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

No we should have had. The same lockdown as mad boris. i.e none.

One word. Sweden.

None? - how would the hospitals and ICU’s managed ??

Schools had no staff because staff had Covid, and social distancing isn't possible in schools... whether we like it or not, they are hotbeds of infection!

Different population - less people, less populated areas and more compliant.

That's a naive response that people were saying all the time in 2020. As if the elderly and vulnerable could live entirely in isolation for a start.

Honestly, some people seem to really lack imagination.

People are in denial about what was happening, ignoring the statistics.

Probably mostly due to fear. But nevertheless...

I’m sure it was. But it was never an actual law/rule. No time period was specified.

The whole banging pots and pan etc was also insane
I bet other people in the world thought oh what are the crazy brits doing now

give healthcare workers a pay rise and decent bonus to thank then for all they did….. no

bang on some pots and pans from your front door …. yes

actually bonkers

sometimes I wonder as I find it all so surreal, was I disassociating at the time or something !
it was like some sort of insane nightmare

What kind of support?

One, "the vulnerable" is actually a massive cohort from all stratas of the population.

Two, before the vaccine, covid was extremely transmissible and the type of masks the general population were wearing weren't enough to stop it spreading.

Three, think about the support one person would require over many months - it's quite significant.

Many countries, including England, did have a similar policy of the vulnerable 'shielding'. Commonly, shielding continued much longer than lockdowns.

The whole banging pots and pan etc was also insane

We absolutely did not participate and were even asked by one neighbour randomly if we are ill that she didn't see us out😱 I had a peek out of the window and yes, 99% houses out banging!
I think we were trend setters (aka, showing your house will spontaneously explode if you don't bang) on the street because next week only half participated.

I only did it for the first time (clapping) as I thought it was a one off. Didn’t do it after that as shows supporting Boris.

He did mention it in a completely ill thought out way in a press conference.

The hour limit was never included in any legislation so no one could have ever been prosecuted for going out for longer.

so they expected everyone to live in isolation?

they should have advised elderly and vulnerable to follow the same rules they applied to everyone until a vaccine was developed

@taxguru I am sure rishi “understood” but there was clearly a limit as to the support that could be provided and net profit seems reasonable when viewed with that context

Two words - different country

Is there any evidence to support this? I'm not sure how there could be given schools were closed.

The evidence is what happened when schools opened fully in September 2020.

When everyone else could only meet in groups of 6 and had to social distance, schools were cramming various combinations of kids into classrooms of 30, shoulder to shoulder with no masks. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that an airborne infection would spread quite rapidly in that scenario (and it did, but people ignored it until it was too late and schools had to close again).

I think there should have been some restrictions- e.g. nightclubs being closed, huge gatherings stopped and testing required in some places. However, the scale of the lockdowns was hugely unnecessary and the cost will eventually outweigh Covid.

We are still seeing the effects now of DC with mental health issues and unable to socialise. Schools should never have closed and there should have been much more emphasis on things that could go ahead safely, such as outdoor activities.

Is there actual data that so many school staff were repeatedly ill that schools couldn't possibly stay open? Care to link?

I don't think the government were taking it as seriously as they pretended. The fact that the virus was airborne was known right from the start. Also Tim Spector from Zoe and his team had the best and most reliable data on symptoms and wanted the government to update the list , but they wouldn't, oddly. They weren't trying to stop the virus, they were trying to slow it down. They just weren't being honest with us, what with Johnson being in charge.

Through my volunteering I'm very involved in education/community services.

For certain age groups of children lockdown was the worst thing that could ever have happened to them and we are still dealing with the impact now and perhaps for another 5 years

BUT

I honestly don't know what the alternatives would have been.

Nowhere in the world had hundreds of thousands more deaths regardless of the restrictions in place. There are countless examples that show the level of restrictions in place ultimately had very little effect on hospitalisations or deaths.

As a severely at-risk chronic illness sufferer, it could easily have killed me (& many others with my condition). So I appreciated any actions that people took to reduce transmission.

my aunt also was severely at risk chronic illness sufferer and she was mortified and angry that the country was coming to a standstill for her and others in similar boats.

She wanted the kids back at schools and life going on and fully accepted that she needed to protect herself and wait for the vaccine