To wonder what it is about “no overnight stays till 17 May” that is so hard to understand?

[HaveringWavering]

So many colleagues and acquaintances merrily talking today about plans to go and stay with relatives for the bank holiday. Nobody has any shame. We’re waiting till the 17th. Does nobody care any more?

There are if opinion polls to be believed over 40% of people still prepared to vote for the party led by a man who lies on an industrial scale, has no morals and will not even answer a simple question such as how many children he has.

So whilst overnight stays have since April 12th been in limited circumstances been within Covid 19 regulations, I am not surprised that many people have not bothered to look up what are or ignore the limited circumstances.

We won't be free of new variants for years but if we keep cases low until most people care fully vaccinated then we don't give them as much of a chance to develop. Once everyone ( or nearly everyone) is vaccinated, the spread will be far less even with no restrictions and so again the development of new variants is restricted. This is why it is also important to to get vaccines out to all countries asap.

Well me and DH have abided by the rules since the very start and still are. My siblings and their OH's, my nieces and nephews and their OH's have also abided by the rules the whole time and still are.

I have given up with all those who just ignore it all. My neighbours both sides have literally ignored it all. They both have had visitors throughout. If they want to catch covid fine but what annoys me is one is a nurse and one a care assistant.

Both bloody selfish prats.

I lost both my parents to covid in January and one of my siblings was quite ill with it although is recovering now.

How many people have given up listening to the news for the sake of their mental health, and actually haven't got much of an idea of what you can do when any more.
Not gonna lie, I've given up trying to keep up with it.

if we keep cases low until most people care fully vaccinated then we don't give them as much of a chance to develop.

Two weeks of limited interaction is neither here nor there compared to the risks under 18 mixing will pose in the UK fir months to come, much less the entire world for the next few years.

people will do what is best for them
the rates are down
more and more people are vaccinated.
live a little

"Two weeks of limited interaction is neither here nor there compared to the risks under 18 mixing will pose in the UK fir months to come, much less the entire world for the next few years."

Not true! It gives time to fully assess what effect the lifting of restrictions on 12 April has had on cases, and the option to delay further lifting if it looks like there are issues.

It is also two more weeks of people getting vaccinated

Mary, Joseph, Jesus and the wee donkey! God give me strength.

Nothing is going to magically change between now and the 17th.

I have followed the rules all the way along. I have stuck to the letter of the law! The letter!

But even I am going to stay over at my parents this weekend.

I'm still not seeing friends unless its on a one to one or outdoors. But I see close family indoors, its nothing to do with the government really, I judge the risk myself and long stopped listening to what they say. I've been careful since the beginning when a lot of friends weren't but I have felt an obligation to protect the more vulnerable in society and this is probably heightened because my parents are in their 70s and I'm pregnant so its made me doubly cautious. I think we're all a bit sick of it now, even those of us who have been sticking to the rules since the beginning. I don't think you're being unreasonable though because at the beginning I used to get pissed off with other people flouting the rules, I just felt it unfair that some suffered and some did as they pleased. Somebody had to follow the rules or we'd have been in a much worse situation.

@ilovesooty I’m just pragmatic. Why waste time getting worked up about things other people do, other people who have nothing to do with you and yours. You can’t control the decisions others make. People will perceive risk differently. People have different levels of trust in government and healthcare professionals. People have different levels of tolerance to isolation. I think it’s worth breaking the rules for someone who is struggling with their mental health, for example. I think this way because of the job I do and because of my own life experience. I think the lockdowns have been inhumane. Others believe they’ve been a price worth paying. Reality is we won’t know for a long time down the road what the impact of all this really has been and then I suppose we’ll see.

I'm not talking magic. I'm talking science and statistics.

Not true! It gives time to fully assess what effect the lifting of restrictions on 12 April has had on cases, and the option to delay further lifting if it looks like there are issues.

My response was in relation to cultivating new variants.

To be honest I’ve lost track of what we can and can’t do. It’s confusing my teens can spend al day next to their friend at school in a class room yet can’t go to their house where there is a lot more space between them. We can use public toilet that have to stay in the garden of family.

Are you aware that we are now on day 402 of this shit. In that time I’ve been muzzled by a dirty rag that I’ve complied with to keep the peace and the government have tried very hard to get me to take a vaccine whose long term side effects are unknown.

Not that I ever really started but I’m done. In those 402 days, I’ve known a grand total of 8 people to test positive, 7 of whom only knew they had covid because they tested positive.

In the meantime the NHS has gone to shit. I thank the gods every day that I don’t need to use it. I’ve also haven’t seen my parents for 16 months because SAGE did a fantastic job of scaring the shit out of my dad who went to ground.

So, you carry on OP. Carry on with your masks, isolation and standing 6 feet apart from everyone and I’ll continue to live my life, hug my friends and try to make the most of everyday.

If I see a family member indoors and they are then diagnosed with Covid, I’ll isolate as a close contact. And vice versa. The risks of spreading anything are minimal.

@mygenericusername

Are you aware that we are now on day 402 of this shit. In that time I’ve been muzzled by a dirty rag that I’ve complied with to keep the peace and the government have tried very hard to get me to take a vaccine whose long term side effects are unknown.

Not that I ever really started but I’m done. In those 402 days, I’ve known a grand total of 8 people to test positive, 7 of whom only knew they had covid because they tested positive.

In the meantime the NHS has gone to shit. I thank the gods every day that I don’t need to use it. I’ve also haven’t seen my parents for 16 months because SAGE did a fantastic job of scaring the shit out of my dad who went to ground.

So, you carry on OP. Carry on with your masks, isolation and standing 6 feet apart from everyone and I’ll continue to live my life, hug my friends and try to make the most of everyday.

100% agree.

"My response was in relation to cultivating new variants". Yes but delaying further lifting of their are issues keeps cases low until all adults are vaccinated. As many people on school threads point out, it looks as if younger children don't spread it so effectively and they are starting testing current vaccines on older teenagers and working on developing new ones for teenagers/children too.

IDGAF about the rulz. My husband and I stayed over at our friends' house last weekend, her mum also lives there. It was grand. Also stayed at my mum's a couple of weeks earlier.

@HaveringWavering

They’d all be the first to complain if their employers asked them to come back to the office a millisecond before the government relaxes “work from home if possible”.

You do realise that a hell of a lot of people hate WFH and can't wait to return to work?

Yes but delaying further lifting of their are issues keeps cases low until all adults are vaccinated.

Totally different issue to what I was talking about.

However, those left to be vaccinated are young and healthy and don’t represent any great risk at a societal level.

@TheKeatingFive - I had different tests to check. My T cells are essentially switched off by medication. I trust the doctors and academics undertaking the study when they say I have to maintain higher standards of hygiene and distancing as I’m likely not protected by the vaccines.

Are you aware that we are now on day 402 of this shit
Well yes, I'm aware because my 10 year old was home shielding for a large chunk of those 402 days.
He won't be protected by a vaccine until a paediatric vaccine programme kicks in, I don't expect everyone to 'lockdown forever'...but if we come out of this gradually (as per 'the road map'), ensuring that each stage of opening doesn't lead to a rise in hospitalisations and deaths and vaccinating as many people as possible, then it will be safer for everybody.

TheKeatingFive. You only quoted part of what I said and it all connects to make it important to lift lockdown slowly, including giving time for the testing and development of vaccines for young people.

You only quoted part of what I said and it all connects to make it important to lift lockdown slowly, including giving time for the testing and development of vaccines for young people.

Two weeks isn’t going to make much difference to vaccine development for under 16s.

It needs to be considered in the context of people who’ve given up a huge amount, for a long time, for the ‘greater good’