Articles in Our Work

Articles in Covid-19

1 in 23 people in Bucks now infected 13 infected people in a busy supermarket Risk of meeting someone with Covid remains Critically High

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 4 April 2023

Ben Clark

The risk of meeting a Covid-infected person in your everyday life this week remains Critically High. Around 1 in every 23 people in Bucks has Covid.

As an example of the risk of catching Covid, a typical busy supermarket will have between 9 and 13 infected people breathing out virus which you could catch.

There are early signs that the current wave of infection has passed its peak, and will decline over the next few weeks. However, the risk of meeting a Covid-infected person will probably stay Extremely High for the rest of April.

BuDS continues to recommend that disabled and clinically vulnerable people avoid indoor spaces unless they are wearing a filter mask (FFP2/3). For more advice on how to avoid catching Covid, use this link.

This data is based on the Zoe Health Study for Covid-19, adjusted to take account of its limited coverage. To learn more about this, use this link.

For more Covid information and help, please contact BuDS and we will be happy to help.

A generic unlabelled line graph consisting of 3 lines: orange, blue, and grey

The Thinking Behind The New BuDS Covid-19 Risk Assessment – April 2023

Ben Clark

Introduction

BuDS have produced 141 weekly Covid-19 risk assessments using data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Covid-19 Infection Survey. However, the Government have withdrawn funding for the Infection Survey, and the last weekly data was published on 24 March, covering the period up to 13 March.

BuDS have carried out an options appraisal on what to do now, and have decided to continue to publish a short weekly risk assessment using the best available Covid-19 data. We will also publish a monthly Covid-19 bulletin with full weekly deaths, hospitalisations, and vaccinations data.

This paper explains how BuDS have decided to use the Zoe Study as the basis for our weekly Covid-19 risk assessments from April 2023 onwards. It also explains the mathematical methodology we use and how we present the data.

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A person wearing blue jeans, boots, and a tan coat, walking in a park with a white stick held out in front of them. The white stick has two red stripes.

To The Edge of Despair and Beyond

Janneke

Written by Siobhan Meade

Disclaimer: this is a personal blog by a BuDS member. The views expressed are personal, and don’t necessarily represent those of BuDS or our Trustees.

24 years ago, I heard five words that will haunt me forever, “you’re never going to see again”.

This is how an Ophthalmologist at a Kent hospital broke the news to a distraught 16 year-old girl, who’s one remaining optic nerve finally gave up the ghost and snapped after I walked into a door at school.

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1 in 22 people in Bucks now infected. Covid Risk now CRITICALLY HIGH. Every week, 10,000 Bucks people have Covid. 14 infected People in Every Busy Supermarket.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 24 March 2023

Ben Clark

Covid infections in Bucks nearly doubled last week. The Covid risk has been raised to Critically High, with more people with Covid going into hospital.  

This is the last risk post in this format, as the Government have deliberately closed the Office for National Statistics’ Coronavirus Infection Survey, which measures how many people have Covid in the UK. However, we will continue publishing risk assessments using other data – more on this next week.  

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The statue of Justice atop the Old Bailey courthouse in London.

What Is The Equality Act 2010?

Ben Clark

Overview

People are legally protected from discrimination in the workplace and in larger society by the Equality Act of 2010. 

The Equality Act 2010 replaced over 116 separate pieces of legislation with a simpler single piece of legislation. The 9 main pieces of legislation that were merged to create the new Act are: 

  • The Equal Pay Act 1970 
  • The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 
  • The Race Relations Act 1976 
  • The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 
  • The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
  • The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 
  • The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 
  • The Equality Act 2006, Part 2 
  • The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 
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1 in 45 people in Bucks now infected. Covid Risk remains EXTREMELY HIGH. Every week, 10,000 Bucks people have Covid. 7 infected People in Every Busy Supermarket.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 17 March 2023

Ben Clark

Covid infections in Bucks remained constant last week. The Covid risk remains Extremely High, with more people with Covid going into hospital.

The Government have made several changes recently to hide the true extent of Covid in the UK. One of these changes is that they are stopping the ONS Infection Survey, which is the most reliable way of finding out how many people have Covid in the UK. Because of this, next week’s risk post will be the last in this format. To find out more about these changes, and BuDS’ reaction to them, use the link below.

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1 in 39 people in Bucks now infected. Covid Risk remains EXTREMELY HIGH. Every week, 10,000 Bucks people have Covid. 8 infected People in Every Busy Supermarket.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 10 March 2023

Ben Clark

Covid infections in Bucks increased last week, with no sign yet that the current wave has peaked. The Covid risk remains Extremely High. It is unclear whether the current wave, driven mainly by XBB variants, will continue to build.

People are asking why we still issue Covid risk assessments when so many people have stopped taking notice of Covid. The reality is that over 10,000 people have Covid every week in Bucks, and their health is getting worse all the time. Nearly all doctors now believe that Covid causes serious long-term effects for many people who catch it, even if they are not very ill immediately. Covid is destroying the health of Buckinghamshire, one infection at a time.

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Covid Pandemic – UK Government Officially Gives Up

Ben Clark
A hand holding a white flag on a short pole, seen against a blue sky background

The Government have abandoned any attempt at controlling Covid in the UK. That’s the only conclusion that can be drawn from their recent announcements about Covid vaccination and boosters.

In background documents1 slipped out on 7th March during the high profile debate about asylum seekers, the Government have made some extraordinary statements and decisions:

  • Covid cannot be eliminated, and the population’s immunity to Covid is expected to reduce.
  • Because vaccines cannot stop the spread of Covid, or prevent non-severe illness, the Government have decided to abandon all future Covid vaccinations for the general public. Only those over 50 or clinically vulnerable groups will be offered primary vaccination in the future, and only at certain times.
  • Only people at the very highest clinical risk from Covid will be boosted in the future – not to protect their health, but to reduce demand on the NHS. Although this has not yet been confirmed, it appears that only over 75s, care home residents, and severely immunosuppressed people will be eligible for the Spring 2023 booster.
  • Catching Covid in hospital, when you are there for another reason, is almost inevitable and cannot be prevented by vaccination.

Taken together, these decisions amount to the Government abandoning the people of the UK to a cycle of repeated Covid infections and illnesses.

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1 in 43 people in Bucks now infected. Covid Risk remains EXTREMELY HIGH. Big jump in people in hospital with Covid. 7 infected People in Every Busy Supermarket.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 3 March 2023

Ben Clark

Covid infections in Bucks stayed roughly the same last week, with no sign yet that the current wave has peaked. The Covid risk remains Extremely High, and the number of people in hospital with Covid has jumped up by nearly a third.

People are asking why we still issue Covid risk assessments when so many people have stopped taking notice of Covid. The reality is that over 10,000 people have Covid every week in Bucks, and their health is getting worse all the time. Nearly all doctors now believe that Covid causes serious long-term effects for many people who catch it, even if they are not very ill immediately. Covid is destroying the health of Buckinghamshire, one infection at a time.

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