To wonder whether it will be difficult to convince people to go back to normal once the restrictions end

[CruCru]

Supposedly more people are complying with the restrictions than anticipated. This, coupled with the massive STAY AT HOME campaign makes me wonder what people will do when the restrictions start to be lifted. On another thread, quite a few people said that, even if schools go back at some point in the summer term, they will refuse to send their children until September.

Do you think it possible that a chunk of the population will carry on acting as though they are in lock down, even once the restrictions start to be lifted?

I agree with previous posted who say that it depends on my confidence in what the government. I'm sick of people saying schools should go back after easter and we need to get back to normal asap for the sake of the economy, yes things are going to be hard economy wise but people are more important. Weve not even hit peak and people want to end lockdown? I'll be staying home until I'm sure things are getting better, I'm not risking my dh, dds and I

I think the day the pubs are open they’ll be filled out.

I’m not sure if it will be the case the week or so after.

I think they may have restrictions on numbers per square foot allowed in at first or something similar, which won't help businesses trying to recover or staff taken off furlough and back on 0 hours contracts and only getting a few hours a week.

I agree though that there'll be a surge in people going for meals, drinks, days out etc at first but it'll be short lived as many people go back to work and 'catch up' and re-establish, and because a lot have been financially affected and there just won't be the disposal income there was before.

I’ll be moving back to where I usually live and will actually be more lonely (back living with parents atm). It will be really hard if places are still shut. It’s taught me I need more of a network though hard for me due to ASD.

@thecatsthecats

I see this to but realistically can vast numbers refuse? Most people need to work.

I think it's interesting that those people want to stay in forever & really reduce their risk (not talking about shielded/vulnerable) very much need others to take risks so they can do that eg have food delivered, utilities working etc

As always some people will have more choice than others. If you don;t have savings and your income depends on you going out then there is no decision to be made.

I was wondering the same about restaurants maybe having limits on numbers like only having every few tables open. Scary financial implications though aren’t there :(

I am thoroughly enjoying strangers staying 6 feet away from me so I would like to keep that please. Hopefully all this will have given some the realisation that people's personal space is actually precious.

My son is on the shielded list so my kids won't be going back to school.
I am currently his carer so can stay at home and my husband has his own business that he operates from home too.
The most we might do is go for an occasional walk, possibly. We are only using the garden at the moment.

I hope that things don't go back to 'normal' : I hope this has made us think at a population level about obesity and air pollution, which have been the silent killers of millions worldwide, and that we will exercise more and use cars and planes less.
I hope people will extrapolate from protecting the old and vulnerable against C19 to helping the millions of those made vulnerable by our selfish and consumerist society.
I hope that people will appreciate their local shops and their milk deliveries and the small producers who have stepped up to the plate when the supermarkets didn't.
I hope we stop expecting reactive health care and start taking responsibility for our health and not burdening the NHS minor gripes and lifestyle-caused health issues.
I hope that those things and many others.
are not too optomistic.

@Runningjayne I absolutely agree people should come first but there are unintended consequences of the lockdown too - increased domestic violence, delays in cancer treatment, poverty through job losses, lack of support for people with mental illness. It’s just a horrible horrible decision to have to make. How do you weigh one group of lives against another? Personally, I do favour keeping lockdown/social distancing in place for as long as the economy can bear it because I hope then we can buy time to find effective treatment and hopefully a vaccine. But it’s not as simple as that, sadly.

I was commuting on a busy train to work until the government told me not to. And my kids were in school until nearly the last day, when I got a cold so we all isolated. (Maybe I’m one of those morons someone else mentioned who were waiting to be told what to do- really I just felt I didn’t have a full or reliable picture and I am not an epidemiologist so I would leave it to government to advise despite not entirely trusting them either)

I was feeling a lot more confident then than I do now. I know I will be really anxious and apprehensive the day I have to put my kids in school and get on that train again. But I expect I will have to before there is a vaccine available. I can’t just put all of our lives on hold for 18 months/2 years/however long it takes and neither can most people.

I think it will go back very easily. As if it never happened.

@mochojoes I agree. There’s only so long you can expect key workers of any description to carry on while you take the option to hide at home longer than is necessary. (I’m not obviously not including shielded/high risk people in that) At some point we do need to do our best to get on with our lives. I will be getting back to normal as soon as possible.

delays in cancer treatment

That was always going to be a consequence of the virus, it's not a consequence of lockdown measures.

I cannot wait to get back to normal. A life spent indoors doing nothing is not a life well lived. I am going to travel and eat out and go to pubs and the gym and swim and the theatre and festivals and enjoy my life again as soon as I can. I loved my life before coronavirus and I fully intend to love it again afterwards.

There will not be a ‘normal ‘ to return to in the short to medium term if ever. Lockdown may be lifted but social distancing measures of some variety will still be applied I think. This is the new normal and life and people will have to adjust to it...

I think there will be a stampede of consumption and clamouring to book and go on holidays once this is all over the first

Many companies will have upgraded IT infrastructure to enable more home working and will recognise the reduction in overheads it brings. I can see there being a new normal for a lot of people.

That's exactly what dh and I were saying the other day.

We run a pub and are expecting an initial busy period of normally regular pub goers flooding to the pub but then expect it to ease off as people will be wary of being in crowded spaces. We also get a lot of tourist trade so we don't expect them back anytime soon.

I will be back to normal as soon as I’m able too. I hope the charities I work for will open again soon as lots of clients mental health will be really suffering.
I will also be going swimming and back to the gym as soon as they open because I was managing to lose weight and unfortunately for me (hyper mobility) my local area is just too hilly for me to exercise safely.
I will also be going back to restaurants and pubs as I have many family members who work in hospitality and know how important it is to get that economy back on its feet. I’m also an extrovert who loves mixing with people meeting my friends, going out and about, seeing new places.
We need some of the more healthy of us to develop some immunity as I doubt this virus will disappear and a safe vaccine could take 18 months to be developed.
We also need an economy for the long term benefit of everyone, NHS, education, benefits, pensions. To have a future we need to have a strong economy. I doubt we would have that if everyone stays inside for 18 months.

But how many people just exchange one indoors for another indoors doing some bit of useless shit like finding tax loopholes for the rich or thinking up vacuous slogans for vacuous marketing campaigns, selling bits of throwaway tat in shops, producing foodstuffs with no nutrition or inventing circular admin tasks for the sake of busy-ness. Is that a life well lived? How many people were being properly productive doing something that actually contributes to society?

I live in hope that there will be change to some habits.

But the other day I saw a job advertised for a lawyer in London. It said that the role would be remote to begin with and then "full time in the office". I just thought why on earth would it need to be full time in the office when their current staff are all working remotely and it must be working fine. I'm not saying all offices should be closed and everyone should work remotely but I think most office jobs could be done remotely some of the time, especially when properly planned, and we're proving that right now.

I withdrew Dds from school much earlier than every one else.

I can’t wait for it to get back to normal. As soon as it’s lifted I’ll be out carrying on with life.

I cannot wait to see my granddad again. I miss him terribly. However i could wait forever to go to pubs and cinemas as i rarely went to the pub and i never went to the cinema before they had to close.

For those who are on lock down how much would you want teachers' and nurses wages to go down due to the economy - half their usual net income?