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Coronavirus - how is it/has it affected you?

Liverpoolphil said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1359141306140917764

With the rate of new infections , hospital admissions dropping plus 13 mill having the vaccine do we think there will be a change to the easing timeline roadmap ?
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Nope, the schools were told that they would have 2 weeks to prepare and with the review being on 15th, I cannot see much benefit in rushing a decision that was due to be announced on 22nd. As for anything else, I think that we will get a 2 week period at least to see what difference the return to schools makes before any serious relaxations are made. After all, it could be argued that the return of people to education was a significant factor in the second wave but that could not be proven due to their already having been relaxation in other areas. This gives the ideal opportunity to see the impact of schools etc on infection rates when they are opened against of backdrop of everything else being locked down.
 
GB72 said:
Nope, the schools were told that they would have 2 weeks to prepare and with the review being on 15th, I cannot see much benefit in rushing a decision that was due to be announced on 22nd. As for anything else, I think that we will get a 2 week period at least to see what difference the return to schools makes before any serious relaxations are made. After all, it could be argued that the return of people to education was a significant factor in the second wave but that could not be proven due to their already having been relaxation in other areas. This gives the ideal opportunity to see the impact of schools etc on infection rates when they are opened against of backdrop of everything else being locked down.
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I guess it depends on what the serious relaxations are - that’s over 6 weeks away and can certainly see a lot of the outdoor activities being allowed again at the same time as schools open

It’s going to be hard to keep people locked away and businesses closed when the numbers keep dropping
 
Liverpoolphil said:
I guess it depends on what the serious relaxations are - that’s over 6 weeks away and can certainly see a lot of the outdoor activities being allowed again at the same time as schools open

It’s going to be hard to keep people locked away and businesses closed when the numbers keep dropping
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They’re dropping partly because we’re locked away. Stopping that once numbers show a good drop is counter productive if done as a knee jerk attempt to improve popularity which is what has been done before during this pandemic.
 
Kellfire said:
They’re dropping partly because we’re locked away. Stopping that once numbers show a good drop is counter productive if done as a knee jerk attempt to improve popularity which is what has been done before during this pandemic.
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Nothing will be knee jerk and certainly not about popularity , there has been a point where things have to move on - we cannot continue too much longer to be locked down. Both financially and mentally the population needs to move forward.

In a weeks time all those vunerable will have had the vaccine ( well offered ) the NHS will have been protected - both the main reasons we went into the lockdown. It’s going to be very hard for them to justify continuing the current level of lockdown beyond the beginning of March
 
Not seeing friends as frequently as we'd have liked and would have done in normal times.

And so to earlier today I hear from my wife that the partner of one of our closest friends - one of my wife's 'besties' who is also mum of one of my daughter's best friends - collapsed and died in town yesterday. 61...

He did have a health issue - perhaps needing surgery at some time - but not one that his consultant thought worth worrying about at the moment - something that he could manage. We don't know if this was in any way connected, but this is one hell of a shock for us. We saw them when out for a walk only a couple of weeks back...we were in town and all had a laugh about not recognising each other 'behind the masks'.

Nothing to do with the virus as such - but how the pandemic has completely thrown aspects of our lives into levels of disarray...and what that can mean. And I look to myself...and reflect that we just don't know what is round the corner of life.
 
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For once I am on the side of being locked down here, which is not usual for me. it is my opinion, and I would not even call it an informed one, that schools and universities were a major contributor to the second wave. Yes there are weather factors etc but before the schools went back, we were going to shops, going to the pub, meeting friends indoors with no real impact on numbers. I am not saying this by way of complaint etc but I think this is an ideal opportunity to assess if that was the case by looking at the return of schools in isolation and, if so, look how to deal with it.

I will also profess to having a biased opinion on this as, aside from seeing my friends and getting my hair cut, I can cope without everything else and those are probably the last 2 things that will be allowed.
 
Imurg said:
The thing that will slow down the lifting of restrictions is that this time they HAVE to get it right.
We all know that we can't afford another lockdown both mentally and financially.
Its going to be slow and it should be slow.
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I very much agree with this. With the vaccination program in full swing, I suspect that most of the country see this as the last ever lockdown (and I am not sure what other option there is if vaccination does not work). As such, this is the one where relaxation of restrictions has to be right as, quite rightly I think, people will not take another lockdown after this.
 
The way I see it....When the last lockdown restrictions were eased, nobody had the vaccine. In a month from now, the majority of the over 60's will have had the vaccine, including medical staff, so less numbers in hospital and more healthy staff to care for them.
Win win
 
GB72 said:
I very much agree with this. With the vaccination program in full swing, I suspect that most of the country see this as the last ever lockdown (and I am not sure what other option there is if vaccination does not work). As such, this is the one where relaxation of restrictions has to be right as, quite rightly I think, people will not take another lockdown after this.
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It’s going to be a very fine balance - currently we are locked down to protect the vunerable and also to ensure the NHS doesn’t get overcrowded because of the venerable catching the virus and having to be hospitalised.

If measures are in place to ease both those restrictions will need to be eased and probably in the same way they did in May or imo a bit more relaxed except for pubs and restaurants which will be later - it’s a very fine balance.
 
GB72 said:
I very much agree with this. With the vaccination program in full swing, I suspect that most of the country see this as the last ever lockdown (and I am not sure what other option there is if vaccination does not work). As such, this is the one where relaxation of restrictions has to be right as, quite rightly I think, people will not take another lockdown after this.
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Fingers crossed that we don't have to think about that, cause there will come a time, like it or not, where a majority of people will flat our ignore any further lockdown, no matter what the consequences in terms of hospitalization and deaths will be.
 
GB72 said:
I very much agree with this. With the vaccination program in full swing, I suspect that most of the country see this as the last ever lockdown (and I am not sure what other option there is if vaccination does not work). As such, this is the one where relaxation of restrictions has to be right as, quite rightly I think, people will not take another lockdown after this.
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I am inclined to agree...except...if people will not take another lockdown then what would they take - what would be deemed acceptable.

Because if despite vaccination we find virus transmission racing away again, and pressure on the NHS building inexorably towards overload, what do the people expect to happen...all very well us going in a huff and Brenda exclaiming 'not another lockdown...' but unfortunately the virus does not to mass public pistofficity listen.

All the frustrations, words and wishful thinking in the world will not make things better and right - by our actions and behaviours will we be judged...and that's it.
 
SwingsitlikeHogan said:
I am inclined to agree...except...if people will not take another lockdown then what would they take - what would be deemed acceptable.

Because if despite vaccination we find virus transmission racing away again, and pressure on the NHS building inexorably towards overload, what do the people expect to happen...all very well us going in a huff and Brenda exclaiming 'not another lockdown...' but unfortunately the virus does not to mass public pistofficity listen.

All the frustrations, words and wishful thinking in the world will not make things better and right - by our actions and behaviours will we be judged...and that's it.
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The issue would be that we have a vaccine so if that doesn't work then what do we do? We cannot stay in perpetual lockdown cycles so IF (and it's an unlikely if with any luck) the vaccines didn't work I just cannot see a lot of people complying. I think this would be different to people 'going off in a huff', this would be our main weapon against the weapon has failed and we cannot socially or economically go into lockdown again especially for a virus that doesn't (fortunately) affect the majority of people in a severe way.
 
The virus ìs world-wide and will mutate. Some of the many variations will be insignificant! Some may prove troublesome and cause leadtime delays before effective vaccine modifications come on stream.

Viruses do not listen to statements like "...the public won't take more ĺockdowns..." : we will be governed by the slowest nations before 'normal' means what it did.
 
drdel said:
The virus ìs world-wide and will mutate. Some of the many variations will be insignificant! Some may prove troublesome and cause leadtime delays before effective vaccine modifications come on stream.

Viruses do not listen to statements like "...the public won't take more ĺockdowns..." : we will be governed by the slowest nations before 'normal' means what it did.
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I'd find it extremely unlikely to think that you'd find a single person who would think that. It's just plainly a statement, there will come a point in time where people won't accept not seeing friends and families as they wish. Opening of bars, restaurants events etc are things that are more easily enforced to keep closed, but I'd like to see (not really) what a lockdown would look like if it kept on through to May/June. I don't envisage a very high compliant rate.
 
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