So apparently there isn't any evidence yet to actually justify the Christmas lockdown...

@Adaydreambeliever there's an individual on Instagram and twitter who collates all of the data from the NHS about mortality rates, how busy hospitals are and what the patients are in for etc, he makes an interesting case to prove the numbers aren't as bad as the government is making out. This is just in the UK mind, he doesn't talk about other countries. He's called statistics guy if you want to take a look @Stat_O_Guy.

@Beautifullyderanged Oh well, we must all bow down to this guy because clearly he knows much more than all of the scientists put together... I am being cheeky here.. but the point is that there will be those who say there is and those who say there isn't.. some will use the same data, increased mortality over and above what we would expect for this time of year, others will point to that same data and see an entirely different picture, others will point to the sudden influx of covid cases in hospitals and the sharp rise in infection rates, which does tend to lead to more hospitalisations..

Me, I don't much care either way.. I keep out of it all as it doesn't affect me much - I am in the UK but as I say it doesn't really affect me.

@Beautifullyderanged Are his results peer reviewed to show his methodology of collation and understanding are in line with accepted academic practice? That is the usual way of preventing misleading numbers being acted on.

@Adaydreambeliever out of curiosity how does it not affect you, is because you're in a lower tier?

@Frank52 no idea, but I like to look at all information from all sides of the pandemic and as it is our NHS data he is reporting, if its wrong then the NHS is reporting things wrong

@Beautifullyderanged for long and complicated reasons I don't have any strong opinions either way.... but you do make a good point, it will be those who are unhappy with their tier or the fact that basically Boris has 'cancelled Christmas' who might be seeking to dredge up anti-evidence.
I am happy to sit on the fence on this one.. but would say devil's advocate way... I'd be cautious of trusting some guy on twitter and I'd also say that it is well known that stats can often be interpreted and misinterpreted in different ways according to the agenda of the one interpreting.

@Adaydreambeliever I know, I replied to someone else saying that I like to see all sides, but it does make me want to look up the NHS data which is where he gets the info from.

@Beautifullyderanged [quote]no idea, but I like to look at all information [/quote]

If it's not accurate it's not 'information', it's an assertion.

@Frank52 Well this person has gained data from the NHS sites and shown it to people, he has gained knowledge from doing this, so yes it counts as information. Everything we are told is based on data and facts, be it from governments, scientists or journalists and this is classed as info, he is no different as you can simply look at the same websites he does to back up what he's saying.