Will you be going back to 'normal'?

[supersop60]

Since we don't know yet when lockdown will be eased or what that might mean, I was wondering what you all might do when things become more normal?
DP and I have both said that we shall not be attending any large gatherings of people, and still be observing social distancing for as long as possible. I do not want this disease. Ever.

I'd like to see close friends and family again but I won't be considering holidays (transmission on planes), concerts, busy pubs and shops etc for quite a while I don't think. Just avoiding unnecessary risk from larger groups/public will be my guide, until there's a vaccine.
Things like hairdresser etc - be keen to see if they can put something in place to reduce risk? Masks? Spacing chairs more?

(DH and I are over 50 and he has a (mild) health condition).

I've had it so depends on the immunity situation as it develops.

@ACautionaryTale , I know my husband and his parents. Your point?

I'm introverted, hate crowds, and don't go out much.

If London is substantially less crowded after the end of lockdown, then I will do free things like National Gallery etc.

I was talking about people not wanting their neighbours or anyone else to get bikini waxes or go the pub in case they become infected.

Shark attack is at the top of my "Horrible -Ways-To-Go" list.

I’ve booked to feed and dive with bull sharks later in the year. No cage or chain mail and the distinct possibility of a tiger or great hammerhead wandering by. Great whites are in the area, but rarely seen on dives. We expect up to 20-30 sharks.

People say to me, why would you risk it? Especially when we take our 14 (soon to be 15) year old son. We did our first ‘proper’ family shark dive when DS was about 10, diving with around a dozen sand tiger, sand bar and lemon sharks.

The point is that you risk assess don’t you. Are my chances of dying from this high or low?

Right now, we are lockdown to protect the NHS and country as a whole. But when we have to start factoring the economy into things, people have no choice but to return to work and return to a bit of normality. At that point you start looking at the activities on offer and risk assessing them.

For instance, if we all boycott going to a chiropractor for fear of virus spread, then that person goes out of business and their family is also affected. They NEED people to visit them for treatment.

So each person once given the green light must risk assess for themselves and go about their lives in the appropriate manner.

Locking down forever is not an option.

We've already decided that DH will continue wfh if he possibly can (and it looks likely). He saves three hours a day commuting time and £60 a month in fares and he's found he can do his job just as well from home, in fact he feels he's more productive. I'm higher risk so it makes sense for him to stay away from crowded commuter trains and his busy office. He works with lovely lovely people and he'll miss seeing them every day, though.

We have lots of tickets for gigs which have been rescheduled for later this year/early next. Honestly, I can't see them going ahead and even if they did I'd be wary of going.

I actually don't mind queuing for the supermarket now I'm used to it, mainly because it's so much less stressful and busy once you get in. I can't see that changing anytime soon, but when winter comes queuing in the wind, cold and snow will be awful.

I think that the world has changed for the foreseeable, and while a permanent lockdown is neither feasible or desirable some social distancing will be the norm going forward. Gigs/pubs/clubs/theatres/sporting events won't be back for a very long time, I don't think.

I actually don't mind queuing for the supermarket now I'm used to it, mainly because it's so much less stressful and busy once you get in.

Personally I find it far more stressful now. The queuing alone sets me on edge before I've even entered the store.

Depends on immunity, as I've most probably had it and it's been v unpleasant.

Normal a.s.a.p

My normal involves working at gyms & clubs as well as going to the gym for my own workouts. I am not bothered particularly if I don't go to restaurants or coffee shops as didn't go much anyway. If I don't get back to work I won't have the money anyway to go out.

I was meant to be on holiday this month but it was cancelled. Won't be looking to re-book especially if we will be required to self-isolate for 14 days on return - makes the whole thing not viable.

I don't know what I will do. I'm high risk so I will still take precautions and perhaps 'gradually' introduce my self to normal routine.

My normal is probably different to a lot of other people as I don't use public transport (no need) and I avoid crowds wherever possible. However I'd go back to the office tomorrow if I could. I hate working from home, I feel as though I can't switch off as I have to look at the office crap all the time. I want my dining room table back!

I'm also looking forward to going to our local Indian for a meal. We've had a takeaway nearly every week since lockdown started so doing our best to keep them in business!

Back to normal for us. We usually go to restaurants a couple of times a week, cinema a couple of times a month, theme parks, holidays are all a big part of our lives and as soon as these things are available again we will go to them.

This does however depend on when they open up as dh works in the leisure industry so potentially he won’t have a job and we won’t be able to afford any of these things and it will all become irrelevant....

Does anyone have any thoughts on how return to work will be managed if you hot desk in large open plan offices?

We are very unionised public sector so I can't see the unions being okay with us returning to work.

We are far from essential workers anyway but good pay and benefits!

Yes, I'll be back to normal ASAP, can't wait.

We’ll be keeping our distance. We will continue to work at home, won’t see family and the kids won’t be going back to school until we feel things are safer. For me, it’s just not worth the risk.

I have two jobs, one is still operating but I can't see it lasting this as the company were already struggling. The other is a guaranteed ongoing job, but I won't be comfortable going back unless they've got better precautions in place, so hoping I can mentally cope with that.

I'd prefer to keep some level of social distancing. I think it'll be a while before we have people in the house, DH seems to agree even saying Xmas will be different. So seeing people socially it'll be a distance, coffee in the garden or a country walk, we're lucky to live in edge of hill.

I’ll go back to normal whilst being conscious of surroundings etc. Can’t live life in fear. What will be will be.

nuttymomma DH works in a similar place. He's been in this week with managers planning. Looks like approx 20% will be in office at max for foreseeable future, so one day a week in for everyone. The building has already been designated a one way system like supermarkets, going in one way, leaving another. DH says it feels very safe, they've got disinfectant wipes and every employees will be given a santizer each as well as it placed around building.

What will be will be.

That makes no sense whatsoever in these circumstances.

I'll be doing something in between.

I really don't want CV because I'm very fat which is a risk factor, which I'm working on but it will take a long time until I'm not fat.

So I'll be going back to how I was a couple of weeks before lockdown:

• Meeting small groups of friends at their houses or my house with social distancing/hand washing

• Travelling to see my parents for the weekend as soon as lockdown is over so I know the chance of passing anything on is minimal

• Seeing PILs in their garden with social distancing

• Meeting friends for walks or picnics with social distancing

I won't be: going to restaurants, bars, pubs, cinemas, shops other than for things I really need, going on holiday.

@ifonly4

Sounds much more organised than our place. I simply cannot see social distancing working. It will be either work from home (I'm up for that!) or return to normal with the only change being hand sanitisers on each desk because I can't see what more they can do!

Our largest department is open plan offices and customer facing. How can they do their jobs and keep themselves safe?

Does anyone see a requirement for all staff to wear masks actually working or people doing it?

This is such a great question and one DH and I discussed on our daily walk today. He feels many businesses with the right infrastructure will continue with WFH being the norm for many months. I'm not working currently and at the moment struggling to see how recruitment will fair. I will go back to seeing my family asap, although DF is stuck in his care home so I think it will be a long time before we visit him as we used to several times a week 😢 I teach my niece weekly and I so miss her coming over on the weekends, can't wait for that to start again. DH and I have 2 weeks in the Greek islands booked for September and we have decided if it's feasible to go (flights operating and don't need to quarantine for 2 weeks when we get there), then we're going! I don't see our social life in London restarting anytime soon. I will also stick to visiting the supermarket once a week as we can stretch things out with planning, but much easier obviously when that's just the two of you like us. In summary I think I see a new normal emerging. As PP have said everyone has to assess the element of risk around their own situation and activities.