To think we are heading for a full 2 week national half term lockdown

[Midlifelights]

DS’s school ramping up the preparation to teach on MS teams & making sure they can all use it & have the tech in place.

Teachers indicating that it’s going to be half term plus another couple of weeks after.

Given the rising numbers, it’s seems more likely that’s what’s coming - and maybe even a full lockdown this time & not the half arsed one we had before.

Aibu? I am worried as my kids really hated it last time but with so many new cases, it just seems the likely path

@Spikeyball

"Our instructions from SLT are that we should be able to transfer seamlessly to online teaching for the following morning if we go into unexpected lockdown."

I have already been told that online teaching for ds won't be possible and that in any self isolation or school shutdown we will just get phone calls to check that he is alright.

Assuming he has an EHCP and the current law doesn’t change as it did from May to July, the council has to ensure he gets his provision, so I hope you’re not fobbed off with a phone call :(

@Spikeyball

"Our instructions from SLT are that we should be able to transfer seamlessly to online teaching for the following morning if we go into unexpected lockdown."

I have already been told that online teaching for ds won't be possible and that in any self isolation or school shutdown we will just get phone calls to check that he is alright.

Depending on the setting there's now a legal requirement that schools have to provide remote learning for one or more child that requires it if they can't access school due to governmental advice. This is in place from 22 October to the end of the school year. It was published at the end of last week and is public record.

@clopper

It’s almost like some people on here are desperately wanting another lockdown. The virus is not going to go away. This is no way to live. Lots of people have been tested in big groups ( meat processing factories, students)and they are not aware that they have covid and have no symptoms. For most people this is not a serious disease and most recover. Some may have ‘long Covid’ but post viral fatigue symptoms are also linked to other viruses. It’s treated on here like if you get covid then it’s a death sentence! Some posters have truly lost perspective.

We are trashing the economy and the well being, particularly of young people, for nothing. What about the self employed and those working in the arts hospitality and leisure? They will not survive much more of this.

My elderly parents are heartily sick of not seeing anyone or going anywhere or doing any of the activities they enjoy. They cannot believe how fearful younger people are. Realistically they have limited time left. They want to truly live not just ‘stay alive’

I have lived through 3 redundancies ( my partners) which were far more stressful than worrying about a virus that may not even make me ill. I feel like that a lot of people urging this lockdown do so from privileged positions of high income, a nice house to work from home in, a garden, resources for children to learn at home, possibly a more secure public sector job ( like myself, I have been better off through lockdown)

Life feels joyless and pointless. We can’t celebrate life events or mourn the dead properly. We can’t be sociable with each other and now with masks smiles are hidden. I worry about young children’s development when all strangers are to be avoided and considered infectious! No one smiles much any more and if they do the smiles are hidden by masks. Humans are social animals.

The nhs may have been protected but many are now in huge waiting lists for operations which can affect the quality of life. Cancer diagnoses and treatments have been postponed. Primary health care is a shambles.

And yet.... so many on here want draconian rules to shut everything down again and use the police force and huge fines to control everyone. I despair. Hide away and ‘stay safe’ if you want but don’t impose it on the rest of us.

I realise that what I have said will be controversial to many but this is my opinion and what ever arguments you throw at me won’t change my mind. My extended family and most of my friends feel the same as me. Maybe we are the silent majority heartily sick of the whole lockdown and ever-changing rules. I am working in a school so I guess am at risk and I have some underlying conditions which put me at the higher end of the risk scale but I am not breaking any of the rules ( rule of 6 ) etc. But I am heartily sick of it all to be honest. I think the lockdown hysteria has gone to far. We should make our own risk assessments according to our own circumstances.

I agree

In every other context we are all expected to assume our own risks to our health but in Covid we are also all expected to assume the risk to everyone else as well.

[quote Hobnobsandbroomstick]@CrappleUmble

By definition the word "rule" doesn't equate with being illegal or legal, and I never said it did.[/quote]
That's debatable in the context you were discussing, but what isn't debatable is that Boris Johnson saying something doesn't make it any kind of rule at all. You responded to someone saying the rules weren't clear by citing something that was in no way a rule, and thus made the exact opposite point to the one you were intending.

And the reason I feel passionately about people correctly understanding what was law, what rules had to be followed and what was guidance is that there were a lot of misunderstandings, leading to people being abused for doing nothing wrong and in some cases harassed by police and arrested. It's phenomenally important that people understand what their rights are and what they actually have to do, and the poorly drafted, barely scrutinised legislation that has characterised the last few months does absolutely nothing to help with that. I also don't think that more of the guidance becoming law would have done anything much for compliance no, and certainly not the pronouncements of various politicians.

Excellent posts clopper.

In my experience, yes the majority of people agree with you.

I expect the usual names will come along to tell you why trashing society is all worth it though

It might be for a virus which had a higher mortality rate. But for this one?

Yes. I am preparing my businesses for a two week lockdown around 1/2 term, so I’m preparing for the week before and the week after just in case

My daughter is at uni in a lockdown zone. She is upset, .panicking, hates online education (she's a very sociable person, it's always been a real asset, will talk to anyone, kind, intelligent, loved talking face to face to lecturers and tutors, is a college rep). This situation is stripping away all the things that makes life worth living for her. She can't come home to see me and her siblings, we can't go and see her, she can't go to a friends house, she hates masks, hates fucking Zoom and there's no end in sight!! I know lots of mumsnetters relish being on the pc all day and not seeing anyone but it is seriously messing with her head. All because she's determined to do 'the right thing' and has been made to feel responsible for the deaths of vulnerable and old people if she dares to go to a friends house for moral support.

It is an absolutely intolerable situation and those who want lockdown to go further and harder need to look at themselves. I can say one thing, they definitely won't be people who normally thrive on human interaction.

clopper Thank you for your post, I agree completely. Another full lockdown would be unbelievably terrible.

Our economy is already being wrecked, and the longer this continues the worse it will get, and the repercussions will be long reaching and long lasting.

Those who think they are not affected, unless they are extremely wealthy, will be. Public sector jobs may seem safe at the moment, but if the economy is wrecked, they won't be safe at all.

All the things we take for granted in this country: free state education til 18, free health service, the welfare service, state protection for vulnerable, state benefits, etc etc - these all depend on the economy.

If the economy goes, so will the structures we take for granted. There will be no way to pay for it.

I cannot believe how weak the MPs, who are supposed to be representing us, have been. I am so angry with them all at the moment and incredibly disillusioned too.

I hope for all our sakes that there is no second full lockdown.

Wash your hands, wear a mask, socially distance. But go to the pub, meet friends, drive to a beach for a walk, go to work, go to school, go to university. Do things in person rather than on the internet. Don't panic buy.

I’m not even a teacher and I’d be annoyed enough at spending my annual leave in lockdown with no enjoyment of the holiday so goodness knows how those of you who are teachers must feel

Here in Scotland many of us lost a week of our summer holiday too as we went back early. For us it was actually 9 days, however if a lockdown over half term means schools can stay open longer term in to winter then the consensus between my colleagues and I is that we can live with a shit October break. I work in a school in a very deprived area and the kids need to be in. Home learning isn't an option for so many of them.

I really don’t think a new full lockdown will be or should be stricter than last time. Am I the only person who remembers April and being advised to only leave the house once a day for exercise? And you couldn’t even sit on a park bench or drive for a dog walk without being shamed on social media.

Spain etc had stricter lockdowns and it was appalling. Dogs were allowed out but not children. That is not something we should emulate.

Spain was terrifying. That level of cruelty so quickly accepted.

@clopper

You summed it up brilliantly. My friends and family agree with you but the shut everything down brigade have a very loud voice

I don't think we will have a national 2 week lockdown as such- the plans seem to be to have a 3 tier system where different levels of restrictions are triggered by numbers of cases in an area. However, I suspect we may get to the stage where pretty much everywhere is under additional restrictions. That way we will effectively have a national lockdown (maybe other than a few rural places) but Boris and his friends can say there is no national lockdown and push the blame on to someone else.

@Janevaljane

Spain was terrifying. That level of cruelty so quickly accepted.

And yet so many here thought it was a great idea. Some still do, despite the clear evidence that it was a very poor long-term strategy.

I think it unlikely we will have another national lockdown. I think backbench MPs just wouldn't vote for it. The traffic light system in today's papers seems to suggest we will have restrictions in some areas, as we have now, but they should be easier for everyone to understand as they'll just designate your area as green, amber or red.

Bit worried that amber has restricted travel and I have plans to holiday in Scotland on 17th this month. Atm, I live in an area where households can't mix but there aren't restrictions on travel.

They can’t keep locking everything down. There will be nothing left if we keep doing this. Look at Cineworld. If a massive company like that can’t weather the storm what chance do smaller businesses have?

At what point is the cost no longer worth the benefit of doing all this? At the moment the only argument I can see for continued lockdown is to protect NHS staff.

But the smug lockdown brigade comfy in their houses with their (they assume) secure jobs just dismiss everything as non essential. No regard for the people who work in cinemas, hospitality theatres, etc. They and their families not being in poverty doesn’t matter, as long as we stop a few people dying of Covid

@Itsabeautifuldayheyhey

I think it unlikely we will have another national lockdown. I think backbench MPs just wouldn't vote for it. The traffic light system in today's papers seems to suggest we will have restrictions in some areas, as we have now, but they should be easier for everyone to understand as they'll just designate your area as green, amber or red.

Bit worried that amber has restricted travel and I have plans to holiday in Scotland on 17th this month. Atm, I live in an area where households can't mix but there aren't restrictions on travel.

The Tory backbench will rebel, they're getting restive already. Dunno about the others. It could theoretically be forced through anyway but it would be a lot of political capital for Johnson to use on something he probably isn't particularly bothered for anyway.

@MadameBlobby

But the smug lockdown brigade comfy in their houses with their (they assume) secure jobs just dismiss everything as non essential. No regard for the people who work in cinemas, hospitality theatres, etc. They and their families not being in poverty doesn’t matter, as long as we stop a few people dying of Covid

Don't accuse people of being 'smug' just because they may have some advantages. It's just the way things are. Most of us care about others who are in a more difficult position but what can we do?

Even if you wfh a lockdown and economic support that would need to go with it isn’t wanted, here anyway. The economy is interconnected so other sectors will struggle.

And if there’s a lock down without help (which I doubt) it’s to no one’s benefit to have vast unemployment.

I don’t want to see businesses closed again either. Or schools as they were last time.

Plus some of those smug people will be NHS staff still suffering PTSD and highly anxious about having to work in ICUs full of people dying on their own of Covid-19 and wanting to avoid that again - v. selfish obvs.

"Depending on the setting there's now a legal requirement that schools have to provide remote learning for one or more child that requires it if they can't access school due to governmental advice."

If you have a teenager learning at sensory level and requiring specialist equipment and in person therapy, that isn't going to happen. Ds can go into school during term time lockdowns but will get nothing if self isolating or school is shut due to staffing/circuit breaks.

@MadameBlobby

But the smug lockdown brigade comfy in their houses with their (they assume) secure jobs just dismiss everything as non essential. No regard for the people who work in cinemas, hospitality theatres, etc. They and their families not being in poverty doesn’t matter, as long as we stop a few people dying of Covid

On top of this if anyone wonders if they should go on holiday the majority of posters accuse them of being selfish even though going on holiday is a permitted activity. They do not think of the people working in the travel industry whose jobs are all at risk.

I think the Scottish government in particular has tried to follow an elimination strategy which does not seem viable and I have read that Michael Gove is encouraging the government to copy the Scottish measures in order to preserve the Union.

@jessstan1 what could they do? Try and understand that not everyone lives in their privileged bubble before shouting for them to be put out of work? I wfh and appreciate fully what a privileged position I am in, but I do understand it’s not so easy for others.