To ask what the point is of lockdown

[Whenismumhome]

We’ve had one lockdown. Why do we need to do it again?

So we have a few restrictions, those restrictions need to be lifted and then the cases rise again.

Seriously, why even bother?

I think they are attempting a short, sharp, shock in the hope it changes behaviour in the medium term

Ah yes that well known strategy of pissing people off even more to make them comply.

I think they are attempting a short, sharp, shock in the hope it changes behaviour in the medium term

Ah yes that well known strategy of pissing people off even more to make them comply.

They are pointless at this stage but government won't admit that because they fail to use the breathing space provided by the March lockdown to prepare and plan and they messed up track and trace and testing so badly...

Even EU countries who had stricter lockdowns/better compliance are seeing cases go up.

It simply logical that lockdowns do nothing to eradicate the virus, they simply delay the spread by a few weeks.

When you look at the damage lockdowns cause to the economy, mental health, the treatment of other health conditions and so on, it is madness to simply continue imposing a strategy that does not work.

A vaccine might be months or years away or might never happen do you really want to live your life in prison until then?

There is a lot of mis-information going around to try to scare people to death. The average age of someone dying of Covid is 82. We have an average life expectancy of 81...Although case numbers are high (which is not surprising due to increased testing) the majority have no or little symptoms and deaths, when you look at the increased infection rates, are low.

But somehow those elements are never highlighted and the discussion is very one sided. So people just accept the 'circuit breaker' nonsense. What is the point of a 2 week lockdown when 2 weeks after reopening you will be at the same stage?

As for the NHS we had months to prepare additional capacity and keep the Nightingale open to welcome covid patients while the rest of the NHS can continue to function.

To me lockdowns are just an excuse for a government that has messed up any other way to manage this and a crutch for people who somehow against all logic think they will achieve anything...

The thing about Nightingale hospitals is they need staff and there's not just a bank of additional doctors / nurses / porters / healthcare assistants sitting about waiting to be put to work there.

So it's too simplistic to say "open the nightingales" to do that something somewhere else in the system has to lose out.

@LittleBearPad

A second shorter lockdown will act as break on the rising numbers. However, the govt need to use the time from now onwards to establish a well functioning test, trace and isolate system which can take over once the circuit break is lifted. Otherwise it will be just a repeat of the first lockdown and rising cases as restrictions are eased.

The government had six months to do this since April. They haven’t and more to the point they have squandered the trust people gave them then. Circuit breaker’s just the next jazzy but utterly pointless phrase.

Janice Turner’s article yesterday was very good on this.

Don't suppose you (or anybody) has a share token please?

You are absolutely right. This government had 6 months to work on test and trace. And six months to support schools and come up with a workable strategy.

@IheartNiles I agree actually, if the Gov did things quickly enough then a cycle of strict 2/3 week circuit breakers followed by eg 4-6 weeks relative normality should be enough.

But because the Gov (seemingly rightly) assumes UK population is unwilling to act for greater good / overall public health, they leave everything far too late.

IMHO fault lies largely with Gov incompetence / cronyism / ridiculous trust-losing actions like not sacking Cummings - and also significantly with British public such as seemingly 60% of Mumsnetters (according to the polling on this thread so far) for thinking the restrictions shouldn’t apply to them and/or not understanding the science sufficiently to know they need to fucking suck it up.

And yes we do need repeated cycles of lockdown and relative freedom, until sufficient treatments or a vaccine are found. It was never going to be a one off three week lockdown FFS!

Rant over

@FreshFreesias

I could understand the logic of needing to buy the NHS time but the NHS is there to Protect us not the other way round

Here have my prize for most bloody stupid post on the thread. The NHS IS "us". "We" pay for it, work for it and use it.

Are you prepared for a massive hike in your tax bill to pay for all the additional beds, resources, staff, training and related infrastructure that will be needed for it to "protect us" from unrestrained Covid?

If not then do be quiet and don't say such utterly silly things.

Not sure where I fall in this debate but this was an interesting take on the circuit breaker unherd.com/2020/10/the-case-for-a-circuit-breaker/

So you're advocating herd immunity then, OP?

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/backing-lockdown-isnt-proof-of-caring-more-jcrfwjcs7?shareToken=8fd0369a94dbde8e03bea6fd6b220459

@middleager here you are. Hopefully it will work.

Thanks Bear
Great article, as usual, by Janice.

The nearest NHS trust to me, comprising 4 hospitals, have stated they are at tipping point due to covid-19 patients. A&E are going to turn away 30% of those attending and tell them to see their GP.

Apparently 25% - 30% of the 1,100 patients who attend A&E in a typical day don't need to. This is a step in the right direction and should always have been the case for those who definitely don't have an emergency or haven't had an accident. However, I do have concerns as my cousin,
in his mid 40s, in a totally different area of the country was turned away with his stomach pains only to die 3 hours later from a ruptured aortic aneurysm. Hopefully the triaging will be done properly and nothing goes wrong.