Anyone else just think it’s great that life is back to “normal”?

[curiousitygotthebetterofme]

After two years of covid restrictions, I mean.

Was just watching Glastonbury and looking at the big crowds of people there, it’s hard to believe we have had so many restrictions over the last two years.

This time in 2020 and even this time last year I never thought we’d get back to this level of normality, well at least not for an extremely long time so I just think it’s wonderful to see everyone back together and enjoying themselves again

Not sure it is. I went to a festival in the park last weekend. Huge pre-printed notices at the gates ordered us to "continue to socially distance" because "covid cases are rising."

What made me laugh is that when the Mayor opened the festival he told us to turn to the person to our left and "give them a hug".

LOL

Where in Europe are lock downs being reimposed?

I've had covid for first time this week. I would take this and normal life over being protected and wearing masks and having restrictions. I know I'm lucky not to be vulnerable (although do have asthma) but the masks and restrictions had a greater impact on me than taking a week off feeling poorly has done.

@TigerRag any illness is a killer for someone vulnerable. Of course I don't want them to be Ill. But both my grandmas vulnerable on hospital or care, every precaution to stop them getting it , they both did and eventually died. There's no stopping it. Realistically a vulnerable person will need to be in a fully sterile bubble for life if they think Covid is going to kill them, because there are so many worse bugs that will cause damage aswell

Nobody would ever adhere to another lockdown again. Just not going to happen.

I would adhere to a lockdown if doing so were in my interests. It is irrational to use the word 'never'.

Some people would. It's not a nobody situation. But it is moot, because we clearly aren't having another one. There's neither the funding nor the willingness to comply across the majority of the population, unlike with 2020 and 2021. Not a realistic or practical possibility.

Just a fig of speech and a slight exaggeration on the fact not many people would obey it.

Even in your interests, locking down never stopped the vulnerable getting Covid. Will never be worth it in future .

OP:

"I never thought normal life would be possible for a very very long time, I thought we’d be in masks and in and out of lockdowns for years to come and it’s hard to believe this time two years ago we were only allowed a certain number of people into our houses never mind mass gatherings at concerts."

No. I didn't feel like that. At all. I did always think, even in the very very beginning of covid, that things would eventually return to near normal. I knows they would, because they had to. It's not the same now, minor differences, but that's ok. I knew they'd never go back to how they were before. 2 years was a long time. I am not surprised by the effects of covid on us now. It all seems logical and understandable given what we've been through.

I do wonder why MN'ers post about the vulnerable. Boris Johnson did everything he did for reasons, mostly economic reasons, lockdowns etc, not to protect the vulnerable. No one ever gives two hoots about the vulnerable. It's survival of the fittest, I'm afraid.

I live overseas and have to wear a mask inside unless at home or seated at a cafe or restaurant. I also have to take a pcr test every 14 days or I cannot enter my workplace. I'd love normal.

He couldn't have protected 'the vulnerable' even if he'd wanted to, because they had competing interests. Vulnerable and vulnerable to covid are not synonymous. There are people who weren't vulnerable to covid but were vulnerable due to lockdown, and vice versa. So it was never possible, even if that had been the aim and we'd had remotely competent leadership instead of, well, that.

Things will never get back to normal for me because I saw things during lockdown that hav changed me.

I refer to the behaviour of the police. I saw at least 20 videos of British coppers beating and kicking people - actions that are illegal as well as unwarranted. I never dreamed in my worst nightmares that I would ever see OUR police act like that.

I also witnessed it first hand. I was going through my local park in my small friendly town where our police have always been civil and friendly. Two smart, slightly-built women in their 30s were just ahead of me. Police van drew up, four coppers jumped out, and marched up to the women. Two officers grabbed one of the women and dragged her onto the grass, and then pushed her to the ground, her face pushed into the mud under a bush. She was a tiny, slim little creature and one hulking great man seemed to be kneeling on her back whilst the other was also on top of her holding her down. It was completely and utterly inappropriate and over the top. Random people, with their kids or dogs, rushed forward and began to protest but the other 2 police stood in front of their collegues to stop people approaching or filming what their colleagues were doing, but about 3 or 4 people got their phones out and were filming or taking pics (I don't know).

I stood watching as they dragged the woman across the mud and the grass. She wasn't moving. They pulled her to her feet but she was limp like a rag doll. It was horrible to watch. They dragged her along and put her in the van and drove away.

I went all hot and cold, in the horrific realisation that the police had either changed or had always wanted to act like this and now got the chance, because of lockdown. It made me feel terrified, for her, for me, for all of us in the UK.

I later found out that they had leapt on and half-crushed that tiny, defenceless woman because they believed that she may have been partly responsible for a minor breach of the covid regulations a week before. In that, she had met with more than one other person in that park.

I will never, ever totally trust our town's police, or any police, ever again. If they can act like that over such a minor thing, they have shown themselves capable of anything.

Oh, I should add, she was never charged with anything. She suffered all that terrifying brutality and was held overnight in a cell, scared out of her wits and covered in mud, over literally nothing. They just let her go.

Still no roll out of Evusheld for the vulnerable who are unable to make antibodies. They've just been offered 5 vaccine doses and still many have no response. They're still shielding. Anyone remember hearing about that?

twitter.com/tomhcalver/status/1553705804662018048?t=pvxNIPl5SZGah4LMsq8kuA&s=19 Very interesting thread & article here.