To be depressed that lockdown would happen again tomorrow if there was another new disease

[Pavementworrier]

We talk about all the things that are worse "since the pandemic"but government prep is based on all the same mad nonsense that caused the worsening

Grim

This. Absolutely.

This.

I'm a nurse and working during covid was heartbreaking

People are criticising the lockdowns now with the benefit of hindsight. However at first we (I say that collectively) didn't really know what we were dealing with. I remember the first patient testing positive where I worked and staff crying because they were terrified about taking the virus home to their own families.

Certainly, if another lockdown was put in place, I would comply. Yes, I do think mistakes were made with covid lockdown but I also think initially, people did their best with the knowledge they had

Yep!

A lot of people clearly struggle to conceive of what would happen if the food, transport, security and utilities workers could no longer be relied on. We were very lucky that Covid never spooked enough of them into refusing to come in. People don't seem to realise that can't be assumed in a future pandemic.

Some people would be absolutely gagging for one! Desperate to resume their places by the window curtain twitching at their neighbours going for a second walk!

I agree.

only people with young kids would see the risk to young kids as a compelling reason to comply.

as for whether people will comply it will depend on what propaganda and scare tactics they try and scare us with.

lockdown was a disaster so I don’t think they’d be in a hurry to do it again

Depends on the pandemic, doesn’t it? Some strain of Ebola that is killing 95% of infected within a few days… Yeah, everyone would comply.

Unfortunately there will always be idiots with zero brain cells

Well obviously last time it wasn't that bad as loads of people still worked, the government just had to get that sweet spot where some people stayed at home but others had to go to work to serve them. Nobody is going to work in Tesco if they are very likely to die.

It does depend on symptoms. For many covid was mild, this was said at the beginning so they needed to get people to comply using messaging.

If the symptoms are scarier people will change behaviour although part of why covid was hard to control was down to 1/3 asymptomatic anyway.

If symptoms are more obvious you can control it better.

I don't see why it's claimed that people wouldn't comply. You only have to look at the graphs for people catching covid and the death rate to see that it was effective in keeping infections and deaths down. If the alternative is to leave the NHS to collapse and put us all in danger, it would be utterly selfish not to comply.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Now, Covid is mild for the majority and most people don’t worry about it. At the time we were locked down - before vaccines and before it evolved to milder strains - people were actually dying and people were worried about dying.

If a new and unknown illness emerged that was killing people, I think plenty of us would be inclined to stay at home again.

We did know that about Covid in 2020. The problem with Covid was really the R number and the exponential growth. Even at the start Chris Whitty said it was a mild illness for most people

If we saw scenes like we saw in Italy again and people were dying in numbers, unable to be helped because the nhs had collapsed I can guarantee you’d be staying at home without having to be told to.

I agree.

Or if the illness was obviously really bad generally (not children specific). Like if it was even close to Ebola-levels of fatality.

What would not complying even look like? Going on two excercise walks instead of one? Deliberately buying 'non essentials'? Sneaking your neighbours round to your hot tub and garden bar? Because if everwheres shut that'll be about the size of it, unless you're planning on marching round the streets, which I imagine the police and military would put a stop to.
If it happens again, enough people will be brought on board by the scare tactics/emotional manipulation just as last time, so those that are prepared to risk criminalisation, and their health and that of their family from a new threat will be a minority. Particularly as a lot of people actually enjoyed or didn't mind it.
I have every empathy for those greeting the idea with horror, but I think rather than take comfort from believing the public will take control and stop it, it would probably be better to have a plan for managing it as best you can should it happen again.

So who is going to serve everyone that wants to stay at home

Yep, also if COVID had been as bad as they tried to make out they would have needed military guards at vaccine centres to maintain order not bullying to encourage uptake.

Magical, self sacrificing minimum wage fairies with no concern for their own safety, apparently.

I don’t think the Covid enquiry has finished yet however I’d like to know what measures have been put in place in case of another pandemic.

I think the public are owed transparency esp
if they want us to lockdown again.

For example would overseas travel be stopped? I understand there were still lots of flights esp to places like Pakistan during the last one.

Can we now, very quickly, efficiently and in a cost effective way, produce PPE in large quantities through engagement with industry?

Will those that are vulnerable be told they must isolate ie a more measured approach to keep the country working?

I appreciate these depend on the type of disease however I worry that there isn’t a new plan and the government and civil service will be as bad as last time. I certainly wouldn’t trust the current bunch to do a good job.

The thing is, though, that workers are more likely to refuse to go in if the risks are higher because people aren't complying with lockdown and related rules. If there were no lockdown but a high risk of serious illness and death, the situation would be chaotic with people refusing to leave their houses anyway out of sheer fear. It's much, much better that it should be properly regulated.

I worked at a vaccine centre - lots of lovely people turning up and following the system and very grateful to be there for their vaccinations.

A lockdown as we knew it during Covid wouldn't work in these circs. If young people were dying, no way would essential workers skip obediently off to work. You'd be looking at societal collapse.

Hopefully that response means you now realise that lockdown isn't remotely non-negotiable. It isn't automatic and it cannot happen without substantial public buy in plus funding. Naturally, people don't care much whether some randoms think they're idiots or not.

Because actually, this knowledge is a very big part of understanding pandemic management.

I'd love to know where the anti lockdown crew think we're getting the magic elves to run our infrastructure when loads of humans are ill.

All we have to do in a pandemic is keep out of the way of each other so the essential services aren't overwhelmed and can function.