To think it is utterly crazy that shielders can now meet up with people?

[Biglittlethings]

At midnight last night the Government slipped out a frankly bizarre new alteration to the rules in that shielders, who have been told on the one hand to expect that they will need to shield beyond 30 June, will from tomorrow be able to not only leave the house, but meet up with others from different households.

"From Monday, the 2.2 million people who’ve been shielding can go outside for first time. This will be with either members of their household, or, if they live alone, to meet one other person."

Further information will follow in today's press conference.

Am I the only one to think this is absolutely ridiculous, and not at all in the interests of "the science?"

Those who have said "there is clearly no sign of a second peak" - how on earth can you say that? This baffles me. The R is going up as we speak. Schools back tomorrow, constant easing of restrictions, shops opening, greater meet ups. At the very best track and trace will keep levels constant, but as things continue it has to increase. Only 7% of the population has had it so far. Some people are in for a shock.

It makes me sad how many vulnerable people dont understand.

Yes you can argue economy needs to reopen so the government can pay for the nhs amongst everything else. You can also argue shielders need to protect their mental health. But please, don't deny the inevitable

Some shielding people are now more at risk of from the isolation than they are of covid, isolation kills, isolation risks dementia, isolation cannot go on forever. If you're okay, you can stay shielded, for some people, you might really need to go see granny to maybe get a few more years of healthy life out of them.

Covid 19 is not the only thing that can kill you, avoiding it alone does not make you "safe"

I've emailed my dd nurse asking fot guidance my dd is desperate to get out of house and I think we are at a point where a walk outside will do her more good than harm.

Ds is on the shielding list. He is 10 and has a multitude of health problems. One of those issues is his mental health and he has severe anxiety which is often based around going out, we have had to work exceptionally hard over the last two years to get him in a position where he would go to safe places with safe people.

Because of the lockdown obviously those places have gone. Other than the great outdoors which he has grown to love. We have took massive steps back now and it’s scary, so for the past few weeks we have been going out for walks locally to quiet places because if we didn’t get him over the doorstep at that point then whenever this is all over he would be back to where he was.

It’s not a simple decision at all

Plenty of senior scientists from SAGE have broken ranks to say this massive easing of restrictions is too early. That is big deal, but as everyone is an armchair expert now it is apparently not a big deal because mental health or something. They've completely ripped up their own lockdown easing plan and we are seeing random actions being taken at all sorts of different stages all at once.

The reality is that this is totally political (hence the scientists speaking out) and is the price Boris Johnson is paying for keeping other Tories (ministers, backbenchers and donors) onboard with retaining the services of Mr Cummingsband deflect the other bad press (like Jenrick illegally approving his mate's big development to avoid some charges/taxes). Core Tory support are business owners and they want to get back to making money and if a few people die along the way they can just wring their hands a bit and shrug their shoulders.

Yes they have @Hopoindown31, around easing restrictions as a whole. Which ones have publically said that those who are shielding are at a huge risk by going for a walk with people in their household?

@pacmanitee didn't see any of them make an exception for relaxing lockdown for those shielding. Their view was clear, infection rates are still too high and track and trace is not yet properly in place and it was too early to ease lockdown. Shielded will not just be going out into a lockdown world with their household they will be going out into a world where large groups of people are allowed to meet, more children will be mixing at schools and nurseries and more businesses will be open. Not to mention that recent event have meant that compliance with social distancing has dropped off markedly.

As a scientist myself, it is pretty clear that we are taking actions much earlier in our cycle than our European neighbours have despite a much higher death toll.

Re people’s employers questioning that they should go back to work and saying that it’s unclear, no it isn’t.

The briefing categorically stated that the shielded can go out for one period of exercise in an outside place per day, and that this doesn’t mean they are no longer shielded or that they can go back to work.

Anyone making demands off the back of that is being deliberately ignorant.

Re a second peak, wave or whatever, truth is that nobody actually knows what will happen.

people are predicting a second wave, others are predicting burnout of the virus. Until we’re some way down the line nobody knows exactly what is going to happen.

At the beginning of March I was very breathless and tired. A CT scan showed I had a blood clot on my lung. I was put on a course of blood thinners which ended 2 weeks ago.

There has been zero follow-up from the hospital- not even contact by phone let alone blood tests or a further scan.

There were 2,065 confirmed cases in the Lothians as of Saturday afternoon with 258 patients being treated in hospital and 15 in intensive care. That is over every hospital in Lothian - so hardly swamped- yet for something which might actually be serious I'm left on my own.

It should have been like this all along - treat people as adults, don't strip away our human rights, no forced home confinement and let each adult take their own decisions on risk.

Yeh, fuck the elderly, vulnerable and society

That is bad @DidoLamenting, how are you feeling now? I might have misread it, but haven't they found that for some people blood clots on the lungs can be a side effect of covid?

Yeh, fuck the elderly, vulnerable and society

Yeh, fuck young people, their education, peoples' jobs and ability to feed themselves and keep the roofs over their heads, those who have non-Covid illnesses whose life-saving treatment and cancer tests have been put off or not followed up because it's not Covid, society's economy that needs people to work to keep it running, etc etc

Oh for goodness sake get some perspective and stop being so dramatic

"Aridane Sun 31-May-20 20:53:41
Yeh, fuck the elderly, vulnerable and society"

Saying that people shielding can (if they want to) go out for a walk or if they want to meet up with someone but socially distance isnt't 'fucking the elderly,vulnerable and society' You really are the epitome of the drama queen over the top ridiculous poster. Do you actually think before you post that sort of rubbish?

My post was in response to @Xenia’s let each adult take their own decisions on risk. Individual decisions on risk in a pandemic are what fucks the vulnerable

It wasn’t a comment on the. Shielding going out for a daily walk !!!!! Just the selfish fuckers who think so long as they’re OK, fuck everyone else

But selfish is as selfish does

coronavirus is not airbourne,
it is droplet

There we go, I've been told by a HCA friend that it's now fine for them to come to my house, through my house, to have a drink in my garden. All understanding has gone out the window 🙁

@crowded - read the latest scientific literature - there is now considerable scientific debate in this regard - this is fairly recent

PS. I have no views as to whether it’s airborne or not - just aware of the ongoing debate

i have airdane,
thank you

but agree aridane, that the debate is indeed ongoing. apologies.

Whole situation is crazy. Government are not listening to science anymore, just the economy