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Original poster

Has everyone just given up on social distancing?

185 replies

Esbm2015 · 19/08/2020 22:31

It certainly feels that way and is making me very anxious and frustrated.

I’ve been following the rules with my friends when I have seen them and have been working from home.

This morning on a work call many of my London based colleagues attitude was basically that I was being too sensible and that i need to get over my concerns about travelling into the city on the tube and train as there’s nothing to worry about. I still don’t feel comfortable taking an hour long journey by train and bit more by tube - esp as trains were so unreliable and unclean pre-Covid and of what I’ve seen many on board are not wearing masks etc.

Also they were happy to say they are not SD at all with friends and family, just strangers. Many have shared pictures of themselves on social media with no SD at all hugging etc.

I just find it very frustrating - plus I didn’t get chance to say that actually I don’t really care about going back into London for the foreseeable. I’m having a great time where I live right now, even while sticking to the rules and seeing friends. But I was made to feel ‘uncool’ and anxious that am still trying to follow the rules and care about SD!!!! I’m just frustrated at working with people who have such views that they feel they can now do as they wish and change the rules as they see fit! End of rant!

OP posts:
yawnsvillex · 20/08/2020 07:28

We don't social distance or wear a mask.

I was completely healthy until I started wearing a mask 3 weeks ago, i now have a severe throat infection.

Doctor said it was because of mask wearing.

lilylion · 20/08/2020 07:28

@yawnsvillex

We don't social distance or wear a mask.

I was completely healthy until I started wearing a mask 3 weeks ago, i now have a severe throat infection.

Doctor said it was because of mask wearing.

So now you just break the law in shops, nice.
RoseAndRose · 20/08/2020 07:29

Social distancing and wearing masks are the only two tools to prevent winter need to start them whilst the figures are low - so that they never rise.

It's kind of the same general idea that 'we should have done this back in February' when we knew it was coming.

yawnsvillex · 20/08/2020 07:30

@lilylion yep. 100% ... why would I wear a mask if it makes me ill? I think you'll find I'm exempt.

underneaththeash · 20/08/2020 07:32

We are - as are the majority of the people in my area and our cases here are one of the lowest in the country even though we're close to London.

I don't have an issue getting on the train and we got on the tube the other day as it wasn't busy.

As we've seen from the other areas with high rates who are at risk of lockdown again, ignore social distancing at your peril.

lilylion · 20/08/2020 07:33

[quote yawnsvillex]@lilylion yep. 100% ... why would I wear a mask if it makes me ill? I think you'll find I'm exempt. [/quote]
Exemption is for people who can’t wear masks, not people who just don’t like them.

delilabell · 20/08/2020 07:36

Different people are in different situations.
My dB is still fully social distancing because their jobs let them work from home and they have no dependents.
I am a carer for adults with severe learning disabilities. My dh works in a shop. We can't social distance in our jobs. Our children 8&4 need to see their friends for their mental health. I need to see mine because my ds has additional needs which takes a massive toll on my mental health. We don't all sit 2metres away from each other.
However, if we're out and about we social distance, we wear masks we wash our hands regularly

Dontforgetyourbrolly · 20/08/2020 07:36

I also believe the risk of catching this thing standing next to someone in a shop is ridiculously low , I wear the mask because I have to and I've always done hand washing and sanitizer because some people have shocking hygiene.
I do not distance from friends and family .
I think people forget you can only catch covid from someone that actually has it !
I dont know anyone vulnerable or visit hospitals or care homes - of course in those places extra vigilance is required

InDeoEstMeaFiducia · 20/08/2020 07:36

Yes.

Angel2702 · 20/08/2020 07:37

We are childcare for our nieces and nephews so are slowly having them back so not social distancing from the children but still social distancing from my brother and SIL. Definitely social distancing from any other friends we see.

We are not socialising indoors still we’ve only had my parents round for bbq and stuck to the garden. We are Avoiding restaurants, cinema etc still even on holiday we stuck to outdoor venues only.

I think with the kids going back to school it is making us more cautious yes they will be exposed to many households so we want to restrict even more contacts as much as possible rather than saying fuck it and go back to normal.

yawnsvillex · 20/08/2020 07:40

@lilylion did you read my post or are you just plain ignorant?

walksen · 20/08/2020 07:43

"I do not distance from friends and family .
I think people forget you can only catch covid from someone that actually has it !"

Do you think all the people in Oldham and trafford etc went round each others houses knowing they had covid? I think people forget you can transmit the virus before you show symptoms yourself.

lilylion · 20/08/2020 07:43

[quote yawnsvillex]@lilylion did you read my post or are you just plain ignorant?

[/quote]
I don’t see why a throat infection means you can’t ever wear a mask again. Wear it for less time or clean it more, perhaps.

TheClaws · 20/08/2020 07:47

I see the usual suspects on here gleefully stating they're not socially distancing any more - at least you'll know where to look for the genome of autumn-winter wave of COVID!

savagebaggagemaster · 20/08/2020 07:47

We do practise social distancing and wear masks, so so most people where we live. I haven't seen my shielding parents since January, but hoping to before dh and I go back into the school where we both work. My dsis has long Covid contracted in April and still can't even walk for more than 10 mins. She's about to get further MRI scans to ascertain the damage caused by the virus. She's in her 30s and was previously fit and healthy. It's no joke and unspeakably selfish to only think of yourself right now when we know that we're still not out of the woods yet with this virus.

Thecobwebsarewinning · 20/08/2020 07:49

I would take what your colleagues are saying with a pinch of salt. It sounds as if they might be trying to reassure themselves as much as you. London is far from back to normal. Most big City based companies have reopened their offices but only to a skeleton staff, the majority of employees are still WFH and this is expected to continue until at least January 2021. This is largely down to concerns about the safety of commuting by train and tube. The company my DD works at is also very worried about social distancing/hygiene in lifts, a very important consideration in high rise office blocks. They have enforced a rule of a maximum of 4 people in a lift at any time, all of whom have to wear masks and stand facing the corner. They have also employed lift operators who are the only ones who touch the controls and every lift is sanitised after every use.

BellaintheWychElm · 20/08/2020 07:51

@Egghead68

100 current cases per 100,000 here (excluding care-homes and those with long-term symptoms) and rising. The levels are back up where they were in April. I’m social distancing.

Look at your local figures and make your own judgements.

Nope. Back in April we were only really testing people who were admitted to hospital, We are now testing over 100k people a day and most of those are not being admitted to hospital. There would have been many many more cases in the community back in April that are not in the stats.
latticechaos · 20/08/2020 07:52

I am still SD because I think the risk is getting back to where it was in Feb and if there is a second spike I would like it not to include my family.

I work in a science-related workplace so everyone doing the same.

I go where I want, I just use a mask, hygiene and stay 2m away.

I have noticed a lot of wallies people say both 'you can only catch it if someone has it' and 'most people who catch it don't even have symptoms'... Er, yep, that's the whole point of staying 2m apart. Happy for those people to catch it before me!

SleepingInYourFlowerbed · 20/08/2020 07:53

We are because my husband has a front line job so the risk of us spreading it without knowing is higher than average. I don't understand people who say they aren't because the risk of themselves being ill from it is low - the message has always been to protect other people. I don't care if I catch it. My husband's job means we probably/possibly have had it without knowing it, but I will continue to socially distance from everyone, including friends and family, just in case.

I'm interested to know where people are that say that social distancing is not happening where they live anymore. It's definitely still a big thing here in this part of Surrey.

vanillandhoney · 20/08/2020 07:54

@savagebaggagemaster

We do practise social distancing and wear masks, so so most people where we live. I haven't seen my shielding parents since January, but hoping to before dh and I go back into the school where we both work. My dsis has long Covid contracted in April and still can't even walk for more than 10 mins. She's about to get further MRI scans to ascertain the damage caused by the virus. She's in her 30s and was previously fit and healthy. It's no joke and unspeakably selfish to only think of yourself right now when we know that we're still not out of the woods yet with this virus.
I'm sorry to hear about your sister 💐

But the likelihood of that happening when community rates are so low is vanishingly small. Like I said above, 1000 positive tests in a population of 68 million people is about 0.0001 percent. It's tiny. You're at more risk of catching "normal flu" - something that can also kill you, yet you don't see this level of fear during a bad winter. I lost a friend aged 14 to a bad strain of flu - that doesn't mean I don't hug my mum all through the winter months in case either of us catch the flu.

I genuinely think history will look back on this like one massive overreaction.

Winebottle · 20/08/2020 07:54

I've given up and lost track of what the rules are. We have done it for 6 months and can't carry on forever. Get on with life I say.

latticechaos · 20/08/2020 07:56

It sounds as if they might be trying to reassure themselves as much as you.

Agree with this too. I think a lot of the people saying there's nothing to worry about are struggling with their own worry.

Denialism appears to be growing in line with all other extreme responses.

There is no need to freak out. There is good reason to avoid covid. Getting covid is less desirable than not getting covid.

Friendsoftheearth · 20/08/2020 07:56

Here it is a hybrid, everyone more or less wears a mask in shops etc, but careful social distancing has gone now, because it is physically impossible due to a lack of space and people forget. They talk, shop and are busy on phones, with children and find it almost impossible. Masks have caused some people to relax and feel protected I guess.

I still try to keep my distance wherever possible, and don't shop/go out as much as I used to. I don't really want to catch it, even if we are most likely to be fine. I don't have time to be ill, and could do without the worry.

I am most concerned about the winter, more than anything else, the winter in Europe is shaping up nicely for a second wave, and we needed to get our infection rate to rock bottom really to have a good chance of keeping it under control in the months when the virus is known to thrive in cold, dry air. Over a 1000 infections a day, 3000 in Spain etc is not ideal starting point, but what can we do?

MoreListeningLessChatting · 20/08/2020 07:57

I don't go out very much but where I live (small town) people mainly seem to be following SD. We have a very, very low rate of infections so would expect people to be more carefree but they are continuing to SD since we all hope to keep infections low. No deaths in our local hospital for around 14 weeks now and no cases in hospital either.

I must say I note that some of the outbreaks across the country are I believe due to large gatherings in a nightclub/bars (Aberdeen), a factory (Leicester) and some where large numbers of people live together (forgot place) ..... so just avoid these type of places/situations and do you SD to protect yourself.

onlyreadingneverposting8 · 20/08/2020 07:59

I'd say it's mostly stoped round here. People are mainly wearing masks in the shops but all other distancing seems to have gone by the wayside. There was no attempt to socially distance when ds picked up his results last weeks at school - either between the students/teachers or parents (saw parents hugging each other). Parents of my primary aged children have been meeting up and their children all playing together. I think for most people with kids (not so much us) they have mostly shrugged their shoulders and as there is going to be no social distancing happening in schools, poor ventilation, no PPE and poor hygiene levels see no point in doing the rest now.