The decision to end restrictions is dangerous and premature, unethical and illogical.

loveOc that is such a sad story. I absolutely understand your point, and I think it’s terribly sad that this poor lady was so terrified of Covid. I think we have some similar people on Gransnet. Terrifying people was one of the government strategies to make us accept lockdown, but some people are unable to shake off this terror despite being fully vaccinated. What has happened to your friend’s mother is just so sad.

Love0C. That is ndeed very sad but when you say “ ^she never caught 'covid' though! For anyone who is about to say what is my point, I say clearly there is no point in me answering as your brain washing is complete^”.
Are you implying that Covid is not real ? Or what ?

love0c your story is so sad, and there are surely many others who have died without seeing their family, whilst keeping safe from Covid. I hope palliative care will mean your friend’s mother is pain free for what time remains.
The shops near us are still asking for masks to be worn and I watched yesterday as a non-masker was offered a mask at the supermarket entrance. She accepted it politely but I don’t know whether she really wanted to wear one.

Love0c
I never stopped hugging or visiting those who needed one throughout this whole time.
Your post makes me very sad and angry in equal measures.
Too many things to mention that have made me bloody livid in what I call this shit storm.
I know there will be many many who disagree with my attitude but I know that nobody I know was ever left alone.

Your friend’s mother’s story is desperately sad LoveOc and of course there will be others like her who were too fearful to have symptoms investigated, but I do remember that at some point last year (maybe by early summer?) it was stressed that the NHS is still open for business.

….many others……have died without seeing their family…….

As I was l being put into the ambulance when I had Covid, I looked at my husband and I thought, will I ever see him again? The fear when you are hospitalised with Covid is very real, but nonetheless I wouldn’t have ignored any worrying symptoms during lockdown without contacting my GP.

And the best thing we can do for cancer patients is to keep the Covid numbers as low as is possible.

Which really doesn’t seem to be the Government’s strategy at present.

That is sad LoveOc, and am sure happens even when there isn’t a pandemic. If only many cancers were caught, and importantly diagnosed early, the outcomes would be better. I have known a couple of people who haven’t gone to GP until too late.
The NHS is in addition to the long list of those now waiting for treatment, will have to deal in the future with those suffering Long Covid, which I think is too readily dismissed.
There was an Indy Sage YouTube on this today for anyone interested.

According to what I’ve read, Long Covid lasts,on average, three months. Obviously a very few will suffer for longer, but to be honest, taking three months to get properly over Covid is not the end of the world.

I'm very sorry for your friend LoveOc.
I'm sorry for my young friend that died of covid and his widow and son.
I'm sorry for several friends who have long covid.
I'm sorry for my friends who had to wait 12 months for an operation because of delays caused by covid.
I'm sorry for everyone that has been negatively impacted by this pandemic.

Let's try to respect each others' views and treat each other with compassion. The virus is the enemy, not people with differing views on how to deal with it.

PHE have said that a new variant is under investigation in England.

Incidentally is there a reason why you wrote covid in inverted commas LoveOc ?

Whitewavemark2

PHE have said that a new variant is under investigation in England.

There is no evidence to suggest it makes the vaccines less effective or causes more severe illness, PHE said.

Incidentally, with regard to Beta:

Real-world data out of Canada shows one dose of AstraZeneca’s vaccine is highly effective against preventing hospitalization and/or death caused by SARS-CoV-2 VOCs

•Alpha (B.1.1.7): 90%
•Delta (B.1.617.2): 87%
•Gamma (P.1): 82%
•Beta (B.1.351): 82%

twitter.com/Coronavirusgoo1/status/1418564785570996228

The U.K. figures for today and yesterday are considerably down on Thursday & Friday last week today’s 36,389 compared to last Fridays 51,870, yesterday’s 39,906 as opposed to 48,553 last Thursday.

Let’s hope they continue to go in this direction.

Yes. To highlight that to think that covid is the only thing to fear is so sad. To think that covid is the only killer around is misguided. To think that if you are safe from covid, then you are safe, is misguided. I say hug your nearest and dearest while you can.

That is to answer you JenniferEccles

Who on earth thinks that Covid is the only thing to fear or is the only killer around?

I'm as safe as I could ever be from Covid, but I'm acutely aware that some other condition could affect me. If I do catch Covid, my risk of being severely affected is higher than average, despite vaccinations. I'd like to know that if I'm struck down with something else that the NHS has spare capacity to treat me. I try me best to avoid another heart attack and do what I can to keep my diabetes under control. Why shouldn't I try not to catch Covid?

GrannyGravy13

The U.K. figures for today and yesterday are considerably down on Thursday & Friday last week today’s 36,389 compared to last Fridays 51,870, yesterday’s 39,906 as opposed to 48,553 last Thursday.

Let’s hope they continue to go in this direction.

I agree. Fingers crossed. It's a bit baffling that Tim Spector (from ZOE) thinks that cases are about 50% higher than the "offcial" figures. Usually, he's very cautious about case numbers. The cases in my district are still 20 times higher than they were a couple of weeks ago and the ONS is still reporting a rise, so who knows?

Many people are no longer testing, worried about being told to isolate and therefore not being paid if they are self employed. Apparently 25% have deleted the NHS app. These people obviously won’t show up in the figures.

No appreciable change in the level of testing, up until yesterday.

Alegrias1

No appreciable change in the level of testing, up until yesterday.

Several possible reasons for lower amount of tests all U.K. schools are now closed along with many people now on holiday.

The ONS survey uses a different methodology not the positive test results, , it random samples from households each week.
www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/methodologies/covid19infectionsurveypilotmethodsandfurtherinformation.

GrannyGravy13

Alegrias1

No appreciable change in the level of testing, up until yesterday.

Several possible reasons for lower amount of tests all U.K. schools are now closed along with many people now on holiday.

I doubt if many school pupils were testing properly anyway. The teenagers I teach admitted they didn't, unless their parents were standing over them. The first they knew was when when they were infected. The reporting arrangements for schools changed very recently, so it's probable that quite a number of teenagers haven't been reported. If you look at the cases broken down by age, it's noticeable that reported cases in 10-19 year olds have decreased.

Casdon

The ONS survey uses a different methodology not the positive test results, , it random samples from households each week.
www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/methodologies/covid19infectionsurveypilotmethodsandfurtherinformation.

I know, which is why I always look at a number of sources. ZOE uses different methodology too.

A number of people never have a PCR test, which also affects the stats.