We should have locked down earlier

M0nica

The current rapid rise is due to the new variant COVID, vaccination has already started and will be ramped up in the new year. This country cannot keep borrowing ad infinitum to fund lockdowns. Interest rates may be low now, but in 10 or 15 years, who knows where they will be.

This is a non-political post. I think that the OP is alarmist. It is up to everyone who is really concerned and needs to ytake care to make themselves responsible for their own protection, which most of us are, those spreading the infection spread it, mainly to others like them. Normal life needs to return for so many reasons, however slowly.

I was actually paraphrasing a senior Tory member of parliament. Clearly not a Johnson fan, but an ex-health minister and someone not known for hyperbole.

So no I don’t think that he was being alarmist, and entirely disagree that it isn’t a political subject.

It is entirely political relating to coronavirus.

Rufus2

^its a far smaller area with fewer cases but they’ve hit it on^ head - hard. Police are out blocking roads and if you’re on wrong side of the boundary, you’re fined heavily

Marmight You could have stressed too, that Australia is no way a small area, yet practically the whole nation has achieved what you have described for the Northern Beaches.
It would also help if a commonsense vaccine could be made available!
OoRoo

Spot on. People talk as if Australia had no large crowded cities ! Or even “but it’s an island”........

twinnytwin

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. It's made Covid experts of many GNs.

Not hindsight. The situation in Italy should have prompted the government to act swiftly. They didn’t. An Italian friend kept texting and asking why we weren’t locking down. In March.

The millions and billions that have been wasted by this government could have funded people and children with laptops to do a total lockdown well before Christmas.

We should have locked down earlier

This is sure to become the mantra for this whole pandemic episode.

its a far smaller area with fewer cases but they’ve hit it on head - hard. Police are out blocking roads and if you’re on wrong side of the boundary, you’re fined heavily

Marmight You could have stressed too, that Australia is no way a small area, yet practically the whole nation has achieved what you have described for the Northern Beaches.
It would also help if a commonsense vaccine could be made available!
OoRoo

No, I mean a slow and controlled return to normality running alongside the vaccination programme.

At the last count the r number was more than 1 in every part of the country, which means that more and more people will be infected every day under present conditions. The only way to reduce the r number is to impose stricter controls.

Any opening up of society, eg schools returning, retail, hospitality, sport and entertainment opening up will increase the r number and infections will increase exponentially.

Therefore we should now be tightening, not loosening controls until the r number is well below 1, preferably around 0.5 or less. This would allow for the gradual reopening of settings where people mix without pushing the r number above 1.

It isn’t the new variant causing the problem in Wales M0nica, it said on the news yesterday that less than 10% of cases are due to the new variant, and our levels in South Wales are as high as the South East and have been for a few weeks. There’s every sign that the public are not paying attention to the advice, the NHS is not managing hence we are in level 4 lockdown. There is no option unfortunately.

Do you mean "normal life" like the mad "eat out" scheme, which it is now acknowledged caused a spike in new infections?

M0nica

The current rapid rise is due to the new variant COVID, vaccination has already started and will be ramped up in the new year. This country cannot keep borrowing ad infinitum to fund lockdowns. Interest rates may be low now, but in 10 or 15 years, who knows where they will be.

This is a non-political post. I think that the OP is alarmist. It is up to everyone who is really concerned and needs to ytake care to make themselves responsible for their own protection, which most of us are, those spreading the infection spread it, mainly to others like them. Normal life needs to return for so many reasons, however slowly.

MOnica The government will still pay current interest rates. It owes the Bank of England.

In any case, a hard lockdown (even now) would shorten the misery for many.

About a third of the population is actually better off now than they would have been. They need taxing, if the government has the guts to do it.

EllanVannin

If I had school-age children, they wouldn't be attending !

It will be interesting to see how many turn up. I know a number of otherwise law-abiding parents who have said they'll keep their children at home.

If I had school-age children, they wouldn't be attending !

I agree that schools should have closed down, growstuff and can't understand why they weren't.
I know someone who hasn't sent their children to school since March but the parents haven't been sent to prison or anything. The parents didn't want their children mixing and that was that. Not a lot anyone can do under the circumstances.

Schools shouldn't go back until the beginning of March next year as the new strain also affects children.

The current rapid rise is due to the new variant COVID, vaccination has already started and will be ramped up in the new year. This country cannot keep borrowing ad infinitum to fund lockdowns. Interest rates may be low now, but in 10 or 15 years, who knows where they will be.

This is a non-political post. I think that the OP is alarmist. It is up to everyone who is really concerned and needs to ytake care to make themselves responsible for their own protection, which most of us are, those spreading the infection spread it, mainly to others like them. Normal life needs to return for so many reasons, however slowly.

Seriously, Johnson was prepared to use water cannons in London. Patel wants to use wave machines and nets to catch unsafe dinghies and some loony wants to send gun boats against French fishermen. Controlling a few covidiots shouldn't be that difficult!

GrannyGravy13

Whilst part of me agrees with you, for many many years both Labour and Conservative Governments have operated a carrot form of governance as opposed to the stick method. Even in a worldwide pandemic it is difficult if not nigh on impossible to change 60 million plus inhabitants mindset.

With our family and close friends we have followed every guideline, at times it has been heartbreaking, unfortunately their are a lot of people out there only interested in themselves.

Pah! Too many liberal, woke snowflakes!

Too many have ignored restrictions/ regulations for a pandemic to suddenly disappear.

Correction. Swindon is T3 and holding, just !

EllanVannin The biggest cause of transmission is airborne "aerosol" droplets. No amount of handwashing and wiping down surfaces will stop people being infected, if they're in close contact, especially in a poorly ventilated area, for more than a few minutes. That's why classrooms just aren't safe - and can never be - and the government was told but didn't listen.

Just reading about a bunch of British backpackers ( not always the cleanest of people ) who barged in on a party in Sydney so the Government are deciding on deportation of these idiots who broke restrictions on Christmas Day.

Sorry that was in answer to griwstuff

Whilst part of me agrees with you, for many many years both Labour and Conservative Governments have operated a carrot form of governance as opposed to the stick method. Even in a worldwide pandemic it is difficult if not nigh on impossible to change 60 million plus inhabitants mindset.

With our family and close friends we have followed every guideline, at times it has been heartbreaking, unfortunately their are a lot of people out there only interested in themselves.

Cleanliness counts for a lot, growstuff. Under normal circumstances when out and about we inadvertantly touch many things without thinking. Surely, these are times when it's just as important in being careful about touching/ handling as it is to socially distance ?

On the Northern beaches in NSW everyone is in lockdown. No one in and no one out. Everyone in the locked down area has been tested and in additionTest & Trace used. Both my SiL and eldest GS have been traced & tested. Ok its a far smaller area with fewer cases but they’ve hit it on the head - hard. Police are out blocking roads and if you’re on the wrong side of the boundary, you’re fined heavily. Only 3 new cases this week. This is what should have been done here from Day 1 instead of fannying about for the past 8 months. On the upside, we have a vaccination being trotted out and they don’t- yet.
I really don't know how we can make the population comply. I’m in T2 with no local cases until Christmas Eve when the manager of our one shop (next is 5 miles away in T3?) tested positive. Neither he nor 2 of the staff wore masks. He comes from Swindon in T4. Nuff said. So, here we go ......