Am I being reasonable to assume that almost everything is back to normal now?

[Charlize43]

Am I being reasonable to assume that everything is almost back to normal now, apart from taking personal precautions to avoid getting Covid (getting double vaccinated; masking up and washing hands often)?

Are people back at work or going back to their workplaces?

I know various people for whom the pandemic was business as normal and commuted into work every day, and others who are still isolating and having home deliveries. I'm curious what everyone's general opinion is.

(It might sound like a stupid question but I was made redundant right at the start of the pandemic, April 2020, received a large pay off and have basically been at home, living off my savings, and almost feeling like a retired person as I'm in my mid 50s. I'd like to get back into life as obviously I'm not retired! )

What do you think?

Every post i see from bryony is along the same tone to be honest. So much so that i am starting to recognise the username. I just thank my lucky stars i don't know her in real life.

I don't like wearing masks but i do it anyway because i don't trust that the govt know what they're doing.

Oh, I was offered a phone appointment when I asked for my whooping cough vaccine though, and eventually got a face to face, but was barked at through an intercom then asked to wait outside the surgery for ages. That didn’t feel very normal.

It feels relatively normal until you try and get a doctors or dentists appointment and then it’s as if the only thing that exists is covid

@GallowwayGirl88 It's still a fact that there are no legal restrictions on hospital visiting. That seems very restricted and actually I'm surprised the wards are getting away with that as it's not very person-centred. I expect that'll change soon.

I'm still wfh as is my whole company. I am not having any external meetings at all - they're all on zoom or teams

Still wearing masks in supermarkets and shops

No foreign holiday or trips.

But I am seeing friends, dating and going places. So it's getting better.

I give up.

Masked shoppers don't cough/sneeze on their hands.

@GreenFingersWouldBeHandy

I give up.

Masked shoppers don't cough/sneeze on their hands.

I don't either! Fgs!

I really don't have any problem with wearing a mask and see it as an act of consideration (should I have a coughing fit or sneeze) for the people around me.

A couple of days ago, I sat on the top deck on the bus where a young woman was ranting and being very vocal about how much she resented wearing one, only to take it off and reveal the most enormous protruding pair of injected lips (like a duck's bill) smeared in post box red lipstick... Everyone was looking around wildly at each other... but I don't think it was because of the mask!

@Imnothereforthedrama

It’s a bloody nightmare trying to get any health care . My dd hasn’t been able to get into a dentist since before the pandemic I’ve had letters but no appointment . I can’t get through on the phone it’s a long voicemail that you leave a message I’m livid. I had a appointment to visit the nurse they leave you outside until there ready and that can be ages after your appointment then they send you to another door at the back of the building then you wait until someone lets you in . God forbid you can’t walk through the empty building in case you bring Covid in . It’s like they want to put you off going , honestly Covid isn’t going to kill the rest of us it will be something else . It’s actually quite shocking the health service at the minute in my opinion.

Absolutely this 👏

Everything is starting to feel beautifully normal, fun things opening up, hospitality and entertainment getting back on their feet. Am experimenting with not wearing a mask and very much enjoying the return to normality.

The vast majority of vulnerable people have been offered a vaccine which affords protection, ie you might still catch it but it's unlikely to kill you.

We need to head back to normal life, is my own belief. Though I understand people are all at their own pace, particularly those who suffer from anxiety. But I guess it's a personal choice about whether you participate or not. But I don't think the anxious can keep the economy shut down until they're ready to participate

@ashmts
I didn’t say it was legal. I was simply saying this is what’s happening in some places and is far from normal.
There also no law saying schools should have staggered start/ finish & break time, but they are. Again, proving that things are not nearly normal.

I feel like things are mostly normal again now.

I am a teacher so worked in school throughout the pandemic but work is more 'normal' again. Allowed to do practical work, no bubbles from September, back in our own classrooms with kids moving around.

My pilates class is back to normal.

Currently on school holidays and have done loads with DS, including a UK holiday. Able to visit places and eat out with no issues.

Locally, libraries, swimming pool, cafes etc. Are normal.

DS activities are running and he has a party coming up.

The roads are busier again now.

I'm enjoying doing normal things again.

Not normal but certainly the best it’s been in some time.

Still WFH. The entire office will be until at least April 2022, moving to a permanent hybrid model thereafter.

I’m in Scotland so still masks on transport, in shops, hairdressers, and pubs/restaurants when moving around.

International travel still severely restricted. Until I get this back it won’t feel normal to me.

@Bryonyshcmyony

Amazing that so many people are horrified by a random person not wearing a mask in the supermarket. It's not a legal requirement, I use scan and shop and tbh sometimes I do wear one but I forgot it and as there were so many others including staff not wearing one I wasn't bothered. shrug

Yes I agree. In supermarket yesterday and lots of folk including staff not wearing masks. Apart from anything else there is general consensus in the science and medical community that cloth masks are ineffective against aerosol transmitted virus (medical grade masks like N95 offer more protection) but the cloth masks worked well to remind people to keep a distance and keep awareness of the virus front and centre any time you were out in public or in a retail environment, it was more to encourage social distancing than a real protection against transmission,

Feels pretty normal to me apart from travel. I'm enjoying life again. I've never worked from home anyway as I can't (factory worker). Don't wear a mask anywhere including work, I don't care who "hates me" for it.

[quote GreenFingersWouldBeHandy]@Fitschkels

Yes we do. All day every day. We also clean every fridge/freezer handle, key pad and touch screen that any customer touches every four hours.

@RJnomore1

Do you think everyone who serves you adores you?

@Bryonyshcmyony

I had the 6am to 11am shift this morning. Would you like me to send you my timesheet?

I am just asking people to have a bit more respect for people who work in roles where we are exposed to hundred of people every day, to have a bit more respect than "I'm alright Jack so fuck the rest of you."

You are still touching objects in the shop, even if you scan at self-serve checkouts. And we have to clean those those.

But then I suppose you wouldn't bother wearing a mask if you went into a pharmacy either.[/quote]
It's been pretty widely established that you can't catch Covid though surfaces.

Still masks here in Scotland and everyone I know is still working from home. DH has been told that in future they may require one day a week in the office only.

The vast majority of people in my locals supermarkets are still wearing masks - the same as when it was compulsory. I still wear one because I'm not a dick and still sanitise my hands before going in and before I get into my car. They are small things that are really no bother. I'm not convinced we are at the stage when restrictions should have been quite so comprehensively lifted but I absolutely agree that we need to start living with the virus now.

Doesn’t feel very normal here in Scotland. Still WFH. Still have to leave contact tracing details at all public venues, still have to wear masks in most places with increasingly complicated rules around nightclubs and weddings.

Took my toddler to the library the other week and it’s still all one-way systems (round the board books, aye good luck with that) and queues outside because of the building capacity limit and all the chairs out of use, pre-book only for the PCs, no kids’ activities and no toddler groups. Private toddler groups are running but council-funded ones aren’t - as with many things.

Better than January though I suppose?

Crab people aren't necessarily anxious. We just have better things to do than get a bit ill. I'm a working lone parent who has to stay healthy. I've not had much choice for a decade tbh.

We're well on the way. I'm trying to live as normal as possible. We're not travelling until the restrictions settle into something consistent but we also just had DS so don't really fancy it anyway, we've got a couple of UK holidays booked instead.
We went out last weekend and it all felt very normal.

@megletthesecond - I agree. People keep talking like the only things that matter are hospitalisations and deaths, but I think it's perfectly legitimate to not want to catch a nasty illness that can lay you out for weeks.

I got sick in March 2020, bad symptoms for 3 weeks, took about 7 weeks to feel like I was really recovering properly, for 6 months I still needed to do breathing exercises due to uncomfortable lungs when lying down to sleep. This was a 'mild' case, no medical intervention required, and I'm fit and healthy, mid-40s, no underlying conditions.

I am now double-jabbed but I still really do not want to catch that shit again. I'm perfectly happy WFH, getting my shopping delivered and not socialising until things calm down a bit. And no, I do not suffer from health anxiety

For me personally, it’s near enough. Apart from having to wear a mask when I leave my desk at work, and taking tests to come back from my holiday in Lanzarote, everything in my life is back to what it was.

[quote GreenFingersWouldBeHandy]@Bryonyshcmyony

didn't wear a mask yesterday in tescos and didn't feel bad

Well good for you. I work in a supermarket and serve hundreds of customers a day. Believe me. We HATE people like you who don't wear a mask. We sanitise our hands after serving you and take a horrible lateral flow test when we get home. We talk about you and we try and avoid serving you. But we have to smile and say thank you, because that's our job.

Please have a bit of respect for the people who serve you the food your household relies on.[/quote]
I am still wearing a mask in the supermarket but have noticed that absolutely none of the staff are!