The doctor from Bath.

Has anyone listened/read what Dr Tom Jefferson has to say? ...I think he talks sense..

Personally, I feel that that particular Doctor should come with his own Public Health Warning. I detested it when during the earlier lockdown he used the hashtag 'Beware of People'. Thought that was totally and completely horrible.
He just sees the virus - maybe due to his work, but does not see humans as people, and has no idea at all about mental health issues with not having involvement with other people.

Mental Health issues are already rising totally out of control and well beyond the abilities of mental health teams to be able to deal with them. Be good if someone would look into this which is already happening - and the dreadful results - just as important as covid wards that may start getting to be filled up!!!

I am no supporter of this government, but I do understand the delicate balance between the economy/people's mental health/treatment of other diseases/etc., and covid19 restrictions. Although there is little point in going over old ground, this shutdown is too late and I think the plan, if there is one, is to lift it for Christmas and then shut down again. Christmas is the perfect petri dish for infections; all those people from different households, stuffed into over heated poorly ventilated houses. January is going to be a very grim month indeed.

Also, why Christmas? Why not the religious celebrations of other religions?

Because Christmas is way more than a religious celebration now. Apart from Jehovah’s Witnesses, I don’t personally know anyone, of any faith or of none, who doesn’t celebrate it in some form.

Sadly, the family get-togethers won’t happen this year.

Casdon

Summerlove of course, but they will still do it, public pressure will be stronger than prudence.

That's not a reason for the government to tell everyone it's fine.

The government have had to juggle Covid against economy from the start. That’s probably where your line of thinking came from disco. They would have been slated whatever they did. More recently though, they have made decisions, which I believe didn’t involve a rock and a hard place. Eg. Dominic Cummings should have been sacked. Not doing so, I think, has had grave repercussions. I also believe allowing students back into universities, was a wrong move. We have the internet, there’s absolutely no need for anyone to go anywhere, unless it’s caring for vulnerable people, and keeping essential services going. Whatever happens, it’s going to be a long winter?

I think this government failed us from even before the start. We all could see what was happening abroad, and especially Italy, and they did absolutely nothing, no testing at airports . They were then much too slow putting in the first lockdown, absolutely shot themselves in the foot defending Cummings and his shenanigans, the fiasco of SERCO Test & Trace (certainly not NHS T&T) and the billions wasted on that and on inadequate PPE, money given to their chums instead of established suppliers, I could go on but it makes me so angry. ? I see even the Daily Mail (excuse my language) are putting the boot in today so things must be bad.

Casdon

Summerlove of course, but they will still do it, public pressure will be stronger than prudence.

The public then needs to be educated.

Bloody selfish if you ask me.

I think Christmas will happen as usual regardless of lockdown with many people ignoring any restrictions, so I think the idea is to lower the r rate before Christmas, ease the lockdown over Christmas, and then if need be put it back on.

Yes, that was me Hooty, and on reflection it’s not really what I meant to say. I felt in the beginning, they were just doing what any government would have done, it was all new, but after Dominic Cummings, and now realising they haven’t been taking medical advice, when I assumed they would be, they’re clearly struggling. I do still feel though, that whatever we are told to do, it’s still up to us, the public, to make sure it happens.

We get him on local news and he has made a lot of sense right from the start. His views on what to sanitise such as post coming into the house are good too. I would trust what he says.

I can’t believe people are saying “it’s not the governments fault”. It absolutely is.

Many scientists remained angry that the government has taken so long in heeding their advice. “Yet again, the UK has been slow to act and delayed decisive action until the last moment,” said Stephen Griffin, associate professor at Leeds University’s School of Medicine.

Kircubbin2000. Dr Bharat Pankhania.

Beechnut. Yes this is the lovely doctor in the lovely garden from Bath.

He is a senior Consultant in Communicable Disease Control and he is in charge of public health medicine at Exeter University.

His advise is to “stay away from other people” and he likes repeating it. Unfortunately there are an awful lot of very stupid people who will simply not be told what to do.

I think students around us are starting to disappear. They should never have been allowed back.

Summerlove of course, but they will still do it, public pressure will be stronger than prudence.

DH says he saw a report where infection rates are dropping in some Countries - because the population are obeying the rules! Simples?

You know that covid doesn’t disappear because it Christmas, right?

Imagine being a symptomatic and passing it on to a much loved relative.

Surely that’d be worse for mental health

There will be a special relaxation of rules over Christmas I’m sure, because the nation invests so much value in it, and the mental health consequences of the Government not allowing families to get together will be as monumental as Covid if they don’t, particularly for students. Imagine being 18 years old, blamed by nearly everybody for the rise in Covid, and not allowed to go home to your family at Christmas either.

I’m very confused by those who think there will be special relaxation of rules by Christmas

That seems like a disaster to me.

Also, why Christmas? Why not the religious celebrations of other religions?

In my opinion, loosening for Christmas completely defeats the purpose of a lockdown now, or ever

As the highest rate of infection is amongst the 15-25s and schools and universities are not closing I don't suppose 4 weeks will make all that much difference. It may allow the NHS some breathing space but it won't stop anything.

Thanks BlueSky.

The phrase that has been occuring to me at regular intervals since March is, "Is your journey really necessary?"

If things are no better by Christmas, and I am pretty sure they will be as bad, if not worse, I hope we don’t see GN’ers who are determined to spend it with family, come hell or high water, declaring that they must see the children open their presents, share the Christmas dinner, etc, etc.

As Dh said to me 'he didn't say which Christmas'.

Where did we hear ‘Over by Christmas’ before...

This is not the government’s fault. It’s the people. I’ve asked before for someone who can sort this out, to do so. It’s up to all of us, and that will never happen.