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Original poster

Why do so many people think that lockdown is about getting rid of the virus?

150 replies

TheDailyCarbuncle · 13/05/2020 12:57

At what point did people stop understanding that the purpose of lockdown is to restrict infections, not stop them entirely?

Why are some people saying they're willing to lockdown 'until the virus is gone'? How have they got the idea that that's possible?

OP posts:
DahliaDay · 13/05/2020 12:58

It’s just speech

People know what we are doing

RoosterPie · 13/05/2020 12:59

Because the government has scared people into thinking they’re likely to die if they contract it (highly unlikely for the young and healthy) and now people have an expectation of not having to be exposed to any risk of catching it.

Thighmageddon · 13/05/2020 13:00

I think the vast majority of us understand it's so we don't all get it at once don't we?

Original poster
TheDailyCarbuncle · 13/05/2020 13:03

Not as far as I can tell @Thighmageddon. I think as @RoosterPie said people now have an expectation of never getting it because they believe they'll die, in spite of all the evidence that the vast majority of people recover and a lot of people are not even that sick.

OP posts:
Original poster
TheDailyCarbuncle · 13/05/2020 13:07

There are so many people talking about not sending children back to school 'until it's safe.' They don't seem to have any idea about what they mean by that.

OP posts:
NotInTheMorning · 13/05/2020 13:09

Because it’s complicated. Our knowledge of the virus has grown enormously over the last few months, but with that our understanding on how best to tackle the situation has shifted almost daily. If you combine that changing picture with all the political bullshitery, interviews with “experts” who aren’t actually experts, and conspiracy theories that have been circulating you can see why the information people have had hasn’t always been the most accurate/up to date. Plus the average person’s understanding of the scientific concepts underpinning it all is often shaky at best, so for many people it’s just a lot to get their head around.

Thighmageddon · 13/05/2020 13:11

I'm one of those that believe we may have had it at the end of December, we were really unwell.

So with that theory I'll be returning to work as soon as I'm allowed and I'll hope for the best.

I just can't live like this forever to avoid getting it.

Nameofchanges · 13/05/2020 13:14

Presumably some people, by their own choice, could stay in lockdown until we reach herd immunity, if hers immunity turns out to be possible.

Athrawes · 13/05/2020 13:17

Herd immunity can only happen if more people get it. And to get it, you need to leave the house. Lockdown is to flatten the curve, not to eradicate it.

Hottubbinhenrietta · 13/05/2020 13:18

@RoosterPie spot on

P1nkHeartLovesCake · 13/05/2020 13:19

I agree some people think we can just stay in lockdown for months/until next year and the virus will magically go away!

It won’t

The plan was always to control the number that get it at once, so the nhs can just about cope

Hottubbinhenrietta · 13/05/2020 13:20

Sadly most of the 'im not sending my kids back' squad seem to be unsure of the rationale behind why exactly they're not. Just pack animal behaviour

fluffiphlox · 13/05/2020 13:20

Because they haven’t been paying attention.

jobhunter7 · 13/05/2020 13:21

@Nameofchanges

Nobody seems too sure if you can't get it a 2nd time, do they? But there have been promising reports.

Otherwise, to the original question, because I suppose it is an evolving situation.

Other countries have tackled things differently - like Vietnam.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8248775/Vietnam-eases-coronavirus-restrictions-reporting-zero-deaths.html

Whatthefoxgoingon · 13/05/2020 13:24

They are waiting for the risk to be eliminated. It won’t be, so at some point they are going to have to accept it.

avroroad · 13/05/2020 13:28

At what point did people stop understanding that the purpose of lockdown is to restrict infections, not stop them entirely?

I understand. But I have the choice to lock myself down to prevent me from getting it. From the government POV it's about helping the NHS cope, from a personal POV it's about not catching it.

Why are some people saying they're willing to lockdown 'until the virus is gone'? How have they got the idea that that's possible?

It's possible for some. Lots of people do have the luxury of choice.

Alymcnabs · 13/05/2020 13:28

There are so many people talking about not sending children back to school 'until it's safe.' They don't seem to have any idea about what they mean by that

The children in my family won’t be going back “until it’s safe”. That doesn’t mean until CV has been eradicated. It means until we can be assured effective, safe, reliable safety precautions are put in place.

Definitely not under the current safety guidelines!

But up to you if you want to send your children to school. Everyone’s circumstances are different.

flingaling · 13/05/2020 13:33

I don't agree. I think people want the lockdown to be about protecting as many people as possible, and I think that's ok, because it IS a horrible disease, because over 40,000 people have already died from it and because it is incredibly infectious. I think people also realise that there is a balance to be made between public health and the economy and it is scary to think that we have a government in charge which is putting money before lives.

How many times have I seen written on Mumsnet "Well if it wasn't safe the government wouldn't be letting us...." I'd like to think that those same people are now realising that this isn't true, but sadly I think they're probably the self same people who are posting to Facebook about the need to "get behind" the government on this.

FWIW the people who I see who are being the most pragmatic about this are the ones who go through life thinking that the worst won't happen to them or theirs.

Sunshinegirl82 · 13/05/2020 13:38

The government messaging has been very muddled I think and a lot of the reporting has focussed on sensationalist stories focussing on outliers and using inflammatory language like “killer virus”.

Plus most people are fairly unaware (understandably) by how much risk we all take just existing everyday so being faced with all these deaths and risks is frightening.

My dad died of sepsis and my eldest ds was born with sepsis (fortunately he’s fine) but I think my experience of that has made me a bit more realistic about the risks of COVID maybe? They reckon sepsis accounts for 1 in 5 deaths worldwide, there are 25,000 cases in children every single year in the U.K. It can arise as a result of any virus or infection but because it’s not in everyone’s face all the time it’s perceived to be less of a threat.

I honestly think people are now just really frightened. As things start to open up and (hopefully) infection rates remain stable people will hopefully start to feel more confident.

WhoWants2Know · 13/05/2020 13:39

I think the number of households containing at least one person with an underlying health condition which puts them at risk of suffering badly with the virus maybe larger than you think.

RoosterPie · 13/05/2020 13:40

It means until we can be assured effective, safe, reliable safety precautions are put in place

Such as? There is no way to reopen schools in a manner that doesn’t involve the risk of exposure to the virus I don’t think. would genuinely love to be wrong.

Nameofchanges · 13/05/2020 13:45

‘Herd immunity can only happen if more people get it. And to get it, you need to leave the house. Lockdown is to flatten the curve, not to eradicate it.’

That’s what our national lockdown is for. But for people who want to remain in their own personally chosen lockdown, well they are just waiting for enough other people to venture out and catch it to create herd immunity.

iVampire · 13/05/2020 13:47

Such as

  • the test/track/trace being properly up and running
  • app widely in use
  • more evidence on transmission patterns and how to break them.
  • the development and roll out of a good quality antibody test
  • more evidence on whether immunity is enduring

It’s totally reasonable to expect progress on most of those in next 3 months

minipie · 13/05/2020 13:49

Because the government has scared people into thinking they’re likely to die if they contract it (highly unlikely for the young and healthy) and now people have an expectation of not having to be exposed to any risk of catching it.

This.

itsgettingweird · 13/05/2020 13:54

I believe I've had it. I believe what I had before we went into lockdown and still had when we went into lockdown was covid.

The antigen/body tests are going to be a game changer. I think it'll will increase confidence in those who have had it and we cover more parts of society.

I think there's a mixture of what people believe. My belief was always to slow the epidemic which had got exponential in numbers due to the high transmission rate and to decrease the transmission rate so the number of cases was slower and healthcare could get back to treating everyone and not just covid patients. I also believed that as we did this we'd continue to see a continuous amount of cases which would level out and of course as much as people hate the term some herd immunity developing. Eg protect the nhs to save lives by being able to treat everyone as the epidemic spread.

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