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

[Rissole]

.....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!

It would have to be incredibly well-organised. I think we could get cases right down to countable levels in the UK with a huge preparation beforehand:
Send 3 weeks' worth of tests and heavy duty masks to every household in the country. Pay everyone a flat fee, well above minimum wage, to financially cover the three weeks.

All emergency and other workers who have to go could be supplied with well-fitting PPE (or just good masks for those working outdoors).
Any emergency patients, eg those ill or needing to give birth, would then at least have good masks to wear on the way.

Make vaccinations more available for those trying to get them.

Close the borders only to vital services and for vital trips - anyone else (eg couriers with urgent supplies or people visiting sick relatives) can distance as much as possible and wear good quality masks/ppe.

It wouldn't be possible to completely destroy it, but it could get it down to NZ levels, where it's then possible to only ask a few people to isolate, rather than the whole country.

But in countries where it is possible to reduce cases that drastically, there should be a huge campaign to build more vaccine factories and distribution centres. A huge campaign to train more people in giving vaccines (would obv take time). A bit like how in war, munitions factories suddenly sprung up. We urgently need to get vaccines, masks, PPE to other countries. Our economy would be way better because there wouldn't be all the illness and reservation about going to the shops, and so we'd have more money to donate to other countries to do the same.

It's not easy, but with a bit of will - and surely the end of all of this would do it?! - we could make things so much better.

I said this at the very beginning of the pandemic 😂

OP are you 5 years old??

This is the way a child would look at it in such simplistic terms

@Mummabear89

Me too!

I do think that if people felt that something properly co-ordinated was going on where they wouldn't lose money, would be less likely to lose their health or loved ones, and could actually see some kind of end to all this, and less of a threat of vaccine-resistant illness, they would all pull together. We might not be able to get it down to zero all in one go, but we could dramatically reduce illness and death. And who doesn't want that?

It wouldn't be possible to completely destroy it, but it could get it down to NZ levels, where it's then possible to only ask a few people to isolate, rather than the whole country.

NZ has had to implement incredibly stringent border policies and long, strict local lockdowns to maintain low figures. It wouldn't be possible here, numbers would be suppressed and then skyrocket again.

The first lock down was pretty severe with lots of people at home (on furlough) but there are so many people who have to go to work to keep the country functioning at literally the most basic level. It goes so much further than emergency services and teachers and farmers.

We might not be able to get it down to zero all in one go, but we could dramatically reduce illness and death.

Delay, not reduce. All you'd be doing is kicking cans down roads.

We've gotten numbers low before. But all low numbers do is eventually grow to large ones.

So what about the police, firies, paramedics, carers, dentists, doctors, nurses, lab technicians, cleaners, porters, cooks, etc etc etc. What about their families? Oh, we had a lockdown where most people were in isolation. And what happened...?

I am guessing the OP intended for this to be a "light-hearted"thread!

I think too many countries live day to day for food supplies and it just isn’t possible to get enough food to keep them in for 3 weeks. I suppose richer countries could supply and coordinate food supply beforehand? But then the whole world would need to accept no medical treatment for the next 3 weeks even if you have heart attack or go in to labour you are on your own

@TheKeatingFive

We've gotten numbers low before. But all low numbers do is eventually grow to large ones.

Indeed! Does anyone the stress and anxiety in the early days when one poor bugger was accused of being a super spreader because he'd caught it at a meeting in Singapore or somewhere? Anybody would think he was single handedly responsible for bringing covid into the country. Meanwhile travellers were coming in from all corners of the globe. None of it made any sense at all

@Mummabear89

I said this at the very beginning of the pandemic 😂

And it wouldn’t have worked then, either.

@MorningStarling

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.

It would need to be global....how are you going to make it work in Africa? Afghanistan? in the slums in India?

Why would numbers have to rise so dramatically again?
It's not kicking the can down the road, it's preventing the thing spreading.

The reason we had such a rise and the reason why we're just accepting 40-50k infections a day is because we went from very loose lockdown to no mitigation measures whatsoever, especially in schools.

If we really tried to battle it and also put ventilation measures into schools, kept with masks in crowded areas, had financial support to isolate from government then we can keep the numbers right down. We don't have to live like this.

"It would need to be global....how are you going to make it work in Africa? Afghanistan? in the slums in India?"

It's been under good control in many countries in Africa since the start, because they have excellent medical approaches with masks and so on because of having dealt with SARS. You can't lump a whole continent together.

Richer countries have to 1. Make the vaccine recipe freely available (sorry, I can't remember the proper name - but recipe will do!) so that other countries who don't have it can replicate it, and 2. help out where they can.

Of course if you look at the entire world it looks impossible. But if you can get each area to take measures locally, then you can calm this thing down. It's like saying 'how can we get all of the retail sector to comply?!', when individual shops are all doing lots of things to make it less dangerous, and where, if they were given help with that, they could do it quicker.

I guess if the new version does turn out to be vaccine resistant and deadlier, then there will be more urgent need, so more people will pitch in to solve problems as they arise.

Isn't that what everyone mostly in the world did in lockdowns. We werent the only ones/

Why would numbers have to rise so dramatically again?

Because that's happened literally everywhere, every time since this began.

If we really tried to battle it and also put ventilation measures into schools, kept with masks in crowded areas, had financial support to isolate from government then we can keep the numbers right down

If you think that's going to keep numbers down, your naiveity is shocking. Plenty of the European nations have had all of these things, but their cases still skyrocketed. We're now dealing with far more transmissible variants, compounding the issue.

It's been under good control in many countries in Africa since the start, because they have excellent medical approaches with masks and so on because of having dealt with SARS.

Again, astonishing naiveity. They just have much bigger problems than covid.

People will still have to give birth
Have heart attacks
Strokes
Babies get sick amd need to see doctors
Etc
Etc
People will die
Are you going to live with a dead body in your house because no one will collect it because the mortuary is shut ???
In fact
Thinking about it this is the daftest idea of the pandemic yet

It's not a stupid question. I reckon we could get quite near it, if people were willing to be selfless, and have a really strict lockdown. People could be given notice, so they could plan food, part of the arms budget could be diverted to pay for food delivery, and just the emergency and health care in operation, and with precautions

And whilst you eat your 3 weeks' worth of food supplies provided by the government for free, who is manufacturing, packing and shipping all the food you will need to buy once we're out of this 3 week lockdown? It takes weeks for food to reach a supermarket.

Who is keeping the gas and oil industries up and running, so you can have electricity, heating, and all that food can get to your local supermarket, in time for your return to the streets in 3 weeks' time?

Who's taking single mothers who don't drive to the hospital, to give birth? People who have a stroke or die in their sleep, how are these people taken to hospital or the morgue when they don't have cars?

How are people paying their rent and (increased) bills during those 3 weeks, if they can't work from home?

I'm not an essential worker but my job can only be done in person. If the business isn't open we don't get paid. If I don't get paid I can't afford rent or bills. Is the army also going to give me vouchers for rent and the water bill? Me and the millions of people in the UK who work in this industry?

It's a lovely idea. Completely unrealistic.

Sounds like a good idea in theory but practically impossible. How can you be sure you won’t need medical assistance or just a pint of milk. Also take into account that there were people who didn’t follow restrictions last April and most certainly won’t now.

Makes no bloody sense at all. Doctors, nurses, hospitals? The world still has sick people other than covid!!

In theory yes
in practice no

As for the person saying even our harshest Lockdown didn't work due to the necessary workers that is complete 💩

Three reasons Lockdown failed

1. Too little too late by gov
2. The Whole World needs vaccinating
3. Main reason the bonkers conspiracy theorists that believe any illogical nonsense they read if it suits them, treat the virus as a bogeyman that can be fought off or probably as crackers and wide spread "oh yeah but we're all getting a bit sick of it now aren't we " like it's some type of negotiation that if you explain how hard you've tried / what you've had to put up with Mr Covid will just wave politely and go away.

@duffeldaisy
I don’t really understand this view when there are so many examples of it not working like that. Most European countries did all the things you are suggesting to some degree and their cases are growing exponentially again. We came out of the first lockdown very slowly - we had masks, rule of 6, very limited larger gatherings, no nightclubs, bubbles in schools and social distancing, isolation for close contacts (none of which are sustainable on a permanent basis) and cases still went up to a high level within a couple of months of partial reopening. We also came out of the January lockdown very slowly - it took from January to July for things to reopen fully.

If African countries are doing well it’s generally going to be because they don’t test much and don’t see much serious disease from covid because they have young populations. The Times of India printed a load of articles about how well India was doing due to mask compliance just before delta struck (at which point masks became a drop in the ocean in terms of controlling the spread).

And even with if you could control covid with the measures you are suggesting they would need to be permanent at which point the cure is really worse than the disease.

Three reasons Lockdown failed
1. Too little too late by gov

Do you really think that if we'd locked down earlier, we'd be covid free now?