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Original poster

If you're calling for schools to go back, restrictions to be relaxed...

305 replies

GrumpiestOldWoman · 15/04/2020 20:01

...were you also in the group shouting for a lockdown a month ago?

People seem to be as desperate to open things back up now as they were to lockdown a month ago, yet we're still not over the peak.

It's hard not to conclude that the novelty has worn off.

Why are the press giving more airtime to 'relax restrictions' messages rather than 'UK worst in Europe' which we clearly are when care home deaths are added to the hospital deaths numbers? When other countries were reporting the death numbers we have today the UK was screaming for lockdown, but now it doesn't seem to be newsworthy Confused

I don't get it?

OP posts:
Rhianna1980 · 15/04/2020 22:49

Do people understand that we are in the middle of a freaking disaster? Nothing is normal now and won’t be for the foreseeable future. Get used to it. This is not a drill this is a full blown disaster.
Ps: schools reopening WILL NOT make this virus magically go away or return to normality again. Let this sink in.

Frompcat · 15/04/2020 22:50

I'm sorry but I just think some people are revelling in thinking this is basically the end of the world, when in reality it is likely that things will be a little different for a year or two but then life will go back to what it was previously. Businesses will bounce back. People will go out to restaurants again.

Where I live in London all my local restaurants have adapted into doing deliveries and food boxes and they are busier than ever.

Cherrycee · 15/04/2020 22:51

And that situation will get a thousand times worse if we end lockdown before we hit peak. The most likely outcome for the mitigation only model I.e. encouraging the vulnerable to stay at home and everyone else carrying on is 500,000-600,000 deaths from covid between now and August. That’s the entire number of deaths for the U.K. in a year condensed into 3-4 months. That’s a catastrophic death rate that will cause the entire health system to collapse very quickly. And that model doesn’t include the numbers that will die due to the health service collapsing. Not only will ‘routine’ non urgent treatment be put off but it will have an effect on urgent care as well.

This is the reality that so many people are failing to see.

None of the people arguing against lockdown can answer how the economy performs well in this kind of scenario.

Frompcat · 15/04/2020 22:51

Rhianna1980

Kind of giving the perfect example there. Things are not that far away from ordinary from me right now. I already worked from home.

Rosebel · 15/04/2020 22:52

I'm dreading the children going back to school although I know they can't stay home forever. I'm especially worried as my youngest and husband have asthma, luckily not badly.
Then again I wanted lockdown and still don't think it's strict enough. I'm lucky that my children could stay home alone but schools going back is going to be awful.

MrsSnitchnose · 15/04/2020 22:53

No I wasn't, I was always against lockdown

LaurieMarlow · 15/04/2020 22:54

None of the people arguing against lockdown can answer how the economy performs well in this kind of scenario.

It’s not about performing well, but performing at all.

We will have to learn to live with this virus to some degree. We cannot stay in lock down until there’s a virus. We cannot economically survive that. There will be no money for anything, nhs included.

LaurieMarlow · 15/04/2020 22:55

Until there’s a vaccine, sorry

Student133 · 15/04/2020 22:56

The real conundrum that will probably only be answerable with hindsight, is to to what extent lockdown has reduced covid deaths. Were this an absolute in all occasions, Sweden should be in Mad Max territory by now, so although lockdown is essential, we wont know what the perfect response would have been in the UK for some time.

Cherrycee · 15/04/2020 22:56

Kind of giving the perfect example there. Things are not that far away from ordinary from me right now. I already worked from home.

So did I. But there's more to life than work. And we are still in the early days of this crisis.

LilacTree1 · 15/04/2020 22:57

Frompcat “ Where I live in London all my local restaurants have adapted into doing deliveries and food boxes and they are busier than ever.”

Not a user of restaurants so had a wander along my high street to see this. Was surprised to find the vast majority of them aren’t doing that, I guess probably because they can’t do social distancing in kitchens? So they will probably fold.

One we went to on NYE is open for delivery but I’ve heard they can’t keep on because they’re not getting business anyway. They’re one of the most popular on the high road so that surprised me.

The elephant leg meat place is still open.

StatisticallyChallenged · 15/04/2020 22:58

What Laurie said - nobody is thinking we'll come out of lockdown, all will be fine, the economy will bounce straight back. But the longer we stay locked down the worse it will be as numerous businesses will fail so they won't be there to reopen. Every week that passes with zero trade, more businesses run out of cash and can't pay their bills.

Most businesses, even with staff furloughed, have ongoing costs which don't go away just because they're closed.

Chanel05 · 15/04/2020 22:58

I think the 'novelty' of lockdown has worn off. People are desperate to get back to their jobs and lives (understandably) and feel that children going into school will solve that. The kids have only been out of school for 10 working days so far and it's likely to be much longer. They have to be closed for a good while to have a real impact. I could see schools potentially opening in mid June again if we've had the peak, but I'm not convinced that staff in vulnerable groups will be expected in even after the 12 week shielding period. Teachers will not be willing to be guinea pigs, close their eyes and hope for the best that they won't get the infection by going into a workplace medically unsafe.

LilacTree1 · 15/04/2020 22:59

Rosebel “ Then again I wanted lockdown and still don't think it's strict enough”

What would you like to see happen?

Lovely name, presume from the song, I’ve been singing that a lot lately!

StatisticallyChallenged · 15/04/2020 22:59

Very few restaurants here open - most tried for a week or so and just weren't getting the trade. Even those who usually did take away have closed.

vdbfamily · 15/04/2020 23:00

so...I work in an acute hospital. The daily death figures are people at the end of their hospital journey who sadly did not make it. Our daily admissions have massively allowed down and or hospital is currently emptier than it has been for many years....we are talking almost two thirds of beds not used. I think this is why there is some talk now of relaxing a bit as although there are obviously some people still in hospital who will die and obviously still an issue in care homes, or hospitals are not overwhelmed, even with lots of staff self isolating. So we kind of need to relax restrictions a bit for the fit and healthy of the population to allow the next wave to happen. What we don't want is for all this to happen as we approach winter or we really will be overwhelmed. If next phase is coupled with testing anyone symptomatic and quarantining them and known contacts we should be able to manage this better this time round.

Frompcat · 15/04/2020 23:01

Well pretty much all restaurants in my bit of London are still open and getting the takeaway trade.

Student133 · 15/04/2020 23:01

We won't suddenly return to normal in the next month, but if we reduced measures to what Sweden is doing, ie maintaining social distance but having far more of the economy functioning, this will greatly reduce economic carnage in the mid to long term. Obviously we can only do this if it doesn't cause a huge spike in cases though...

Frompcat · 15/04/2020 23:01

vdbfamily thank you for a balanced post.

LilacTree1 · 15/04/2020 23:03

Vdbfamily, thank you for sharing that. Nurse friend says same ( though you’ll probably turn out to be her colleague).

Frompcat, that’s good, I’m sure it varies widely across London.

Hippywannabe · 15/04/2020 23:04

For all those screaming for schools to open, are you prepared to take your child to the funeral of their teacher or ta? That may well happen if we goback too early.
Covid isn't going to disappear on the 11th or 31st of May. Hundreds of people will still be dying daily, the lockdown means the NHS has the best chance of keeping numbers as low as possible until a reliable vaccine or antibiodies test are found.

StatisticallyChallenged · 15/04/2020 23:04

I think they'll be hoping for fear, plus a combination of testing/tracking, still some closures, etc to make the next wave a longer and flatter one.

I'd suspect mask wearing will come too

Student133 · 15/04/2020 23:04

@vdbfamily
My mum is a nurse, and this appears to be the case in many health systems, both UK and abroad. If we can manage cases so we have a steady rate, it would appear this would be optimal, however as so many staff have to self isolate even for non covid illnesses, I'd ponder that this is where prudent management of hwo we reduce lockdown is key.

LilacTree1 · 15/04/2020 23:06

There’s a poster on the main thread who said her school won’t allow teachers to wear masks. I think that’s unfair and mad.

StatisticallyChallenged · 15/04/2020 23:06

We've heard the same re very quiet hospitals from several friends who work in different hospitals. There are undoubtedly some which are crazy busy and flat out but it doesn't seem to be universal