Now we are a coupe of years on. Do you think the Covid lockdowns should have happened

[Rainbowdeer]

I don’t we should have shut down the schools and I don’t agree with the lockdowns
the damage has been far too great
esp regarding children’s mental health

the economy been damaged far too much

work culture has totally changed

not everyone was as petrified as you were.
Many of us thought it was ridiculus

If there's a pandemic that's more fatal or other symptoms people will behave differently anyway

But if there's the idea this might happen then it's back to the UK being in a very poor position to do much at all, hence the IMF warning on inability to respond to a major event.

We spent a lot and Labour have now maxed borrowing. They'd struggle to do much at all if faced with a harsher pandemic.

People reading your posts is why we know you're being unrealistic.

You're working from the assumption that most people would want and support restrictions plus the accompanying requirement for furlough in the event of a new pandemic. That's an optimistic guess. You have no idea if this would be the case in a future pandemic. If it isn't, it's doubtful that a government in a democracy would try and introduce them anyway.

And in the event of the entire population being severely threatened, the enforcement couldn't even be assumed to exist. Because police and armed forces are human beings like the rest of us. In the best case scenario that it did, there still aren't nearly enough of them to control a panicking population whose basic needs wouldn't be getting met, because that requires people leaving the house to keep them fed and watered.

There are plenty of ways for pandemics to play out other than how 2020-1 did. Some of them are much more uncomfortable.

@Digdongdoo ,

‘None. In fact I still don't. Which aside from internet anecdotes where half their circle was in intensive care and the other half died, is statistically normal because the vast majority of the population never needed any treatment nor did they die.’

Well, obviously the vast majority didn’t; that is a total straw man argument. But would you happily write off 2/1,000 healthy 50-59 year olds if hospitals failed (the German statistics which are an underestimate, as they had nurses visiting homes as a primary response)?

I also think that people have different personal experiences according to where they lived and worked, as there is considerable evidence that the severity of infection was dose related.

I was working in a school and two colleagues in their 40s and 50s ended up in hospital (one for several weeks). Most teachers experienced similar (interesting to hear from other teachers on this thread). People working in healthcare also often tended to get it severely for obvious reasons.

it is the same reason that parents with two children who both get chickenpox observe that the second child to get it experiences a far more severe infection.

What do you mean "would I be happy"? I've never said I would be "happy" about anyone dying. I'm merely questioning the price we should pay to prevent deaths.
Germany fared better than us overall, as did countries with far more inadequate healthcare so it's hardly conclusive. The simple truth is that even our "healthy" population, isn't.
As you say, everyone had different experiences, which is exactly why debate is important. You want to protect people like yourself, I want to protect my family. That's human nature. But ultimately, we'd all be fucked without eventually without our children and young people. We ought to be careful how much damage we do to them.

Mine was increasingly emptying leading up to lockdown. Kids with asthma, pregnancies in the family, elderly or vulnerable relatives, and of course those who had covid or were self-isolating. We’d had one of those half term ski trips to Italy which caused problems early on.

My kids’ primary school closed completely on the Tuesday before all schools closed on the Friday due to lack of staff, in particular for safeguarding.

When schools reopened Sept - Dec people seem to be forgetting how many thousands of kids were off school in that period. Schools open certainly didn’t mean all kids in. Attendance in some areas was below 20% by Christmas.

Of course that was due to people sticking their heads in the sand and refusing to implement any reasonable measures to stop the spread of Covid in schools and that’s what led to them having to close for the second time.

No, the continuing hysteria led to the schools remaining shut and I will continue to be livid at the poeople who supported it ( lots of teachers mainly who were enjoying their time offtoo much- oh, sorry; posting some twinkle links on a monday, must have been exhausting, poor loves)

A ski trip so we'll attended it caused wide spread issues does suggets that your school is probably not representative of the country as a whole...

@Mightymoog ,

‘No, the continuing hysteria led to the schools remaining shut and I will continue to be livid at the poeople who supported it ( lots of teachers mainly who were enjoying their time offtoo much- oh, sorry; posting some twinkle links on a monday, must have been exhausting, poor loves)’

You need to read what teachers are writing, not apply your own prejudices.

There were tears in the staff room the day the school I was teaching in closed. Most teachers love teaching and have a strong loyalty to their pupils.

Of course there were some lazy schools and lazy teachers but the vast majority did what they could. As a private school teacher, I taught and marked throughout, and it was infinitely harder from home than school.

Then when we got back we had to ‘twin track’ teach, teach lessons in school and support those isolating at home. Again, a total nightmare.

My children’s primary, on the other hand, massively failed, which meant I was also trying to teach my own children at home.

Ths state sector just didn’t have the ratios to stay open when COVID was rife. It is not just about having a class teacher but supervision in break and lunch and teaching assistants. Heads can’t just take a punt with health and safety.

And my experience was very similar to @noblegiraffe . I was teaching to half empty classes before the first lockdown and again pre Christmas, as families didn’t want to have to isolate over Christmas and New Year.

as a private school teacher......

Do you think that possibly, just possibly ( and I know it's a long shot) that the experiences of kids in private schools was different to that of kids in state schools.
A crazy idea, I know but just might be the case

Agree Then there is the hypocrisy. Spouting how we must protect the ill and disabled. Except now they are no longer vulnerable Now they are back to being the benefits cheats
there were threads on here saying the over 60s shouldnt go out. Yet while cheering on the rise in state pension age.

Then there was the moaning at people who didnt have a spare room to self isolate in after previously cheering on the bedroom tax!!!

None of these things have resulted in

a. better treatment of disabled ppl and leaving their benefits alone

b. protests about the rise in state pension age.
c. protests against the bedroom tax.

Using ppl as tools to emotionally blackmail others into following rules and restrictions when you couldnt give a fuck about them under normal circumstances is fucking despicable.

I didn’t say that.

But I suspect it is less easy to be nonchalant about a threat that is here rather than there.

The Muslims, Hindus and other Asian religions ignored the restrictions. Hugging each other outside their places of worship, funerals still had 300 people turning up. Guess which areas had the biggest number of cases?

Exactly. The biggest screamers of “don’t kill granny” are now perfectly happy to let her freeze to death.

I worked throughout covid for one of the UKs largest care providers. In the group there are care home brands, private hospitals, case management businesses and homecare providers. We lost some colleagues to covid. But not many.

I don't know but stats. show no were no more deaths amongst any ethnic minorities compared to the caucasian population

Yes or send the disabled back into work

programme on BBC1 now.