Do you think we will ever go back to normal?

[Mummypig2020]

I just can’t see how the government will turn around one day and say “that’s it, no masks needed, no social distancing”. I feel like everyone will going to live in fear forever!

@Waxonwaxoff0 totally agree people are being dramatic (myself included) thinking we would sd and wear masks forever which we won't there wouldn't be anyone to have the virus most people would either be in poverty /suicides which have also gone up double.

Not sure if anyone on here was aware but a series of outdoor drive in concerts up and down the country has just been cancelled - my wife and I bought tickets to see Beverly Knight. Oh well, just another we can no longer look forward to....

‘The Live From The Drive In concert series will no longer proceed as planned this summer. We received huge support from artists, the live music production contractors, our headline sponsor Utilita along with our other partners, and of course you, the fans. However the latest developments regarding localised lockdowns mean it has become impossible for us to continue with the series with any confidence.

We thank everyone for their support and eagerly await a time when we can watch live music together again. Full refunds will be issued directly to all ticket holders within the next 7 days.’

I think it will be relaxed but slowly over years as we learn to live with it. Definitely not back to normal in 2021 at least.

I dont like it but I'm beginning to accept it. I'm finding ways to live with it like going to shops after 5.30 when less people are around. Only going out to the shops if I need to or really want to treat myself.

The biggest worry is about holidays and travel even in the UK. My sons school shut over night due to a positive covid case so everything is more about cramming what I can, while I can right now. Not making plans is the worst bit. Maybe I need to make up multiple smaller plans I can do last minute? Anything to feel less shit. Besides if I'm going to die this winter i want to enjoy every day

No because the new way of life has nothing to do with the virus. Some form of social conditioning is happening and we will never go back to the old way of life. I just wish I knew WHY they are doing this.

The biggest worry is about holidays and travel even in the UK. My sons school shut over night due to a positive covid case so everything is more about cramming what I can, while I can right now. Not making plans is the worst bit. Maybe I need to make up multiple smaller plans I can do last minute? Anything to feel less shit. Besides if I'm going to die this winter i want to enjoy every day

This is my worry with booking things, a town could go into lockdown anytime and then you can't go on planned things and could lose money. Fortunately we have touring caravan and will be using it a lot and can change bookings up to 3 days before and also don't pay a deposit on the CAMC sites. I think touring caravan and motorhome holidays will become quite popular as they are more flexible and you have your own facilities onboard. we won't be going overseas for a long time because of the uncertainty

@AlecTrevelyan006

Not sure if anyone on here was aware but a series of outdoor drive in concerts up and down the country has just been cancelled - my wife and I bought tickets to see Beverly Knight. Oh well, just another we can no longer look forward to....

‘The Live From The Drive In concert series will no longer proceed as planned this summer. We received huge support from artists, the live music production contractors, our headline sponsor Utilita along with our other partners, and of course you, the fans. However the latest developments regarding localised lockdowns mean it has become impossible for us to continue with the series with any confidence.

We thank everyone for their support and eagerly await a time when we can watch live music together again. Full refunds will be issued directly to all ticket holders within the next 7 days.’

The local lockdowns are going to be worse than the full ones, at least we knew where we were with a full Lockdowns, the local ones have put me completely on edge. 4 large towns near me are on the list of keep an eye on which is very unsettling Such a shame about the concerts I didn’t know this, we have several gigs next year which were postponed and had looked at the drive in ones.

I don’t know why people are so dubious about a vaccine. Every expert that I have heard speak says we will get one and soon (before summer next year, latest and maybe even late this year).

There are more vaccine candidates than for any other disease, ever, and vast amounts of money being spent. Also technology in genetics has advanced hugely over the last decade.

If we did not take precautions, we would do the full experiment on herd immunity. I do not think it would be pretty and people would end up self policing at the peak, costing the economy hugely.

Also look at schools. When a case is discovered, the whole school closes for two weeks. This will have a detrimental effect on kids education, and cause massive problems for parents with childcare. They will then have to tel their employer they cannot go to work, for those who cannot work from home.
It will be a never ending circle until it’s gone.

No because the new way of life has nothing to do with the virus. Some form of social conditioning is happening and we will never go back to the old way of life. I just wish I knew WHY they are doing this.**

What do you think will never return to normal and why?

I don’t know why people are so dubious about a vaccine. Every expert that I have heard speak says we will get one and soon (before summer next year, latest and maybe even late this year).
^^ because vaccines take years to develop. It's an extremely ambitious task to try and have one ready in the 12-18 months since they started trying to find one. I think it's realistic to be a bit doubtful that we will see a vaccine until 2022 at least.

For people who think this is some type of conspiracy, this is Boris’s worst nightmare.

He is a populist orator who would love us to have as much bread and circuses as we can deal with. That is why he was so excited about pubs and shops opening. He would love the plebs to be gorging themselves on unlimited MaccyDs and Primani while he and his mates carried on living the way they always have.

He hated lockdown and hates masks. However, having nearly died himself, he has learned to listen to expert advice (even if it changing over time).

A vaccine will come soon (see headline in Times today inter alia). In the interim we have to tolerate the ‘new normal’. No, it is not pleasant but is better than the alternative.

Pebble,

Generally vaccines take years as the development process is a serial one. In this case, many processes which normally run one after the other, are being run simultaneously. For instance, they are mass producing vaccines that might not work, at the cost of hundreds of millions of pounds.

And some corners are being cut.

Under normal circumstances vaccines take years to develop. Large parts of that time frame are spent raising funds and getting approval from regulators.

These are not normal circumstances. Finding a vaccine for COVID is probably the biggest combined global effort ever seen and it has pretty much limitless resources being thrown at it. Developing a vaccine at any other time and developing a vaccine now just don't seem comparable.

I do think some changes are now permanent, I am in two minds whether this is a bad thing or not.

Working from home will become the new normal, city centres will see the life blood drain out of them as they won't have the consumers to stay viable.

Tourism will remain UK based for the foreseeable future, very few people seem keen on the idea of flying.

Shopping habits and socialising both have seen a dramatic decline, and we may now live in recession for a long while to come. I don't know if many will be keen to resume the consumption we saw previously.

A continuation in the dramatic drop in babies being born worldwide

I like to think there is a reset going on in this country and others, we have had the chance to reflect on our lives and it is perfectly possible that many of these changes will bring great benefits to the climate, to the quality of life, our values being less of a consumer. This might well end up with a greener, fairer and more decent country or it may end in permanent recession and poverty. It will depend on how flexible and nimble we can be as a country to adapt to the new changes that are coming....

The below is an excellent source on vaccine progress and timeline.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.amp.html

The retail sector will be massively hit, high street wide anyway. Yes people will shop online more but the people who work in those shops can’t get a job online. Also not everyone can work from home.
Millions of people work in our high streets, with those jobs gone, I cannot see them all finding alternatives employment. So the realistic effect of this is fewer jobs and more people unemployed, possibly forever, like when the mining towns closed in the 80s.
Of course Boris doesn’t want us to be in this situation, 6 months ago he had a mandate and a majority behind him, now he’s got this to contend with.

For people saying we have had big events like the plague and WW2 and that life went back to normal afterwards, they didn't. The Welfare state, weekends, pubs - all things which stemmed from these major world events.

Political and social change happens fastest when we are forced to confront the inadequacies of the status quo.

I can see home office and flexible working becoming the norm, environmentalists have the proof they needed to show that human behaviour causes climate change, the Black Lives Matter movement got a far greater level of traction because so many people were on lockdown. Countries without state-funded healthcare are going to come under increasing pressure from within as those countries with better systems see lower death rates. Not being able to shop for non-essentials has affected lots of people's attitudes towards their consumption.

There will be a lot of negative effects of course but there is also an opportunity to change the world for the better if we sieze it.

I don't want to return to the old normal. I want us to have a better one.

Older people have been massively affected. For some they will be too scared to leave their homes, possibly forever.
I know of an old lady whos only form of getting out was playing bowls. It was a big social thing for her. That’s now obviously stopped, long term. No idea if and when it will open. She now hasn’t seen her friends for a long time, not everyone can do zoom calls and FaceTime. These are all older people.
Some people will die at home lonely, frightened to ever leave their front door.

Also look at schools. When a case is discovered, the whole school closes for two weeks.

This is the reasoning behind bubbles - that only the bubble need close. And I suspect a lot of fudging will happen so that schools close far less often than they should do.

I can’t see how bubbles can work effectively in every school, thinking of large comprehensive secondary schools. Obviously all social distancing can be easier in the warmer weather but people won’t want to queue for shops in the winter. They simply won’t bother.

Interesting about the bowls @Hearwego, my grandads team are back and playing! Socially distanced of course.

The bubbles clearly won’t work effectively. But they’re the reason schools won’t be shutting all over the place. Basically they’re a get-out clause so don’t expect loads of schools shutting.

Yes of course.

@Hearwego

No because the new way of life has nothing to do with the virus. Some form of social conditioning is happening and we will never go back to the old way of life. I just wish I knew WHY they are doing this.**

What do you think will never return to normal and why?

our 'normal' way of life

several theatres have already closed, more will follow, loads more have made redundancies. Things like won't just suddenly reopen if/when the virus is under control.

Loads of small and medium sized music venues have closed for good. No one is going to be playing anywhere any time soon.

Cinemas? forget it. Museums... galleries... few will survive

Every day the country is turning into a barren cultural wasteland

even the Eden Project is cutting jobs

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-53420648