Time to get real people

[cookingmywaythroughlockdown]

Ok I think it's time to get a grip on reality!

Coronavirus is pretty nasty but it isn't apocalypse now time. Most of us are going to get it at some point and we will be just fine. So will our families and friends.
The UK cannot stay locked down for much longer without producing a national disaster that will reverberate for decades. So - you will be going back to work, your kids will be going back to school. Wash your hands well and enjoy your lives.
I'm just so sick of the posts prophesying carnage and really enjoying competitive isolation. For most people living like this is borderline harmful. For some it is already actively harmful.

We have to come out from under the bed. Wear a mask, wear gloves if you like but be prepared to live a normal if socially distanced life.

All epidemics burn themselves out eventually. We are much better placed to treat and protect the vulnerable then ever before. At some point soon we have to just get on with it.

@maddy68 I am so sorry, that must be very hard.

I doubt it’s anyone dropping in to nudge. If it is, it’s really inept.

Maddy that is awful, must be so hard.

part 1: zeroanthropology.net/2020/04/26/from-9-11-to-2008-and-covid-19-signs-and-wonders-of-a-collapsing-global-disorder/

part 2: zeroanthropology.net/2020/04/27/globalization-in-the-widening-gyre-of-covid-19/

part 3: zeroanthropology.net/2020/04/28/goodbye-american-greatness/

part 4: zeroanthropology.net/2020/04/29/the-falcon-cannot-hear-the-falconer-nature-vs-culture-in-a-pandemic/

part 5: zeroanthropology.net/2020/04/30/pathways-for-the-post-covid-new-old-world/

Tl;dr: then the OP is probably for you.

OP, I completely agree with you. MN is such an echo chamber of self-righteousness that a lot of people who also agree won't dare to say so, though.

I'm confused.

Do people think that the current Conservative government would have lifted lockdown by now, but are concerned about public opinion?

@cantory It "has" just appeared. It was first reported 124 days ago in China. It's less than 100 days since it first appeared here. The average engagement is 20 months ffs. In that 3 month period or so we've made a few mistakes for sure, several very serious, - we've also equipped the Nightingale hospitals - raised testing capacity by two orders of magnitude and engaged in a second world war style reordering of the economy.

Constructive criticism definitely is required - but "oh they've known for ages' is just laughable.

Let me say this slowly.

The purpose of lockdown was not to eradicate the disease. That ship has sailed.

The purpose was to buy enough time to get measures in place and bring it down to a managable level.

It was to ensure healthcare in other non-covid-19 areas was still available for all the fit and healthy people unlikely to get a serious case of covid-19 but might for example fall off their wall whilst clapping or have a car accident.

The side effect of letting the virus run unchecked would have meant there would be no healthcare for anyone. There would also have been huge numbers of people off sick with minor cases, which ran the risk of endangering the population through ways such as a lack of workers for the food supply/production chain or in running a nuclear power plant safely or running drug manufacting production lines. Lockdown has slowed the spread down and means that things can continue to run.

The whole point of lockdown was to build capacity in treatment, testing and going forward tracking of the spread of the virus to keep the virus within a managable range.

Hence the 5 government tests to end lockdown.

Its not 'time to suck it up' just yet, because we aren't quite at a point which is managable. But it will be in the coming weeks.

The authorities haven't been sitting on their arses in competitive lockdown sunbathing. If other people have been to aid the work of this crisis management mitigation planning and preparation, thats fine by me. Its not an excercise in jealously about why life isn't fair.

I don't like the idea of lockdown being ended soon, but I do understand the need to balance risks and the need to mitigate and that it has to. There isn't a choice. But the timing has to be the best possible - and that has to be when we are ready and not before - otherwise we will have wasted the efforts of the last 6 weeks and we will be in a worse position.

This understanding is unlike the OP who thinks they know better than experts and we should do it NOW, just BECAUSE without grasping in any shape or form why its being done. But then we've had enough of experts haven't we?

People like the OP might want to reflect on makes us a civilised society that tries to lock after as many people as possible rather than taking the attitude that we should sacrifice those who are weakest when the going gets tough. Because if you want to go down that route, it soon gets to the point that poorer people who can't afford health care should be left to day for the benefit of the rest of the population...

Brilliant, why hasn’t anyone thought of that before. Well done OP, you have saved us all from ourselves.
Why not reward yourself with a massive biscuit.

^
this, infact have another

t's just incorrect to say 'they must have known this for ages'

No, they knew it all immediately and lied don’t you know? Because the highly qualified experts on here knew...

Oh wait,,

@cookingmywaythroughlockdown

They are going to find a way to reverse ferret this faster than Big Al can knock out another bastard sprog.

First will be the distancing, probably down to 1m.

Then the wearing of masks/taking your temperature will open up public transport.

Then the endless fucking banging on about nurses to deflect from the massive over-reaction.

Spanish flu is a good comparison

I think it was the Netflix documentary? that showed a line graph of the most well known viruses, Measles, Ebola, Smallpox, SARS1 etc, all were dotted about the graph.

The bottom line was how infectious a virus is and the vertical line was how deadly a virus is. The Spanish flu was placed very close to this current virus on the graph

Wondering why you aren't in attendance at the daily briefings in replace of the chief scientific and medical advisers if you are so knowledgeable on this op.....

Wow. Thanks for speaking for everyone OP.

Wash your hands and enjoy life everyone

@Bluntness100 Okay thousands of people in hospital have been left with kidney damage in the UK, and internationally there is a shortage of equipment to treat this, and the government have only just noticed? You really think that is a better scenario?

and enjoy life everyone

Cos if you are the unlucky bastard who has got an underlying condition, thats not long if the OP ran the country.

@emmcan

What’s a ‘reverse ferret’? Sounds intriguing and might just work..!! 😂👍🏻

@RedToothBrush, excellent post.

I feel that we have done the right thing. We perhaps could have started this a week or two earlier, but we have locked down and stayed locked down. We’ve seen the desired change in the numbers and we are beginning to talk about easing the lockdown.

In the next few weeks I expect we’ll see more and more work places starting to open with social distancing and children will start in phases to go back to school. We will keep an eye on those numbers and hopefully keep testing at nice high levels.

This is the beginning of an easing back into almost ‘normality’, where the abnormal bit with be, more queues and wearing of masks.

I think this time has the potential to be more frightening to many people than any other time, as they may not feel ready for the next steps. As funding is removed, people will be literally forced back to work and children forced back to school. It will cause another level of anxiety for some, who have so far felt threatened by the virus, but in control of their safety.

Now they will feel that they have to trust the government to ensure they are safe and that simply isn’t reassuring. Especially when we’ve been told that most of us, at some point, will catch this nasty virus.

So whilst I agree with the op’s post in that, yes, the world is about to start moving again...I also think we should be a bit more sympathetic to the fact that this is a huge anxiety inducing leap for many people and I am sorry for that.

Personally, I am scared of the virus, but not to the point I’ll let it affect my life. I’ve ordered my Disney mask and got my gloves in ready and I’ll be out and about as soon as lockdown ends. I’ll wash my hands frequently and I’ll go back to school where I work. If my holiday in the summer goes ahead, I’ll even be on that plane, but I do get for some people, they are hoping to get and waiting on a vaccine, which might never come, so I do feel for those individuals who are now going to feel stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Good for you I'd rather take my chances and not lose my house. That should be a choice I am allowed to make.

Not of the majority of people prioritise a long an healthy life over home ownership. The wishes of the minority shouldn't override the majority.

I'm glad you feel so relaxed about it all

Let's not worry about out 60+ year old parents who have high blood pressure

Lets not worry about the people with asthma and diabetes (my best friend has diabetes)

Let's take a gamble with our lives as parents. Yes the odd 30 something year old nurse with kids has died. But yeah let's not worry about our 30 year old bodies failing us.

Do you know why Boris Johnson is Alive? Because the people who look after him insisted on him going to hospital. He didn't want to go. Good job he had people looking out for him. Because the rest of us would have to look out for ourselves if we became as sick as him. Infact we'd probably die if we got that sick because it would be too late for us.

I am level headed and I know it's unlikely. But I have this horrible feeling that it will get someone I love. It's horrible.

Not of the majority of people prioritise a long an healthy life over home ownership

A long and healthy life is not on the cards if you're homeless I would think.

Trust

I do think that it should come down to choice, but in so giving this choice others aren't penalised for wanting to stay at home. It would cost the government less on furlough if those like you went back to work, through choice.

I'm in no rush, because even though I'm not earning I'm still wfh and will continue to do so until our venues open. My dh furloughed me, but not sure how long this will last, obviously.