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!

Some very rough numbers, using government figures, for numbers of staff:

Police (220k)
Fire (50k)
Hospitals/ambulance (1.3m)
Carers (1m+)
Prison staff (38k)
Electricity and Gas network (45k)
Water (170k total, but say half essential to daily running?) (85k)
Emergency plumbers etc. (half) (75k)
Farming (400k)
Petrol stations (some, for others to get to work) (5k)
Public transport (for others above to get to work, so 25%) (30k)
Teachers (25% or someone else to care for above people's children) (150k)

And no doubt loads more I've forgotten.

So even ignoring that you can't stop food production, etc., etc., etc. it's something like 3.5m people, plus their children, so let's say at least 5 million people who can't possibly stay at home for 3 weeks even if it was everyone except the most utterly critical workers needed to keep us alive in that period.

See how bonkers the idea is, OP?

Sorry - above s UK only, obviously!

@Ponoka7

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?

It’s been mentioned at least 6 times on this thread

@Exhausteddog
@ThePoisonousMushroom

In my defense I read the thread at 5am, thanks to my bladder.

You were right though @Ponoka7, it does come from a place of white privilege.
The idea that people who face far bigger threats to their survival will lock themselves away for 3 weeks to stop privileged westerners from dying of covid, when we’ve turned a blind eye to them dying of things like malaria, starvation, from having contaminated water etc for years and years.
It would be funny if it wasn’t so fucking tragic.

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.

If I'm not going out why do I need 3 weeks worth of heavy duty masks? Would we be expected to isolate from other household members during the 3 weeks (Never mind a mask, I'd need to be supplied with a bigger house if so)? Would we be allowed in the garden during the 3 weeks? I'm presuming you'd let me out to go to the bins rather than keep rubbish and used cat litter indoors?

Lol. Mumsnet cracks me up.
What a daft post.

Good luck implementing this nonsense idea in - for example - the poorest, most overpopulated slums of India and in the most deprived townships in South Africa.

You simple fool 🤣

"If I'm not going out why do I need 3 weeks worth of heavy duty masks? Would we be expected to isolate from other household members during the 3 weeks (Never mind a mask, I'd need to be supplied with a bigger house if so)? Would we be allowed in the garden during the 3 weeks? I'm presuming you'd let me out to go to the bins rather than keep rubbish and used cat litter indoors?"

Yes. separate family members should each go in one room, and if there aren't enough then they should just find a space in a local park to stand in for 3 weeks, 10 metres apart...

For crying out loud, why does a suggestion always have to be taken to the extremes?
Look at what we know - we know that outdoor spread is really difficult, so people could still carefully go outdoors, and go in gardens if they have one, parks, though for walking along busier streets, wear a mask.

If you're not going anywhere for the 3 weeks and would prefer to stay in then, no, maybe you could donate your free masks to someone else who does need to go in.

Essential workers could still work, just be provided with decent PPE - again, not "Oh, so a farmer has to wear full PPE now! That's insane!" - no, people would have to look at things sensibly. If someone works outdoors, alone, or in tiny groups in big spaces then they might not need the same PPE as anyone going on a tube, or dealing with patients.

A bit of common sense and we could get numbers down so much further. We don't have to wait for government to say exactly what exactly each person's risk is. We don't have to helplessly sit back and say that 1000 deaths a month and tens of thousands of long covid sufferers is okay.
No wonder this thing is going on and on.

For crying out loud, why does a suggestion always have to be taken to the extremes?

The suggestion was extreme (and impractical) though!
Thread title: What if everyone in the world isolated for the same 3 weeks....that is extreme!
In terms of covid, yes if everyone, barring none, all stayed in (although I think it would need to be more like 6 weeks) then yes it might be possible to get numbers right down...but there would be a whole load of worse problems, including lots of deaths from other (normally preventable) things, including starvation and dehydration.

The strictest lockdowns over the world have resulted in lower numbers, but they included a lot of essential workers going to work because they're essential but, because they are a last resort, and not sustainable long term, different countries will do them at the point where other options are not working. There were points when life in NZ was pretty much normal, large sports events going ahead etc where the UK had pretty harsh restrictions. What would have been the benefit of either country adopting the others strategy when the levels of covid were completely different...?

For crying out loud, why does a suggestion always have to be taken to the extremes?

Err… because the OP said ‘what if everyone in the world isolates for 3 weeks?’.

That’s pretty extreme .

For crying out loud, why does a suggestion always have to be taken to the extremes?

The suggestion was extreme (and impractical) though!

Exactly. But the OP was was right to suggest that the aim would need to be zero covid (though not at all realistic about how easy that would be to achieve).

Low covid numbers just shoot back up again. Thus enormous sacrifice to achieve very little.

@duffeldaisy

"If I'm not going out why do I need 3 weeks worth of heavy duty masks? Would we be expected to isolate from other household members during the 3 weeks (Never mind a mask, I'd need to be supplied with a bigger house if so)? Would we be allowed in the garden during the 3 weeks? I'm presuming you'd let me out to go to the bins rather than keep rubbish and used cat litter indoors?"

Yes. separate family members should each go in one room, and if there aren't enough then they should just find a space in a local park to stand in for 3 weeks, 10 metres apart...

For crying out loud, why does a suggestion always have to be taken to the extremes?
Look at what we know - we know that outdoor spread is really difficult, so people could still carefully go outdoors, and go in gardens if they have one, parks, though for walking along busier streets, wear a mask.

If you're not going anywhere for the 3 weeks and would prefer to stay in then, no, maybe you could donate your free masks to someone else who does need to go in.

Essential workers could still work, just be provided with decent PPE - again, not "Oh, so a farmer has to wear full PPE now! That's insane!" - no, people would have to look at things sensibly. If someone works outdoors, alone, or in tiny groups in big spaces then they might not need the same PPE as anyone going on a tube, or dealing with patients.

A bit of common sense and we could get numbers down so much further. We don't have to wait for government to say exactly what exactly each person's risk is. We don't have to helplessly sit back and say that 1000 deaths a month and tens of thousands of long covid sufferers is okay.
No wonder this thing is going on and on.

This is a ridiculous post.

What you are advocating for here is quite different from OPs proposal. All it has in common is that neither of you seem to understand how viruses work.

This virus works by spreading from one person who has it to anyone around them who is breathing in the same air.

We have to get case numbers down because, while the chance of dying is low, even a low percentage of a huge number is a lot of people. Even moreso with long covid, and suspected long-term effects like triggering Diabetes, dementia or heart problems.

If we don't want it spreading then we have to vaccinate, wear masks, keep places ventilated and using Hepa filters. We can keep numbers low with very little extra effort and that will save lives.

Yes, the original post was extreme, but the responses are 'No! Not possible!' and then ignoring that a less extreme version is possible and it would be valuable, especially with the new variant already here.
Things don't have to be all or nothing. We can get towards what OP is saying with a lot of cooperation between countries and by governments caring about their citizens. And by us caring about each other's health more.

Yes, the original post was extreme, but the responses are 'No! Not possible!' and then ignoring that a less extreme version is possible and it would be valuable, especially with the new variant already here

Surely a less extreme version is just the lockdowns that we all had in March 2020?
The reason people aren’t discussing that option on this thread is because it’s not what the thread was about. I’m sure you could start a thread about that specific scenario and then people will respond discussing that scenario

If we don't want it spreading then we have to vaccinate, wear masks, keep places ventilated and using Hepa filters. We can keep numbers low with very little extra effort and that will save lives.

How come nowhere in the world is keeping numbers low with “very little extra effort”? The countries with low case numbers are those with extensive and damaging restrictions in place. If it was so bloody easy to make the kind of difference you claim, we’d have done it by now. Masks and HEPA filters and the like are tinkering at the edges.

I’m not sure if it has been mentioned on this thread, but I have read about this previously on this forum.
In 1973 a group of scientists isolating in Antarctica for 17 weeks came down with cold symptoms. 6 out of the 12 were symptomatic. There are various theories as to how this came about.
I’m crap at attaching links, but can be easily found on google.

@RobinPenguins

If we don't want it spreading then we have to vaccinate, wear masks, keep places ventilated and using Hepa filters. We can keep numbers low with very little extra effort and that will save lives.

How come nowhere in the world is keeping numbers low with “very little extra effort”? The countries with low case numbers are those with extensive and damaging restrictions in place. If it was so bloody easy to make the kind of difference you claim, we’d have done it by now. Masks and HEPA filters and the like are tinkering at the edges.

There was a post on here last year where someone suggested isolating someone in a bedroom, duct taping the doors shut and using hepa filters to filter the air. Maybe we should consider that to start with?

(I'm not being serious BTW, although I can imagine some posters thinking what a great idea!)

For crying out loud, why does a suggestion always have to be taken to the extremes?

Because the original post was.

And the fallout from something like this would be way worse that covid.

@TheNinjaWife

I’m not sure if it has been mentioned on this thread, but I have read about this previously on this forum. In 1973 a group of scientists isolating in Antarctica for 17 weeks came down with cold symptoms. 6 out of the 12 were symptomatic. There are various theories as to how this came about. I’m crap at attaching links, but can be easily found on google.

www.cambridge.org/core/journals/epidemiology-and-infection/article/an-outbreak-of-common-colds-at-an-antarctic-base-after-seventeen-weeks-of-complete-isolation/1D3A49463583D06CEACE1CCF9C1A25B4