Lifting all Covid resrictions- how do you feel about it?

I'll still be a mask wearing, distance keeping worrier. A very vulnerable household, 2 disabled and a 91 year old.

It's strange that people can't have bonfires, parties, or do diy if it interferes with their neighbours enjoyment of life, but can theoretically now go out and pass on something which may be the ultimate in taking peoples enjoyment of life.

We also have CEV in the family and are very worried about these new rules, at a time when Covid rates are still high.

Also, no possibility of a spring vaccination, even for CEV. It will be a year before the next one, and immunity wanes at 10 weeks post jab.

Here is a link to a petition set up by a retired NHS consultant.
www.change.org/p/boris-johnson-don-t-scrap-free-covid-testing-and-isolation

but can theoretically now go out and pass on something which may be the ultimate in taking peoples enjoyment of life.

This has always been true. People have always passed on disease to others, often without knowing they did so. It's how many diseases work. This is life and we can't avoid it.

Kali2

GrannyGravy13

Kali2

''so thick and impressionable' hey Mummer! Wow.

What shall I say to my friend, 43, with 3 young children, who has recently been diagnosed with cancer and will have to chemo on a very regular basis, and has no car. She will have to go by tube. Shall I just tell her not to be so impressionable and thick, from you?

Kali2 if your friend is in the U.K. please suggest she asks about hospital transport most hospitals have volunteers who drive vulnerable patients to and from appointments.

She is British but does not live in the UK.

Well if she's not in the UK any rules here won't apply. So why are you asking?

So why did we bother at all then - should have let it rip from the start!!!!

No we can't avoid it- but yes we can mitigate it. And waiting till the end of winter is the simplest and most effective way. Otherwise, as said, why did we bother at all!

We could possibly reduce if by keeping the masks until, say, the beginning of summer.

Vaccinated people can still pass on covid. I know more people who have caught covid who have been fully vaccinated than those that haven’t been. Largely because most of the people I know who have caught covid have caught it since December.

I’m still not understanding how masks or lateral flows impinge on anyone’s liberty. But I don’t really want the freedom to make others ill

I had an email from the Tory party this morning - no idea why as I’ve never been a member, but being CEV throughout the pandemic I seem to have received them regularly. This morning’s was Boris setting out his plan for getting back to normal. In it he reiterated that it’s time for government to step back from regulation and for us to take personal responsibility. He stressed the need for caution and the need to act sensibly to keep ourselves and others safe, but the general tone was one of let’s pretend Covid has gone away.

Contrast this with a scientist interviewed on Breakfast TV this morning. He was warning that the coverage given by the vaccines wanes by about 5% in three months in the average healthy person. All it will take is a drop of 10% to put us back in a situation where people are badly affected and the NHS is struggling again. Add to this the large unvaccinated community - which is likely where the next variant will come from, and the fact that the restrictions are being lifted in winter instead of waiting for spring, and it’s not hard to see where we’re headed. I’m of the opinion that Boris is giving people what he thinks they want, to take the heat off himself. I agree, that it’s time we start to get back to some sort of normal, but I think this is too far, too fast and for all the wrong reasons.

The purpose of the original restrictions was to slow down the progress of the epidemic so that the hospitals were not overwhelmed and to give time for an effective vaccination to be developed.

These restrictions have done what they were intended to do.

Mummer

I'm amazed tha,t anyone would trust the crap on social media!?! If there a new /dangerous variant, I doubt that the scientists who know of it would bung it on twitter! Not everyone uses FB/insta/Twitter/etc etc! That's why we have national news....ya? Stop being so hysterical! All the "ooh I saw it online...... somewhere......from someone....".they say" who the blue blazes are "they" that eejits always quote anyway?!? Why is everyone so thick nowadays and impressionable?

Errrmmm! The news about a new variant isn't just on "social media". It's been reported in mainstream media and scientific journals.

Ever heard of the Dunning-Kruger effect? Low ability people do not possess the skills needed to recognise their own incompetence.

M0nica

The purpose of the original restrictions was to slow down the progress of the epidemic so that the hospitals were not overwhelmed and to give time for an effective vaccination to be developed.

These restrictions have done what they were intended to do.

But what are these restrictions which are currently causing people so much angst?

Farzanah So what’s the “normal” that some are aspiring to? This virus will likely hang around with various mutations for some time, some harmless, some not so.Let’s hope the Government will sufficiently fund testing and sequencing so that variants will be detected at an early stage.
There is no guarantee that we will not have future surges and restrictions, but hope that our brilliant scientists will be ahead of the curve.

Is the above description meant to apply to flu or COVID? Because what you describe could equally apply to both. In which case why should one be treated differently to the other?

How long before people get the message? Flu affects far fewer people than Covid has - and doesn't have the same multi-systemic effects. It really isn't the same thing at all!

Juicywords

We also have CEV in the family and are very worried about these new rules, at a time when Covid rates are still high.

Also, no possibility of a spring vaccination, even for CEV. It will be a year before the next one, and immunity wanes at 10 weeks post jab.

Here is a link to a petition set up by a retired NHS consultant.
www.change.org/p/boris-johnson-don-t-scrap-free-covid-testing-and-isolation

Government have just announced another round of vaccinations in the spring for over 75’s and CEV over the age of 12.

growstuff

How long before people get the message? Flu affects far fewer people than Covid has - and doesn't have the same multi-systemic effects. It really isn't the same thing at all!

I’ve had this argument on various threads and it really annoys me when it’s used as an excuse to dismiss the fears of people considered very vulnerable to Covid because of underlying conditions. As someone CEV, I have been advised long before the pandemic to be cautious in winter when various things are about. I’m vulnerable to any D&V viruses, flu etc and have flu vaccination every year - also had pneumonia and shingles jabs. Covid is different because it looks for weakness and affects people with different underlying condition in different ways - as you said, it’s multi systemic. And a pandemic involving a virus which can kill even healthy people can’t be compared to flu or any of the other things that circulate normally and can be effectively vaccinated. There’s also the fact that a high proportion of CEV people are either unable to take the vaccine, or have no antibodies even after the full doses. It’s not the same thing at all. The

Kali2 She is British but does not live in the UK. (my bold)

Where does she live then? I don't agree with the ending of all restrictions, but fail to see how your friend is in any way affected by the change of our rules. Does her country of residence not insist on masks on public transport?

Excellent post Pammie. especially this part.

There’s also the fact that a high proportion of CEV people are either unable to take the vaccine, or have no antibodies even after the full doses. It’s not the same thing at all.

Why do people think flu and covid are the same? They’re very different in impact and covid is far more dangerous to a wider range of people.

And yes what restrictions are impacting on people’s freedoms right now? What will you be able to do on Thursday that you can’t do now? I must have asked that 15 times on this thread and haven’t had a reply yet.

Nezumi65

Why do people think flu and covid are the same? They’re very different in impact and covid is far more dangerous to a wider range of people.

And yes what restrictions are impacting on people’s freedoms right now? What will you be able to do on Thursday that you can’t do now? I must have asked that 15 times on this thread and haven’t had a reply yet.

Unfortunately, you can say this as much as you like, but those who are dismissive and accusing some of us, of scaremongering and overreacting, have absolutely no idea of the damage Covid confections can actually cause. As Pammie has said, it is multi systemic.

At a recent hospital appointment, a very experienced cardiologist advised me that, before working in Covid ICU, he had no conception of the irrerprebable damage Covid could cause in the heart, even in the healthiest of patients. "It is nothing like 'flu, nor anything we have seen before", he said.

We need to find a balance, between restrictive measures and freedom.
I'm in despair at reading some of the posts on here. Some posters absolutely haven't a clue, what Covid can do.

Rosie51

Kali2 She is British but does not live in the UK. (my bold)

Where does she live then? I don't agree with the ending of all restrictions, but fail to see how your friend is in any way affected by the change of our rules. Does her country of residence not insist on masks on public transport?

I am afraid that since all restrictions, bar wearing mask on public transport (and medical services) a large proportion of people are no complying. Most buses and trains do not have guards or ticket controls- so anyone vulnerable has no garantee they will not be with people who are not wearing a mask, or not wearing it around their chin, just in case- and who no longuer wash hands ot use gel, etc.

Being hit with such a diagnosis and have to start very aggressive treatment, is hard enough without having to worry about non compliance or getting into arguments that could get very unpleasant or even violent, with other passengers.

Yep Marydoll / the heart problems and issues caused by clots & micro-clots are very concerning. I suspect there will be a lot more research on that this year.

Reading about Scotland ending all restrictions on 21st March I was surprised to learn that there has never been a legal requirement, in Scotland, to isolate after a positive covid test. I assumed that it was law across the UK.

Covid in Scotland: All legal restrictions to end on 21 March www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-60482303

Marydoll

Unfortunately, you can say this as much as you like, but those who are dismissive and accusing some of us, of scaremongering and overreacting, have absolutely no idea of the damage Covid confections can actually cause. As Pammie has said, it is multi systemic.

At a recent hospital appointment, a very experienced cardiologist advised me that, before working in Covid ICU, he had no conception of the irrerprebable damage Covid could cause in the heart, even in the healthiest of patients. "It is nothing like 'flu, nor anything we have seen before", he said.

We need to find a balance, between restrictive measures and freedom. I'm in despair at reading some of the posts on here. Some posters absolutely haven't a clue, what Covid can do.

Good post - wise comments.

There's a lot of misinformation floating around about this virus. So much anecdotal 'evidence'... "my neighbour had it and said it was just like a bad cold"... "it's just like the Flu"... "the government are just trying to scare us to keep us under control"... etc, etc.

Last year I spent 4 months in hospital (unrelated to Covid) and had conversations with two consultants who were shocked at what they were witnessing - like your cardiologist.

As for the government trying to "control" us with scaremongering... it's utterly ridiculous. It wants us to go out and about, to go to work, to spend money in restaurants, pubs, nightclubs - it wants the economy to function. Regardless of Johnson's failings in the way he's dealt with this pandemic - the last thing he and his government want is for us to stay locked down indoors, the government do not want the economy to grind to a halt, it would not serve them well, and it's ludicrous to suggest otherwise.

And of course the goal has to be to return to some kind of normality, but the thinking has to be critical, measured and objective. Johnson is a crowd-pleaser and he's capitulated and pandered to some of the worst elements (not necessarily on GN) in order to maintain his popularity. There is no logical reason why he could not have waited until Spring to remove all restrictions but it suits his purpose to do it now and many of us know why he's done it. I do not believe for one minute that he has the welfare of the nation at heart nor that it played any part in his decision. He will hang on to power at any price and I don't think he cares one jot about those who will pay it.

I know Johnson is no virologist but there is no logic to this at all. Elderly/vulnerable people can get free lateral flows - but people visiting them can’t. What’s the point of being able to find out you caught covid from someone who couldn’t get tested to see whether they had covid before visiting you?

More info here - all the papers seem to be saying the same www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/22/people-visiting-care-homes-in-england-will-have-to-pay-for-covid-test?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR2zVTMBGIpuMFF9ybeDiF28WzJ8PjC-aZk57tZHCF0JzMTdBWXFNUbX4m0

I suppose wealthier families will be able to pay for their tests before visiting vulnerable family members while people who can’t afford the tests will just have to take the risk or not see people they care about.

Nice bit of levelling up (under) there from the Tories.