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

* But at what stage will they feel it is safe not to wear masks and what were they doing before COVID to protect vulnerable family members from the risk of all the other infections that assail us that can be disregarded by most of us, but could be a serious threat to the health and, possibly, life of a vulnerable person.*

I do wish people would stop asking this bloody stupid question - and it’s been answered quite a few times on this thread. Once more with feeling. Before Covid the people who are most at risk from Covid were at risk from viruses and other things which do the rounds in winter mainly. I have a severely compromised immune system which started well before Covid. I was advised to be very careful during the winter months, vaccinated against flu every year, vaccinated against pneumonia and shingles and told to be very careful of things like D&V outbreaks and things like Norovirus. I was wearing a mask when out and about in winter long before Covid. And please, please recognise the difference. All of the stuff that was around before Covid had it’s risks for those who were vulnerable, but Covid was a pandemic, a lot more prevalent, and killed a lot of people who were fit and healthy, not just those at risk. For some of us, mask wearing and some form of social distancing will be a fact of life for some time to come. Why do some have such a problem with it ?

As for when will I return to normal living. I am living normally. I am working, siting in rooms of 30 plus at times at work, going to the theatre, seeing family, going swimming etc. I just do it cautiously, so I swim in an outdoor pool (which I prefer anyway) or the sea and I wear a mask in crowded indoor places. I hate shopping so do as much I can online but was doing that before the pandemic. I take a lateral flow before spending extended time with anyone indoors.

None of that interferes with ‘normal living’. It’s a lot more normal than my life was for many years when my severely disabled son was living at home tbh.

Franbern

MOnica Excellent post. People are so paranoid about Covid. Not sure how long they think they are going to continue in this manner, this year, next year, for the rest of their lives???

Were they this paranoid in past years about the spreading of influenza (yes that does kill people)?

Yet another one !! Paranoid ???? FFS !!! You’d be paranoid too if you were constantly being told that even now Covid could be a death sentence. We’ve been cut loose from government guidance with no notice and no advice other than to refer to medical professionals looking after our individual health conditions. Which I have done. And the advice is that, yes, I am still at risk, should continue to shield as far as possible, wear a mask and be careful. Yes influenza kills people but if you’re vulnerable you keep up on your flu shots and you have all the other vaccines recommended for your condition, you exercise caution and you wear a mask when outside in winter. I and many other CEV people have been doing this for years. And influenza doesn’t kill healthy people like Covid - hence eligibility to free NHS flu shots being restricted to those at risk.

And I’ll tell you how long I intend to continue in ‘this manner’ - as long as it takes for Covid to drop to a low enough level not to be so much of a risk to me. Because I don’t want ‘the rest of my life’ to be a couple of weeks if I contract it.

Pammie thanks! There are none so blind, as those who cannot see or whatever the correct phrase is.

I'm off to get my daily Latin Wordle fix , it's less stressful than this thread. ?

Nil illegitimi carborundum.

This an overview of numbers in my LA It is one of the smaller authorities in Scotland.. Numbers are rising, so I shall be very cautious, but in no way paranoid

These are the latest figures:
The UK recorded a further 31,933 coronavirus cases today, down 20% in a week.
Deaths were reported at 120, a fall of 17% over the past seven days, while admissions have fallen by 9% to 1,169.

Source: the Telegraph latest. 25.02.22

I too am cev, and really couldn’t give a monkeys uncle what the
Ignorant ill informed say about me,and will do my upmost to stay as safe as possible for as long as I can.

My initial source is the Covid 19 app and the numbers are up here, in my local area.

My additional source: coronavirus.data.gov.uk
Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK
Simple summary for East Renfrewshire
This information comes from the UK Government.
This document explains the key statistics presented on the UK Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. It was last updated on Friday, 25 February 2022.

Between 19 February 2022 and 25 February 2022, 937 people had a confirmed positive test result. This shows an increase of 23.9% compared to the previous 7 days

This is the information which is relevant for me, not from a newspaper.

To be honest Marydoll my post was just general information for everybody. I can appreciate figures in your locality have more meaning for you. Understandable.

Thanks Urms, I usually take anything I read in newspapers with a pinch of salt, not always accurate and trustworthy.
Our local newspaper is a prime example, as I know from personal experience.

??

The question that no one seems willing to answer is when will those still wearing masks and so on consider that it is safe to return to normal living?

For those of us who are CEV - who knows? Possibly when those doctors / consultants involved in our care tell us it's probably safe to do so.

... and some of us (me included) have conditions that have precluded us from "normal living" anyway long before the pandemic reared its ugly head. I have been hospitalised for months on end with a disease that prevents me from doing many of the things that 'normal' people do on a daily basis. If you met me, you wouldn't know I was living with a condition that impacts my life because like many people in this position, I came out of hospital, adjusted and adapted and got on with living the 'new normal' for me. It doesn't affect anyone else - except my partner and, sometimes, friends on social occasions. I don't dwell on it, I work, have fun and would like to live this abnormal but normal-for-me life as long as possible.

So in answer to the question - does it really matter? If the majority are going to live their normal lives, without any restrictions... why is it important to them? What's the hurry?

Some people between now and when they die, will end up with conditions and diseases - unrelated to Covid - that will prevent them from living a 'normal life' and most of them will, I suspect, adapt and survive and live the best lives they can. Because - that's what life is, and we all have to adapt to various changes in our lives at some point anyway, financially, culturally and socially.

I really don't see why it's so important to even ask the question.

Unfortunately the figures from testing are no longer reliable because testing is no longer prioritised.
The ONS surveillance survey is thankfully ongoing and that gives an indication of what is happening in different areas. They report that the infection rate increased in Scotland to 1 in 20.
So obviously attending a venue with 200 people there is likely to be, on average 10 people present with covid.

Not fake news, just not true in every case. long before COVID there were reports from China and, I think Malaysia, who were badly affected by pollution from forest fires in Indonesia, of people wearing masks primarily and often solely because of air pollution. www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-environment-malaysia-idUSKCN1VV0NX www.dw.com/en/life-behind-a-mask-chinas-cities-still-choking-on-smog/a-42199104

Nezumi65 Are all these links fake news?

It seems that wearing to overcome pollution is less common in Jaan but the reasons for wearing them are a lot more complex than just nfection control onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-9566.2012.01466.x

Now prove that what i

Sorryedit went astray and everything above is not quite inthe order intended.

The numbers of cases will go down because testing is stopping. Many do not report LFTs. The numbers will drop further when people have to pay for LFTs. One way to declare a pandemic over is not to test for it.

Back to school today and no longer wearing masks while moving round corridors. It seems the children are very happy to see a variety of facial expressions again. The feeling is they have gone through so much, and also with worrying resent happenings, that they need some sort of normality back in their lives.
I did however wear my mask while shopping on the way home.

*recent not resent

Did anyone see the daily case numbers and daily death numbers over the weekend? I couldn’t find them anywhere, and I’ve been following the data daily so I can gauge how quickly the situation is changing. Are we being denied this information now in order to persuade us that Covid is all over?

In my opinion, it’s not!

This includes the weekend figures

There were 82,451 new people with a confirmed positive test result for coronavirus on 28 February 2022, and 234,103 people in the last 7 days. This shows a decrease of 75,157 compared to the previous 7 days.

coronavirus.data.gov.uk/

My source.

I took my 12 year old grandson out on Sunday. Before going to see a film we went to the local Carvery for lunch. With it being a Sunday lunchtime the place was packed but it was only me and my grandson who wore masks while walking around the restaurant. Not one other diner or a member of staff wore one except for the chefs cutting the meat who have always worn them for hygiene reasons. It was as if Covid had never happened to some. Well I have news for them. Covid is still here. I think Boris has thrown caution to the winds in getting rid of all restrictions. Time will tell if this will come back and bite us on the bum.

Just to say that I, for one, am delighted that less people are wearing masks everywhere. Now, at last, I can actually converse, again with people.

I had not realised previously how much I relied on seeing people's lips and faces when holding conversations, even with my hearing aids both in place.

All I get from anyone wearing any mask is just a very muffled sound, very little idea what they are trying to say - and it made me feel extremely cut off.

So, yes, less mask wearing really suits me (and, before anyone tells me about see-through masks, I will tell them that they were of little help).

As someone at the highest risk of dying from Covid, I received this message today from the Scottish Government:

The First Minister said:

“Covid is unfortunately still with us and we must therefore remain vigilant and prepared for the threats it poses. But today’s new framework is an important moment in our recovery. It marks the point at which we move away, hopefully sustainably, from legal restrictions, and rely instead on sensible behaviours, adaptations and mitigations.

“Our return to normality must go hand in hand with a continuing determination to look out for and after each other. All of us have a part to play in ensuring a safe and sustainable recovery, so please continue to follow public health advice on getting vaccinated, testing as regularly as appropriate, wearing face coverings when required or recommended, and keeping rooms ventilated.

“All of this still matters, even as we lift the remaining legal requirements. It is how we can keep ourselves and each other safe as we recover from Covid and look forward together to brighter and better days ahead.”

Access to lateral flow and PCR tests will continue to be free of charge, ahead of a detailed transition plan being published on the future of Scotland’s test and protect programme in March
People who test positive for COVID-19 will continue to be asked to self-isolate to reduce the risk of infecting other people. Any changes to the recommended period of self-isolation will be considered on an ongoing basis.

Source: at www.gov.scot/news/living-safely-with-covid

Case are rising in my area for the second week in a row in my area.

Today, 5,484 more people have tested positive for coronavirus
1,093 people were in hospital yesterday which is 52 more than the day before.
Sadly 11 more people who tested positive have died (10,656 in total)

Source: gov.scot/coronavirusdata

For those who think Covid has gone away, it has not, according to the data.