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Coronavirus - how is it/has it affected you?

Nope, a doom mongerer is someone who says there will be probably be no UK holidays this summer as if they know the infections and death rates will somehow change from this year’s and last year’s trend. Also they are the folks that say that visiting Europe might only be a possibility from summer 2020. They are also those who say that proper lockdown (not merely restrictions such as social distancing, mask wearing etc.) will need to last until the Autumn. They are also those who exactly do not look at this years trends of infections and death rates and hospitalisations compared with last year. Most importantly they are those who seem to forget that we locked down two and a half months earlier this year than last and also seem to think that vaccinating 6% of the adult population per week will not make one iota of difference.

On a side note, it would be interesting to see if there’s a correlation between being a hardcore lockdown advocate with having no mortgage left to pay and having the pension sorted.
 
Which scientists? There have been scientists that say we should be in lock down until the end of the year - what does that say about their understanding of the world beyond science and numbers ?- you have scientists that say we should leave lockdown now

There is no doubt that it’s a hard choice - the balance between the science , the mental health , the economy must be hard

Millions have put their lives on hold , children’s future education on hold , businesses have gone Forever , jobs lost and it was at the request to protect our vunerable

We have done that and it’s gettin better so it will soon be time to allow life to move on - it needs to move on for the sake of millions

There are a range of views, and a range of relevant expertise informing those views, but the general view last year was that a fairly strong early intervention would reduce problems later. We didn't get that strong intervention, though.

Now, there is a lot of concern about the SA variant and other variants which could really change the nature of this problem, and that could include those already vaccinated. Therefore there is concern about repeating previous mistakes and re-opening too son. I have not heard a view that we should remain as is until the end of the year, but that there will be gradually easing restrictions, and if all goes well, a graduation return to the new normal. But if we screw this up, then we will have another summer and winter of chaos, and I don't think you want that. The virus doesn't give a toss about the economy, it does its thing as far as it is allowed to.

Listing a series of bad things doesn't change the basic problem that the sooner we get proper control on this, the sooner we get out of all this stuff. If we don't, the list of businesses gone and people gone will just get longer.

There is no balance to be struck between the science and the economy. The two go hand in hand. If you don't get the public health problems sorted, the economy won't recover. Those trading one off against the other are just making both worse.
 
I have not heard a view that we should remain as is until the end of the year, but that there will be gradually easing restrictions, and if all goes well, a graduation return to the new normal..

Dr Susan Hopkins (on SAGE) wants restrictions in place until "at least everyone in the UK has been vaccinated". The at least scares me.

KCL did a study and non communicable diseases are much less survivable than pre pandemic. Just due to diagnosis delays Cancer survivability is down almost 9%. Suicides are most likely up, and then there's the mental health damage that for some will be irreparable.
 
On a side note, it would be interesting to see if there’s a correlation between being a hardcore lockdown advocate with having no mortgage left to pay and having the pension sorted.
The virus isn't interested in mortgages or pensions, it attacks us all. If we go back to normal before we get a control of this virus we will be back playing seesaw with lockdowns for years. Most older people have children and grandchildren who they want the best outcomes for, this divisive talk helps no one, it's a lot more serious than that.
 
Dr Susan Hopkins (on SAGE) wants restrictions in place until "at least everyone in the UK has been vaccinated". The at least scares me.

KCL did a study and non communicable diseases are much less survivable than pre pandemic. Just due to diagnosis delays Cancer survivability is down almost 9%. Suicides are most likely up, and then there's the mental health damage that for some will be irreparable.
Mental health issues are a problem, I know what it does to people first hand, I have a member of my own family that has it and I'm fully aware of how it affects people. What do you suggest we do about it, do we let the new variants rip through us so that we see a thousand or more people dying a day. This current Covid pandemic isn't something we can just ignore and think life will get back to normal, it's a world wide problem that needs world wide solutions. If you think mental health issues are the biggest issue we have to deal with then let's take away the controls and see how bad things can get.
 
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Something that's starting to p me off is people (mainly seem to be in the hospitality industry) claiming their "covid safe environment"

Covid is invisible it's impossible to be fully "covid safe"
 
Dr Susan Hopkins (on SAGE) wants restrictions in place until "at least everyone in the UK has been vaccinated". The at least scares me

I guess it depends on what those restrictions are however there is likely to be a point where the Government have to stop listening to the science in it’s entirety for social and economic reasons. I put a post up earlier about the scientists, from their point of view they will want us locked down for years as they want to be 100% safe.

Given the were unlikely to ever see zero Covid a decision will be made on how many deaths per year is acceptable and we will have to live alongside it like we do flu etc.
 
To demand that all COVID restrictions are lifted by the end of April seems to me to rather miss the point about a highly infectious virus operating within a population not fully vaccinated against it’s worst outcomes - particularly as we do not understand all of the non-fatal outcomes and do not know if further significant mutation will present itself in the UK and what level of infection or transmission will be present at that point in time.

I too desperately wish for all restrictions to be gone but i will not demand that (of the government) - and that sort of demand coming from anyone worries me. But if that is what happens then I suppose we see where we are in six months time. But if it comes to pass I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed and that doesn’t seem to be a particularly science-based approach to something this serious.
 
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Given the were unlikely to ever see zero Covid a decision will be made on how many deaths per year is acceptable and we will have to live alongside it like we do flu etc.

Interesting point
Normal seasonal flu regularly kills thousands a year despite the flu jab being available, mostly the old and infirm and the country doesn’t seem to bat an eyelid at this,
it would be interesting to see how many flu deaths have had the flu jab.

I seem to recall a figure of almost 20000 flu deaths a few years ago
 
Dr Susan Hopkins (on SAGE) wants restrictions in place until "at least everyone in the UK has been vaccinated". The at least scares me.

KCL did a study and non communicable diseases are much less survivable than pre pandemic. Just due to diagnosis delays Cancer survivability is down almost 9%. Suicides are most likely up, and then there's the mental health damage that for some will be irreparable.

She said "some" restrictions will have to be in place until all adults are vaccinated. If you don't think that is what is going to happen, I suggest you adjust your expectations. There will be "some" restrictions in place for a lot longer than that.

But if you want to deal with those delays in cancer care and suicides, you need to do so by removing that which is interrupting their care, which is Covid. All paths of logic lead to the clear conclusion that unless and until we properly solve Covid, none of these things will recover, and no amount of vague waffling about 'living with Covid' will change that, unless you mean 'Sod the oldies, they have had a good run, let the virus take them, its worth it.'.
 
To demand that all COVID restrictions are lifted by the end of April seems to me to rather miss the point about a highly infectious virus operating within a population not fully vaccinated against it’s worst outcomes - particularly as we do not understand all of the non-fatal outcomes and do not know if further significant mutation will present itself in the UK and what level of infection or transmission will be present at that point in time.

I too desperately wish for all restrictions to be gone but i will not demand that of the government - and that sort of demand coming from anyone worries me. But if that is what happens then I suppose we see where we are in six months time. But if it comes to pass I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed and that doesn’t seem to be a particularly science-based approach to something this serious.
Seems a dumb demand given that we have always been told that this will be a gradual easing based on the numbers which seems to have been accepted by many. Even if we returned to January 2020 total absence of restrictions I am sure many would not feel comfortable in crowded bars, transport and sporting events. I certainly would.
 
Covid is sticking around...."dealing with it" now will make things better, but it will still be here. There will be some restrictions for the foreseeable future. At some point, the Govt has got to increase their income/debt issue. Right now it's like an out of control credit card abuser.....spending a lot more than it's taking in. At what point does the Govt have to open things up....regardless of health? If I use my credit card too much and get into serious debt, at some point they will cut me off.
 
Something that's starting to p me off is people (mainly seem to be in the hospitality industry) claiming their "covid safe environment"

Covid is invisible it's impossible to be fully "covid safe"
I had this argument with my friend who is a gym owner. He hand on heart thinks he's gym would be safe. I'm itching to get back to the gym but by their very nature have to be one of the worst places to visit. In between lockdowns I watched a bloke doing a bench press. The sun just happened to be shining though the window over him at the perfect angle. This demonstrated how much mist and spray was flying out of his mouth (a substantial distance too). That was the last time I went
 
To demand that all COVID restrictions are lifted by the end of April seems to me to rather miss the point about a highly infectious virus operating within a population not fully vaccinated against it’s worst outcomes - particularly as we do not understand all of the non-fatal outcomes and do not know if further significant mutation will present itself in the UK and what level of infection or transmission will be present at that point in time.

I too desperately wish for all restrictions to be gone but i will not demand that (of the government) - and that sort of demand coming from anyone worries me. But if that is what happens then I suppose we see where we are in six months time. But if it comes to pass I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed and that doesn’t seem to be a particularly science-based approach to something this serious.

Who is demanding that ?

I haven’t seen , heard or read anyone demand that “all” Covid restrictions to be lifted by April?

The Covid Restrictions in some areas will last through to the end of year even if it’s 2 m gaps , masks , shields , restrictions on indoor gatherings

But to be clear no one is demanding all restrictions are removed
 
Something that's starting to p me off is people (mainly seem to be in the hospitality industry) claiming their "covid safe environment"

Covid is invisible it's impossible to be fully "covid safe"
It's become a marketing phrase unfortunately and if places don't use it then people will believe something is wrong. If one place said that they were as safe as they could be in the circumstances (the honest answer) and another said they were covid safe (marketing spiel) which would people go to?

I think it is something we will hear more and more of.
 
Who is demanding that ?

I haven’t seen , heard or read anyone demand that “all” Covid restrictions to be lifted by April?

The Covid Restrictions in some areas will last through to the end of year even if it’s 2 m gaps , masks , shields , restrictions on indoor gatherings

But to be clear no one is demanding all restrictions are removed
Uhh, yes there is: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56058744
 
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