We need to take control

We need to take control

But what will that look like in practise?

A police commissioner is asking for the law to change to give them the power to enter peoples homes

Presumably to check for rule breakers.

Would we want this?
Isnt this a hammer to crack a walnut?

Namsnanny

*Grannygravy*...
China has denied WHO access

China lied to the WHO the first time around.
Therefore how can anything they say be trusted now?

Why does it matter? Let's concentrate on our own country.

MaizieD I endorse totally your post @ 09.26.

There is a lot more the government could do to support people in vulnerable situations (and I don't mean just those who are shielding). Yes, it would cost money, but the amount pales into insignificance compared with the amount which has been handed out to various cronies and would reap benefits by ensuring that people stayed at home when positive and could mitigate some of the mental health issues people are experiencing and the disadvantages of remote teaching. In the medium/long term, support now would enable the economy to get back to something like normality more quickly.

Grannygravy...
China has denied WHO access

China lied to the WHO the first time around.
Therefore how can anything they say be trusted now?

If the vaccine isn't going to help us out of this situation, why are we bothering with it?

The vaccine will struggle to help us while we still have an incompetent government messing up everything they put their hands to.

I thank God we are nothing like China when dealing with this . Also if , as th OP suggests China is battling a fresh outbreak then surely that proves that even their draconian measures don’t work. On a lighter note I agree with comments on the glamorous walkers _ I look NOTHING like that, if my dogs could talk they would testify to that!!!?

I think that's a bit pessimistic Iam64!

I also believe though that it was the social gatherings over Christmas that have caused the increase. The new variant hasn't helped but it can't just be a coincidence that cases started to increase just after Christmas, while the new variant has been in the UK since the autumn.

If the vaccine isn't going to help us out of this situation, why are we bothering with it?

It seems obvious the increase is linked to the social gatherings, which were encouraged by the government.
I think the cat is out of the bag and unlike to decrease much in the year future.

We don't live in an authoritarian state, we police by consent. and I don't think China, with its record of Human Abuses, is a good example.Their safety precautions in the laboratory where they were investigating corona virus were lamentable, and we have no idea of the accuracy of their preventive measures other than what they choose to release.

It would be interesting to know where all the people in hospital caught covid, but I can't imagine people attached to ventilators are being cross-questioned as to their previous activities.

If predictions are correct, surely the increase in cases should decrease shortly, if it was linked to Christmas and the New Year, or is that too simplistic?

Support for MaizieD's comments. The other issue is I don't know anyone who isn't finding the current lock down much tougher than the first one. I'm in the CEV category but, my home is comfortable and I can afford to order food and keep my heating on. I realise how fortunate I am and can't imagine how depressing it must be to be isolated, cold and frightened.

I feel for young families. WFH whilst educating children, without the usual support from grandparents. Not knowing if their employment is secure, having to heat their homes during this cold spell because everyone is home all the time. The nonsense of a PM telling the nation on Sunday that children should safely return to school the next day, only to close the schools on Monday evening can't be forgotten.

People keep going on about personal responsibility for 'sticking to the rules' as if this is the only thing that would make lockdown work, but there is an economic dimension to it, too. Unless people are assured of financial support when they isolate, those living on the breadline (or below) just aren't going to do it. There are still 3 million people who have never had any financial support from the government. They can't live on fresh air.

Additionally, government has failed to establish the importance of ventilation in the minds of the public, carrying on with its inane 'hands, space, face' message (and forcing children into poorly ventilated schools) long after the danger of aerosols was well established. I could continue, but I'm sure you get my drift.

It's no wonder that people aren't observing 'the rules' as rigorously as they did when the government is failing to do what it could do, in fact making the situation worse (schools) in some cases, and failing to support people to enable them to 'do the right thing'. Draconian measures won't help. Government has to play its part; which it isn't at the moment.

How can ‘everything’ be open in a tier 4 area, Gagajo?
It’s certainly not the case here - I’m within a 10 minute bus ride of the biggest shopping centre for a long way, unless you’re talking central London.

As for what China does, I for one am very thankful that we don’t live under such a draconian, zero human rights regime, even if it does mean a Boris-balls-up over the bloody virus.

No Alegrias, not just you.
I suggest those who complain about human rights have a look at countries where there are none.

Just me?
No Alegrias <sigh>

My nephew, a construction worker, says there is little difference in the amount of traffic than there was in the summer when everyone was back at work.

I agree with those who are fed up hearing about ‘rights’. I was always told that along with rights come responsibilities. That is what these human rights demonstrators forget.

I get cross about the holiday-makers too. That should have been stopped at the very beginning. I get cross with the whining on Fb about flights being cancelled. What were they doing booking anyway? My son-in-law’s son lives in Spain and says that The Balearics blame British holiday makers for the spread of the virus there.

I'm also a bit worried by the phrase "democracy gone mad".....

Just me?

EllanVannin

No such things as rights when I was going to school ! You did as you were told. The same at home and at work too. Everything ticked along nicely until rights raised its ugly head.
Sorry but these are my politics and politics should have been kept away from classrooms, which is my answer to why the world has turned on its head because everyone now USES " their rights " ( wrongly) in mostly everything.

Jeezy peeps EV! Of course there were rights!

Were the teachers or your parents allowed to beat you within an inch of your life? No? Rights!

Were you entitled to an education? Yes? Rights!

Were you left to die in the streets if you were ill? No? Rights!

I do wish people would stop banging on about "Rights" being a bad thing! Some people use it as an excuse to do what they like but that's what we need to stop, we can't be saying people don't need rights!

It's democracy gone mad when it comes to something as serious as the difference ibetween life and death.

No such things as rights when I was going to school ! You did as you were told. The same at home and at work too. Everything ticked along nicely until rights raised its ugly head.
Sorry but these are my politics and politics should have been kept away from classrooms, which is my answer to why the world has turned on its head because everyone now USES " their rights " ( wrongly) in mostly everything.

Agree with your earlier post growstuff re ‘rights and responsibilities. As a retired teacher I found that young people knew their rights but were sometimes less inclined to take responsibility. If some adults are not taking responsibility seriously, as in following the lockdown rules, how can we expect young people to learn by example.

growstuff

BlueSky

GrannyGravy
“The population of New Zealand is 4.886 million and it is 268,838 sq km. The population of the UK is 66 million and it is 243,610 sq km which makes the UK 90.62% the size of NZ.”
Exactly GrannyGravy I was going to say just that.

There's still no reason why people in the UK couldn't have a stricter lockdown. Some of the Chinese cities are much more densely populated than the UK.

Agree and it’s the “management style “ not the size. Ditto Australia. Quick tough action.

Greenfinch

SiL is an HGV driver. He was furloughed in the Spring but is working this time round. Why ? He says it is because the Construction industry is still working.

The majority of construction work continued throughout the previous lockdowns.

SiL is an HGV driver. He was furloughed in the Spring but is working this time round. Why ? He says it is because the Construction industry is still working.

We are told that a COVID certificate will be necessary for people coming into the country from next week but I have heard nothing about how quarantine is going to be supervised. Making rules and ensuring compliance are two very different things.

More people are now classed as key workers. Therefore there are more people travelling about and more children going to school. This has been done, I imagine, in order that the Government can save on furlough money.