New infections - 100000 per day?

Me too, they say they are giving freedom to the community, but not ours.

We shall continue to be careful, wear masks in public places and avoid areas such as cinemas, restaurants. cafes, wherever we dont feel safe.

MissChateline

Shelflife, I certainly am not being lulled into a false sense of security. But I think that I have dealt with the whole pandemic thing in a very different way to many contributors on here. After the very first week of feeling terrified of dying alone, my wife had became stuck in Spain, I realised that this was not the way to deal with it and that the anxiety and fear were more debilitating and damaging than the virus. I did the things that I was required to by law, masks in shops and public transport. But that was it. I hugged my family, refused to cut myself off and concentrated on maintaining my physical and mental health. I walked 10 miles a day, saw my friends and generally got on with life.
Additionally I organised an entire house renovation with walls being knocked down, new kitchen installed, total decorating and all of the rest of what was needed. I probably had at least 30 tradesmen all working for the best part of a year. There was the designers, project manager, plasterers, builders, plumbers, joiners, electricians, Tiler’s and decorators. Then came curtain makers, carpet cleaners and furniture deliveries. I always insisted that they did not need to wear masks unless they wanted to in the house as it was hot and heavy work they were doing and on many occasions I worked alongside them and was around for the full process. I loved every minute of it. Not once did I feel “unsafe”. I was doubly lucky as I got the best of the local tradesmen who had had work cancelled as customers were to frightened to have workmen in the house.
I continually find it concerning the levels of sanitisation and people avoidance that is going on. The amount of stress that people are putting themselves through. There were many who observed guidelines as if they were the law (it was never illegal to hug anyone) who still caught COVID and those of us who carried in as normal and haven’t as much as sneezed for 15 months. The levels of mental health problems that will manifest from this is terrifying.
I have been very lucky in the fact that I have never had a serious days illness in my life. The last time I was confined to my bed was when I was 13 with German measles. But I have always looked after myself. I exercise daily, walk 10 miles and regularly do weight training. I could not imagine ever eating any junk food and I maintain a very healthy BMI.
So I am not being lulled into a false sense of security because I believe that life has to go on. I know that having been doubly vaccinated I am highly unlikely to be seriously ill.
As an aside, I used to work with the homeless in a residential hostel about 20 years ago. Many of the male residents were actively infected with TB. Did I spend my life worrying whether I was going to be become ill from it…. No I didn’t because like most others I was vaccinated.

You sound lucky and frankly very well off! It's difficult when you don't have a garden, or local family/friends or a well paid job with access to funds to do big building projects to Keep boredom at bay. It's been utterly grim for I would think the majority of people, specially so for those who were dumped by their employers early on in first lockdown and those for whom benefits are their only lifeline. Every society is measured I feel by the way they treat the weaker in their ranks and are prepared to understand that "I did I so why don't you?" Is a glib attitude.im glad you've found all this an opportunity to enjoy your lot.spare a deep thought and maybe understanding of those for whom this is not and never will be the case.TB? not the case my love .think you're massaging the lemon there! In short you sound like a right smug show off! And seriously question what you're doing on here anyway , gran? I doubt it!

I use anti-bac/alcohol gel anyway. I don't know where the hands have been of the last person to use a shopping trolley etc.
When I walk into a shop or the doc's and the bottle is there I'll use it to put other people at ease.
I can't wear a mask but I will do whatever else I can to protect other people or make them feel more comfortable.
I myself am not scared of catching covid as we already had it last year with very little illness thankfully.
I still believe that the economy is balancing on a knife edge and clearly the government have had to weigh that up, along with the numbers of hospitalisations and deaths.
The case numbers go up every time there's another scare story/new variant etc because more people test but that doesn't mean they're ill or even have any symptoms at all.

And teenagers haven't been thrown on the scrapheap - the risk of them getting serious illness is miniscule. The risk of side-effects from the vaccine is potentially much higher, as Chris Whitty & Patrick Valance said on Monday.

If we can’t put our trust in the vaccines to protect us now, when will we?

We all know now that covid will always be around, and presumably variants will spring up from time to time, so we need to accept that and maybe alter our thinking about the virus.

It’s always worth repeating that the vast majority of people who contract covid make a full recovery.
That’s even true for elderly people.

My views are similar to those expressed by MissChateline,
although even though I enjoy a good walk, I can’t in all honesty claim to do 10 miles a day!

Franbern I completely agree we must learn to live with it and all the media scaremongering over rising cases does not help. Trying to get hospital appointments that have been cancelled rescheduled, getting a doctor appointment is impossible. How many people are dying or getting very ill because of not having treatments makes me so angry. I am sick of the excuse of its because of Covid. We need to get back to 'normal' and make our own judgement on what we are prepared to risk. If people want to never go out always wear a mask fine but don't expect everybody to go along with that.

I'll be trying to continue to be careful and will be avoiding busy places where others are not.

www.independent.co.uk/news/health/leeds-cancer-surgery-coronavirus-nhs-b1879646.html

donnab31 The risk of teenagers being seriously ill or dying is indeed much less than older people, although the risk of their suffering from long Covid is still significant.

There are about 7.4 million teenagers in the UK. The plan at the moment seems to be to let most of them acquire immunity by being infected, as nearly all of them will be, if there are no mitigations.

Between 4-8% of teenagers who have had Covid are reporting long Covid. That equates to 296,000 - 592,000 people.

Currently, nobody knows how long the effects of long Covid last. The current statistics are for people with symptoms three months after infection, but they will last much longer for some people, possibly for life. Covid attacks all major organs of the body, including the brain. If you've been following the case of Derek Draper, you'll understand what I mean.

So, please, donnab31, next time you claim that young people aren't affected, remember the ones who will be affected, in some cases left with a lifelong disability. That's not scaremongering. It's already started happening and we just don't know how serious it will be. I think gambling with these young people's long-term health is going too far and it's not exaggerating to claim they've been thrown on a scrap heap.

GardenofEngland

Franbern I completely agree we must learn to live with it and all the media scaremongering over rising cases does not help. Trying to get hospital appointments that have been cancelled rescheduled, getting a doctor appointment is impossible. How many people are dying or getting very ill because of not having treatments makes me so angry. I am sick of the excuse of its because of Covid. We need to get back to 'normal' and make our own judgement on what we are prepared to risk. If people want to never go out always wear a mask fine but don't expect everybody to go along with that.

So don't follow the media "scaremongering" if you can't cope with it.

If the public is supposed to be responsible and make its own decisions, it needs accurate information, including the number of cases locally. Most people are intelligent enough to interpret it in context.

It’s not scaremongering GardenofEden. The Government is taking a big gamble, and it depends on how risk averse you are as to whether you support that gamble or not - but the infection rate, hospitalisation rate and deaths are the facts. The press are speculating on best and worse case scenarios, all within the realms of possibility, but they aren’t wrong to do that as to make informed choices people need to understand what could happen.

MissChateline I hope you have a good counsellor, if your risk of mental health problems is greater than that of being ill with Covid. Seriosly!

growstuff - do you have the figures for the number of mental health issues experienced by young people?
Their teenage years have been put on hold, their education is being damaged and they've had a limited social life for the last 16 months.
Those numbers are very likely much higher than those affected by illness from covid.

Goodness me.

This is all a bit febrile, even for me.

percentage wise in a population of 60 million it's not too bad

In response to the OP I will continue to do as I am now. Wearing a mask, washing my hands and keeping my distance. What I wont be doing is going to crowded places,or using public transport. I will not being going to restaurants/bars. Fortunately I can work from home and am thankful. I did a largish supermarket shop yesterday and that will be it for now. I intend to go back to on line shopping for my food. I do not want to be like this and I would love to get back to normal, but having a compromised immune system prevents this and I do worry about some of the restrictions being eased, especially the face covering. I admit I am scared that should I catch Covid I could become extremely ill or worse. It is shocking to see so many people at the large gatherings for sport not really take much notice of any social distancing guidance and that the increase in infection may be coming from them. So .....may I wish those of you, who will go about your business without having a care for other people who may be vulnerable, well and I do hope that you stay healthy and have no ill effects should you come into contact with the virus.

growstuff

MissChateline I hope you have a good counsellor, if your risk of mental health problems is greater than that of being ill with Covid. Seriosly!

May I assure you that my risk of mental health problems is exceptionally low. Maybe because I reduce my stress and anxiety levels through exercise, healthy living and looking after myself. But thank you for your concern.

Gabrielle.....thats a bit presumptuous and rather rude. For your information I have 3 lovely grand children, live in a northern mill town am not particularly well off and have spent my working life caring for others in a professional job. However i saved hard all my life so that i can afford nice things now im retired. Smug not at all. Healthy by design and hard work. Happy now.

Miss Chatelaine, unfortunately for those of us, who have tried very hard to be healthy by design and hard work, it doesn't always work out that way, no matter hard how we try. People become ill through no fault of their own.
I'm afraid, you do come across as smug and I can understand why some posters do find your comments patronising.

MissChateline

growstuff

MissChateline I hope you have a good counsellor, if your risk of mental health problems is greater than that of being ill with Covid. Seriosly!

May I assure you that my risk of mental health problems is exceptionally low. Maybe because I reduce my stress and anxiety levels through exercise, healthy living and looking after myself. But thank you for your concern.

You're welcome.

It's somewhat patronising to claim that Covid has caused others mental health risks higher than the physical illness caused by Covid. It might surprise you to know that there are many others who have made every effort to look after themselves through exercise and healthy living. I hope you don't think those who have died were responsible for their own deaths through negligence of their own well-being.

I just wonder why you are motivated to gaslight people in this way.

Just met friends in a pub for lunch, first time since first lockdown. Pub was well run, very clean, sanitized. Four happy people UNTIL the only other people in our part of the pub, sit at next table, no way 2 metres away!!
In our 60's and looking after elderly parents at home, we will stay masked up when needed and not go to indoor locations for near future, see what occurs

Miss Chateline you say you are not particularly well off although that does contradict what you say as in a post you state you had possibly over 30 tradesmen all working on a house renovation for the best part of a year. Were they working
for free if so that was pretty decent of them as we know tradesmen even have to charge and thirty of them would not have come cheap. To me you sound smug and sanctimonious saying you saved hard all your life the thing is so did I and I just about manage a gardener with my money. Many of us do our best to stay healthy and even if we have not been confined to bed with serious illness we can still have illness enough so that our lives can be difficult.
I had to stop nursing because of a back injury and need to walk at least 5 miles a day some days I find it hard to potter around the house (that's my worst days) and still I refuse to give up and would crawl on my hands and knees rather than give in to becoming immobile. You sound like you have done better than anyone else and others have got what they have because they have not applied themselves enough.

Together with some other posters, I worry about the rising infection rates, and will continue to wear masks in shops and restaurants. I will avoid crowded places as much as possible, even though I am delighted to be able to get my hair cut or go out for a meal, after so long! Both my husband and I have had both doses of the vaccine, but also have underlying conditions that put us at risk.

Hi, I’ve been out most of the day so have missed much of the fun. But as there are some interesting and rather personal comments made I thought that I would answer some as various contributors seem somewhat sceptical.
I have had a very interesting life. I would describe myself as a survivor (not of anything horrible but in life in general) I have always managed to land on my feet from rock bottom places and come up smelling of the proverbial roses. As a teenager I was written off by my parents as a drug addict and would never make anything of myself. Well they were wrong.
I took myself off and got a degree when I was 36. I had to leave my young daughters aged 7 &5 with their father to do this and in the 80’s abandoning your children for an education wasn’t the done thing……I never went back.
I became a residential hostel worker with abused women, alcoholic men (some of whom had active TB) serious drug users, runaway teenagers, and criminals. (Not all at the same time) I went on to specialise in one of the areas and may I assure you there isn’t much of the hard side of life that I haven’t seen. I worked in courts and on the streets. Until at the age of 60 (6 years ago) I ran out of empathy and decided that it was time to look after myself and those close to me. I came out as a lesbian when I was 36, regained my relationship with my now grown up daughters (many years ago) and along with my wonderful wife decided that we were going to enjoy our retirement.
I worked sometimes 7 days a week in hostels, then my day job and often at weekends supervising community service projects. I saved 33% of my wages for more than 20 years squirrelled away in an ISA. I did without many things but I did manage to spend my holidays backpacking through SE Asia which I really miss now. But I saved enough to buy my quirky house in a lovely small town 15 years ago. No my workmen didn’t work for free (what an odd idea) the whole project cost approximately 50grand. I’ve loved every minute of it. And I believe that I deserve to spend my own money.
Moving on……I am quite smug that I didn’t fall for much of the nonsense spouted by this government. I am smug that I didn’t let myself become anxious and frightened. That I didn’t so scared that I had to iron my newspaper, sanitise my partner and quarantine my shopping. I am smug that I was able to support my daughters, help with the grandchildren (yes I have 3 honestly) and hug them. I am smug that I have come out of this awfulness sane and relatively unscathed.
Throughout the pandemic the phrase “underlying health conditions “ is often quoted. Obesity was the second highest indicator for serious illness. Growstuff are you really saying that this isn’t caused by the individual not taking responsibility for themselves and is not preventable? I think it is and if I come across as being smug for preventing this for myself then so be it.

Miss Chatelaine, I remarked on your selfishness in an earlier post on this thread. Leaving your very young children to embark on a degree course proves the point. It’s almost as if you boast about having been so utterly hard and selfish but perhaps you did them a favour. As for your smugness , I and I’m sure many others like me have worked extremely hard for many years. I was fortunate to have a very highly paid job but I’m very aware that many on GN probably survive on a State pension and were prevented, perhaps by lack of educational opportunity or family responsibilities, from saving a third of their income as you did. I don’t brag about the house I live in or the car I drive or any of the other trappings of a long and bloody hard career. Nor am I so ignorant and unfeeling as to suggest that most of those who die with Covid do so because they are overweight. That is just one of a host of ‘underlying conditions! the majority of which, like my own as I said uptbread, are not preventable or curable. You take the biscuit for the most selfish, smug and unpleasant person I’ve ever encountered - and I’ve known a few. I’m just glad the encounter has been virtual, and so should you be.

Miss Chatelaine, obesity, which you mention, is only one underlying condition out of the many which made people extremely, clinically vulnerable.
What about the other conditions, which made shielding necessary? Do you feel they are also self inflicted? I am genuinely interested?

crikey