So what would GransNetters do?

I'd do the following: close all hospitality venues and indoor sporting and leisure events. Insist on masks in public indoor areas including shops and transport Social distancing. If you leave it to the public's 'common sense' people act in their own narrow interests (selfishly) and it gives the message that this isn't really a problem. We can see where it's going without strict regulations. It's not working and the NHS, together with other structures, will be beyond breaking point with staff off sick or isolating. Act now. And mean it.

Don’t lock down like we did in Melbourne, whatever else. We have almost the highest number of cases in Australia, bar Sydney,despite all the draconian measures and helicopters flying overhead checking we didn’t go out after 8 p.m. Compared with the uk our numbers are very small, admittedly, but the fact that the rest of Australia weren’t nearly as strict and have far less numbers of cases says something. We do, however, wear masks indoors at shopping centres and I do think that helps because at least it stops those disgusting unaware coughers who seem to just let it all go from spreading germs.

No

Some of the pubs were packed round here over the weekend. Lets hope everyone took the advice to test before going out.

No

No! No! No!

No to lockdown
Would be a good idea to sort out how long people with Omicron are showing positive tests for taking people out of circulation if they are no longer sick and are producing negative tests 10 days may well be an overkill

MayBeMaw

I think I would restrict indoor mixing to a maximum of 3 households over Christmas (that allows for parents and grandparents /aunts and uncles so nobody should be on their own,) I would also restrict hospitality somehow to a rule of max six at a table - no drinking at the bar- and I am afraid I would clamp down on large sporting events (unless out of doors), proof of LFTs /Covid passes for indoor events and make face coverings mandatory.

Sorry Maw I’m being lazy but….I agree with all this. I believe Ms Sturgeon has sensibly advised the 3 household thing.

Plus a lockdown now would IMO being widely ignored, better a circuit breaker in January.

No I dont think I would. But I would be a terrible politician.

Yes. Unless we really want to wait until hospitals cease to function (which given the rate of growth and Johnson’s dithering is getting likelier each day).

I know so many people with it now. Most young, some quite poorly.

I recently spent time on a placement in an NHS hospital and was surprised by the number of post covid patients in clinic (not a post covid clinic) and how much it was impacting their lives. The majority had had mild cases. My 20 year old son had covid in May and has only recently got back to normal tbh - his convalescence included a short hospital stay. His case of covid was mild.

So I don’t think we should be just sitting back and watching it spread the way we are at the moment .

My eldest son who has severe learning disabilities remains unvaccinated. I am seeing his GP today - see if there is anything we can do. He won’t cope with treatment and would not be prioritised anyway (despite being an otherwise healthy young man in his twenties).

I’m being lazy as well. I agree with Maw and Lucca
I wish Johnson had advised people to limit Christmas get to get hers to 3 households and to meet outdoors wherever possible

Talk about a rudderless ship. The govt don’t want to put the necessary financial support in

No to another lockdown.

I thought I’d contributed to this thread but perhaps I dreamt it, anyway as others have said unfortunately we need to go backwards by reintroducing some restrictions especially in indoor settings and large events. What upsets me is that last year we couldn’t meet everybody we wanted to, and sadly this year some of those people are no longer with us.

No to lockdown. Yes to limiting Christmas get togethers to three households

Not the whole lockdown thing, but I would implement asap -
face mask in all venues inc pubs restaurants, etc
bring back social distancing in all venues
restrict groups to a max of three household

I recognise these are really difficult decisions, and I would probably make a terrible politician: that's why I'm usually reluctant to criticise them too much - apart from Johnson, who is a disgrace and an embarrassment

Todays figures show cases of COVID being far higher than this time last year, but hospital admissions and deaths being far lower, especially among the elderly, who are almost all triple jabbed.

I simply do not understand where these much vaunted science advisors are getting their forecasts from, they seem to be on target for numbers, but their doom laden forecasts on hospital admissions and deaths, currently, are not backed up by the actual figures.

Most of us are taking a reasoned approach to current conditions and socialising with care and with only immediate family and friends.

Lokdown is unnecessary.

I don't think so. I think we just all need to be as careful and sensible as we can. Masks, sanitise, avoid crowds, etc.
I'm glad I don't have to make these decisions. Whatever they do will be criticised.

Alegrias1

Lockdown? No.

Lockdown is only leaving your house once a day. Nothing open, even schools. No sitting on benches in the park. Businesses going bust. No meeting anybody outside your household, even outdoors. Not travelling more than a few hundred yards from your house.

2 years in, with effective vaccines, if the only option is confining us to our houses and criminalizing human contact, then what, really, is the point of anything?

I agree with this. I’m not able to accept children’s education being put on hold again, nor the hugely damaging effect on people’s mental health, both adults and children. Our businesses are suffering, many will go to the wall without lockdown, but certainly with lockdown.
I support measures which may mitigate the infection rates such as mask wearing, sanitising, and social distancing where possible. I would also fully support the need for a negative test in order to enter places or events with large numbers of people. I support certain restrictions on travel ie to those countries that have very large numbers of the virus or have a new variant of the virus. However the restrictions should be clear PCRs and quarantine in most cases.

criminalising human contact
I totally agree that this is awful. To criminalise families for seeing one another is absolutely unacceptable. I think people need to assess their own risk about this as many are already doing.

No to full lockdown. Limit number of households gathering indoors. Reintroduce the table service only rule in pubs etc. Close nightclubs and limit numbers attending indoor sporting and music etc events so as to enable social distancing and proper checking of vaccine passports.

No. Definitely not.

3 households. I’ve mentioned this before. If I invite 2 (immediate family) households, to ours, there would be 8 adults with one retired and the others all working in various contexts (not from home) including teaching and hospitality, 1 student fresh from Uni, and 2 children. 3 households isn’t any more sensible, no matter how good it sounds.

Iam64

I’m being lazy as well. I agree with Maw and Lucca
I wish Johnson had advised people to limit Christmas get to get hers to 3 households and to meet outdoors wherever possible

Talk about a rudderless ship. The govt don’t want to put the necessary financial support in

The thing is, even with a firm rudder people would still do as they pleased, unless it’s mandated in law. Saying that it is well and truly policed in my family’s home town in Germany, still the anti maskers and anti vaxxers are out in force and their numbers are rising. Our problem was letting the flood gates open, under pressure from airlines and African countries, as flight bans were called discriminatory,so all those in quarantine were let out, and wonder how many were positive. Think we were the only country that backed down. No leadership at all .

No

No. We all know how to minimise risks in our own circumstances and we have to get on with life. We can't go on hiding away forever.