Am I missing something?

[theginge]

I feel like I'm the only person wondering whether covid is the biggest threat now...

Everyone is worrying about lockdown being eased 'too soon' and for some I understand this is a valid concern. The deaths that have happened are really sad and it's horrendous for families to loose their loved ones but there seems to be little context. The general public have been scared by the media propaganda and have lost all ability to reason and self regulate.

My primary concern is the other effects this is having on life. My middle child is in reception and therefore entitled to return to school. He desperately needs it from a social and emotional point of view. The risks to me seem quite low (we live in a small village where there have been not a single case and the school is small and in the village)and our local hospital has never been working at capacity at anytime during this pandemic. The issue I have and the reason I've chosen to keep him off school is the way that schools will re-open. The school sent home a huge list of changes they will implement which in all honesty sound horrific. The children are being treated like leppars. This is going to have a huge effect on all of these children long term and (in my mind) be far more damaging than catching covid for us. What children need to protect them now is some normality.

My baby is 6 weeks old, he hasn't met any of our family. He is no longer a newborn and they have missed this - I can never get this time or opportunity back. Again, a huge sacrifice for what I deem to be a small risk.

My husband lost his job the same day as our baby was born - he was made redundant because his employer could no longer trade and the business collapsed. His job was skilled but very specific so will be difficult to find a new job in the sector.

Every measure in place seems to go against natural human nature and I'm just really fed up of making such big sacrifices for a virus that has a mortality rate of 0.2%.

The lockdown was put in place to not overload the health care system and not to get rid of the virus!!

Don't even get me started on the whole 'clap for carers' thing. It's just annoying and serves absolutely no purpose. Nobody has been forced into working for the NHS or in social care - it's 100% an informed choice (I'm a nurse and many of my colleagues are of the same opinion!).

absolutely agree OP. I am an NHS clinician. I work in mental health, and I can not tell you how bad the last couple of weeks at work has been, and it is only just starting. For mental health workers the real peak is yet to come.

Don't even get me started on the whole 'clap for carers' thing. It's just annoying and serves absolutely no purpose. Nobody has been forced into working for the NHS or in social care - it's 100% an informed choice (I'm a nurse and many of my colleagues are of the same opinion!)

As to the title of your OP, I think you’re missing something called a “heart”.

Now what will be 5 months down the line with much less virus they will only open for pupils part time? How does this make sense?

Very different example, but there’s a canal path near my house. Fairly narrow paths on either side. People have been happily walking both ways along them throughout lockdown. This week, in their wisdom, the local council has decided to make them one way only, complete with barriers, red tape and doom-laden posters warning about social distancing (2.5m now apparently!) and the lethality of Covid. Why not do this 10 weeks ago? There is zero logic to it.

I find the whole - nothing matters except Covid and keeping lock down as tight as possible - eye opening.

The lack of imagination, and the sheer middle-class delusions of self importance actually make me chuckle.

I agree OP and it is heartening to see that other people agree too. I think MN is a bit of an echo chamber and sometimes it seems like everyone on here hasnt left the house at all for 12 weeks and knows 10 people who have died and think lockdown should go on for a year.

I think children have arguably had to make the greatest sacrifices - to their education, mental health and future prospects. No doubt they will be paying for this in one way or another, long after the elderly, most susceptible people are all gone.

The number of cases is tiny compared to the population (attached data from last nights press briefing) and with an R below one, as it currently is, it will only decrease. Coupled with some evidence from other countries and theories from WHO, this suggests there will not be a "second peak".

When they originally thought the mortality rate was 3-4% and the R was 3, I agreed with lockdown. Now I believe thsy continuing Lockdown is more dangerous than covid.

"This virus is not the flu. It's much worse. Up to the 7th? of May. Covid19 if left unchecked, without lockdown, would have killed half a million people. Add to that the health service collapsing and the many more deaths that would have caused."

But would it? Genuine question because for the vast majority of people it is a mild illness. I still don't understand the fear of it.

I'm very close to the Dutch epicentre in North Brabant. Our schools closed in March, bars and restaurants were closed, people started working from home. But our lockdown was never as strict as the UK. Under 12s were still allowed to the park, non-essential shops stayed open. The rules have also been relaxed a lot more already. Beauty salons and hairdressers have reopened, sports clubs are back, schools are back part-time and go full-time next week. Bars terraces reopen on June 1, restaurants are to follow. The Dutch have also been hopeless at keeping to the lax rules anyway. DS has regularly been playing at a friend's house when grandma or other relatives have turned up. Everyone got bored working from home and started popping into the office, which is now back to usual office working including passing around jars of sweets.
And yet there has not been a single new case in my local authority since the middle of April. No deaths, and no hospital admissions. And the same goes for the bordering districts. So in view of all the contact and mixing, why has it stopped? With such a half-hearted effort at lockdown you'd expect new cases to appear.

I agree. I was concerned about the civil liberties aspect and the effect on children from the start, but willing to accept it might be necessary not to overwhelm the NHS.

But the goalposts have moved so far it feels like we're playing a completely different sport now! It's not about the NHS, it's about waiting for a vaccine. Which might never happen (it's fine to hope for one but this is not a sensible basis for government policy!)

theginge and yes somehow all the countries in the whole world decided lockdown was essential. Is it possible that they know something you don't?

One thing you may have missed is that the low death rate is because of the lockdown.

Because children don't vote and therefore politicians don't care about them.

They don’t vote - YET. My son is likely to be able to vote in the next GE, in 2024, when presumably a lot of the people this lockdown was meant to protect will have died of old age regardless, so their votes will be gone. I wonder if they will come to regret the day they prioritised they grey vote, under the guise of protecting the vulnerable, at the expense of the voters of tomorrow.

Yes I agree with you and it sounds like you're having it really quite rough.

I met up with a friend last night and I went to bed feeling exhausted from all the interaction. This morning I woke up feeling happy. Actually happy. Not just ok, not treading water and wondering how to make the most of the day. Actually happy.
I knew I hadn't been myself, but I thought I'd been doing reasonably well through the ups and downs. I hadn't noticed that I'd never felt that happy contentment in all this time that normal interaction contributes to for me.

Apologies I meant to post that on a different thread

Totally agree. My two are 4 and 2 and I will be sending them back to nursery. The eldest in particular, I think because she understands and also doesn't understand, has started having more and more meltdowns. She's a very sociable child and so is missing interaction with her peers and just anyone who isn't us.

I do have some concerns with them going back. Like you though, these have absolutely nothing to do with them contracting the virus. They will touch wood be able to play with their friends. They will however be on a strict schedule of handwashing and what they will be allowed to play with

The people I know who aren't sending children back are not doing so because of the virus but because of these draconian measures being put into place.

DS does two after school activities; athletics and survival training (which is mainly running and assault courses).
The athletics trainer is so flappy and panicky about all the rules that DS found it more stressful than enjoyable and he's now given it up.

I'm totally with you op, I need my year 10 dd back in school preparing for her gcse's!

The only thing I know, is that I wouldn't have a clue what to do if I was in charge of this.

Everyone seems to suddenly be an expert in virolgy. It seems to me, however that the loudest voices on both extreme sides of the argument actuality know jack shit about the subject.

Commonsense lies somewhere in the middle of the boring, oversimplified, polarised public debate, as it always does.

But, you know, everyone enjoys picking a side and viciously attacking the other side nowadays so break out the flags and have a wave. I'll be yawning from the sidelines.

PJ6M - I think you are right. Leadership in UK needs to lift it's head up and look beyond it's shores. There are doctors and public health experts in countries like Taiwan and Hong Kong who can tell you exactly how to do it.

PJ6 yep.

It's not a small risk op. Maybe where you live is smaller than others, but the world has been turned upside down for nobody's benefit. :(

It's an ethical dilemma too.
My job is on the line, DH's job is on the line, there's a recession coming so will we get more work? DS has struggled, his education has suffered.
We could have avoided all of that, but MIL, FIL, and my grandma have to die.
Because that's what it boils down to.

@theginge absolutely agree op. My personal opinion is that if social media and 24hour rolling news didn’t exist then I honestly don’t think there would have been a lockdown, schools closed etc and we wouldn’t really be as aware of it other than odd pieces in the daily news or papers

@BaronessBombburst

Not sure it's as cut and dry as that. Yes your older FIL, MIL and grandma would be at a higher risk due to age and/or medical conditions but that doesn't mean they would die. Many many older people and others with condition have survived. My worry is some of the messages coming from the govt and media are causing extreme panic.

I thought the half a million model turned out to be wrong though??

The longterm effects are still unknown. It is also notoriously difficult to recover from. I'm assuming you dont know people who've had it?