Will we have to socially distance until there’s a vaccination?

[sunshineanddaffodils]

This horrible thought suddenly occurred to me last night. What do you think?

@Medievalist of course no one wants to catch it but no one wants to exist in this miserable state indefinitely either - for some people taking their chances with the virus is a risk worth taking.

Totally agree. I'm also willing to chance catching it, just pointing out that the risk is more than just dying from it.

I don't want to go much longer without seeing my young adult dcs who live 3-4 hours drive away. I'm willing to risk having them here now. DH unfortunately is not.

That’s really hard medievalist, hope you get to see them soon

No government will be able to persuade people to isolate indefinitely from their family and friends. People would simply take matters into their own hands - it would be unenforceable.

No, social distancing is pathetic and no way for people to live for any length of time.

One of the strangest things about this whole situation for me has been the huge number of people who are happy to be absolutely compliant with whatever they are told to do, even when the scientific basis for that is not sound.

I've been totally compliant. In a situation like this, individual people shouldn't just be deciding to go with whichever scientific theory they fancy. That way lies chaos. In any civilised society there may be laws that not everyone agrees with. That doesn't mean you can just ignore them as you please.

Also, a lot of people (like me) are probably complying because it's simply pretty easy for them to do so. My extended family all live hundreds of miles away, so practically speaking there's no temptation to pop round to visit them. Shopping once a week is what I do anyway. Going out for long dog walks for daily exercise is what I do anyway. Keeping in touch with friends online is largely what I do anyway. I know it's not like that for everyone, but I don't find it surprising that lots of people are complying.

Absolutely no way. It might continue to be government advice for a long time, but the collective desire of us all to see people closer than 2m will start to override it. It could be 2 years for a vaccine. It could be never. No weddings/dates/random sex till then? Not gonna happen.

Even if this keeps going till Christmas (which I hugely doubt), it'll be game over then.

I suppose a mix will evolve, depending on people's individual choices plus some modifications to acceptable behaviour. More social distancing from strangers and acquaintances, but people choosing who they actually want to be physically close to. A general acceptance that some others will want a bit more space than in the past to enable them to go about their lives. More people working from home at least some of the time to reduce crowding on transport and in the workplace. People like gym instructors who've worked out how to do a decent zoom session continuing at least some online classes for clients who prefer them.

Better hygiene, and perhaps the normalisation of mask wearing in some situations as already the case in Japan.

It's not going to be all or nothing.

I think we will separate into two camps
The covid hikikomori
And the 'I'll take my chances'

Irl the people I know who have had what I would describe as an extreme & disproportionate response to covid definitely had hikikomori tendencies before all this started!

@lazylinguist you say that but the original science pointed us in the path of herd immunity, a theory that some countries e.g Sweden are still going with. So even our government are just picking and choosing which science to go with... If after all this it turns out herd immunity would have been better, everyone will be pissed that the government changed their strategy just because some people thought it was a bad idea...

I met my mom yesterday first time in ten weeks for a country walk she doesn't really get the whole social distancing and still walked close to me she's like that but I haven't seen her for ages so I didn't say anything.
She's probably the only person I will see outside my house hold for a bit.

No. If there is never a vaccine and we social distance forever, the birth rate will drop dramatically and society would basically be a weird dystopian world where you go to work and go home to watch endless television repeats. Forever.

No way, already I'm seeing more and more people out in groups not socially distancing. It goes against human nature. Basically the original hygiene measures need to be the driving force.

I think we need to plan for a future where a vaccine isn’t available. I’m really hopeful there will be but you can’t plan based on hope.

There’s good evidence suggesting a degree of immunity is gained after catching it and there been some murmurings lately that the contagious period isn’t very long.

As distasteful as I personally find it there is a point where the spread slows naturally (way before herd immunity) and we see more outbreaks further apart (in time and distance) which makes containment slightly easier.

Going forward I think it would be realistic to limit gatherings to a fairly low number (50 maybe, as a random number pulled out my arse but basically whatever is manageable to trace) and ‘advise’ to allow fourteen days between mixing outside of steady groups (work/school). Alongside mask wearing, increasing and enforcing SSP to fourteen days or a negative covid test and simply being more aware of our hygiene we could limit the spread and live relatively normally. This does need getting the numbers down slightly more from where they are now though imho.

Only on mumsnet is indefinite social distancing a realistic possibility. Most of us want our fucking lives back, not this miserable state-sponsored-cotton-wool “it’s for your own good, children” existence.

If MN represented the real world, we would be in danger of turning into a nation of paranoid hypochondriacs.

People are killed on the roads every day. Should we ban cars? Life is full of risk; always has been, always will be.

Right now I think a lot of people want to embrace dystopia, tbh. They like the authoritarianism of how things are happening. So that's why I think physical distancing is with us for a long time to come or at least a vaccine is available -- a majority are insisting up on this.

Having read Nicola Sturgeons plan it's quite clear that social distancing will be phased out.. Phase 2 allows you to meet a household indoors, phase 3 allows you to meet other households indoors
Phase 4 allows large gatherings and barely mentions social.distancing...

We are moving away from dystopia

I cannot see how any non essential shops will be able to continue to trade with social distancing rules operating. It’s just such a ridiculous way to live, nobody normal is going to bother hitting the high street and conforming to all the 2 metre hysteria when they can just order online.

@Casino218 sorry, I know you posted way back on Tuesday but I'm interested in this: did you have a positive COVID19 test and have since had a test for antibodies?
Thanks x

a lot of people want to embrace dystopia, tbh. They like the authoritarianism of how things are happening.

^ god yes! It’s fucking depressing, seriously.

I’m not a covid denier (I was posting in February about dh moving to wfh, watching with horror as community testing was abandoned, quarantining dd1 (partying in London) & MIL (cruise from Northern Italy!), begging my parents not to go huge parties with recent travellers etc etc etc) and I’m not even a lockdown skeptic (though I think it was too late, the government need to be a fuck load more transparent wrt everything and there needs to be far more discussion about the adverse effects (particularly on children & young people)) BUT the glee with which the UK public have embraced authoritarianism, fear & shaming is heart breaking & I don’t care if people think I’m being dramatic ... it’s awful to watch.

There may not be a vaccine.

If there is a vaccine there might not be enough people willing to have it - lots of people online (MN included) are saying they wouldn't have the vaccine.

.No, social distancing is pathetic and no way for people to live for any length of time

Totally agree. It will come to a point where people stop caring because their lives will be so fcking miserable they’d rather take their chances with the virus and I don’t blame them.

@Laniakea I’m glad I have an ally here. I was at the “this is so not right” stage less than one week in. It’s truly scary the way the public has allowed the government to micromanage them. Bring on the resistance and riots. Like the isolated protester in Hyde Park, “this is NOT my new normal”.

social distancing is no way to live

I wish you could be a fly on the wall in any of the 40 000+ rooms where people have died of Covid-19. It's no way to live or die and it's a lot worse than what you're being asked to do.

Yes I know people are dying of it. People die of lots of things. It’s not a good enough reason to disrupt the lives of tens of millions of people and the economy for an indefinite period. We have to learn to live our lives as normal with it.