To ask you to speculate about what's next?

[blinkboo]

What do you think the next stage of lockdown will be? I guess that's what they define as amber.
I'm wondering what people's best guesses are of how they'll start to adjust the restrictions.
Expanded bubbles? Small groups allowed? Schools back part time?
I'm endlessly speculating and bored of my own ideas.

Yabu

Boring and pointless

This has been discussed extensively on the Coronavirus Talk area.
At least one of us will be right.

Yes yabu

Jesus Christ, she was only asking

I'd like to think that schools sole focus will be helping and protecting the most vulnerable students and supporting the transitions for Year 6, 10 and 13 students and focussing on the return to school for students with SEN and additional needs.

In all honesty I think the Government is more likely to succumb to pressure and try and get schools back earlier than is truly safe to do so. So a further lockdown will be required.

Restrictions on private gatherings will be reduced first. I don’t see this ‘approved list’ of people thing working - it just isn’t practical. It’s fine if you’re single and all your friends are single, but what happens if you’re a family of four and the parents want to see another set of parents who have two kids? Do you have to put your friends’ children on your limited list? If the two wives are close friends but the husbands barely see each other, will they want to include one another in their ten (or however many)?

I can see offices opening on a rota system with certain teams in on certain days. I hope to God they stagger opening times - I’d be far more worried about battling rush hour l on the tube than I would be about sitting in an office.

There's a few threads about this but I think

1. outdoor gatherings with another household permitted as long as you social distance

2. offices allowed to reopen with social distancing.

3. social distancing reduced to 1.5m

4. schools and private nurseries very slowly reopening. Part-time for schools with y10 and 12 back first for secondaries

5. face coverings on public transport

6. more shops allowed to open. No eating in restaurants but takeaway/delivery allowed

7. more non-essential businesses allowed to open with social distancing

8. dentists allowed to treat emergencies

Lockdown to stay the same until after both of the may bank holidays.

Then allowed to see other people outside, perhaps with facemasks. Schools to start to open up, year 6, 10 and 12 to start. More buisnesses to open. Most things open by the end of june. Facemasks in shops and on public transport. Working from home still encouraged.

Then the second wave hits at the same time as the flu season starts.

I hope that the shielding people get a definitive message about what the plan looks like for them. Are they expected to stay in their homes until a vaccine?

Hopefully getting out of the house properly, not constantly WFH and be people able to get back to work that have been furloughed. It's all gone on far too long.

But there is no point in speculating, none of us know do we?

My guesses:

I think local non-essential businesses and shops will open some time in June (you ever see more than 2 people in a local flower shop or bed shop or whatever anyway?), but it'll be much harder to open malls or big city centres.

I'd hope maybe visiting might be allowed, though I don't see how you police it. I'd like to see 'you can visit anyone non-shielded household or they can visit you, but no more than once a fortnight' as it'd be a huge improvement on now, but, as I said, not like it's police-able.

There will probably be a second wave in winter but if there's a lockdown we might be more prepared and 'know the drill' and with better testing and tracking it can be managed better

No theatres and no discretionary flights this year.

Any opinions on when hairdressers might re/open? (Desperate!)

I think they will say:

Schools to re-open in a way that is 'safe' and 'allows social distancing'. They will give no clearer guidance than this, every school will be left to interpret that themselves and chaos will ensue.

Workplaces to re-open 'if possible to do so safely'. They will give no clearer guidance than this, every workplace will be left to interpret that themselves and chaos will ensue.

Issue a vague list of shops that can re-open 'with social distancing'. They will give no clearer guidance than this, shops will be left to interpret that for themselves and chaos will ensue.

Sigh

@reefedsail Spot on!

I asked this earlier and got the same replies.