Do you think things are opening too fast?

[onestepat]

My friend has just said she's not rushing into anything /going anywhere for the rest of the year.
Do you think Lockdown is over too fast ?

It also ignores the fact that the economy doesn't just consist of individuals buying items for home use. It also means businesses and manufacturers buying products and services that they need, and so many of them have stopped doing so as they've ground to a halt, either forcibly, or "voluntarily". That is a huge loss to the economy.

As has been said previously, we need to get the economy going to pay for public services. This article on the number of local councils that fear bankruptcy is scary - what public services, which have already been massively scaled back in the last 10 years, will they have to cut?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53069772

Headlines today also say Royal Mail is cutting 2000 jobs due to the pandemic.

It's like years ago (decades?) When they used to do that awful roll-call of job losses every Friday night, does anyone else remember?

IF the economy is SOOOOO important, then why was a ridiculous 14 day quarantine introduced as we ease restrictions? which isn't enforced and has fucked overseas travel, Swissport have cut 4500 jobs.

Its all a load of political spin, johnson hasn't even got the Cv guides out to industry yet, there is no planning, just whatever he thinks will be popular..... so Express headline yesterday "Cheers Boris"

There is also no TnT app either, thanks to fucking about with their own vanity project, any student app developer knows you have to have Apple on side or your app won't work.

Pubs before schools FFS! If pubs are safe, then so are schools or neither!

We need an economy but to do so requires careful & considered planning and one thing that would be a real boost is to do a Germany (a pattern is forming lol) and cut VAT to 5% not the rumoured 15% which is so small few would notice.

@Midrangecolours

It's like years ago (decades?) When they used to do that awful roll-call of job losses every Friday night, does anyone else remember?

Yes i am old enough to remember that - depressing times

@AlecTrevelyan006, yes I fear I am old enough too, at least it rings a bell with me, when was that?

@jasjas1973

IF the economy is SOOOOO important, then why was a ridiculous 14 day quarantine introduced as we ease restrictions? which isn't enforced and has fucked overseas travel, Swissport have cut 4500 jobs.

Its all a load of political spin, johnson hasn't even got the Cv guides out to industry yet, there is no planning, just whatever he thinks will be popular..... so Express headline yesterday "Cheers Boris"

There is also no TnT app either, thanks to fucking about with their own vanity project, any student app developer knows you have to have Apple on side or your app won't work.

Pubs before schools FFS! If pubs are safe, then so are schools or neither!

We need an economy but to do so requires careful & considered planning and one thing that would be a real boost is to do a Germany (a pattern is forming lol) and cut VAT to 5% not the rumoured 15% which is so small few would notice.

It's just a damn shame Rory wasn't voted leader.

Johnson is a halfwit.

Quarantine may have been useful at the start.

Not sure if Vat cuts are a good idea without a solid plan for dealing with the debt. Something other than devaluation hopefully.

I read a little while ago that the UK is currently like a cartoon character who runs off a cliff and keeps running for a while until they realise they’re in mid-air and fall. We’re running in mid-air still.

Furlough payments and the fact that many effects aren’t instant (see comments re rubbish collections etc not stopping yet...) have given people a false sense that everything’s still ok while behind the scenes a lot is crumbling.

If people feel anxious or are shielding or are in the vulnerable category there is nothing stopping them staying in isolation. If they work they need to come to some agreement with their employer. For 80% of people the virus will not cause serious illness. It makes sense for the 20% to keep safe, but it's unfair that 20% of people can dictate that 100% of people remain isolated.

Yes Devlesko, I'm well aware of the cuts to education, having worked in the sector for years. You haven't actually answered my question though. Do you expect nurses and teachers to work for free, and if not, how do you propose we pay their salaries without income tax?

You personally might not pay tax, but the government collects about £800bn of it per year. Here's a breakdown of what they spend it on. I'm sure you use at least some of these services and would be directly affected if funding was cut (cut further, in some cases).

Honest to God, how blinded by privilege do you have to be to live in a country with guaranteed access to free, quality healthcare while half the world can't afford to visit a doctor when they're sick, in the middle of a global pandemic that's going to kill millions of people in poorer countries which can't afford to provide the same level of care, and act we're all idiot sheep for worrying about the economy because it 'doesn't interest you in the slightest'?

The NHS is preventing staff booking holidays in October because they’re expecting a second wave. Imo lockdown has been released now because they know people won’t tolerate it much longer. If people have a bit of freedom now they’ll be more accepting of another full lockdown before Christmas.

There won’t be another full lockdown. People won’t accept it again. I certainly won’t be complying. Time for the government to actually do their jobs instead of us.

@laurelhedge I totally agree!
Just because pubs, restaurants, shops and theme parks will be open doesnt mean every one has to go! People now have an option which we haven't had for months.
If you dont feel you want to be out in public just yet that's absolutely your choice to make. Going to the pub or cinema is a choice it's not compulsory.

There will not be another lockdown!

There may be local restrictions enforced.

We will have to live with this virus. Kids will go back to school. There may well be an increase in autumn and winter but we have a better understanding of the virus now. We know how it spreads and how it doesn’t. We know who is more vulnerable. We have more treatment options and what works and doesn’t. For example, ventilation hasn’t been very successful but early intervention has. We know to to screen patients in hospital for blood clots and inflammation.

I think unfortunately there will be no theatres, concerts, large group gatherings for a while. But other parts of the economy need to open up now. While we continue to learn about this virus.

The NHS is preventing staff booking holidays in October because they’re expecting a second wave

Expecting it or making contingency plans? The two are very different.

If people have a bit of freedom now they’ll be more accepting of another full lockdown before Christmas

There will not be another lockdown. The economy cannot tolerate it and the people will not accept it. Lockdown was an emergency measure to deal with an unknown new virus. Now that we know much more about it and can plan for localised, targetted restrictions, full lockdown won't be neccessary. Also, it's quite likely that we will have effective treatment options and/or vaccines quite soon.

I actually wish people would be very careful about saying ‘oh we’ll be locked down again before Christmas’ based on zero evidence.

Many people have lost their jobs, their mental health is suffering. Their childrens’ mental health is suffering. At no point have the government or the scientists said they will lockdown the whole country again. The economy will take 8 years apparently to recover from this lockdown. It won’t happen again.

Restrictions on certain areas may increase.

This isn’t flu. There is no guarantee of a second wave. More likely to be localised outbreaks. The NHS is correct to prepare as October is the start flu season. Of course it would make sense for more people in the NHS to take holidays when it is quieter overall.

People most certainly are not buying as usual. I work in manufacturing for retailers and I have been on furlough since March, there is no work.

Same here. Boris specifically said manufacturing can go back if it's safe.....
Theoretically we could have worked throughout lockdown...except all our suppliers had closed, all the retailers had closed, and no one had placed any orders since the beginning of March....

When people say there won't be another lockdown, what are they suggesting we do if we have another spike and the hospitals become full?

This is happening in the states, and despite saying no more lockdown, they are going to have to look at at least state wide lockdown.

We will do what we need to do depending on what happens. Saying this or that can't happen is foolish. Whatever needs to happen will happen.

I actually wish people would be very careful about saying ‘oh we’ll be locked down again before Christmas’ based on zero evidence

Ah, but they do have evidence!

Their 3rd cousin twice removed is a senior virologist/important government official/high up in the NHS etc.

Maybe even all of the above!

Does the WHO announcing a surge of cases in European countries that have eased lockdown count as zero evidence? Frustrating that they haven't included actual numbers, I wonder to what extent.

I think the majority of people are cautiously taking advantage of the latest eases from lockdown, there is always a headline or two about packed beaches, McDonald’s queues blocking roads etc. But it’s not the whole country like the media likes to make out. People have choice now and I do believe people are making the choice to be cautious still.

In my local area (large northern city), the town centre is quiet after the initial influx when the shops opened, I went to McDonald’s this weekend and the queues where shorter than pre lockdown, I haven’t been personally. but a friend nipped to the big out of town shopping mall and said it was extremely quiet.

30% of the uk workforce are WFH presently and it looks like this will remain the normal for most people up to the end of the year.

I think this in its self is going to to make a huge difference to the virus transmission, that’s a large portion of the population effectively still in lockdown in their own homes, away from busy places like town and city centres.

@IcedPurple
Or a nurse on a Covid ward. That one's regained popularity after a dip

@iamapixie

Yes, a few days ago we had someone whose best friend's neightbour's cousin worked on an ICU word and wanted us all to know that they were 'prepping' for the inevitable next 'wave'.

Last nurse on a Covid ward I spoke to a couple of weeks ago said they were closing the ward and had hardly any cases.

They won’t pay for another lockdown again. They’ll tell us to wash our hands and the vulnerable to stay at home.