We’re going to lose everything..

[Worriednow77]

Are we going to end up with nothing, as a country? No businesses will be left and where will the money come from to fund us all?
Wuhan and other countries look practically back to normal, with no vaccine. Why are we having the vaccine but also being told social distancing etc won’t end? What’s the point?! What’s the plan...I feel like we’re all just drifting into something

@endofthelinefinally

I think the fall out from this, and a no deal brexit, will be worse than the 2nd world war. Mass unemployment, food and medicine shortage and an extremely polarised society. We are seeing it already. Those at the top making a fortune and getting away with massive corruption, and, at the other end of the scale, increasing numbers homeless, without education, relying on food banks. It is like watching a huge car crash in slow motion. It will take a long, long time to come back from this.

Nah. 66-67,000 dead with Covid in the year, compared to 450,000 Casualties of War in the UK, including 383,000 relatively fit people (mostly men) of working age.

It's not the same.

@JinglingHellsBells

It's not all doom and gloom.

In some ways I am quite pleased that we might see a reduction in the mass commercialism that's become the norm over the last 40 years. Maybe it's just to realise we just don't need all that stuff as much as we thought we did with coffee shops all over the place and cheap throw away clothes?

I feel sorry for people losing their jobs, yes, and for businesses, but there will be new businesses and new jobs- some types of jobs are on the increase and there will be plenty of start-ups once the virus is controlled a bit with the vaccine.

However much you may disappove of the 'commercialism' of retail and hospitality, they are major employers, both directly and indirectly.

What 'start-ups' will even come close to compensating for the vast numbers of jobs to be lost in these sectors?

Of course we are fucked and the biggest cherry on the Cake is brexit. It’s a disaster, Boris and his little crew should be in prison for what they have done.

People also clearly don’t have a frigging clue how long it takes ‘startups’ to make any money.

Speaking from bitter experience.

I’m so fed up of this. Viruses don’t go away by everyone hiding in our houses. Happy to reduce contacts by working from home etc but all these lockdowns and tiers are achieving is the loss of homes and livelihoods at a cost we’ll be paying for for generations. We now know that we’re dealing with a virus that attacks elderly people and people with underlying health conditions and the vast majority of other people survive. After the first lock-down we should’ve just advised vulnerable people to shield.

Everyone’s waiting for this vaccine as a panacea but there’s no guarantee that vaccinated people won’t spread it (they might just not get or have fewer symptoms) and we don’t know how long it lasts. Viruses also mutate, as this one has. Will this vaccine work on new strains?

How long do we keep this up for? When does it end?

@Sorka

I’m so fed up of this. Viruses don’t go away by everyone hiding in our houses. Happy to reduce contacts by working from home etc but all these lockdowns and tiers are achieving is the loss of homes and livelihoods at a cost we’ll be paying for for generations. We now know that we’re dealing with a virus that attacks elderly people and people with underlying health conditions and the vast majority of other people survive. After the first lock-down we should’ve just advised vulnerable people to shield.

Everyone’s waiting for this vaccine as a panacea but there’s no guarantee that vaccinated people won’t spread it (they might just not get or have fewer symptoms) and we don’t know how long it lasts. Viruses also mutate, as this one has. Will this vaccine work on new strains?

How long do we keep this up for? When does it end?

Vaccine will reduce deaths and mortality so yes we can go back to normal as healthcare not overwhelmed.

Mutation can be dealt with same as flu vaccine does. I don’t think this does as quickly iirc.

Vaccine is the answer. We will still get Covid just not have to lockdown anymore as NHS can cope.

There will be winners and losers. We're lucky in that DH's industry is booming and my job is secure.

I'm hoping that there will be a huge reset. Too many people at the top have had it good for too long to the detriment of the people at the bottom.

I really do think we’ll see a rebound. People are suppressed. We will see activity and economic rebound. It’s just hard to see it from here.

The huge debt and continuing furlough is depressing I agree.

I'm hoping that there will be a huge reset. Too many people at the top have had it good for too long to the detriment of the people at the bottom.

Why would you think that though?

Lower paid industries are worst affected, whereas a lot of affluent types have barely noticed a hit.

The K shaped recovery looks like it will achieve the opposite of what you’re ‘hoping’ for.

Agree with Keating. This isn’t going to help the people at the bottom. No chance.

It’s the debt that worries me. The younger generation are already so disadvantaged. They’ll be paying this back for decades.

@EddieBananas

There will be winners and losers. We're lucky in that DH's industry is booming and my job is secure.

I'm hoping that there will be a huge reset. Too many people at the top have had it good for too long to the detriment of the people at the bottom.

How do you see this happening?

It's mostly people on low wages - in retail, hospitality, transport etc - whose jobs are phucked. As someone said above, many of those 'at the top' have barely been bothered other than by the fact that they had to miss out on that trip to the Maldives.

There's going to be massive unemployment after this, and beggars can't be choosers. Working conditions don't improve in such circumstances. Quite the opposite.

MitziK I think you missed the posters point. During the War years things were tough, rationing . Afterwards things boomed cities needed rebuild, loads of housing was built 50s and 60s the economy was booming, almost full employment. Then came the 70s, 80s and 90s decline in manufacturing. Jobs were harder to come buy. Now many service sectors jobs have gone.

It will take years to recover from this.

This is worldwide . Look at the states 3400 deaths per day . 25% of deaths only 4% of world population.

If you think China will not suffer economically as well you are wrong , we won’t be buying their products if we can’t afford to and nor will the rest of the world .

We will be ok I think perhaps more insular but we will get back on our feet .

At the top you can probably pick up some some low valued companies.

At the bottom there are fewer jobs.

It’ll get worse unfortunately

@IcedPurple

Who do you think owns all these businesses that have gone bust and employed all these people ?

That’s a ridiculous statement ,

There has been a climate of fear and misinformation. Good decisions are never made with this lethal combo.

I am optimistic that our economy will recover, I just really hope people are supported to do that once we actually open up again - so start up capital for people whose businesses have been destroyed, low interest easy access loans etc.

More of a concern is the permanent damage done to young people's development. I am not so concerned about babies - think they have done OK having parents around more than normal - but older children being brought up with limited peer interaction and in this climate of fear and no risk. Many are in a critical phase of development and you can't go back and right that wrong, it is more permanent. Children being locked in their rooms when perfectly healthy to 'isolate' is just not normal and should not be allowed. Children not allowed 'free play' with their peers, that is the foundation of their development and we have willingly taken it from them.

I think there is impact on the global economy not just the UK.

What's confusing me is there is clearly economic pain particularly to non food retailers, hospitality & the arts but people are buying houses & prices have gone up in places. We are relatively secure & I would be scared to move.

On a separate note I wouldn't want to live in Wuhan or experience a lockdown like they did but each to their own.

As a country, we've been fucked for a long time. Covid has accelerated what was happening anyway.

[quote Unsure33]@IcedPurple

Who do you think owns all these businesses that have gone bust and employed all these people ?

That’s a ridiculous statement ,[/quote]
To be fair, I think a lot of rich people have done pretty well out of all of this.

Which is also why I will never understand the left pushing for more and more restrictions when it is their traditional core voters (w/c) who are most impacted by all of this

I think there will be a bigger shift to remote working not 5 days per week but more than before and this will have repercussions eg transport & I think some people who never had the opportunity to pause so to speak now realise how much they fritter away & won't return to spending so freely.

Wuhan is very very different demographically to the UK. The UK has a large percentage (relatively) of its population being high risk- millions of elderly people, high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease, communities of ethnic minorities at high risk of vitamin D deficiency.

Also the Chinese can and do control what we hear so it's not a given that things are truly "back to normal" there.

[quote Unsure33]@IcedPurple

Who do you think owns all these businesses that have gone bust and employed all these people ?

That’s a ridiculous statement ,[/quote]
You think the owners of your average small town pub or high street shop are 'rich'?

@midscram

I think there will be a bigger shift to remote working not 5 days per week but more than before and this will have repercussions eg transport & I think some people who never had the opportunity to pause so to speak now realise how much they fritter away & won't return to spending so freely.

I think so to. It suits businesses not to pay for huge offices, people WFH will cut travel costs, cut the coffers they buy. Which has an impact on the economy too.

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland Singapore has an aging population, Intergenerational living is the norm there and 95% of people live in apartments, just like in China. Singapore had 29 deaths for 5 million people. in Taiwan, South korea, the death and infection rate wasn't as high as in the UK. Even london is not as densely populated as most asian cities.