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 ?

Do people think 'the economy' is unrelated to health and wellbeing?

"The economy" isn't just dudes in fancy offices watching share prices on their computers. It's the couple who run the little pub down the road, the local woman who goes in to clean it every day, the taxi drivers who take people home after an evening of fun, and so on. And all these people pay taxes which fund the NHS and other essential services. Where do people think this money is coming from if not 'the economy'?

@Teacher12345

In theory no, but I don't trust the general public to make sensible decisions so maybe they shouldn't give so much advance warning of when they are going to reduce things.

Many people were socially distancing before lockdown do I’m sure that many will continue afterwards

What I think will be interesting is how everything will work with test and trace in force. I mean, it will involve a lot of absences with people having to isolate with no symptoms. How will everything stay open?

Agreed it’s absurd that people still can’t get married.

There won’t be a second lockdown the economy won’t cope. There will be managed, regional restrictions if there’s a local flare up.

Not too fast no. The economy is taking a hammering. People are losing their jobs and livelihoods. The impact on mental health is huge. Schools should have been prioritised.

It’s personal choice now. If you are at risk then you can continue to shield. Nobody is forcing you down the cinema or to the hairdressers. We cannot stay locked down for any longer.

I’ll continue to be careful. I don’t actually fancy going and sitting in a cinema for example and I’ll probably avoid restaurants as they have been shown to be risky.

I’ll socialise in small groups but I will see my family in my house now.

I think it’s time we try and get the economy going and we can all just assess personal risk.

I thought he said you could get married from July, a max of 30 people and social distancing?

@veryvery

What I think will be interesting is how everything will work with test and trace in force. I mean, it will involve a lot of absences with people having to isolate with no symptoms. How will everything stay open?

And the fact that restaurants, bars and others venues with positive cases will almost certainly have to close for deep cleaning. Customers will then know that people there have tested positive. Not very reassuring.

This last stage feels rushed to me. To suddenly open all these things feels too much. I think this bit should have been phased out over July/August.
I'm not going to be rushing out on holiday, or to the pub.

Yes I think it's too fast.

Far too fast. They should be investing, instead, in infrastructure to help people who can to work from home, and in getting the numbers right, right down so that they can properly track them and stop this thing from spreading.

It feels like they're just going ahead with a herd immunity approach, and that means that more people will unnecessarily die.
Our family is also going to be doing all we can to keep as distanced as we can, but without proper government structural support, it's very hard.

No not too fast, but they should have opened the schools after May half term and hospital routine apps and operations much sooner. No need to keep either closed.

I believe that Boris is more concerned with the economy than lives

Without people out & about spending money, there is no life. Nobody will have a job and money to spend on food or rent/ mortgage... People will loose their homes, more businesses will close, with more unemployment, and less money floating around to buy goods and pay for services like the NHS. So less people will get healthcare, less people will have a warm dry home, leass people will have money to buy food.... these people will get ill and die an early death.
I hope you understand now, that it has been spelled out.

I'm in two minds to be honest.

I can't see the logic in some of the things that can now open - like the hotels, but not the second homes. We don't have a second home but surely they'd be safer for those who do have them than a random room that may or may not have had a sanitising wipe when the last person left?

Because of that I'm probably cautious. I've learned, over the past three months, that I don't actually need to go clothes shopping or go to the cinema as much as I used to. So I won't be rushing to some of the shops, cinema or restaurants I used to frequent. I don't need to - I've realised I don't actually miss them very much.

I imagine, as those places become used to dealing with everything and I learn to trust them with regard to cleaning etc I'll start going again but it's certainly not high on my list at the moment. I'm happy to wait for them to bed down. Our local cinema was never the cleanest so I certainly don't trust them to sanitise properly so they'll be in for a visit a long time after other places!

But I'm not unduly worried about going out and about. I've been doing the fortnightly shop, running my on line business so using the post office and the few shops that were open. It doesn't bother me if I have to walk past another person on the pavement - I'm not jumping in front of buses trying to avoid them. But I can't see the point of queuing for places I don't really need to be. If DS needs school shoes, we'll get school shoes, but I'm not mooching about window shopping or browsing like I may have pre-Covid. And I'm more likely to invite a friend to our garden (or vice versa) for a coffee than go into a coffee shop at the moment.

But schools need to open somehow - it's madness that a parent can go out for a drink (which they don't need as the supermarkets can provide alcohol) but a child can't get an education. They'll be the ones paying for my pension - I want them educated and in top jobs!

I'm happy for things to open, however I work for the NHS and I won't be going anywhere for a good few months apart from work.

I can't help wondering how, for instance, pub landlords and staff will be able to deal with a sudden influx and too many people crowding into their pub all at once. Sure, they can refuse to serve people and ask them to leave, but if customers have already had a lot to drink, the potential for a disturbance breaking out is pretty high.

Are people on a long-awaited night out really going to look into every pub, think "Oh there are too many people in there already" and go quietly home again?

*Customers will then know that people there have tested positive. Not very reassuring.g

Well, yes as long as the virus is still amongst communities I can imagine this will happen.

Are people on a long-awaited night out really going to look into every pub, think "Oh there are too many people in there already" and go quietly home again?

If there is someone at the door telling them the pub is full, then yes, I'd say most of them are.

I thought he said you could get married from July, a max of 30 people and social distancing?
Correct but some people like to bang on about perceived injustices - perhaps they're waiting for a handwritten letter from bojo?
The major mistake made by the gov, IMO, was letting infected patients be discharged to care homes. An unbelievable error of judgment. Now though we need to start getting back to normal and we still have choices - stay in the cupboard under the stairs until next year, go to pubs/restaurants and party like there's no tomorrow (🤔) or assess the risks and chuck in a big dollop of common sense before you decide. If you don't want to go back to work in the hospitality industry, then don't, there will be plenty fighting for your position. If pubs don't open soon you won't have a job to go back to anyway. Hopefully some employers will support wfh for single parents until September but businesses need to stay afloat. So, no, we are not opening up too early.

I can't wait for a pint in the pub and I can't wait to go camping in our motorhome every weekend. I won't be flocking to the shops or salons

@morethanafortnight

I can't help wondering how, for instance, pub landlords and staff will be able to deal with a sudden influx and too many people crowding into their pub all at once. Sure, they can refuse to serve people and ask them to leave, but if customers have already had a lot to drink, the potential for a disturbance breaking out is pretty high.

Are people on a long-awaited night out really going to look into every pub, think "Oh there are too many people in there already" and go quietly home again?

They'll have people on the door, like they do at clubs. Just like most shops have people on the door. It's been working for 3 months now, people have got used to having to wait in queues unstead of walking right in.

No. I think some of the places (e.g. children playgrounds) could have opened earlier. I also think we should have absolutely prioritised schools.

We have seen from experiences of other countries that opening up shops, hairdressers (with PPE) and outdoor restaurants does not push transmissions up. The riskiest activities involve large gatherings (from weddings, birthday parties and funerals to business meetings and working in meat processing facilities or call centres).

I think it is probably about the right time. Cases are so few to warrant the economic/social/mental health problems that lockdown causes.

I do think cases will rise, as it is inevitable. However I think it will be controlled and managed this time.

Yes way too fast.

Should have been more gradual.

I dont think so no. Nothing can open now even without social distancing measures in place. If they did away with everything and opened up then I'd be a little concerned but the transmission rate in the community now is so low Im not in the least bit worried

(I really dont understand why outdoor pools cant open though as long as there were limited numbers and spaced out beds etc)

Some people have a vested interest in lockdown continuing and are moaning about life returning to normality under the guise of health concerns. A relative was living her "best life" (her words) whilst furloughed and is now devastated at having to go back to work in a shop. Apparently her real concern is older people who will come into the crowded store and get the virus My brother is a teacher and isn't best pleased at returning to work. I know teachers can't be criticised on MN though so I'll leave it there.