Easing Lockdown

I agree with GagaJo, I’m afraid that the easing of lockdown will lead to a second wave. The deaths are still far too high. We should wait a while longer until the weekly death total is much lower. There are still around 2000 to 3000 deaths each week, it’s far too many to ease lockdown.

I am in the forest too and had to drive to Lyndhurst last week, I was shocked at the amount of people parking on the sides of the roads even though they were told to stay away. Groups of people everywhere !

*meant to type , how the employers were behaving...

SillyNanny it's hard to say that they have done there best when all along they have tried to balance the economy with people's safety. Alot of poorer countries after 2 deaths were in lock down and are still in lockdown. What is laughable those in higher jobs have been asked to come and see what is going on, check on the safety with rules that they have put in place on the transport frontline but of course there is no reply. Thin line if it's going to effect their wage!!!Then it's all back to work

Even if the government eases the lockdown no one is forced to go out. If you’re uncomfortable with whatever the government says - and at the moment it’s just superstition- you can still carry on with lockdown. The country needs to take small steps to return to some kind of normality for the sake of our economy. We can’t stay in lockdown forever

So much (idle) speculation?
Last weekend somebody posted confidently (presumably with “insider” information)
Today, the tune changes and news is that over 50s may be in lockdown for months


We shall see on Sunday.
For many (of us) common sense will hopefully prevail, we can choose not to travel on the tube or buses -although here in the country, what few buses there are seem to be empty- we can choose whether or not to shop in person and wear face masks if so advised. We may be able to see close family provided they have taken similar precautions, but that won’t be the case for everybody .
For those caught between a natural reluctance and the necessity to go back to work, if insisted on, they are indeed between a rock and a hard place.
I suspect many self employed will be grateful as their income will probably have dried up and nobody wants to hear of people losing their homes because they cannot afford mortgage or rent repayments when the “payment holiday” ends.
Truly a difficult situation.

I think it’s important to get the economy started before the whole country is bankrupt.

I am worried. But I think people are already starting to go out more anyway. That's without restriction being lifted. I go out for a little walk in the evening about 3 times a week,. That's what I'll Carry on doing. But I don't think other people will. As some ate quite selfish. And they don't think anything will happen to them

An appalling dilemma - I am so glad it isn't my decision to sort things out. There is a choice here between life and livelihoods - can anyone imagine how the country will surivive, or what kind of life we might have if the economy implodes, the stock market collapses and every business goes under? We will be looking at the beginning of a kind of hell. The country must start moving again - hard as it is, and frightening too, we must get going for the sake of the future, for our children and grandchildren who will in any event be paying for this long after we are gone. People have always had to be brave, to step out and face the unknown, and now we must. too.

Yes i am..im staying in still.I understand about economy but still, wouldnt people rather have their lives than money?? You'd think Boris would be more leaning to the cautious side as he was so ill with it?maybe it does affect the brain! The countries who eased their lockdown were in it twice as long as we have done weren't they? And we have had highest death toll in europe- and yes,still rising-Boris always seemed a bit more cautious before,so im definitely not agreeing with him on this- i think hes being told to, so that we do have a second wave-to enable the 'herd immunity' they spoke about in beginning- but that's just insane!! I for one won't be allowing my 17 yr old back in college if they're told to return yet as he has health problems.

I think the Govt (UK) have probably handled this as well as they could have done, given the information they had about this disease, with excellent partners in key workers, volunteers and businesses. We're all following their advice now and no doubt will follow the next plan. Many countries have already eased restrictions. Surely you can choose to continue to self-isolate if you want? I think Gagajo hit the nail on the head - you have to have money. A lot of us are fortunate in that we have work or state pensions. Many younger people need to work. Sadly too, school is by far the best or/and safest place for some children. In reply to your question Gagajo yes, I can't wait for restrictions to be lifted. I'm counting the days until I can actually see my DGC. The measures were taken to ensure the NHS could cope - unfortunately saving lives may not be even possible.

I think any government regardless of politics would be in a difficult position at this point.

In order to make lockdown effective they had to scare people so they constantly told us how many victims had died but never told us how many were surviving. Even though they didn't know the exact numbers of people at home with it, they knew how many people were recovering in hospital.

So now everyone is scared but it's time to ease lockdown. The government is between a rock and a hard place. We need to get back to work but people are terrified of going out and catching the virus. In a way scaring people into lockdown has been too effective.

Of course, once lockdown is loosened the number of cases will rise but the aim of lockdown was never to prevent us from catching it, rather it was to make sure we didn't all catch it at the same time and overwhelm the NHS. To that end it has been effective because even under extreme circumstances the NHS managed to do it's job albeit mainly due to the dedication of it's staff.

I will go out but will still social distance where possible for the time being and if I have to go on public transport or into other potentially crowded places then I'd wear a mask (not for my benefit but just in case I'm breathing the virus over other people).

I can't stand all this continued speculation in the media; I want facts not continual catastrophising. Honestly, it is no wonder we are experiencing record levels of anxiety as a nation.
The longer we continue the lockdown, the deeper the recession afterwards. For the last few years all I have read about is how the decision made about Brexit would affect our young people detrimentally. This is the same. They will be paying for this lockdown for ever and a day. We need a balanced approach to lockdown which keeps people as safe as possible but as economically sound too. There is no "right" way because we don't have a crystal ball to see what will happen if we make one decision over another. What will work for one country may not work for another. We are a crowded nation with a high population so I think we need to be more stringent but you also have to have the people onside otherwise it won't work. I am just glad I am not the one to make these decisions but I will continue to be careful no matter what those decisions are.

We are so lucky in our geographical situation but I believe we still need to maintain social distance. I don't think we ever need to shake hands again! I love the attitude we have that we are all in this together! Aussies are amazing in the way we all stick together. There is certainly going to be a new normal. But we have to count our blessings and thank our politicians for acting so quickly. We have only to look at Italy etc. for validation of that.Bless you all and stay safe!

The Bank of England are forecasting the worst economic crash in 300 years. There's no way that the government can keep paying the furlough rates so they are under tremendous pressure. However we are in a health crisis made so much worse by the mismanagement of the pandemic. I hope that the return to work is handled better, but there's no much reason for optimism. I do think that people are easing back of their own accord. Personally I am in no hurry to mix with others, but then that's my decision to make, not everyone can do that.

I don't think it's productive to use the phrase 'mass hysteria' in connection with Covid-19 or to suggest we'll all be OK if we follow the social distancing rules. I'm sure any relative or friend of one of the 30,000+ deaths we've experienced in the UK would be appalled at the suggestion that daily efforts on the part of the press to highlight the problems of this pandemic can be reduced to /mass hysteria. As for social distancing, there is clearly much more pressure on those of us who live in big cities as far as this is concerned. If you live out in the provinces or in the countryside, it's easy to say we should all socially-distance, but this is impossible if you have to travel on the tube in London, or the metro in other big cities. It all depends where you live, and what personal resources you have, and I realise that some people may have every reason to feel afraid to return to work. I'm just glad that I don't have to do that as I guess many of us on this site don't. And of course, for those of us who have been able to self-isolate in comparative luxury with food deliveries and a garden to potter about it, we really have no clue of the psychological effects upon those who do have to go out and get back to work.

Completely agree with Missiseff . It was not as if they couldn't learn from what was going on in other countries. They could have gotten ahead of the curve and then flattened it!

Seems to me the NZ prime minister and government are a text book case of how to control a pandemic.

Again, the money, the economy, id rather have my life thanks! What good is a world with money& goods in it if theres hardly any actual people left to earn,buy& spend???The world survived after the wall street crash many years ago,and other stock market troubles- it wont if all the people continue dropping like flies will it?it also makes me worry more for my family some of whom are in transport/retail- i really dont think the PM is thinking straight at the moment- he's being led, and although I'm not a conservative supporter,i thought he was starting to show some initiative& gumption before he got ill- i wonder what his partner thinks of this plan? Or if he's even asked her opinion? As a new mum,who also nearly lost her partner/child's dad,i doubt she wants the country to take any more risks at the moment! I thought they had 5 RULES to go by first? Yet we are still having people die every day? In high numbers.the government are insane i think.The other countries were about 12 weeks in lockdown werent they?so why are we not waiting longer too?

To me it seems a case of be damned if you do and be damned if you don't, regardless of who was in power. We are indeed between the devil and the deep blue sea. We can only go with the flow.

I had a text message from the NHS this morning telling me because I'm in the high risk group to carry on self isolating till the 30th of June.
Anyone else had this notification??

We do not have a robust test trace and isolate system in place. If lockdown is loosened watch out for the second wave of deaths.

I think its crazy, with a sky high death rate, inadequate PPE, poor access to testing, and an NHS which only just coped in April its far too early. Boris is like Trump & has a very macho/immature style of leadership which basically says 'what the hell, lets do it anyway,' they're probably driven by business, which wants to get those cash tills ringing

Boris should be making it more strict,not easing it! Just like Italy and China- theres still a rising death rate and yet people really think its safe??? It beggars belief- IF he put us on a more stringent lockdown AND THEN issued enough tests (both wether we have it or are immune) for the whole of Britain first- THEN i would say, yes its safe-ish, to ease off a little- but he cant/won't do that,so how is this going to work? There Will be more and more deaths.

I HOPE lockdown will be eased …...before the country goes to the dogs completely. This 'rule' (what happened to democracy ?) was imposed on the advice on someone who appears not to have taken it himself ….and neither have a lot of MPS or even the PM ...visiting their country houses etc !!! one law for some makes Boris feel all powerful and enables him to keep his delusions of power …..NO I have had enough !!! …….this has been treated with mass hysteria, not common sense like a lot of other countries. time to stop.

Blue daisy- I live in Ireland and have personally been cocooning for 8 weeks now. As many have said on Gransnet we need to decide for ourselves IF we in the very vulnerable age-group can continue to cocoon. I am very lucky to be able to do so & I dont wait for government to tell me.
It seems to me that many English people did not/do not take Covid 19 as seriously as they need to. I make this observation on what I read and also what I know of English relatives/friends.
My niece who lives in Manchester has been laughing at me for weeks when I tell her I'm constantly disinfecting surfaces, wiping down shopping etc. Two weeks ago she told me she was driving to the bank to collect her daughter from work, I said I hoped she had her hand-sanitizer/wipes and she answered laughing 'we don't bother with that here '
I know there are certain individuals everywhere who through ignorance, arrogance or just self-centredness are flouting the rules daily. However my niece is a well-educated mature woman who should know better. I can't understand the attitude. Final death numbers in all countries may be closer when this pandemic ends. We won't know for years to come why some countries have higher death rates than others but here & now it would appear that the tighter & promptly-timed the lockdown the fewer deaths.
On a lighter note, having cocooned for so long I am now delighted to be able to get out for a good walk in the current beautiful weather as recently permitted by our government/ health experts. However I wear a face mask even though not required/ advised to do so - again I made the decision for myself as sometimes another walker/jogger can get too close. It's comforting to realize how such a small liberty can mean so much & I imagine as restrictions ease over the coming months we will savour our time & truly appreciate our freedom.
Look after yourselves. We will get through it