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

Thisismyname1953

We are adults and ought to be able to make our own decisions at this point .
I personally will be taking minimal precautions. I mix with few people anyway. We can’t live the rest of our lives being babied by the government.

... in what way have we been "babied" by the government?

Would you have preferred that they had simply announced the pandemic and then told everyone to "make your own decisions" about it?

What the heck are governments for if not to form a cohesive plan to deal with such issues? They have the data, the scientific and medical advisors, the finances, and the ability to co-ordinate all of them to deal with what was / is a public health matter.

Sometimes, I despair, I really do.

I thought the BMJ wasn't the best source of info.
At least, it wasn't, a few weeks ago.

Incidentally early on in the pandemic I talked to a right wing Tory friend (we disagree about pretty much everything to do with politics). He once stood as a Tory MP. He was absolutely opposed to any restrictions at all. This was pre-vaccination, pre-treatments. He would have quite happily let Covid rip - which I suspect would have been completely devastating to the demographic using Gransnet.

Those are the people Johnson is interested in keeping happy now because they keep him in power. They are the ones complaining about masks and lateral flows - the minor interventions that protect others.

Why do you not understand that "precautions" (masks and lateral flows) are largely to protect others and to reduce the risk of new variants?

I know Johnson has stoked up the culture wars and crapped on about confidence and anxiety to appease the idiotic right of this Party. But it's not that hard to find out the facts. The biological facts I mean.

Precautions are largely aimed at protecting others.

Well my son can't wear an FFP2 mask, so he can't do that. He also hasn't been able to be vaccinated. He needs those around him to take precautions. His support workers (24 hour 2:1 support) currently take a lateral flow before working with him. So form April 1 we may well be flying blind (can hardly ask them to pay to work and the company is small and will not be able to afford to pay for the number of lateral flows needed). He likes going out so not sure what he can do.

I will continue to wear my mask and lateral flow (as long as I can afford it), to protect him and others at increased risk like him.

And guess what - my 'freedom' will not be impacted at all.

We are adults and ought to be able to make our own decisions at this point .
I personally will be taking minimal precautions. I mix with few people anyway. We can’t live the rest of our lives being babied by the government.

Nezumi65 there is no reason why you should not continue to take all the precautions you are now taking.

It is like everything in life, we assess our personal risk and that governs and then decide how ot respond.

Or there'll be a new variant (the risks of that increase with increased transmission, another reason why it is daft to invite even more transmission when infection rates are still so high).

And some people can't be vaccinated. Like my eldest son who is also more at risk from Covid for more reasons than death.

Others can be vaccinated but won't gain the same protection from it.

No-one has yet told me which freedoms they are now regaining. Other than the freedom to infect others. My life has been entirely normal for a long time now. I just wear a mask and take lateral flows to keep others safe. Oh how my freedom is impacted (not).

Probably because in a months time the R rate will be even lower, vulnerable people will probably have had another booster, warmer weather will mean more outside activities, more chance to open doors and windows etc. why open everything up completely when we’re still in the grip of winter.

Like flu and HIV, and many other harmful bugs, it’s something we have to live with. We can all do what we choose to look after ourselves. We also need to learn to take responsibility for ourselves

The majority of the population are vaccinated, the majority of cases of COVID are slight or not serious, there is a panolpy of drugs to treat it if does become serious, 2 more drugs were approved for use last weekend.

The COVID Fact Check No 19, published by the BMJ gives a detailed breakdown of recent hospital statistics, show clearly that while the unvaccinated are a diminshing proportion of the population, they are a significant proportion of COVID admissions to hospitals. It is worth following the link to read the actual document. It is revealing and reassuring.
www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o5

When COVID first occurred and before vaccinations were introduced, all of us were in danger and those with underlying vulnerabilities at a higher danger, but just as the vaccination has made life much safer for the healthy vaccinated, it has also reduced the risk to those with vulnerabilities, because of their vaccinations, other people's vaccinations. they are also at less risk if they get the disease because of the treatments now available.

Of course COVID will continue to be a risk to them, but so is flu and all those other winter bugs that go the rounds, so most of them must have already been taking precautions of various kinds before COVID struck, so if they act now as they did then , they should be as safe as they ever were.

Nothing is, or ever was, 100% safe. There is always the risk of catching an ordinary infectious/contagious disease and dying of it, even though you are otherwise well. We just have to weigh the risks against the problems.

You could retreat to one of those isolation pods that people without immune systems are placed in and stay there for ever, even then that cannot guarantee 100% protection, or you could coolly measure the risk.

If you go outside and mix with other people, the vast majority will have had 2 or 3 jab, and, if you are one of the few who do catch COVID,to quote the above source booster doses are 88% effective at preventing hospital admission.

Obviously everything would have to be reviewed if a more virulent version of COVID appeared or a drug resistnt version of omicron. But as things are at the moment what si the point in staying in on a sunny day because it might rain later.

Having had covid in the first wave with no treatments or protections and now living with long covid, I'm understanding of the need to get back to some kind of normal BUT the not isolating is a step too far in my opinion, yes people are less ill, BUT some people are still very poorly with it, and the long term effects on the body are not yet known. As I have said in a previous post, doctors and scientists would not advise you to sit next to someone if they had suspected chicken pox or measles, why is it ok with covid ? I know all the herd immunity arguments, that's ok if you're fit and well from the start isn't it ?

I'm very happy!!!

Finding it difficult, strangely enough. not to comply with what has become second nature over the past two years.
Walking into Tesco recently, finding they still have hand sanitizers for customer use. I felt obliged to use it and put on my mask I still carry with me.
Recollections of 39 -45 ? when we carried gas masks with us.

‘Some people can't (or won't) make their own decisions, they run around like headless chickens, waiting to be TOLD what to do.’

You’re right there Sawsage2, some people are so gullible that they listen to the government and believe what they say. It amazes me every day.

Mamardoit

*I've been wondering ... if freedom is so important as a concept, would people be happy to give psychopaths or paedophiles freedom to make their own decisions?*

What the hell as that got to do with anything?

In answer to your question ....No they should have their balls cut off.

It has everything to do with the issue.

So freedom do to as you like is so important, is it? Even if it does harm to others?

I'm talking about the principle. Presumably people who think they have the right to do just as they please think everybody should have that right, even if it harms others.

If you believe in principles, you don't get to pick and choose who qualifies for freedom.

My DNiece is a nurse who went down with covid early April 2020. She suffered with long covid but thankfully is much better now. DD had similar problems following glandular fever. Post virus illness is a fact.

Post virus illness certainly is a fact. My husband and I both caught a nasty virus in 1989. He got better but I never did, and was bedridden for 2 years and have been exhausted, unable to work or do sports or even walk very far ever since. This is my 33rd year with M.E. I don't want to add Long Covid to it.

The threat of Long Covid needs to be taken very seriously because who knows how long those symptoms will last.
33 years like for me ???

JaneJudge

Nezumi65

So some people will get to choose between eating, heating or infecting others. I think most in that situation would choose to infect others (I would).

I'm not sure it's been confirmed has it about health and social care workers? I have been trying to get clarification for my son's team as that's the main defence in keeping him free of infection. The last I heard no-one knew.

ours have said they are continuing to wear masks but i think it will come down to the care providers

Yeah they'll carry on wearing masks. But currently they are provided with lateral flows (just switched from PCRs) via a government scheme. So those are registered separately, have a protected supply and processed faster (the PCRs).

If that all goes we can hardly ask support workers to pay for them. And there won't be enough money in the small company to test everyone at £30 a box or whatever it was.

People who are of working age are obliged to do as they're told.
They havent the option of deciding that they will avoid this or that situation.

I'm in Scotland, so not sure yet what Nicola will announce. I think she will keep mask wearing for a while yet though

Some people can't (or won't) make their own decisions, they run around like headless chickens, waiting to be TOLD what to do.

I've been wondering ... if freedom is so important as a concept, would people be happy to give psychopaths or paedophiles freedom to make their own decisions?

What the hell as that got to do with anything?

In answer to your question ....No they should have their balls cut off.

I have just been visiting my elderly Mum. Seven hour train journey, few wearing masks. Not ideal ventilation. I look after grandchildren also. Family have asthma. Soon I could be sitting next to Covid positive individuals on a train.
Will people really take personal responsibility to pay for tests, isolate or wear masks anymore?
My anxiety levels have soared this week, I don't feel safe and less able to keep others safe.

Although there is an understandable wish to get back to 'normal' there is no doubt in my mind that this is a cynical move by Johnson to placate some of his loony backbenchers: given partygate he needs their support to keep his job. It's a fantasy that Covid is becoming harmless - especially to the elderly, immunocompromised and those with other conditions - omicron is killing people still and there is long Covid which can be very debilitating. Given the rest of the world is undervaccinated there is every prospect of a new, dangerous variant in the coming two years. Stopping free testing does not help. Most people won't be able to afford the tests. And without testing people will go to work and infect others, some of whom are at high risk. Whitty and Valence were clearly uncomfortable at the press briefing. Johnson is effectively saying that the present level of Covid deaths is acceptable to all: it is not acceptable to me.