Let the Public know the Origins of new daily infections

Since Public Health must be able to identify the most likely source of infection for many people who have tested positive (eg when with friends in a pub, playing tennis with a friend, chatting to someone outside when neither of you is wearing a mask) it would be very helpful to publish this information eg When Mr A tested positive his symptoms indicated that he had contracted the virus a few days previously; when he was asked about any close contact that he had had since then he advised that that he had met four friends in a Pub two days ago. If the friends were then contacted and also tested positive making this info public would make people realise that meeting in this fashion, ie probably not adhering strictly to physical distancing etc, represented a very high risk. If the 'infected person's' contact had however been someone he simply had a chat with on the street with neither wearing masks the Public would realise that the range of risks could be much less obvious and much nearer home.

Why the contribution is important

At present the Scottish Govt. blithely instruct the Public to follow all of their recommendations without providing any proof of the risks ie every activity is high risk. Visiting, going to pubs, travelling etc etc are all said to be huge risks . Very few people will however follow all recommendations as evidenced for example by the fact that physical distancing on pavements is much more lax than in the Spring. If people were aware however that a particular activity dramatically heightened the risk to them (eg if most of the daily new infections originated from meeting a number of friends in a Pub) they would in my view avoid that risk.
It would also be most important that Public Health Scotland made these 'meaningful guidance' statements with Sturgeon etc keeping well out of the way.

by BillH on October 05, 2020 at 03:37PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.6
Based on: 24 votes

Comments

  • Posted by Cheryl October 05, 2020 at 16:27

    I agree that where the infections were likely contracted would be useful BUT I would prefer it reported like
    500 cases
    150 from hospitality
    75 house gathering
    32 care homes
    20 acquired in hospital
    20 workplace
    5 school
    and so on

  • Posted by Branski October 05, 2020 at 17:29

    Agree with this. Been trawling internet for this information with little joy. If we know we can at least risk asses.

  • Posted by adam2092 October 05, 2020 at 17:37

    Agreed. A % breakdown would be very useful. A few reports I've seen from England & Wales suggested that the majority of transmission was occurring in Education and Household, with Hospitality much less than expected.

    Fully communicating that having people over to your house is a large risk, rather than the discussion focusing purely on pubs, will build a much more robust and self-policing compliance as people understand where transmissions are occurring. Especially if it can be combined with anonymous app data to build a picture of common flash points.

  • Posted by Willyjot October 05, 2020 at 18:04

    This sounds like a sensible idea, it might help people to understand danger points.

  • Posted by TSmith64 October 05, 2020 at 18:54

    So agree, I live in the Highlands and the NHS region covers a huge area , if there is a huge increase in an area 3 hrs away from me its not going to have an impact, however if its in my next village they are need to be more aware . I would also be interested to see where these transmissions are occurring : is in pubs, restaurants, schools or in peoples homes

  • Posted by Kayrob October 05, 2020 at 19:51

    To a point, I think a breakdown of the factors around icu admissions and deaths would be better along with a postcode breakdown of infection levels.

    That way if you know its in your area, I would be more inclined to do less shopping or not go out for food or coffee for a couple of weeks.

  • Posted by Fionafrgsn October 05, 2020 at 19:56

    We really should be told where the positive cases are so we can protect ourselves and our loved ones. There should be more transparency so we can make informed decisions over where we go. It is important to get the economy moving again and knowing where the cases are will enable us to support local businesses.

  • Posted by Catlady October 05, 2020 at 20:32

    This is a dangerous idea as it could lead to people being vilified, especially when a case is simply a positive test result. The person might have recovered, be asymptomatic, whatever, but the potential for aggression from scared individuals is high.
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