Stats on the up

There is a very good article on the BBC news website comparing this Summer with last year's infection rates. Although numbers are 30 times higher more people are being tested more often and fewer of the people who test positive have symptoms. Vaccination continues to protect against serious illness and reduces mortality. I will continue with avoidance of large groups, wear a mask in shops etc and hands washed or sanitised regularly. Other than that life as normal.

Really, calm down ladies!

Really? Lockdown? Who will pay for everyone to stay at home this time instead of going to work? What was the point of being vaccinated?

My daughter and her partner have no intention of returning to working in an office/lab in the near future and there is no pressure on them to do so. Neither has ever stopped working or been furloughed, so the idea that it's "staying at home" or "going to work" is false. Nobody has ever had to pay them anything extra.

Callistemon

I went to a Tesco for the first time since February 2020 today and I must say that everyone was very polite, waiting whilst other shoppers chose their goods, standing clear and keeping a good distance. And wearing masks properly too.

When I've been to a supermarket, that's been my experience too. I think the rules are slightly different in Wales, but it seems that the majority of people, certainly in my local supermarkets (I obviously can't vouch for Thorpe Bay ) are continuing to be sensible.

Callistemon You don't appear to have read my post properly. I wrote "if it's financially sustainable", which is an important caveat. Many jobs can be done at home in front of a computer and if they can, I really don't see why the people doing the jobs should have to commute to work. I really am not daft enough to think that all jobs can be done at home, but if they can, it's freeing up public transport and space on roads for people who need to travel to work and reducing opportunities for the virus to be transmitted.

Anybody who thinks that life can go back to normal is deluded. We can return to a version of normality, but there need to be mitigations. Not having people breathing over each other in packed commuter trains and buses would be one such mitigation.

I went to a Tesco for the first time since February 2020 today and I must say that everyone was very polite, waiting whilst other shoppers chose their goods, standing clear and keeping a good distance. And wearing masks properly too.

growstuff

rosie1959

Alegrias1

Really? Lockdown? Who will pay for everyone to stay at home this time instead of going to work? What was the point of being vaccinated?

Totally with you companies can just keep locking down as you said who is going to pay for it
Perhaps we are learning you can't go round this virus you have to go through it If not it's the definition of insanity trying the same thing expecting different results

Why shouldn't companies continue to let staff work at home, if it's financially sustainable? I'm not talking about "lockdowns" either, but there is no reason people should be out and about, if it's not necessary.

I doubt that most people's work can be done from home on a computer.

If yours can, all well and good but society would grind to a halt if people cannot go out to fulfil their duties, whether that be NHS staff, people working in the food chain from farmers, manufacturers, distributors, people who work in shops, builders, people who build and maintain the roads, public transport workers etc etc.

Not everyone's job can be carried out from a PC in an ivory tower.

Really? Lockdown? Who will pay for everyone to stay at home this time instead of going to work? What was the point of being vaccinated?

Precisely.

I think it depends. I much much prefer our online team meetings to real life ones.

Alegrais1 far more articulate than me
I have been doing support meetings online but nothing can replace the face to face meeting and the energy it releases

Quote of the day goes to the Director of public health for Cornwall - :
'living with Covid us not the same as pretending that it doesn't exist.' Looking like places holding festivals/holiday hotspots are braced for a surge in infection. www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/26/uk-braces-for-covid-surge-as-people-head-to-bank-holiday-hotspots

GG13 thank you

To growstuff:

I don't think its the people who don't want to go out who might be called scared growstuff, but there are still people who disinfect their shopping. The government have done a sterling job of making lots of people think that they will be struck down by a deadly disease the minute that they are in an enclosed space with other people.

That's not making fun of these people; its just true; there are people who are scared of everyday interactions and are missing out because of it.

Supermarket shopping isn't a waste of time for some people. Some people can't shop online, for whatever reason, or whose local supermarkets don't deliver. For some, it may be the only personal contact they have with other people. Some people have to go to the supermarket because they rely on the cost effectiveness of doing so.

Its good that you are content, but its good also to appreciate that the life you describe isn't for everyone. I've been keeping up with friends on Zoom but this week we met for the first time face to face. The difference is immense; no hugging, (I'm not a hugger anyway ) we sat in the garden, we remembered things we've done together. People need that.

I went to the garden centre down the road today as I wanted to look at some sheds. You have to walk through the main shop area and past the cafe and no one was social distancing and no one was wearing masks indoors. I just don't understand why people have just abandoned everything. The cafe looked normal just had one of those ribbon banners round it so the air particles knew they couldn't pass into the human corridor? I don't know, wtf

Asking people to use common sense in this country is like thinking a collie will train itself (it will btw but it will do it very very badly)

Alegrias1 I agree and respect your opinion on Covid-19.

growstuff for me going out has been going to AC’s houses (usually in their gardens) to eat, going to farms/Zoos/play parks with GC and DiL’s, eating out along with resuming shopping in person as opposed to online.

Ok growstuff

rosie1959

Lol growstuff I have never bullied anyone in my life do you really make stuff up as you go along where did I accuse you of bullying
I certainly have no right to dictate what you post but that works both ways
Will leave it at that

Really? Well, stop calling people "scared" just because they are different from you. That is a form of bullying behaviour.

MerylStreep

Alegrias1

Really? Lockdown? Who will pay for everyone to stay at home this time instead of going to work? What was the point of being vaccinated?

Absolutely!!!!
Can all the doom mongers not think ahead and see what could happen if that were to happen.
Forgot your empty shelves, there might not be any shops !!!
Let your imagination go to the nth degree and see what could happen.
Sheer bloody madness.

Eh? No shops? Now, who's doom mongering?

I take no issue with how other people manage their lives in response to the current COVID situation, but having had severe respiratory problems I have no desire to put myself in the firing line. When numbers were low I resumed some activities that I will now eschew once again, e.g visiting the cinema and indoor dining in restaurants/cafes.

My area has one of the highest rates in the country and I think it’s simply prudent to ensure I take steps to limit my potential exposure to the virus. I’m fortunate to be able to work from home alongside my husband in our business and in my work for the charity I lead meetings with (homeless) clients are often held outdoors anyway.

Alegrias1

^Maybe some don't have the capacity to entertain themselves^

That's really dismissive growstuff. I'm an only child and can quite happily keep myself occupied for days on end. Most would call me an introvert. But like most people I want to meet other people face to face, even for a few minutes. That doesn't make me shallow.

I didn't say everybody who wants to meet other people is shallow. However, I really don't enjoy being with people for the sake of it. I'd far rather be on my own than be with people I find boring or silly. Interaction doesn't need to be face-to-face.

Algerias I think we're in agreement more than you think.

"DH has just popped down to the shop to get some nice bread. Is that necessary?" Yes.

However, why should people who don't eat bread (I don't) or don't feel the urge to visit somewhere feel pressurised by people calling them "scared" or "trembling at the knees" because they can't cope without "going out". It's like children calling others "scaredy cats".

I feel the same when people think I'm a party pooper because I don't drink alcohol or eat sugary foods. They think they're being "kind" when they say thing such as "just one drink or a little piece of cake won't harm you". The point is I don't want to drink alcohol and it's none of their damned business if I don't.

The kind of unnecessary trips I mean include going to work when somebody does a job which can be doe perfectly well at home and the person is happy to work there and supermarket shopping, which in my opinion is a waste of time. I'm far happier having the time to do things which really make me happy. As I have a new partner, we're very happy to find things to keep us occupied - in fact, I'd be happy to have more time together. We have a garden and we both write and we have loads of friends on Zoom and WhatsApp. Our food is delivered by supermarkets and local suppliers of fruit/veg and meat. I have never been more content. We do go out, but we're always cautious. We even organised and participated in a walk and talk for about 100 people last week, but we were strict about social distancing. However, there's no way in the world I would put myself in a situation where I am surrounded by people I don't know at close proximity, especially in a closed space - fortunately, I don't have to.

Daisymae: Covid needs to be managed otherwise it's going to manage us.

Very well said! This is the nub of it. Whatever happens, the situation needs managing, which is at odds with our PM's instinctive libertarian (aka lazy) approach.

I agree with Algerias.
Our NHS trust figures for hospital Covid patients on August 17th was 15. This is in the West Country where positive cases are rising, but not showing in hospitalisations.
Yes the Trust has been at full capacity with A& E waits during a weekend of 10 hours. This is 'because' of Covid as sick people have more complex needs after not being treated because of Covid. Our GP surgeries are also overwhelmed, plus we are sinking under all the extra tourists needing A & E.
I think we all need to keep things in perspective, do what feels right for you, but let others do what feels right for them.

Sounds awful nanna8 don’t honestly think many uk citizens would comply with such low rates

i was reading on the sky news website that the vaccines could wane after 6 months and could drop below 50% for elderly and healthcare workers by winter, so we could be facing the same problem we have every year of hospitals filled with very sick and elderly people not just from winter flu but from covid as well, i am still very carefull and have had both jags and test twice a week at home but i have friends who don't bother as the response from them is.....i will be fine i have had the vaccine. i am in scotland and our FM is talking about bringing back some restrictions as the positive covid rate is very high.

For normality to resume on an indefinite basis we should be in a better place with regards to Covid. We have the benefit of high and recent vaccination rates, Sumner weather. The writing is on the wall for a very difficult winter. I think that the messages are contradictory and confusing. Covid needs to be managed otherwise it's going to manage us.