English people want to bring back mask wearing and social distancing

Annaram
I think you need to get your facts correct.
But hey, never let a lie get in the way of another scare statement.

I don’t trust YouGov surveys its run by a Tory minister and its slanted to his views. To put pressure on government decisions.

I've realised PippaZ that any survey we talk about here is automatically badly designed, has slanted conclusions and never has a properly representative sample size. Ever.

Even ones from YouGov that are in direct opposition to what they government are recommending, they're government propaganda too.

MerylStreep

Annaram
I think you need to get your facts correct.
But hey, never let a lie get in the way of another scare statement.

Which facts?

It appears that Annaram has got her facts correct. Which facts are you talking about?

graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/regions/europe/

I expect your apology is forthcoming.

Thank you growstuff.

Olive53

If the figures are to be believed and the virus is as contagious as stated, then we have probably all had it at some stage anyway. And if so, we have the antibodies, which is exactly what the vaccines are supposed to do.
Yet still there is this fear mongering that continues unabated by supermarkets and government departments. Shopkeepers continue to wear masks simply to appease those still living in fear and believing the mask will actually keep them alive.
Flu has always been something that reduces the power of the immune system and death in the vulnerable often occurs. Covid, whilst more volatile, does the same. we need to live with it, the same as we did with flu. No one was forced to have the flu jab, no passports were necessary and the vaccines were to protect those that took the jab, not those that came into contact with them.
And let's not forget that all cases of flu have been added to the covid figures. It is time to get rid of the fear element stop the sensationalism from the media.

1 Unless I've been totally asymptomatic, I haven't had Covid. Not once have I had any symptoms which could possibly have been Covid.

2 Taking sensible precautions is not living in fear. I just don't want to catch Covid, which seems like a rational decision by any sane person.

3 Flu has never been responsible for so many deaths as Covid within a given time frame.

4 What exactly do you mean by "to live with it"? Do you really mean that we have to accept the unnecessary deaths?

5 What on earth do you mean that all cases of flu have been added to the Covid figures? No, they haven't. Why are you resorting to making stuff up?

6 You last point is baffling. Are you suggesting that the media is making up scare stories to sell papers?

Bigirl57

I don’t trust YouGov surveys its run by a Tory minister and its slanted to his views. To put pressure on government decisions.

You may be right but if so it would be good to have details and references.

4 What exactly do you mean by "to live with it"? Do you really mean that we have to accept the unnecessary deaths?

We accept unnecessary deaths from road accidents, we could avoid them by having a 10mph speed limit and having a man walk in front of the car with a red flag.

We accept the unnecessary deaths from alcohol related diseases, we could ban the sale of alcohol tomorrow.

We accept the unnecessary deaths from 'flu, we could have all been wearing masks all winter and never mixing with other people.

So, in the future, we will be accepting unnecessary deaths from Covid. Its hard, but this is the world now. That's what it means to live with it.

I haven’t noticed any reduction in people wearing face masks - and hope it continues that way.

Alegrias1

I've realised PippaZ that any survey we talk about here is automatically badly designed, has slanted conclusions and never has a properly representative sample size. Ever.

Even ones from YouGov that are in direct opposition to what they government are recommending, they're government propaganda too.

I'm just not sure how helpful that is. If you can see slant and poor sample size (as per the guidelines) why not tell us the detail? Then we can make up our own minds.

As it is it seems many are happy to contribute so I see it as a good starting point for debate.

we have gone free too soon. i still wear a mask on transport or anywhere crowded ......

Me too moggie57 and amazingly I still feel my civil rights are in tact

Alegrias1

^4 What exactly do you mean by "to live with it"? Do you really mean that we have to accept the unnecessary deaths?^

We accept unnecessary deaths from road accidents, we could avoid them by having a 10mph speed limit and having a man walk in front of the car with a red flag.

We accept the unnecessary deaths from alcohol related diseases, we could ban the sale of alcohol tomorrow.

We accept the unnecessary deaths from 'flu, we could have all been wearing masks all winter and never mixing with other people.

So, in the future, we will be accepting unnecessary deaths from Covid. Its hard, but this is the world now. That's what it means to live with it.

There are nowhere near so many deaths from road accidents, alcohol related diseases and flu.

In any case, anybody with any sense does what they can to avoid them by being aware when driving and drinking sensibly.

No rational society abandons all driving laws, so that people can drive as fast as they want or choose which side of the road they drive on.

We are going to have to accept that there will always be deaths now from Covid. I'm not talking about the huge numbers we have had in the last 18 months, but it will never be zero again.

Those deaths are unnecessary because we could avoid them if we join the 17% of people in the UK who apparently think we should all still be staying in our houses.

There is going to have to be a balance.

I am no longer wearing a mask unless I absolutely have to, but I live in a rural area where people are still using them a lot. Several people I know no longer want to wear them in shops but are too scared to take them off - I mean peer pressure.

In any case, anybody with any sense does what they can to avoid them by being aware when driving and drinking sensibly.

And by the majority obeying laws that moderate the deaths and life changing events.

I get invited to participate in You Gov surveys not sure how but I do complete most of them. I do not see any harm in continuing with mask wearing or keeping some form of social distancing. When I go out I do not know if the person I am standing next to has been vaccinated or if in fact has Covid with no symptoms and could be breathing over me or the people nearby. I will continue to wear a mask, wash my hands and keep my distance. I do think restrictions have been lifted a little early and it is encouraging to see infection rates levelling off so what is the real harm in continuing with caution. If it saves one person from a awful infection or possible death, is it not worth it?

welbeck

i agree wit continuing caution.
Lincslass, intrigued by your comment; what is the implication re being conservative voter ?

I think it was in response to the OPs last paragraph “ Labour voters, women and older people are more likely to support the reintroduction if restrictions”

Growstuff totally agree with all your points.

Annaram1

I have shopped in both Lidl and Waitrose this week and in both shops nearly everyone wore masks and sanitised their hands and the handles of their shopping trolleys.

Nevertheless this country has the highest rate of covid infections in the whole of Europe, nearly 30000 a day. Nothing to be proud of.

Except we don’t actually know how many infections there are anywhere else because we test thousands more every day than any other European country.

Yes, keep politics out of it.
We are all in this together, aren’t we?

Personally, I would like the restrictions to have remained the same. I am still mask wearing, etc.

A lot of people have become agoraphobic or just damn lazy.
I know couples who are still relying on family members to order their shopping on line for them. They started at the beginning of the pandemic and say they will carry on as long as family member wants to do it.

I wear mask, sanitize hands, use Metro and busses and have done since the beginning ........we cannot live in fear ...every day we take risks, driving, falling, heart attack, etc etc and we don;t stay in 'just in case'.........I have travelled abroad when restrictions were lifted last year, and just come back from Menorca ...cases there have risen ...the Menorquina blame the visitors from the mainland and the many Italian tourists ....the hotel had strict distancing rules (Spanish and Italians mostly ignored them !) but overall things were progressing as usual.............off to Iceland next week ..........see what happens there ! Think my trip to Italy in september may be cancelled though ..............fingers crossed !

There is a real downside to maintaining stringent precautions for a prolonged period to avoid Covid transmission:

The Guardian 8 July 2021:

"New Zealand children falling ill in high numbers due to Covid ‘immunity debt’

"New Zealand hospitals are experiencing the payoff of “immunity debt” created by Covid-19 lockdowns, with wards flooded by babies with a potentially-deadly respiratory virus, doctors have warned.

"Wellington has 46 children currently hospitalised for respiratory illnesses including respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. A number are infants, and many are on oxygen. Other hospitals are also experiencing a rise in cases that are straining their resources – with some delaying surgeries or converting playrooms into clinical space.

........... "The size and seriousness of New Zealand’s outbreak is likely being fed by what some paediatric doctors have called an “immunity debt” – where people don’t develop immunity to other viruses suppressed by Covid lockdowns, causing cases to explode down the line.

"The “immunity debt” phenomenon occurs because measures like lockdowns, hand-washing, social distancing and masks are not only effective at controlling Covid-19. They also suppress the spread of other illnesses that transmit in a similar way, including the flu, common cold, and lesser-known respiratory illnesses like RSA. In New Zealand, lockdowns last winter led to a 99.9% reduction in flu cases and a 98% reduction in RSV - and near-eliminated the spike of excess deaths New Zealand usually experiences during winter.

“The lack of immune stimulation… induced an “immunity debt” which could have negative consequences when the pandemic is under control and [public health interventions] are lifted,” the doctors wrote. “The longer these periods of ‘viral or bacterial low-exposure’ are, the greater the likelihood of future epidemics.”

"New Zealand has reported nearly 1,000 RSV cases in the past five weeks, according to the Institute of Environmental Science and Research. The usual average is 1,743 over the full 29-week winter season. Australia is also experiencing a surge, with overcrowded Victoria hospitals also hit by unusually high rates of RSV.

The I 13 July:
"Hospitals are preparing for a flood of babies and toddlers being admitted with potentially fatal respiratory viruses due to lower immunity caused by successive Covid-19 lockdowns.

"NHS trusts are reporting that they are already seeing a rise in children being hospitalised with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) due to an “immunity debt” built up over the last 18 months.

"Health leaders are warning that an influx of infants this autumn and winter would place even greater strain on the NHS, which is facing the dual challenge of winter flu as well as rising Covid cases.

"Dr Liz Whittaker, a consultant paediatrist in infectious diseases at St. Marys Hospital, London, said hospitals were “planning now in case there is a surge before the winter”.

" “We didn’t see a single case of RSV last year. We have been monitoring southern hemisphere countries, such as South Africa, which saw very few cases until they reopened and they had a big surge. There is a big worry that the same would happen here,” Dr Whittaker told i.

"Public health officials are expected to issue an alert over RSV to hospitals and parents in the coming weeks."

I am returning to London in early September and will wear a mask in public places. 9 hours on the flight wearing a mask will be tiresome but has to be done. London transport will be also somewhere to be masked and also shopping. As a very elderly person with serious health conditions i will have lots of medical tests plus my Warfarin blood tests but will not hold my breath trying to get a GP appt! I am in an amber country but double jabbed and will have the tests and will self isolate at home. Howver i need to book tests for days 2 and 8 but the NHS letter i get needs to publish a list of test providers with contact details and prices for returning UK citizens. Local people in the Caribbean are reluctant to have the jab although readily available free to all. I do not understand as it is affecting the tourist trade this country relies on. If you want to know i am a Conservative voter but i think the whole holiday instructions have been badly handled and if anyone told me i could not go to France, Spain or Italy this year i would understand. If someone tells me i cannot return to St Lucia it would be upsetting because of my dogs but i would not rage about it . I think being old many if us are used to staying at home and being alone. However, i do often wonder how many young people now would have coped during the war which completely altered our lives as children. Us Liverpudlians were very stoic as where others who lived in cities. Times change!

Eloethan
New Zealand are not alone they are just ahead of us.
There was a paediatrician on the radio a few weeks back where she explained that we ( in the uk) will experience exactly the same issues.

I was reading an article yesterday where a doctor took us through his day. He said we are a very sick nation because of all that has been missed