Social distancing a thing of the past?

[Emmas85]

To think that we should still be social distancing. I'm so fed up of seeing my Facebook and Instagram full of people taking selfies/photos not social distancing, indoors and with loads of people, one even being heavily pregnant. I feel like most people have given up. I understand it's hard and it's been a long time but it's really not over yet! To top it off I went to Asda today and they've taken away their queuing system to get in and the one way system in store.

We and everyone we know are still social distancing.

Great isn't it. Because of it my consultant wants me to shield past August, going against government advice. If I get covid I am very likely to die. I don't know how we can survive much longer without me getting a job. The lack of social distancing is fab for everyone else, not so great for the clinically vulnerable or anyone who has been shielding. The cases in my area are supposedly going up again according to said consultant.

@edwinbear

I don’t actually know a single person who is still social distancing. School is out and it’s day trips/play dates/BBQ’s all round. I’m absolutely fine with this too. Life has to go on and I’m so confused by what is and isn’t allowed I’ve given up trying to understand.

Same here. We're in an area where mask use is compulsory and has a nearly 100% compliance rate.

@BarbedBloom

Great isn't it. Because of it my consultant wants me to shield past August, going against government advice. If I get covid I am very likely to die. I don't know how we can survive much longer without me getting a job. The lack of social distancing is fab for everyone else, not so great for the clinically vulnerable or anyone who has been shielding. The cases in my area are supposedly going up again according to said consultant.

This is exactly it! I have family members who are shielding and I'm absolutely petrified of losing them. It just makes me so angry how selfish people are being.

We've been waiting for an appointment for DS as he needs to be tested for a condition that could mean he would be in trouble if he caught Covid so have been extra cautious, as advised.
It was cancelled originally due to Covid and rescheduled for this month but we have been told today that it's likely it will get cancelled again as they're expecting a huge spike in a couple of weeks due to people relaxing their behaviour so much.
I understand why they will cancel it but if they do I'm going to be so disappointed as it means we will have to essentially shield until he can have the test, whatever the government advice says. I trust what our consultant says more.

I think this has shown me how selfish people can be and how they struggle to see the bigger picture. Yes life must go on but throwing everything out of the window at once isn't going to end well, surely that's obvious?

People only need to look at the US, the growing clusters and outbreaks in Spain and France now etc, I don't know why they seem to be under the impression Covid is no longer a threat

I wrote a thread similar to this the other day and pretty much every response was people preaching "life has to go on" "I'm not putting my life on hold" and it honestly shocks me. One thing I have learnt in this pandemic is that people are selfish and think they're above the guidelines. Everyone had to make sacrifices for the health of others and now only a select few are continuing to do so.

I always feel like the only one too and I feel embarrassed when I see people and like I'm over reacting, but fuck it, im doing what the advice says and in doing what makes me feel comfortable

It's not normal human behaviour and I think we can only be expected to live on high alert for so long.

What bothers me most about it is that those idiots ignoring social distancing because they are not likely to be very ill with it, or don't think they'll get it, will pass it on to those who will be very ill or maybe die.

When did people stop giving a single fuck for the lives of others in the community?

Very depressing.

I've noticed it with delivery drivers and at click and collect. It used to be put it down and move 2m away. Now people are trying to hand you things and I am having to back off and tell them to put it down. I know the risk is small but it is a symptom of how social distancing is disappearing.

I think a lot of people have stopped doing it with friends and family. Once we were allowed in each other’s houses and in pubs and restaurants it was inevitable really. Also with children it is incredibly difficult, and actually impossible for some ages.

Oh yes and it’s odd how delivery drivers have stopped and are trying to hand you things. I think I need to be more confident and ask them to put it down

"It's not normal human behaviour and I think we can only be expected to live on high alert for so long."
@SnuggyBuggy - 100% right, going against mankind

I'm still avoiding people. Delivery driver still gets nowhere near our front door if I'm there. There are 2m marks on pavement & in every shop. I'm not wanted back at work. Mass gatherings are still getting in the news because still banned. Pavements/roads are altered all over town that give us huge spaces. People avoid getting close to each other in shops. I don't see crowds or people behaving normally when out & about, like the park or beach. I sense that most people are avoiding me, too. About 10% of the people I see are voluntarily choosing to wear face covers even though they don't have to. All of that makes me very uncomfortable & it makes me unsafe (reminds me that I'm supposed to remember to feel very unsafe) but I go along with it all anyway.

Don't care what people are or aren't doing in their facebook pictures.

Forgot to say that all of the ongoing SocDist measures remind me that the economy tsunami of damage is hurtling towards us & that reminds me to feel very unsafe, too.

There have been so many threads on this subject. You can't control the behaviour of others, no point getting angry about it. Just do what you think is best and let others do the same.

@Waxonwaxoff0

There have been so many threads on this subject. You can't control the behaviour of others, no point getting angry about it. Just do what you think is best and let others do the same.

That's difficult to do when their selfish behaviour directly impacts on you, don't you think?

Considering most of the current outbreaks in hotspots are being traced to family members and those living together people still should be being more cautious about those in house gatherings and snuggling up for selfies etc. I’ve seen loads of bars/restaurants and even friends posting photos of group selfies all close up. Not everyone is symptomatic and those people will be closer to other people too. But some may be unfortunate to learn the hard way as infection rate rises. These are the choices we all need to make and risk assess I think at this stage.

I’m still pretty minimal atm, we go away to the lakes for a few days this week and I’ve not wanted to risk that. It’s a quieter part of the lakes where all we do is walk, then some food and drink in the evening .I’ve worked throughout and and am ready for the break.
I’m planning to see more of family and friends and go out locally more and make the most of it once I’ve been away, as I’m one of those doomsayers that expect a rise in autumn/winter. Meaning possible lockdowns locally.

Not all social distancing is equal though.

Someone getting "too close" to you while you walk past them in the street or a supermarket is really very, very low risk. All the evidence shows most risk is after spending at least 15 minutes with someone.

Having house parties or sitting too close to someone in an office for 8 hours a day is a different matter.

Dom it doesn't if you're still social distancing.

@Waxonwaxoff0

Dom it doesn't if you're still social distancing.

I'm trying my best but can't control people who come to close to me. I'm an occasional wheelchair user and used to being ignored and invisible a lot of the time.

When just using my stick I'm not very fast over the ground so avoiding people coming too close is difficult.

I, and many like me, have to rely on other people doing the right thing. But so many care nothing for anyone except themselves.

Dom like I said, you can't change the behaviour of others. Some people are selfish, nothing you can do about it. Moaning on MN won't do anything. All you can do is protect yourself as best you can.

We are still social distancing. We don't have anyone over to the house, not even the garden, we haven't been to a pub / restaurant. The kids in our street play out all the time now though. Our dcs are too little to play out on their own, so that is actually fairly easy to say no to. I have been to one of our local parks twice in the last couple of weeks with dc and it is really hard for the kids to keep their distance there, because it's so busy. Planning to go to parks which aren't as nice and aren't as central, so they'll be less busy!

I don't have any particular fear of covid, as we are all low risk. Someone in my family had it (confirmed) and had the mildest of symptoms, so hopefully the rest of us wouldn't be likely to get the most severe symptoms. Obviously, I'm not banking on that though and going out licking the pavement or whatever.

What worries me is people like the pp who is shielding but will have to go to work soon or the very elderly person in my extended family or my pregnant, asthmatic friend etc etc.

DC went back to school over the past few weeks though and there was not much social distancing among kids. But we can do what we can within reason. I won't flip out if the dcs don't sanitize their hands after every go on the slide or whatever, but at the same time, I won't be sending them to birthday parties or sleepovers yet either.

I noticed in the garden centre yesterday that all of a sudden wearing a face covering seems to mean that the wearer is excused the 2 meter rule

No one has socially distanced on my street apart from us since the beginning of lockdown. It was quite frustrating to see neighbours have big parties, chatting in the street, kids playing together etc when I hadn’t seen my family in months. But I learnt to ignore it and just concentrate on the fact that at least I’m ‘doing my bit’.

Strangers have also been awful at it. Anyone on a bike or jogging probably presumes because of their speed that it doesn’t matter. The amount that have come so close to me they might as well have been standing on top of me was ridiculous. The most annoying thing is when there is a lot of walking space and people choose to walk directly next to me when I’m pushing a pram. It’s incredibly selfish when there is a baby involved and they are clearly just too lazy to walk round us.

Can’t walk round our local town centre as it’s way too busy. No social distancing at all, just like a normal day. I tried to call the council about it as it’s impacting my ability to buy things my baby needs but funnily enough their offices are still closed! No shopping centre security or a local PSCO wondering around at all. There should be at least some kind of surveillance of how busy it is in the centre. I really feel for people in wheelchairs/that struggle to walk well that can’t get out of the way of idiots quickly enough.