Lockdown tightened in parts of Northern England

[PatriciaHolm]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53602362

Still breaking so no exact detail on location yet but -

"Separate households will not be allowed to meet indoors in Greater Manchester, East Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire from midnight, the government has announced.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said an "increasing rate of transmission" had been identified in those areas."

I suppose this has shown a lockdown can happen very quickly and we need to be prepared for it. If you are parents this will probably happen with schools too. It is pants and is going to be a nightmare but I am not sure what other solutions there are.

@Flaxmeadow

I don't understand this compliant about giving more notice. How can you give notice on a day to day, hour by hour virus emergency. It isn't a ship sailing across an ocean, due to arrive at precisely 3.25pm next Monday

Because it demonstrates the government is panicking and is not in control.

The calm management of crises is evidence of a state functioning properly.

They really are managing this very badly.

Announcements should not be made in n the night. That is communication 101.

Also with notice, if people were told at the beginning of this week it was going to happen on Friday what do you think many people would have done, stayed at home and cancelled parties, or still have family/friends come and stay or go and stay somewhere outside the lockdown zone therefore spreading the virus even more.

Just wait until you are treated like this.

I live in one of these areas. Having been to the city centre a couple of times, that's what needs targeting and policing better - particularly the pubs and shopping centre where they seem to have just given up bothering - not families and households. It's an absolute shit show with disgraceful communication. I hope all my Muslim friends have a wonderful Eid as best they can.

Just to be clear, if this announcement was made at 10pm on Christmas Eve, there's no way on earth I'd let it change my plans, so shoot me now. It's called personal risk assessment. People who were allowed to be in my bubble the day before the announcement have not suddenly sprouted contagion overnight. It's bullshit and it's getting ridiculous.

Remember that they also reinstated the Spain quarantine requirements last Saturday with just a few hours' notice.

Anyone booked to go away from Sunday onwards, or even returning from holiday on Sunday, would have had unplanned quarantine to factor in, also both Tui and Jet2 then cancelled all the holidays that would be affected by the quarantine. Many of these people will have booked last year and been unable to cancel their holiday without losing all the money, because up until Saturday, their tour operator was stating that it was business as usual for their departure dates.

Due to restrictions, no-one should have been planning big, multi family Eid celebrations anyway, so the impact shouldn't be that serious. You can still meet up with a small group outdoors.

@bellinisurge

Just wait until you are treated like this.

Treated like what?

I can @Honeybobbin but I know they feel uneasy about it with last nights news. Thank you though.

Some of the comments on here about us wanting greater notice is not the case at all! My family and I ACCEPT the restrictions but surly we are allowed to express how upset we are? Or is that not in the spirit of being good citizens? I’m sad and disappointed, that is how I feel. Please try and support this rather than knocking us for being poor sports.

Just to be clear, if this announcement was made at 10pm on Christmas Eve, there's no way on earth I'd let it change my plans, so shoot me now.

And this is exactly why you these restrictions have had to be put back in place - too many people thinking that they are qualified to make their own assessments and that rules don't apply to them. This is where that attitude brings you to.

It seems weird to me (I’m in Trafford) that I can’t have a friend in the garden but at least two groups of local friends are heading off on holiday via plane to other countries.

Treated like what? I'm in London and if we get a similar local lockdown then I won't see my family until it's lifted. It will be done for a reason and won't be anything like as bad as the many weeks when we were pretty much all staying at home all the time. None of this is personal, it's being done to save lives.

Don't be so patronising. The two hours notice late at night was contemptuous. Not the lockdown. I'm not an idiot ffs.

It's hardly a surprise during a global pandemic that the situation can, and does, change quickly. Those people who went on holiday to Spain can hardly complain about the quarantine imposed - they were wrong to think they could go on holiday as normal at a time like this.

The govt has been criticised for failing to act quickly enough and is now being criticised for giving so little notice. Or perhaps they waited for figures at the end of the week before making a decision? The fact that the civil servants who write the guidance hadn't been instructed to have the guidance ready sooner was terrible, but perhaps there was a desire not to delay the announcement late on a Friday before a weekend during which many people would be socialising with family and friends.

I didn't vote for this shower, but all of this is a tough call - no modern day government wants to wreck the economy and get the country into huge national debt.

Dark helmet I agree. It’s getting ridiculous. I also live in one of these so called hot spots and I can make my own personal risk assessments. We’ve had low cases in our actual small town but because we live near to a hot spot we’re lumped in together. I am fuming that I now can’t see my parents and siblings anymore unless we meet at a park!!

I can’t help but feel this is partly a political move by Boris and his party ‘look at how pro-active we’re being now’. They came under so much stick for not locking down fast enough they’re trying to claw back some credibility.

I know this isn’t the quarantine thread but I also think that the quarantine for Spain is a political move. Partly again ‘look at how proactive we are’ but also ‘Don’t forget Spain how much you need us Brits’ (right in the midst of Brexit negotiations.....,

I'm not being patronising. You weren't specific about what you meant about the treatment. I think the government handling of all of this is appalling but I'm not sure whether giving people more notice is a better plan.

Don't be so patronising. The two hours notice late at night was contemptuous. Not the lockdown. I'm not an idiot ffs

I live in one of the affected areas and I'm glad it happened quickly. It is obviously a serious situation and the sooner the better we get used to it

@Stellakent

Treated like what? I'm in London and if we get a similar local lockdown then I won't see my family until it's lifted. It will be done for a reason and won't be anything like as bad as the many weeks when we were pretty much all staying at home all the time. None of this is personal, it's being done to save lives.

Treated with contempt and now he's claiming it has nothing to do with Eid. Ok we'll watch how you lockdown when its announced on twitter 11.45pm on Christmas eve. At least you'll be able to spend it outdoors in the park when its pissing it down.

Boris on telly now

I only found out this morning when dd saw it on the news.
Can't be that important, but we've changed our plans today.

If they'd told us at 5 pm yesterday - preferably with the announcement made formally as was promised for " big announcements", I'd be fine with it. Sneaky Twitter shit late at night is shite.

Go on... what has he said... I can’t bring myself to watch it? The politics of all this is making me want to scream.

I agree Bellini.
What government can be taken seriously when they announce things on Twitter ffs.

Are we turning into Trump’s America?

Infections rising
r rate is up
postponing any further relaxation of rules

What exactly has been disrupted? Were people planning on meeting up in big groups then or having multiple families into their homes? What has had to be cancelled?

Next question.

Will there be financial support for businesses affected?

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/manchester-restaurants-face-wave-cancellations-18693269
Manchester restaurants face wave of cancellations and no-shows after local lockdown confusion
One restaurant has had 100 bookings cancelled this weekend

"They announced it on Twitter, at half past nine! It's meant to be a government and they're announcing things like that with no guidance whatsoever until the morning after.

"Announcing it right before the three busiest days of the week. We've bought all our stock in, we've done all our rotas, we've bought in all the booze for the weekend, and now we're seeing all these bookings drop off.

"It's going to cost us thousands.

Its one thing to say that people should have been prepared for a sudden lockdown and should have planned accordingly.

Its another when you are a restaurant who have staff coming in the next day and youve already ordered your stock on the basis of how many bookings youve got and you dont find out until 10pm at night and you dont know what the rules are until 7am the next day.

How are you supposed to manage that when youve already laid off staff and struggling financially?

Whilst saving lives is the priority the effect of this sudden announcement (which someone somewhere would have an idea about half way through a week) without warning leaves you up shit creek.

We know the government are going to do the sum total of fuck all to help snyone on this but it comes down to data not being available quickly enough and decision making being slow.

There was no indication whatsoever this was on the cards in some places. (Rossendale hadnt even got a high local rate fgs!!)

Its piss poor and it will lead to people being suicidal over the way its being handled.