We should have locked down earlier

Having troops on the streets of the UK or sealing folks in their homes which happened in China is unpalatable to the majority? I have no idea what the solution is

Grannygravy
A good, but rather belated solution, would be to copy Australia! We didn't achieve our current situation by chance.
We too had troops "on the street" to assist police in handing out severe fines to rules transgressors and helping out with the logistics associated with things like traffic control at testing stations.
"Sealing folks in their homes" sounds hysterical when it should be called "lockdown'"
Self control and a strong sense of community spirit plus hefty fines for breaches of the rules have turned out to be very effective!
Good Health

GrannyGravy13

growstuff Covid complacency is rising across the UK, I am not a fan of house arrest but have no idea how to cajole the population into compliance.

The ex-teacher in me says there are times when people just have to do as they're told and be made to do so. There isn't any other solution.

I agree Alexa

westendgirl Schools still haven't been told what's happening. It's rumoured that pupils will be expected to administer the tests themselves. In Liverpool, self-administered tests were less than 50% accurate.

EllanVannin

To have had a complete lockdown would have been virtually impossible. Which would have meant no movement whatsoever, planes/trains or any other vehicles, as this would have been the only way to have eradicated such a disease----which is why we still have it floating around and it'll be with us for the rest of next year too until every living soul is vaccinated and practices cleanliness in every way.

Cleanliness isn't the answer - social distancing is.

Nezumi65

They’re now messing up school.

Headlines ‘army will support schools in testing’

Reality. Army are at the end of a phone line

The lateral flow tests are not reliable enough anyway (50%? Even less against the new variant) & if I have understood correctly the plan is to not send bubbles home to isolate but to keep pretty much everyone in schools. Madness. And you don’t need hindsight to tell you that.

Essex County Council have asked parents to organise a test for their children up to a week before they're supposed to return. I don't understand the sense in that. They could be tested negative and be infected half an hour after they walk out of the test centre.

To have had a complete lockdown would have been virtually impossible. Which would have meant no movement whatsoever, planes/trains or any other vehicles, as this would have been the only way to have eradicated such a disease----which is why we still have it floating around and it'll be with us for the rest of next year too until every living soul is vaccinated and practices cleanliness in every way.

Why the haste to open school, especially as the Science has advised against, but then this government has selective hearing.? Teachers are not trained medical people and I seem to have read somewhere that there will no medical grade PPE equipment for Teachers after their "training. "Of course the School Nurse is a thing of the past. Quite honestly I think the idea is a non starter, too fraught with difficulties and is using a testing system which is known to be quite ineffective..
It seems that again the Education Sec. has sat on his hands ,has done no planning and this is his idea of getting out of an impossible situation.

growstuff Covid complacency is rising across the UK, I am not a fan of house arrest but have no idea how to cajole the population into compliance.

Jaxjacky I agree, our business was deemed essential so we remained open. This entailed financial outlay to ensure Covid safe compliance throughout the offices, warehouse, stores and yard. Decisions on who to furlough, a rota system to ensure no unnecessary mixing of staff.

It is easy for those with a guaranteed income to call for a further hard lockdown.

The last nine months have taken its toll on the mental health and well-being of so many which has to be addressed.

Numbers actually fell in Manchester after it was moved to Tier 3 and now has fewer than half the number of cases per 100,000 than my area, which seems to have become very complacent.

In Sydney, the solution was "Let's go early, let's go hard and let's get this baby".

GrannyGravy13 the numbers also dropped significantly in March as it was a proper lockdown, no garden centres or others now deemed essential. This has of course a huge financial hit and it’s ok for me, with my jolly nice pension thanks, but devastating for others. If you have a mild dose and no food in the house isolation and staying off work is not going to happen, however irresponsible it may be. People have also become blasé, we’ve all seen it. I really don’t know the answer, nor would I want to be a decision maker.

You’ve got a Tory MP on Twitter at the moment saying that driving is more dangerous to under 60’s without underlying health conditions than Covid.

Older people of Telford I think she’s just let you know what she thinks of you.

The UK locked down in March, the numbers dropped dramatically.

When things began to open up over the summer months numbers remained relatively low.

Numbers began to rise when Education at all levels returned.

There have been numerous regions under different levels of lockdown since March, but numbers in Leicester and Greater. Manchester for instance continued to rise despite the restrictions.

Lockdowns are only as effective as the populations willingness to fully comply, you only have to read some of the threads on GN to see that non-compliance is rife.

There are many conspiracy theorists with large followers on SM who simply deny the very existence of Covid, along with the growing anti-vaccine movement.

Having troops on the streets of the UK or sealing folks in their homes which happened in China is unpalatable to the majority? I have no idea what the solution is.

The balancing act between civil liberties and civil constraints is very delicate.

Money thrown down the drain

Nightingales, £220 million.

Test and Trace £22billion!!

Surely the biggest scandal of the decade?

Throws hands up in the air and decides to hibernate under the duvet for 12 months ????

My youngest missed 5 weeks of school last term - in an exam year and we are in a. Area with one of the lowest rates of infection.

If they go ahead with their plan as it is I predict new variant rapidly increasing here (& we have an elderly population with few beds).

Rather than last minute changes of plan, they need to scan the idea of exams (Gove’s reforms have made that much harder, but also harder to keep fair external assessment) & concentrate on the pandemic response and supporting children who need the wider supports provided by school.

They’re now messing up school.

Headlines ‘army will support schools in testing’

Reality. Army are at the end of a phone line

The lateral flow tests are not reliable enough anyway (50%? Even less against the new variant) & if I have understood correctly the plan is to not send bubbles home to isolate but to keep pretty much everyone in schools. Madness. And you don’t need hindsight to tell you that.

Lucretzia

I'm hoping they make an announcement about schools

My daughter doesn't know what to do about shifts at work and I'm sure many people are in the same boat.

I suffer with chronic pain. I'll take the boys if need be but it's not easy. The not knitting is adding to the problem

I'm sure many people are in the same boat

Yes, they are. Pupils are in and out of school like yoyos. They and their families need certainty, even if it's not ideal.

Absolutely, growstuff

Many people just couldn't afford to isolate.

Not knowing!

I should proofread my posts

I'm not a knitter ?

Lucretzia

Sadly the British public weren't great at isolating, growstuff

Less than 20%complied

I know and that's why there should have been better incentives to comply.

Unfortunately, the system itself didn't work well because it didn't have the local knowledge. It didn't manage to trace contacts, either those who could have been infected or the source of the infection. It was an expensive disaster.

Now the lateral flow tests are the latest expensive fad - and it really doesn't need an expert to predict they won't work in suppressing transmission either.

I'm hoping they make an announcement about schools

My daughter doesn't know what to do about shifts at work and I'm sure many people are in the same boat.

I suffer with chronic pain. I'll take the boys if need be but it's not easy. The not knitting is adding to the problem

I'm sure many people are in the same boat

Well said, Dorsetcupcake61. Much too late on decisions, but nothing we can do about it now apart from lockdown. Idiots out there still socialising and all the government says is it trusts the British people to do the right thing! They haven't been for the last 8 months so does he really think they are going to now at Christmas and New Year. Wonder how many fireworks are going to be let off at private garden parties on New Years Eve.

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