Apologies if you knew already

I wonder how it works for any over 70s who don't have family or friends to be in a 'bubble' with? Who gets their shopping?

Other than that, it sounds quite a good idea. I would welcome a similar system here.

My son lives there and from what he tells me it is all very similar to here he hasn’t mentioned anything about a bubble they shop for his mum and dad in law and leave on the doorstep just as we do here and talk to them from the garden gate I really don’t think it’s any different from here it would only work if both families in the ‘bubble’ don’t have a worker in them My daughter lives up the road from me but we don’t get nearer each other than the bottom of the garden as she’s a key NHS worker
The one thing NZ did do quickly was close the borders but then they have far far fewer people to travel in or out
The other good thing they have is a 1 2 3 level. system with clear instructions as to what each level lets you do that would be useful for us but I don’t know about this bubble or what it could achieve
Don’t forget their population is not even 5 million ours is 68 million Sane size country makes an enormous difference

I am in the UK, and have been given a score of 2 out of 3 by the Rheumatology Dept which , fortunately for me, means that I can go out for walks but must very strictly distance myself. The 123 system is obviously in use here for some.

How can you be sure the designated shopper who no longer has to distance from you isn’t incubating the virus. It seems possible to have it and be totally unaware.

Having got this far I wouldn’t want to take any chances. Can’t imagine how it would feel to know you had passed the virus on to a close family member.

The bubble would not work for me- I would starve.

I was reading about this last night, and whilst it's not a bad idea in theory, it relies massively on absolute trust within the bubble. Friends or family who live close to one another can socialise together if they all agree not to mix at all with others not in the bubble. They can visit one another, children can play together and so on. At the start of the arrangement, everyone in the bubble has to self-isolate so that everyone knows that everyone else is free of the virus.

If one person breaks that promise, all of the others are, of course, compromised, so all it would take would be someone's daughter to visit from her house miles away, or one of the 'bubble' to accidentally touch someone, and the whole quarantine process would have to start again for everyone. The temptation to overlook small indiscretions would be huge.

Also, how would you feel if all of your friends were in a bubble, but you hadn't been asked to join them? Or if you were in a large family and your grandchildren were in the other side's bubble. I think it could make isolation feel worse for people who end up outside of bubbles for whatever reason, and would be bad for the mental health of a lot of people.

We were walking along the old railway track which has been turned into a cycling/walking area and came across a very unpleasant family spread right across the path, all four adults walking what looked very much like a pit bull terrier.

DD and SIL took GSs for a bike ride along this path and it was packed with groups of friends meeting up “accidentally”. Normally hardly used and isolated.

There was also a very highly strung woman barging her way around Lidl in the first few days of the lockdown.

The point I am trying to make is to choose carefully where you walk as you can’t assume others have your, or their, safety in mind.

I wonder if there are specific guidelines or it’s up to the doctor’s discretion? Some apply more common sense than others.

I am merely copying exactly what my friend told me and she is there. I also didn’t say it was perfect.

Surely we can go a few weeks without close contact with our DC and DGC? I know it's sour grapes as I get to do that once a year if I'm lucky. This year it will definitely be a no no!

I think our local police advised against walking along the canal as the tow path wasn’t wide enough for people to distance themselves.

Not sure how last two posts relate to the thread ??

.... and the designated shopper goes out and brings back the virus to a bigger group than it would normally have done including the over 70s ...
What a good idea ...

As opposed to two or three people popping off to the supermarket.?

I am sure no offence was intended to you Lucca. Just weighing up the pros and cons and discussing our concerns.

The bubble idea is a bit risky I think. If younger ones are working, shopping etc. then they could pick up the virus and contaminate the oldies if the family mix indoors.
I don't believe families should be forbidden to mix outside at a distance though, which is what we have in the UK. If care is taken then no contamination can occur and oldies can see their families with no risk. Each family needs to be responsible for their own strategies, but no contact at all is over the top I think.

All very well IMO if you have family close by, but so many of us don’t. Our nearest dc is an hour and a half’s drive away. In any case I’d hate to be told that dh and I - still perfectly capable and able to take suitable precautions - were not allowed to do our own food shopping.

Some of the stuff I read and hear makes me think the general perception of over 70s is that we’re all doddery, clueless and semi senile.

That's it Witzend I'm annoyed because from the age of 70 we need to be led and dictated to like kids in nursery school! Advise people by all means but don't make it compulsory just for a certain age group!

Lucca the DD or a volunteer does the shopping and leaves it on the doorstep of the vulnerable family or organises a delivery service .... The most important factor should be protect the elderly, not your social life or child care .

Just heard that Scotland might introduce the bubble approach.

Nota gran what has My social life got to do with this ? I give up. Just a thing I found interesting not expecting personal comments.

Lucca you have misunderstood, we are talking about the family in your original posting - not you

‘Socialising with dad ‘ etc that you mentioned.

I know if my dad was alive the last thing I would want to do is infect him . I would listen to the advice , stay well clear but ensure he had supplies .

What happens when some of the members of the bubble are key workers and therefore not supposed to mix with anyone outside their home or work? If you were in a bubble with a front line doctor or nurse, I can’t see how anyone else in that bubble would be safe. I’d give anything to be able to help my daughter and her husband who are both doctors, and having childcare difficulties, but we can’t. How would that work? I can’t see that it would.

IMO the bubble idea is a sound way forward out of lock down for some people - I don't know why every idea has to suit every person.

If a couple of households are still isolating it would be a huge step forward for them to be able to visit each other. Obviously where someone in the household has to go out (or wants to go out) it won't work.

My aunt and uncle will drive to visit my parents as soon as they are able and feel safe doing so - but they won't visit anyone else or have visits from anyone else, which is effectively creating a bubble. It will give them the comfort of human contact while maintaining the isolation they have already created.

I don't really understand it but wouldn't the bubble idea make it easier for doing testing and contact tracing which will need to be done in future?