England will have no further Covid restrictions until after the New Year.

... and we just don't know, what price we will pay later.

If that price is for grand-children to again have schools closed and work from home, then I think this is much much too high a price.

This government is too shit scared of its critics to bring in any restrictions. There are over 100,000 + cases per day , I know so many people isolating. We usually have a neighbours party on NYE, no way would I host this year.

Well I think Boris has called it right. In the news headlines just now:
“Far fewer people in hospital with Covid this Christmas despite cases being three times higher
Doctors said they are 'cautiously optimistic' that no new restrictions will be needed.

Hospital admissions not Cases is what’s important.

I think we can all have a selfish point of view with respect to this. I am glad because it means my daughter's (supported home) home isn't locked down s I have taken her back today as I would normally do and I will bring her home again for New Year without worrying.

Hospital admissions are not the only criteria of a bad case of Covid. I know and know of, many people now who have or have had Covid and have been quite ill, it's not mild at all.

There are, I understand, around a million people with long Covid.

There are serious implications for all sorts of employment if people are unable to work including hospitality, transport, food production and because the government doesn't care, there is no support for people who can't work because of disability of any kind.

There are also many people, including those with cancer of various kinds and other serious conditions who cannot resume what is described as normal life.

Hospital admissions may be down now but surely a rise after Christmas and New Year mixing is likely. Not to mention the numbers of essential workers who will have covid or be isolating. I think the rest of the UK is doing the right thing. England is out of step and we will pay the price.

Our youngest daughter had Covid in September 2020 and long Covid for 9 weeks.

We have superb vaccines all this year. Roll out has been brilliant. And so far Omicron seems very much milder. Two-thirds less I read last week. Which is good news.

Essential workers who go off sick will be able to return to work 7 days later. Then a new cohort might go off sick. Ebb and flow. Once a group go off sick they do come back.

Thank heaven. As someone who works in mental health the last thing we need is more restrictions.

I am thankful it is being left up to us for now; we will manage our own ‘risks’ and only socialise doing things we feel comfortable doing.
We all take daily LF Tests in my family.
Covid is not going away but it seems not to be the killer it was (thanks to vaccinations).

Of course other posters will disagree, and their opinions are just as valid as mine.

From a friend.

The only reason more measures have not been introduced is so Johnson can hold onto the vestiges of ‘power’ he has left. In reality, he is simply a puppet of the 1922 committee. Always has been.
The number of cases and enormous pressure on the NHS are secondary to what the libertarian fringe in the Tory party want.
More measures to keep us safe are needed but he hasn’t got the political power to enact them.

And so we lurch onwards…….

He’s not called Keir is he?

'A stitch in time' seems apt. Fewer restrictions now could mean far more later, by mid-January. I'm hoping it won't be too bad, but I'm not at all convinced.

I have mixed feelings! I was being extra cautious as my DS, DiL and GS were coming from abroad. They had to isolate with me until their test results arrived, before moving on to see DiL's family. The day they left, my DD moved here to live with me after many years of independence having got a new job in London. Her move from Glasgow had to be in two stages, 1st driving a hired van full of stuff, then a flight back to finish packing the rest of her stuff into her car, supervise an end of tenancy clean, then drive the 400+ miles again! She should be returning here again tomorrow night, then DS and his family will join us for New Year before returning abroad in early January.

It has been seriously stressful, as any one of us getting infected could put the whole process in jeopardy. The worst of the risks are over now and today I relaxed for the first time in ages.

I understand everyone's desire to celebrate with family and friends but there are still vulnerable people out there and until the rest of my family return abroad, plans could still go pear shaped. Even daily testing is no guarantee as the tests are not 100% reliable. DD has not seen her dad properly for 2 years as he was reluctant to test regularly so she refused to visit him. The nearest she got was a wave from the car as we arrived to visit my GS last year when he was a few days old and my ex was driving away with his mother after their visit. Rule of 6 meant we couldn't all visit together. We know so many people who have had it, one very recently, despite being double jabbed and boosted! One friend has Long Covid!

Even though the government are reluctant to bring in further restrictions it seems many are imposing their own restrictions so hospitality is being hit hard anyway!

Lets not relax too soon. Stay safe everyone!

We haven’t socialised at all nor have we seen any family over the Christmas. Sil tested + for Covid even though fully vaccinated. I am very concerned for the nhs and staffing issues. Time will tell but it doesn’t bode well.

Called it right this time. The majority in Hospital are the unvaccinated.
We have to live with it now.

Hooray ! We are off to Bude for a week with our daughters, sons in law and grandchildren.
Nothing will be open there. We will just go out for walks, enjoy the beach etc. We don't dine out.
All 8 of us have had our boosters .
We wear masks.
We socially distance.
We take LFTs
All seven of the under-12s grandchildren caught covid because of their different schools, not from family mixing.
Now, at last, we are having our holiday-home holiday together. 4th time lucky!
And we deserve it !

It very conveniently means that the hospitality industry won't have to be given any financial support.

Of course, they are badly down on their usual seasonal takings (which many of them rely on to subsidise the rest of the year) but as long as the Treasury doesn't have to stump up Sunak will be delighted.

Shops are reporting takings down, too, apparently. How on earth the tories think that this is helping the economy is beyond me.

Using hospital admissions as a metric is just daft. What about all the workers off sick with covid at home? How is that going to help the economy?

The hospitality sector has always been very quiet in January anyway.
People don't tend to eat out and many people have a 'dry January'.

I have omicron right now, tested positive again on day 8 and still feel ill. So the theory of going back to work on day 7 may not work for some people. Staff shortages for essential services could be a problem in time

I think it's a brave decision. The government will certainly have a huge price to pay if they've called it wrongly.

Calistemon

The hospitality sector has always been very quiet in January anyway.
People don't tend to eat out and many people have a 'dry January'.

It was very quiet before Christmas, too. Which is bad for them. Plus I doubt if they will get much benefit from the New Year.

I think the school holidays will make a difference. I’m glad there are no new restrictions, but we will still be taking care, wearing masks, avoiding crowds and so forth.