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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:
niugboo · 04/12/2021 13:35

Doctors
Nurses
Firemen
Policemen

All people who couldn’t.

ragged · 04/12/2021 14:41

Dibbydoos solutions to make this work...

Don't see (m)any solutions offered by that poster, either. Funny that.

TheKeatingFive · 04/12/2021 14:46

Interesting how most responses are finding reasons why it wouldn't work versus solutions to make this work.

It's unworkable. There are no solutions.

You might as well suggest we all decamp to the moon to escape it.

DukkaTheHallsWithBoughsOfHolly · 04/12/2021 15:35

@niugboo

Doctors Nurses Firemen Policemen

All people who couldn’t.

It’s ok, the OP has the solution, we can just spend 3 weeks at work! Maybe we should just snuggle in with the patients at night or work 24 hours a day? And my small children can just feed themselves and get themselves to school.

I mean we all have to do our bit right? Because our services haven’t been doing our fucking bit for the last year and a half and we aren’t all fucking tired now, are we? Hmm

WomanStanleyWoman · 04/12/2021 15:59

Interesting how most responses are finding reasons why it wouldn't work versus solutions to make this work...

Because there aren’t any. It’s unworkable.

Exhausteddog · 04/12/2021 17:16

I don't understand how if it actually was possible that no country had thought of doing it or actually tried it.
So....thinking through...if everyone stocked up on 3 weeks worth of food at the same time (let's just pretend everyone can afford to do this) would the supermarket actually have enough food? And enough staff to stock rhe shelves and process all the sales?
Then in the 3 week lockdown....what happens to other food that is ready, things that need to be packed or picked? What happens to it? What about fresh food that has a short shelf life? What happens when the shops open on day 22 - who will have replenished the shelves? Thats just one small element of it.
One of my family works at a power station....presumably you want him to continue to go to work? He drives to work....meaning he'll need petrol...meaning the petrol station will need to be open. But if he got to work on public transport, public transport workers would need to go to work.

Its not until you actually think about everyone staying at home that you realise how many "behind the scenes " people are helping the country to function. Emergency services are the obvious ones that spring to mind but its a lot more than that.

ragged · 04/12/2021 17:52

I wonder how much livestock would die... no one to milk the cows, insufficient staff to do their care, etc.

PastMyBestBeforeDate · 04/12/2021 18:05

Talking of livestock, it's showing up in felines, apes, deer and now hippos so we'll be needing to put them in lockdown too.

TheKeatingFive · 04/12/2021 19:13

Then in the 3 week lockdown....what happens to other food that is ready, things that need to be packed or picked? What happens to it? What about fresh food that has a short shelf life? What happens when the shops open on day 22 - who will have replenished the shelves?

People don't have the first clue how supply chains work, that much is obvious.

SofiaMichelle · 04/12/2021 19:35

Even if it was possible for the entire world to stay at home for 3 weeks it wouldn't be long enough.

A family of 5 could be passing it between themselves, without symptoms, for many weeks.

Exhausteddog · 04/12/2021 20:16

@TheKeatingFive

I don't really know about food production this is just me trying to work it out.Blush We saw how the supermarkets looked after some people panic bought stuff last year...

TheKeatingFive · 04/12/2021 20:53

I don't really know about food production this is just me trying to work it out.

I'm agreeing with you!

Some people seem to think you can just put a pause on global supply chains (not just for food, but also medicine, pharmaceuticals, all kinds of other essential stuff) and then just pick everything up again like nothing happened 3 weeks later. That's not how these things work.

Receptionclass · 04/12/2021 21:21

What about prisons? Leave the prisoners to die or release them all?

ThePoisonousMushroom · 04/12/2021 21:23

@Receptionclass

What about prisons? Leave the prisoners to die or release them all?
I was thinking that. Leave them all in their cells for 3 weeks with no food or sanitation?
VikingOnTheFridge · 04/12/2021 21:32

I suppose we could give them food in advance, but that still seems to have the potential to go quite badly wrong...

ThePoisonousMushroom · 04/12/2021 21:46

3 weeks of food in a cell 🤢

Receptionclass · 04/12/2021 21:55

Even with food, what about the prisoners who need regular medication? They wouldn't be able to shower at all, wouldn't have clean clothes, no maintenance to the prison facilities if things broke...

ThePoisonousMushroom · 04/12/2021 22:01

@Receptionclass

Even with food, what about the prisoners who need regular medication? They wouldn't be able to shower at all, wouldn't have clean clothes, no maintenance to the prison facilities if things broke...
Honestly I think anyone who thinks this is remotely possible imagines that everyone in the world lives in a nice house with a toilet, shower, fridge, oven and plenty of storage space.
VikingOnTheFridge · 04/12/2021 22:14

@Receptionclass

Even with food, what about the prisoners who need regular medication? They wouldn't be able to shower at all, wouldn't have clean clothes, no maintenance to the prison facilities if things broke...
Best hope there aren't any breakdowns in security at prisons during the 3 weeks too!
thenightsky · 04/12/2021 22:29

Honestly I think anyone who thinks this is remotely possible imagines that everyone in the world lives in a nice house with a toilet, shower, fridge, oven and plenty of storage space

And is physically fit: ie, no illness that needs immediate attention or meds. Or help to get to the toilet. Or to fed themselves. Or wash and dress. Imagine being off your legs and shitting yourself and unable to get to the sink or toilet. Are you going to let these people stay on the floor, shitten up, for 3 weeks or more OP?

InvincibleInvisibility · 05/12/2021 05:55

There are multiple issues in developed countries (as stated by PPs).

But for me its a simple no it would never work. The countries currently at war would never down arms and isolate for 3 weeks so the whole thing would be pointless.

Our best bet is to share vaccines.

Sockwomble · 05/12/2021 06:43

"OK so what if, just so we could be rid of it sooner, those that work in hospitals and the National Grid etc. stayed at work. No pain no gain sort of thing."

Many people have essential work where you don't stay in one place and cannot avoid contact with multiple people Eg carers. Or people catching it when in hospital for something else and taking it back with them.

SofiaMichelle · 05/12/2021 07:07

The number of people who would die as a direct result of a 3 week total lockdown would make covid deaths look like a drop in the ocean.

Ponoka7 · 05/12/2021 07:29

No-one seems to have talked about birth, how do we get babies to stay in for those three weeks?
This is the best example of western privilege I've ever seen, it's also a very good example of how thick people are and how they are happy to sacrifice lots of brown/black women and children, as well as a fair few white ones as well. But it won't be you and yours so that's ok isn't it?

Exhausteddog · 05/12/2021 07:50

@Ponoka7
Birth has been mentioned several times