8 months than at any time since I left college.

Maiden Stone, if interested there are various and also some Scottish Notices & Laws here ...
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/coronavirus-notices/notice
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/coronavirus
 ----------
Noticed them while I was looking for historic surname notices relating to Yorkshire.

Good site to check historic family names, especially if a formal notice e.g. Probate (requiring a Notice) or similar was published, the Gazette began in 1665.
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/

A Probate Notice, also a future Burial Notice relating to my family was placed by the Home Office (HO), because the HO had made an exception to allow the Burial, despite the Cemetery already being formally closed.