Author Archives: johnrobertson834

There have been seven further deaths in Scotland since Friday, down one from the previous day and up from 3 and 6 on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. The mortality rate at 3.2% has been almost constant in this period. NHS staff take great credit for this. There is no sign, for the moment, of theContinue reading “Tragedy as UK coronavirus deaths climb to three times the rate per capita of that in Scotland”

Where is the picture of the Tory UK Prime Minister? We know he’s to blame. We know where the picture of the SNP First Minister of Scotland is. We know she’s not to blame. Where is the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland? It’s Tory Brandon Lewis. Where is the First Minister of Wales? It’s Labour’s MarkContinue reading “The Herald’s politicising of health crises? Just a bad habit? Just an SNP thing?”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_United_Kingdom_general_election#2019 I await the the precise figure for the Scottish sub-sample, but 4% from the UK poll tends to mean at least 40% and sometimes a bit more in the Scottsih sub-samp[le. For nine polls in a row now, SNP support has been rock-solid in the 43% to 52% range. Readers will remember that supposedContinue reading “Another poll and still no sign that Salmondgate has had any negative effect on SNP support”

BBC Scotland and the Scottish Government (?) have mis-used a line graph to suggest that something far more dramatic is happening than is actually happening. I’m amazed, on reflection, that no proper mathematician or statistician has pointed this out. I know they’ve labelled it ‘total deaths’ but that could mean that each point represents theContinue reading “The Scottish coronavirus mortality graph is WRONG”

From Channel 4 News last night and reported in several local newspapers but ignored by BBC Scotland and the other press: ‘In a bid to alleviate the pressure on GP surgeries, as of Monday this week, NHS Boards across Scotland started to use a unique system for treating patients experiencing symptoms. Today they have 50Continue reading “Why are only Channel 4 and local newspapers reporting ‘Scotland’s unique way to treat virus?’”

In the Herald last night: THE daily death rate due to coronavirus has hit a record level.Eight have died in Scotland from Covid-19 – the highest number in one day since the outbreak -bringing the total number to 33. You can sense their excitement at a ‘record level’ to headline and it is a record level of deaths butContinue reading “Herald desperate for a shocking headline but wrong again as daily death RATE falls below that two days ago”

Though the 8 additional deaths reported today are deeply upsetting, Scotland’s mortality rate remains ‘relatively low’ in a wider context and as described on Good Morning Scotland, nearly four weeks since the first recorded case in Dundee on 2nd March. With 33 deaths from 1059 cases, the rate is 3.1%, up from 2.8% yesterday andContinue reading “Scotland’s coronavirus mortality rate still ‘relatively low’ at 3.1%”

Headlining in the UK news at 6pm and then again at 6.30, we see a melodramatic report, based on an unattributed single source from social media, utterly contrary to their own published editorial guidelines: ‘As the number of confirmed Scottish cases climbs above 1 000, there are still (sic) concerns that frontline NHS staff don’tContinue reading “Reporting Scotland ignores its own editorial guidelines to ‘cobble together’ an infection-control crisis based on a single unreliable social media source”

This is prompted by an article yesterday in The Herald: “Coronavirus has sent Scottish economy into ‘sharp economic downturn’” https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/18334799.coronavirus-sent-scottish-economy-sharp-economic-downturn/ I’ll return to it later. It encouraged a look at what’s going on elsewhere in terms of economic policy responses to the pandemic, especially in smaller independent Western countries.  And alongside this, it’s interesting toContinue reading “Talking Up Countries not like Scotland (yet): How we could have been better prepared for a ‘sharp economic downturn’”

By Contrary: “First things first This is a “statutory instrument” not an Act of Parliament – it is so-called secondary legislation made under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act1984 This is legally significant” “First, it means that the regulations can only be used for public health purposes, otherwise they are ultra vies the ActContinue reading “Shopping for sweeties in a time of coronavirus: Clarifying emergency powers legislation”