So it doesn’t look like the lockdown is going to be extended does it?

[HighlandSpring101]

Just caught the daily news briefing. Despite a lot of people on here last week thinking there’s no way they’ll be easing the lockdown before the end of May (and I admit, I too thought this!) it looks like BoJo may announce relaxations of the lockdown Sunday, possibly taking effect as of Monday?

I am a bit confused though as though the majority of the criteria for relaxation looks like it’s being met, there are still 4000 new infections each day, which is the pretty much the same amount as at the start of this pandemic so surely that’s still too high?

Lockdown is fraying where I am (Scotland) more & more people out & about. More cars on the road. Less parked cars daily as more folk must be going into work, myself included. More people visiting friends / family. I live on a main road & it is absolutely clear people are starting to go about their daily business.
I wonder if this is actually an intended way out of lockdown, without it actually being said.

What I find shocking is how well others in strict lockdown have coped - I don't know how - and how many posters in a very chilled lockdown in the UK have been moaning and allegedly struggling to cope. It's just surprising, I much prefer to be in the UK right now!

AldiAisleOfCrap
No one should have to make those choices. It was suggested early on (before lockdown was imposed) and is being suggested again, that those who are vulnerable should continue to be shielded and receive proper financial assistance.

Those who are not vulnerable can go back to work/school, with proper H&S measures in place.

Same here @NorthDowns
Kids from different households playing together in the street tonight. Shops are busier, more traffic. A few restaurants posting on social media that they are opening this weekend for takeaways.

@PhilCornwall1
I am shielding too ,my dh is not goi g to work we won’t take that risk.
If you are meant to be shielding you may well not have a home or job, as you won’t be here anymore
and your supportive wife will be widowed.
Why does money mean more to you than your life and the well-being of your wife? Genuine question? Is life in a council house really so unbearable for you? Spending sometime on Universal credits a fate literally worse than death?

A news article online today stated that "332 under-45s have died in UK from Corona. It’s madness to keep them from work while our economy burns"

If that is correct then more people died of suicide in that age group than from Covid-19 in the same period, yet the economy has been destroyed.

I thought the whole idea of 'lock down' was to flatten the curve so that the NHS was overrun - it wasn't and most hospital are quiet with departments except covid areas twiddling thumbs... if that is the case then the tragedy will be that the economy is done and MORE people will die ultimately from other reasons the longer than treatment is delayed/other services are slowed down/people stressed over lack of finances/businesses etc.

Under 45's seem pretty safe then more likely to die in a road accident

I feel a bit like I’m watching different statistics to a lot of other people on this. Things have improved but these numbers are still terrifyingly huge. Numbers we would have been petrified of six weeks ago. We lift it too quickly and they’ll skyrocket again. We need to be so careful but seemingly people aren’t seeing that because they’re bored.

Totally agree with this....

"Bathroom12345 Tue 05-May-20 21:42:37
Looking at the NHS stats over 90% of deaths are over the age of 60 with deaths over 80 by far the most hit group.
So we lockdown and trash the economy. Surely there must be a better way of doing this? Maybe the older people do need to be assessed differently even though it will result in having to treat different ages in different ways."

FedHimToTheTigers Interesting comment. FWIW we live clise to London. DH and DS work in Central London; I work on the outskirts. DS and I worked from home from 16th March; DH went into London for the last week and said it was very, very empty. So people were locking down in advance of the formal lockdown.

I would very much like an antibody test.

@weallhavevalidopinions I totally agree with you.

Thats fair enough @ohtheroses.

Out of interest, do you think the government has handled the situation well?

I know that I would be too scared to send my dd back to school anytime soon.

We lift it too quickly and they’ll skyrocket again
This . I guess what we have to remember is the latest surveys show the majority of the population want lockdown to continue. Anonymous posters on the internet may be paid, may not be in the UK, may have an ulterior motive for wanting to encourage risky behaviour. Of course, they may also just be comfortable with a high death rate and the risk of unidentified long-term health implications. But, let's be honest, most people are neither that reckless or heartless.

Not RTWFT but surely we need to know what measures they are using for the 5 tests? Not just what the tests are repeated ad nauseam. They need to be SMART objectives - Specific, measurable, achievable, Realistic (?), Timely. Eg for the 5th one / what does the R number have to be? And what about number of new infections/deaths / what are the targets for these?

I'm not sure the government could have done much more except to have tested more vigorously earlier but instead all efforts went into setting up Nightingales, etc.

I think the world will kearn a great deal with hindsight and that a great deal more information will come to light about counting methodology elsewhere. And also about the provenance of this disease and when it started and I don't for one minute think it was playing out as a certain country has claimed it did. I suspect it has been around for longer than the back end of 2019.

at least 3 more weeks

@OhTheRoses thanks for responding.

I agree the testing should have been rolled out long ago.

3 more weeks would be a good plan. Yes it's not great living like this but a second wave isn't worth the risk. We're all struggling, I feel like people arguing for it to be lifted have missed the point. This situation is far from over.

• f you are meant to be shielding you may well not have a home or job, as you won’t be here anymore and your supportive wife will be widowed. Why does money mean more to you than your life and the well-being of your wife? Genuine question? Is life in a council house really so unbearable for you? Spending sometime on Universal credits a fate literally worse than death?*

As far as my family's wellbeing is concerned, should I die from it, their financial wellbeing is completely taken care of.

As I posted previously, I know my life is going to be shorter than it otherwise would be, I am completely at peace with dying, should that be sooner or later.

When I was single I worked bloody hard to get where I am now and as a married couple we have worked bloody hard for what we've got, so yes, I will do whatever it takes to keep hold of it. If that means giving up my life to this virus for my family to be as comfortable as possible, I'll do it without hesitation.

Testing is a snapshot. You could get tested, be negative and catch it a day later with symptoms that either present or don't. Deaths are the only figure worth watching until antibody tests are nailed down and fully proven with equally accurate immunity at play. It's too new and we can only play catch up at the moment.

I think you missed the point of the question phil . Your DW's wellbeing isn't necessarily connected to her finances. I don't know any married couples who would think their DW or DH dying is a good trade-off for more financial security.
And anyone who thinks their DCs would prefer to grow up without a parent hasn't known enough DCs who have lost parents.

The government certainly could've done more. Like actually treating patients for a start.

We have one of the highest, if not the highest death rates in the world. Best in mind America has a much larger population than us. Per million population our death rate is far higher than theirs.

We locked down too late but the biggest reason we have such a high death rate (and why hospitals are quiet with 'thumb twiddling' HCPs) is we're simply leaving people to die.

We have had avoidable deaths. Patients are being left to die at home or only admitted to hospital at a stage survival is less likely.

Other countries are giving early treatment. Antivirals, precautionary antibiotics to prevent secondary infections, oxygen as soon as required, anti-inflammatories for severe immune overreactions.

We can't go back but we can start giving people timely treatment from now onwards. That is the safe way out of lockdown.

@NorthDowns maybe in your bit of Scotland but it isn't like that where I live. So you can't speak for all of Scotland

Weallhavevalidopinions
You suggest 90% of deaths are over 60s. And?

Incidentally, do you know how many HCPs and other essential workers are over 60?

You say most of the deaths are over 80s. Again your point is?

Our of interest do you have any links to your figures.

If your figures are correct, 10% of 66 milion is rather a lot of younger people dead.

Herd immunity under the name of a soft lockdown due to media pressure. Highest death rate right now, but time will tell when it's over