UK Reports Highest Number of Daily Covid Cases Since the Pandemic Began (cnbc.com) 180
The U.K. reported a record number of new daily Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, with 78,610 in the last 24 hours. From a report: The figure was an increase from 59,610 the day before, and it surpasses the previous high of 68,053 cases reported on Jan. 8. It underlines the dramatic surge in infections that the country is seeing ahead of the Christmas holiday period with the omicron variant expected to quickly become the dominant strain. One senior British health chief has warned that there could be "staggering" numbers in the next few days. Long queues have been seen outside vaccination centers in many U.K. cities and towns with the government putting its booster program on overdrive to try to get a third vaccine shot to as many people as possible. There were 165 new Covid deaths in the U.K. on Wednesday, according to government data. While deaths remain low currently and initial reports suggest that the omicron variant might not be any more severe than other Covid strains, health experts have repeatedly warned that the sheer number of infections could lead to mounting fatalities and an overwhelmed health-care system.
Number of infections? (Score:5, Insightful)
How about the number of hospitalizations or deaths, seems to me like that number would be more relevant.
Re:Number of infections? (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Babylon Bee is on it:
California Institutes Mask Mandate To Flatten The Horizontal Line
https://babylonbee.com/news/ca... [babylonbee.com]
Re: (Score:2)
To be fair, Newsom's idiocy aside the point of doing something like this is to keep numbers low, not flatten an already flattened line.
Re: (Score:2)
"How about the number of hospitalizations or deaths, seems to me like that number would be more relevant."
It's too soon for the omicron variant to be showing up there. We'll see in a week or two.
Mod parent up, though I think you should have used Quote Parent reverse thusly.
Re: (Score:2)
"How about the number of hospitalizations or deaths, seems to me like that number would be more relevant." It's too soon for the omicron variant to be showing up there. We'll see in a week or two.
With COVID, the incubation period is 1-2 weeks. Unless you're suggesting that Omicron has a massively longer incubation period we should be seeing radically increased hospitalisations and deaths now. The fact that we aren't suggests the vaccine is, by and large, doing it's job (Occam's razor and all that).
Point is, we should be alert, not alarmed.
As a UK resident, I think being aware of the case rate is important, but we shouldn't lose sight of the actual effect it's having. I'm sure I'm not alone in
Re: (Score:2)
With COVID, the incubation period is 1-2 weeks. Unless you're suggesting that Omicron has a massively longer incubation period we should be seeing radically increased hospitalisations and deaths now. The fact that we aren't suggests the vaccine is, by and large, doing it's job (Occam's razor and all that).
Hospitalization numbers lag reported infection numbers by about 8 days. 8 days ago, omicron infections were a tiny proportion of the total. There is a further lag between hospitalizations and deaths, and between deaths and registration of deaths. The graph labeled "Cases, Deaths, and Hospitalizations Comparison Trends" here [travellingtabby.com] illustrates these delays, as well as the greatly reduced hospitalization and mortality after the introduction of vaccination.
Re:Not at all early, it's widespread already (Score:5, Insightful)
The assertions you make above (which I highlighted in bold) above are not yet facts. It may take some time for hospitals to fill up.
For example, it may be that the current infections are skewed towards younger people, who tend to suffer less complications, or need of hospitalization, or die.
Here in Ontario, the largest province in Canada (~ 14.5M), you can see the cumulative breakdown by age [ontario.ca] (last graph).
It would be better if this can be compared to previous data, e.g. last month, vs. now, and this month vs. a year prior, but that is not available.
In lieu of that though, you can clearly see that there are more active cases in the younger population by far, and they are not prone to hospitalization. If it starts infecting older people, that dynamic may change to the worse.
Re:Why would it behave differently? (Score:4, Insightful)
You can't directly compare South Africa to the UK and Canada.
There are major differences, such as the age distribution of the population. The percentage of younger people as part of the whole is much more in South Africa than in industrialized countries.
Another major difference is that South Africa is now in their summer, and people are outdoors more. The opposite is true for the UK and Canada.
Not to mention access to healthcare and such.
And another demographic make it, season, and so on ... ...
So cannot be directly compared
Re:Not at all early, it's widespread already (Score:5, Insightful)
The vaccine isn't great at stopping it but that doens't matter, it's highly contagious but not very dangerous. It's actually the best possible case for places that have not reached herd immunity yet to do so.
I'd be careful with the assumptions at this early point. If it is half as deadly but infects twice as many people that is what we call a wash. Both numbers are equally important.
Re: (Score:2)
The vaccine isn't great at stopping it but that doens't matter, it's highly contagious but not very dangerous. It's actually the best possible case for places that have not reached herd immunity yet to do so.
I'd be careful with the assumptions at this early point. If it is half as deadly but infects twice as many people that is what we call a wash. Both numbers are equally important.
It's worse than a wash though. Since the hospitals are struggling to cope with current numbers. If there are twice as many sick people, but we don't have twice as many hospitals to put them in. More people will die.
Re: (Score:2)
We have some cases of Omicron here now, so it will probably be the dominant strain in two or three weeks. Perhaps by February we can finally celebrate the end after two years of this. I still have my booster appointment in a few weeks as a hedge though..
Re: (Score:2)
Given we have had at least one death from Omicron in the UK the suggestion that there has been 200k case in South Africa an no deaths is implausible.
Re: (Score:2)
Well except for the hospitals filling up and many more people dying than need to. Covid patients and others displaced by covid patients.
Oh and the fact we don't even know yet if catching it will protect you from catching any other variant anyway.
Oh and we don't really know how dangerous yet as it's only very recently become widespread.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The hospitalization rate for Omicron is unknown. Because it's a lagging indicator. It's going to be another week or two before enough people have had it long enough that some require hospitalization.
Re: (Score:2)
Nearly 600 people hospitalised is very scary. It's going to exponentially, and the 200k/day infections won't be seen in hospital admissions for at least 10 days.
This comic comes to mind: https://raw.githubusercontent.... [githubusercontent.com]
Re: (Score:3)
Using your standard, nobody dies "of cancer". Because their actual mechanism of death is not literally cancerous cells.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
it is unclear whether or not his death was removed from the overall count in the state
So speculation.
Re: (Score:2)
So you are happy if someone who is killed in a car crash tests positive for covid and is counted as a covid death?
Yeah, the goalposts look much better there.
This is not only what happens it is the instructions from the WHO
[Citation Required]
Each case should be evaluated for the primary cause of death and if covid was the primary causal factor (same as cancer)
That's nowhere near as clear-cut as you're pretending.
Someone got COVID. They were discharged. Then they got pneumonia and died. Was it caused by COVID?
On the one hand, COVID probably shredded their lungs and made pneumonia far more deadly. On the other hand, they were no longer infected with SARS-CoV-2 when they died.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
I just said the numbers are polluted which makes it hard to see where we stand. I did not give an estimate of the error.
Then what was the point of your comment?
Just promoting FUD?
Re:Number of infections? (Score:4, Informative)
According to worldometers daily deaths are still very stable and comparatively low.
According to coronavirus.data.gov.uk hospitalizations are relatively stable still and again way lower than during the January peak.
Re: (Score:2)
Considering how fast Omicron is spreading, I think it is much too soon to say that.
Plus, we remain one bad mutation away from disaster.
Re:Number of infections? (Score:4)
...it's too sun to quote actual statistics? I have not extrapolated any conclusions or even offered an opinion on how to proceed. Merely mentioned current numbers and the sources and STILL I get people going "Acktchually" at me?
I keep overestimating people...
Re: (Score:2)
*soon not sun... what the actual... :D
Re: (Score:2)
Your "stable and comparatively low" is your judgment call. But of course you're including yourself in the overestimated people, right?
Re: (Score:2)
*soon not sun... what the actual... :D
I thought you were refering to the Sun... One of the UK's favourite red top (BS peddling) tabloids. I thought it was almost appropriate given the alarmism the red tops like to publish.
Re: (Score:2)
Considering how fast Omicron is spreading, I think it is much too soon to say that.
How much time is enough to know if some new variant of COVID-19 is a matter of concern?
Plus, we remain one bad mutation away from disaster.
That's always been true, COVID-19 didn't change that. There are many kinds of coronaviruses in the wild, any one of them could mutate into some kind of "disaster". Viruses that kill their hosts quickly don't spread that quickly, people die before they can infect others. Viruses that have mild symptoms will spread quickly because people remain mobile, continue to go to work, school, church, etc.
We already have people sc
Re: (Score:2)
My guess is this ends early next year, around about the time candidates start running in primary elections for 2022. The candidates that convince the most people that things are fine will be most popular.
Pandering to the gullible. No wonder people think American democracy has become a failure.
Re: (Score:3)
Pandering to the gullible. No wonder people think American democracy has become a failure.
Right you are. The USA is a horrible place to be. Everyone that doesn't like it here needs to leave. We need a one-way street out of the country, nobody should be allowed in to experience the failure of American democracy first hand. Mexico needs to build a wall to keep any Mexicans from wandering over the border by mistake. Canada needs a wall on all borders with the USA too.
Why anyone would want to come here just baffles me. We need to have a national policy to keep people out, but then I guess that
Re: (Score:2)
Jolly good show. You gave that strawman a right good thrashing.
Back on point.
Do you think the oppressed people of the world today. Still look up to America's democracy in the same reverent light that they used to?
It's become quite tarnished in the eyes of many people. Despite what the Stockholm syndrome addled trapped inside might still think.
Re: (Score:2)
Can't figure out whether to ACK or NAK the branch. MEPR could help me detect and ignore the clever troll, but...
For whatever it's worth, I was writing about a MEDICAL problem called Covid-19. I was not writing about an economic, political, or PR problem of some sort. It is hard to control the timing of medical problems, though the other categories are all subject to time-based manipulation. (I'd cite an ekrononics [sic] textbook, but I haven't been able to find one. If I could find my Boswell, then maybe I
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Well, quite often, we see viral mutations lean towards being less virulent and deadly...as they try to make themselves more transmissible.
Early signs seem to show this happening with covid in the Omnicron variant.
It's still early, but, fingers crossed this is the case.
It might present as a blessing in disguise.
Re: (Score:2)
That's just wishful thinking no matter how many times people repeat it.
There is very limited selection pressure for covid to become less deadly. It already infects other people before the infected show symptoms. They aren't going to be staying isolated because they are sick.
Heck a large percentage of people are asymptomatic and never even knew they had it.
It just spreads too easily for the death of the carrier to be much of a problem.
As more and more people become resistant due to either vaccinations or
Re: (Score:2)
I'm actually more interested in this talk of competing variants. I'm not understanding what they mean by that. The variants certainly don't get to compete directly against each other, so how can the distribution of infections change so quickly?
Now I'm hoping the numbers from the UK are messed up in some way. Maybe Omicron actually appeared a while back and we just failed to notice it until recently because we didn't know how to spot it? How certain are we that it even originated in South Africa? Maybe they
Re: (Score:2)
Given the state of the Internet I'm hesitant to give away personal details, but I'll say something similar happened to a member of my family.
However locally we do seem to be controlling Covid-19, but I'm inclined to think the main factor is the widespread public acceptance of masking. Which leads me back to my quest for a good transparent one... https://wt.social/post/tech-fo... [wt.social] There is little problem with vaccine hesitancy around here and no serious tilt (that I know of) towards strong vaccine passports,
Re: (Score:3)
It may be that the current infections are skewed towards younger people, who tend to suffer less complications, or need of hospitalization, or die.
Here in Ontario, the largest province in Canada (~ 14.5M), you can see the cumulative breakdown by age [ontario.ca] (last graph).
It would be better if this can be compared (e.g. last month, vs. now, and this month vs. a year prior) but that is not available.
In lieu of that, you can see that the
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
How about the number of hospitalizations or deaths, seems to me like that number would be more relevant.
Ask again in two weeks and that will be a much more useful number.
Re: Number of infections? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Because thousands and thousands of people being hospitalized for weeks on end taking up ICU beds isn't that big a deal, right? It doesn't affect anyone except those who contracted the virus.
If you vote for a clown (Score:4, Insightful)
...expect a circus.
PS. Happy belated Freedom Day!
Re: (Score:2)
Is there anyone who is not a clown? :P
Interesting perspective for Germany (Score:4, Informative)
Germany has been having higher-than-ever numbers of daily COVID cases for five or six weeks now, while omicron hasn't even really arrived there yet.
This is going to be fun.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Doesn't Germany have a relatively high rate of vaccination? Reuters gives a figure of over 82%. At that point all you have left are young children and a few other excluded groups. Effectively everyone that can be safely vaccinated has been.
Yet here we are, watching COVID infections blow through the record.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Doesn't Germany have a relatively high rate of vaccination? Reuters gives a figure of over 82%.
No, googling reuters I get:
Germany, in the grip of a fourth wave of infections, has a relatively low rate of vaccination compared with the rest of Europe. Some 69% of the population is fully vaccinated
Worryingly, only 86% of over-60s are fully vaccinated.
https://impfdashboard.de/en/ [impfdashboard.de]
Only Spain and Portugal have high vaccination rates in Europe.
Spain is currently seeing much lower death rates than Germany, but the latest wave started later there, and it is too early to tell how much better they will fare.
Re: (Score:2)
Where I live (Scotland) the vaccination rate for over 60's double jabbed is greater than 99.95%. Basically the figures are shown to the nearest decimal place and have been showing as 100.0% for some time now. For boosted it is over 90% in the over 60's.
https://public.tableau.com/app... [tableau.com]
Re: (Score:2)
Denmark, for example, has a very high vaccination rate - 80.7% - which is in fact higher than the 79.7% google returned for Spain, albeit lower than Portugal’s 87ish%.
Very sorry, I overlooked Denmark as it was not on the first source I checked. oops.
And I see the vaccination rate for older Danes is excellent, 97% of people in their 60s. What is wrong with the Germans, French etc?
https://ourworldindata.org/gra... [ourworldindata.org]
Here, New South Wales is up to 93% of over-16s fully vaccinated now, and well over 95% of over-50s vaccinated in the infected parts of the country.
But the national number is a bit lower, due to people in uninfected states being a bit more relaxed. But that wi
Re: (Score:2)
What is wrong with the Germans, French etc?
Can't speak for the French, but there are lots of nuts in Germany, anti-vaxxers, coronavirus deniers, anti-covid-measures activists naming themselves "Querdenker", originally meaning unorthodox, open-minded thinkers, which form an increasingly militant group parts of which are also right-wing extremists.
And the louder they are and the more fake proof they present for vaccinations being dangerous etc. the more 'normal', but gullible people are getting doubts about getting vaccinated, too.
Re: (Score:3)
* passive aggressive, discontent citizens who just want to 'stick it to them' and who dig their heels in out of general principle
* easterners thinking they are treated as second rate citizens and have regressed to believing that they live in a dictatorship
* genuine conspiratists who believe they are to be injected with poison and will be rounded up in camps
* extreme Dunnin
lazy politicians - Darwin (Score:2)
Vote lame and lazy politicians for 40 years... Get darwinian wipeout.
Re: (Score:2)
Vote lame and lazy politicians for 40 years... Get darwinian wipeout.
After 1933-1945, Germans electing "lame and lazy politicians" was probably a good thing.
Also, if even 1933-45 didn't wipe them out, not even with the active help of the rest of the world, it'll get tough for Darwin to attempt it now.
Re: (Score:2)
One would think so, right? After all, vaccines are an actual, real world, working example of their 'similia similibus curantur'. You’d expect them to raise their hats at least. Far from it. This cult is not open to logic and rational thought.
Remember though that Hahnemann, at the time he came up with this fanciful nonsense, had no notion whatsoever of microorganisms, not even bacteria, let alone viruses. Since most homeopaths are known for their dogged adherence to the masters’ teachings, they
This is here forever. (Score:2)
Every November I'll be getting my expanded flu shot.
It's never going away. Too many conflicting pressures. Welcome to the new world.
Re:This is here forever. (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
>"The term you're looking for is "endemic". COVID has moved from pandemic to endemic. It will cycle through populations, mutate, then recycle again. Just like like the flu. The latest version seems to be the lowest mortality. Hopefully, the next mutation won't increase mortality"
^THIS +1000
People need to stop panicking, it only creates more problems. Leave other people alone, and stop pretending this can be "stopped" or eradicated, stop going around worried all the time, stop trying to ruin the economy
I knew the term. (Score:2)
"The term you're looking for is 'endemic'".
The word "endemic" has been used too often just recently by people seeking to lend their voice some level of authority it doesn't necessarily deserve. Once that happens I generally avoid its use, until normalcy resumes.
Re: (Score:2)
Hopefully there are pink unicorns too.
And hopefully you'll shut up and leave this thread in peace. Every single post you've made here has been A) your own opinion, B) trollling or flamebait, or C) both. Please go away.
Re: (Score:2)
Pink unicorns cause cancer - fact.
More Gravy!? (Score:2)
Way too late (Score:5, Informative)
Look, it's already out and about everywhere.
Mask up.
Vax up.
Boost up.
And get your flu shot.
I'm serious about all of those.
No, it's not funny that most Brits are going around unmasked. The virus doesn't care about your excuses.
Re: (Score:2)
A lot of people are staying at home. Loads us cancellations in the busy Xmas period.
I don't go out unless I have to. Too many idiots.
Re: (Score:2)
A lot of people are staying at home. Loads us cancellations in the busy Xmas period.
I don't go out unless I have to. Too many idiots.
If you've been boosted your protection against severe disease from Omicron is back up to ~90% (from antibodies alone, and may be even better from T-cell response). In addition the new anti-virals give an additional 90% against progression to severe disease.
How much risk reduction do you need before you'll go outside again?
For me 99% reduction in a base line ~0.02% (based on my age) risk of serious harm is good enough that I'll get on with living. Sure, if the hospitalisations really surge and we have to loc
NHS says otherwise (Score:2)
Vaccinate
Wash Hands
Mask Up
Keep distance
None of that is hard to follow.
Re: (Score:2)
I never said it was hard to follow. I said none of it makes much difference with these variants except the first one you listed or a properly fitted, used, and maintained N95.
Paper and cloth masks are not very effective with an aerosolized virus, especially when used how I typically see them. Distance indoors- same thing, the virus will hang in the air and spread to fill the space. Makes little difference if you are 3 feet or 10 feet from other people. Washing hands is always a good idea, but, again, it
Re: (Score:2)
As I said the NHS, the UK National Health Service and SAGE for that matter say otherwise. I think I will stick with the expert advice.
Re: (Score:2)
>"As I said the NHS, the UK National Health Service and SAGE for that matter say otherwise. I think I will stick with the expert advice."
I have no problem with that. People should be free to use whatever measures they want to use on themselves, regardless of how effective they actually are or not. As long as they don't try to push it on everyone else.
Me- I was double vaxed in Jan, and boosted last week. I don't wear a mask anywhere it isn't required, and don't care how [reasonably] close anyone is to
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
>"And masks have been proven to work in study after study,"
"proven to work" has lots of definitions. Anything more than 0% means it "works" to stop some amount of viral load. I have seen credible studies showing their effectiveness in the real world (not some perfectly staged experiment) around the 5 to 20% range. That isn't going to prevent the spread of the variants given the much higher viral loads. And what we have seen proves it. It might delay the inevitable slightly. Not talking in public w
Re: (Score:2)
Noting this is about the UK so an N95 mask is meaningless. Now on the other hand an FFP2 mask has meaning. They are roughly equivalent but actually quite different standards.
Re: (Score:2)
Thanks, I didn't know that "N95" was not a universal thing. Turns out that calling an N95 or FFP2 a "mask" is also wrong, they are actually "respirators".
https://fastlifehacks.com/n95-... [fastlifehacks.com]
electret fibers (Score:2)
>> surgical masks do very little
Wrong. Surgical mask filter nearly as effectively as a FFP2 mask.
they use electret fibers tat attract the aerosols.
Re: (Score:2)
Cloth and surgical masks do very little
Thomas had never heard such bullshit.
You, like many other anti-maskers fail to get that masks aren't meant to stop you from contracting COVID... They are stopping you from spreading it. In this regard, even a peice of cloth is having a measurable effect on you spraying a virus everywhere.
This is important because with COVID, like many respiratory viruses, you start shedding long before you become symptomatic. Especially as COVID has a long incubation period you can be spreading for up to a week before you e
Snow season... (Score:2)
Quote of the day (Score:3)
--Everyone who ever died from an infection had an immune system.
Anonymous
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Omicron, virulent but mild. (Score:4, Informative)
Order: Picornavirales
Family: Picornaviridae
Genus: Enterovirus
SARS 2 [wikipedia.org]:
Order: Nidovirales
Family: Coronaviridae
Genus: Betacoronavirus
Subgenus: Sarbecovirus
Exactly the same according to you?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Which doesn't make rhinoviruses the only common cold. Mainly because at the end of the day the common cold is any primarily upper respiratory infection that makes you feel like crap for a couple dats to a week before going away.
Re: (Score:2)
They'll be telling you to take some bleach next. Oh wait.... Trump never said that according to a lot of MAGA cultists
C'mon that's not fair. Trump never said to take it.
Just that we should 'look into' washing our lungs with the stuff...
All totally common sense really. What could go wrong?
improving gene pool (Score:2)
Perfectly fine for improving the human gene pool....
Trump should use it himself, and get a darwin award.
Re: Omicron, virulent but mild. (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
No one knows that just yet. You are relying upon some reports from S. Africa. And anyhow, the longer that virus runs around in the world, the more chance of mutations occur.
Re: (Score:2)
Per capita we will pass the US next week.
All because Johnson ignores the experts time and time again.
Re: (Score:2)
Right and the Spanish Flu biased toward killing young people. COVID if anything still is a disease of the old and otherwise already sick.
Look at other events like the Civil war death rate and how society still ran just fine once the peace arrived. As much as people want to virtue signal or something by pretending COVID-19 is a big deal it just isn't. The more we ignore it the better off we will actually be!
Re: (Score:3)
If you actually map the deaths from the Spanish Flu in comparison with COVID, you'll see we're only at about the halfway point.
Expect more.
Much more.
Re: (Score:2)
Except a significant number of SF deaths in the second half were caused by Asprin toxicity, not just the flu. So unless you are arguing the treatments are killing people...
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Fat Positivity movement for the win!
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
It's not like 10x as many can catch it and die from one year to the next. Or fill up the hospitals and cause others to die.
Infectious diseases can.
Re:Thank god for vaccines! (Score:5, Insightful)
There is the pandemic of the unvaccinated, that puts people in the hospital, ICU and to the grave.
There is also the pandemic of the vaccinated, that causes a week of runny nose and discomfort.
Your choice.
(yes, it is oversimplified, but that's the idea)
Re:Thank god for vaccines! (Score:4, Interesting)
You retards still calling this a pandemic of the unvaccinated?
Yes. ~90% of the COVID cases in ICU in my province in Canada are unvaccinated. Has been that way for many months.
I hope Omicron does not change that.
Re: (Score:2)
We have our own version of MAGA that are equal deluded as Trump cultists. They claim they will Make Great Britain great again by returning to the victorian age of empire. They have demanded we invade Ireland over Brexit, France over channel fishing and Spain over Gibraltar. They have murdered a female Member of Parliament, threatened to rape, murder others. Tried to go fund raise bomb making materials. This is not satire, or joke they have gone to prison for it. They really are f****ing lunatics in the mol
HTF is this off-topic? (Score:2)
The UK has one of the highest per capita death rate in the world because Johnson has mismanage the COVID pandemic.
So how on earth is that information Off topic on news that the UK now heading for new record level because Johnson has lied, prevaricated, failed and told jokes about COVID deaths.
It is pretty clear that Johnson's followers suffer the same delusional syndrome that Trump's followers do.
I know a lot of Americans might find that hard to imagine, given Trump's mismanagement. The biggest problem is that Johnson is still in power and still playing politics with the pandemic, and putting profits before people.
Johnson is downplaying, lying, distracting over his COVID failures. We have one of the worst mortality rates in the world and even thinks COVID deaths is a suitable subject for jokes. His followers are just as intransigent as Trump followers were.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm British and agree, Johnson is as bad as Trump.
A idiot and crook that lies constantly.
£37 Billion has expropriated from the COVID health budget into a corporate black hole of croynist contracts with companies that only exist in foreign tax havens.
A big chunk of it is supposed to pay for PPE that ten times over priced and never delivered. Yet more was spent on Test kits which were delayed, were unreliable and now in massive short supply. Johnson then blocked the Police investigation.