To wonder what the ‘sweeping new measures’ will be?

[Greatthumbsdown]

As covered widely in the media, Boris Johnson is now said to be considering ‘sweeping new measures’ for the whole UK, sooner rather than later. What do people think these will be? No mixing between households? Pubs closed at 10pm?

My daughters secondary school in Scotland has just issued all pupils with laptops to ensure they have the means to e-learn at home.

The government did too little, too late, which has resulted in Covid-19 being endemic in the population. Every time a lockdown is lifted cases will rise... I’m not sure what the solution is, but seeing as most people are going to end up getting it at some point I do wonder what use repeated lockdowns will be.

Before anyone mentions the NHS - not everyone who gets Covid will be hooked up to a ventilator in ITU. Just an FYI some people seem to be forgetting.

@Dustballs

When I say ‘nothing can be done’ OP - I mean I think we’ve exhausted the one opportunity we had to get some control of this situation. That was our first lockdown. We will never have the finances or trust from the population to have such an effective lock down again.

Where I live chaos ensues. No measures are taken seriously.

I just think government has lost control. The virus is soon to be out of control. I can’t see how anything can now be done to prevent many deaths and much sickness from occurring.

I think I agree with this actually. If everything is closed and the rules are enforced people won't have a choice. But that's a very depressing prospect...

Don't worry shittingthreeeyedraven I'll not be licking bus stops then kissing old grannies, but I will continue to go on socially distanced country walks with my friend who suffers from MH issues for example. Hth

The rule of 6 isn't working. So many people are breaking it. I feel awful telling my vulnerable parents that I can't bring the family to see them, when everyone else is ignoring it.

I'd be fine with a curfew. I'd be fine with not socialising in general. I just want to see my parents, so I can make sure they're ok.

If they allowed each family to bubble up with one other family, everything else would be so much more bearable.

And quite frankly given the absolute hypocritical shambles the government has subjected us to, I can't believe anyone who will follow them with blind obedience rather than looking at the information available and using their own common sense

The ever changing rules are never explained. We are just meant to accept and follow.

None of us are as stupid as our government believes us to be and so each of us finds inconsistencies and fault in these ever changing guidelines.

How is government going to get round this?

I don’t think they will
Do anything like enough or quickly enough.

I think they should

Close hospitality, leisure and non essential shops but extend furlough on an industry specific basis
Stop households mixing
Mandate WFH where possible
Keep schools open but monitor
Continue masks, distancing etc
Sort out test track and trace

I think they’ll carry on getting everyone to go to work and maybe stop households mixing and close the pubs but I don’t think it will be enough. WFH is critical I think

Let's hope they're starting to think about next year's exams now, not next April.

Probably they will keep schools open. I hope so, anyway. Children have already missed so much, and everything that can be sacrificed to keep schools open as much as possible should be.
I think it will be:
No household mixing
Take out only in restaurants
Work from home if practical (should never have been encouraged back to be honest; employers should have been encouraged to allow staff who can to WFH at least part time)
If that doesn't work, then maybe closures of places like gyms and places of worship again

I don’t understand why folk are saying a hard lockdown at the end of October is coming? What makes you think the end of October? That’s over a month away. Surely if they were going to do a hard lockdown the time would be now? The end of October would be far too late

Oh they’ll think about next year’s exams in June. Always after the event.

@bluebeck

I do hope that if they shut hospitality venues, they provide furlough for those staff.

What they should do is bring back the mandatory shielding so that people who are at risk are not having to go out to work. I don't know why it was paused to be honest.

It was never mandatory.

June? That early??

I'm hoping for a 2 week circuit break and then blended learning for secondary kids. I think the rule of 6 is here to stay for a while and 10pm curfew likely to be introduced nationally, with other local restrictions on household mixing in areas where there are spikes.

I think they need to get the testing and track and trace sorted urgently, a circuit break will get the levels down so that the current system would cope better, and will give them time to expand testing capacity.

I think there's more that they can do to make schools safer too (eg temperature checks for all, encourage masks in secondary schools) as well as looking at blended learning. I also think they should remove the threat of fines and underwrite pay for people with a positive test or asked to isolate through track and trace (means people won't send kids to school if someone in the house has symptoms but parents can't afford to be off work).

Stop households mixing indoors except for registered support bubbles

Not sure I understand the bit about registered support bubbles? There is no registering of support bubbles. Or are you suggesting the government will introduce a way for the probably millions of single adult households which have formed a support bubble to register their bubble?

I know it’s not popular but blended learning is really the only sustainable way forward till a breakthrough like therapeutics or a vaccine.

The studies show (I think from Germany the latest one) if class sizes are kept small, 50% in Germany. In low transmission areas schools can operate well without increasing transmission.

I know everyone wants full time but if it doesn’t work it doesn’t work 🤷🏽‍♀️

@Oaktree55

I know it’s not popular but blended learning is really the only sustainable way forward till a breakthrough like therapeutics or a vaccine.

The studies show (I think from Germany the latest one) if class sizes are kept small, 50% in Germany. In low transmission areas schools can operate well without increasing transmission.

I know everyone wants full time but if it doesn’t work it doesn’t work 🤷🏽‍♀️

There was no blended learning being proposed. It was part time school only.

And what if there’s no vaccine for years? Kids just don’t get a proper education for years?

It’s not just unpopular, it’s impractical and completely stupid.

@MadameBlobby and the current state of education is better???

The fact is we’re a few weeks into Term, not even hit Autumn yet and a failed track and trace meaning kids off, staff off etc etc

Do you have any idea what Dec, Jan, Feb will be like “education” wise?

People need to stop equating school doors being open with education. Two very different things unfortunately in a Pandemic.

I think the willingness from the average joe to comply has generally diminished now if we were to enter another lockdown.

I think it would take actually seeing the deaths rise horrendously to get the public back on board by which point it would be out of control again anyway and another lockdown needed regardless.

I just think its inevitable at this point and we will continue in this cycle until herd immunity is reached or a vaccine developed.

Grim.

@Drawmelikeoneofyourfrenchgirls

I don’t understand why folk are saying a hard lockdown at the end of October is coming? What makes you think the end of October? That’s over a month away. Surely if they were going to do a hard lockdown the time would be now? The end of October would be far too late

Because that when half term is? A lot of people are off work then, kids are off for a week so extend it to 2 weeks and the impact won’t be as big?

I agree though that it maybe too late by the end of October.

Probably apply the local lockdown guidance to the rest of the country... I can tell you now that the vast majority are ignoring it 😔

I don't think there would be community support for many more additional measures now/. Was listening to someone yesterday from WHO who was stating how important it was to have community buy in. I think we are beyond that here due to U-turns, incompetence, hypocrisy etc.