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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

What if everyone in the world isolated for the same three weeks....

345 replies

Rissole · 02/12/2021 14:32

.....or whatever time period was deemed appropriate. Wouldn't that rid us of Covid once and for all as it would die out?

All we would have to do is get enough food in for the time period and stay in. A collective whole world self isolation. Job done!

OP posts:
Comedycook · 02/12/2021 14:35

No it wouldn't work.

Many people wouldn't be ale to isolate

Doctors
Nurses
Midwives
Police
Fire brigade

As for shops selling essentials, they would still have to be open...you cannot rely on the whole world to have enough money or space to store three weeks worth of supplies.

Oh and in poorer countries especially, if you don't work, you starve...there's no safety net. Or if you live in a sprawling slum or refugee camp how would you isolate?

Nice idea but it just won't work.

JustLyra · 02/12/2021 14:37

It likely would, but it simply isn’t possible.

It’s similar to the suggestion that those vulnerable just isolate completely - it doesn’t work.

Sick people need to see doctors and nurses.
Disabled and elderly people need carers.
Etc

PainterInPeril · 02/12/2021 14:37

@Rissole Um ... What happens if you become unwell and need medical help during that time? Or if your kitchen caught fire and you couldn't extinguish it by yourself? How do you pay your bills for that month?.....

Foreverlexicon · 02/12/2021 14:37

There will always be people who can’t isolate.

Doctors, police, people transporting food so the shelves aren’t empty after 3 weeks.

Plenty of people don’t have the facilities or money to store 3 weeks worth of food.

Which is why even the strictest lockdowns it wasn’t eradicated.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 02/12/2021 14:37

Damn essential workers, ruining things for everyone else! Grin

I thought everyone learnt last year the myriad of people needed to keep just basic life going?

ThePoisonousMushroom · 02/12/2021 14:38

Fire service? Medical staff? Food production and distribution (not just supermarkets etc, there’s an entire supply chain involved)? Law enforcement? Power supply?

You haven’t thought this through.

CandleWick4 · 02/12/2021 14:39

I get that in theory it would work but of course it’s not possible in reality

Original poster
Rissole · 02/12/2021 14:39

I'm not saying it wouldn't take some massive organising Smile

OP posts:
HugeAckmansWife · 02/12/2021 14:40

Everyone beat me to it. If someone has a heart attack or falls down stairs do we just leave them nailed in their houses like 14th Century plague victims?

Firstworddinosaur · 02/12/2021 14:40

This is why we need robots running essentials. Until then someone needs to keep the power on I'm afraid.

ThePoisonousMushroom · 02/12/2021 14:40

@Rissole

I'm not saying it wouldn't take some massive organising Smile
No, it just wouldn’t work. Unless you want people delivering their own babies etc.
Pootles34 · 02/12/2021 14:40

Theoretically yes that would kill the virus, but it wouldn't be possible as of course doctors, nurses etc. would still need to be in work.

We saw in lockdown just how many key workers there are - even just one hospital has a whole army of workers. Those workers need childcare, transport, etc.

Also when we all came out of lockdown we'd want food but - there wouldn't be any because the farmers, factory workers, lorry drivers, and supermarket workers have all been off for the past 3 weeks.

Not to mention what would happen if the police were off duty for 3 weeks....

Longdistance · 02/12/2021 14:41

I’d thought about this last year. The world needs to stop, but alas, that is completely impossible.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 02/12/2021 14:41

Er, no. You cannot "organise" something like that when there will be unavoidable emergencies. People needing healthcare.

HugeAckmansWife · 02/12/2021 14:42

It's pretty much a given that when a solution involves 'just' doing this or 'simply' doing that, there's a whole world of inconvenient detail the proposer just wants to ignore. You'd be amazed how many 15 year olds that I teach have ALL the answers to the world's problems that us grown ups are just too thick to have worked out 🙄

MagentaRocks · 02/12/2021 14:42

@Rissole

I'm not saying it wouldn't take some massive organising Smile
So how would you organise not having police, ambulance, fire, doctors, nurses etc?
SickAndTiredAgain · 02/12/2021 14:43

All we would have to do is get enough food in for the time period and stay in.

That’s all is it?

Even assuming you’re not including hospital staff, paramedics, GPs, police officers, fire fighters in the group who has to stay home, what about other things that need to be done? No one gets any news during this time, all tv stations shut down? Emergency house repairs eg gas leaks? No rubbish collected? No vets? No one feeds zoo animals? Are pharmacists open?

What about people who cannot afford to stock up on three weeks’ worth of food. Or who cannot store it. Or the supply chain issues with everyone descending on the shops to get three weeks’ worth of food.

Who is paying people’s wages if business have zero customers for 3 weeks.

firstimemamma · 02/12/2021 14:45

My dh is a paramedic. If him and all his colleagues stopped going to work for even one hour society would completely fall apart, never mind 3 weeks! It's not just a case of 'some organising', it's just unrealistic.

Scoobydoowhereareyou21 · 02/12/2021 14:47

‘Hello you’ve reached the voicemail for 999, please leave a message after the beep and we will get back to you on the 29th when world isolation is over’

Great idea, just not going to work.

NuffSaidSam · 02/12/2021 14:50

My dh is a paramedic. If him and all his colleagues stopped going to work for even one hour society would completely fall apart,

I don't think that's true. People would die, but I don't think society would completely fall apart if paramedics didn't work for one hour.

MushMonster · 02/12/2021 14:52

But we already tried that on the first lock down! And this thing survived and spread anyway.....

MorningStarling · 02/12/2021 14:52

It could be done, it's just there isn't the will to do it. Some people would flatly refuse to comply and it would be impossible to contain them.

Most "reasonable" objections could be overcome though. Doctors/nurses etc could stay in hospitals. If the fire service are called out, they and all involved are subject to another three weeks quarantine. I genuinely don't believe the argument that anybody doesn't have the room to store a three week supply of food - not the food they might like, but tinned and dried goods will suffice. If people can't afford to buy three weeks food in advance just provide every adult with three week's worth of benefit payments in advance. Would be cheaper than Covid.

WomanStanleyWoman · 02/12/2021 14:52

I’m assuming this is a joke?

The devolved nations of the UK can’t even come to agreement on this - how do you expect it to work with 270+ other countries trying to coordinate things too?

WomanStanleyWoman · 02/12/2021 14:53

If the fire service are called out, they and all involved are subject to another three weeks quarantine.

So as long as there are no fires for another three weeks, we’ll all be fine? 😆

Freshprincess · 02/12/2021 14:56

In theory I think it would work. Cases dropped dramatically when we had lockdown. If everybody stayed at home for a month, the virus would, I assume, have nowhere to go.

Obviously it would and could never happen in practice. Quite apart from the rule breakers, you’ve got police, NHS, supermarket staff, etc etc.