Chris Witty "We're at the limits of the contact we can allow"

[confusedandold]

I've been watching the Press conference and I always find Chris Witty the voice of reason. He is saying that we are at the limit of what we can open without the virus spreading further and we may even have to take a step back. So where does this leave the opening of schools in a few weeks time?

Teacher strikes on a socially distance picket line 🙄

Household transmissions
the New normal is that we all live in separate sanitised pods

From what Prof. Whitty said, I wonder if some other things will be paused/not done to allow for school opening.

BJ said school opening is a national priority (and I, as a teacher, absolutely believe it should be) and Prof Whitty mentioned the 'difficult balancing act' and 'may need to stop some things to allow other things to happen'.

Not sure what they will decide to stop though.

Interestingly, I have been to a supermarket near me this morning. I'd say about 85-90% were wearing masks which is good. However, the supermarkets round here (in the North West) are no longer limiting numbers in store - it's literally a free for all! So, no matter how hard you try, it's virtually impossible to social distance in store.

I think members of multiple households meeting indoors with close contact is a bigger factor than some people taking the piss about masks. A few weeks ago my Facebook was awash with families hugging each other. Also the going out to pubs and restaurants not being socially distanced from your friends you are sitting with. There was all the condemnation of beaches and protests when close contact of families and friends is going to be the bigger driver.

@Catspaw123

Yes we've had it now.this is us until vaccine or forever if no vaccine. How utterly shit . So depressed

No pandemic lasts forever even if the illness is still around. Things will get better. People can’t and won’t live like this forever, they’ll reach a point they don’t give 2 fucks about the virus, other people getting it, or the NHS.

Everyone I know is living well within guidelines around here. Also, we've had people shielding. This makes me think the numbers would be a lot higher if we'd all been mixing, going out etc.

@chaoticisatroll55

It's a new way of life I'm afraid. Time to readjust your settings. Forget about group activities, forget about foreign holidays , forget hugging relatives and hope to god you hang on to your jobs. They will get kids back to school not because it's safe but because the risks to society are too great if they don't.

Christ aren’t you a ray of sunshine

Let's rephrase that to 'I hope they tell thousands of young adults to kill themselves so I don't have to look after my own child' as that is basically what you are saying.

It is not basically what I am saying. I don't have to look after my children as they are older teenagers so I am not saying that. I just think that education should now be the priority.

@MotheringShites

I was watching this thinking the same.

If we have reached the limits of what we can safely do, what does that mean for the long term? Is this it? Are we stuck like this until there is a vaccine?

I don’t think we can take that from his comments necessarily. If we manage to get cases to an extremely low level eg like New Zealand why would we not be able to open up a bit more. Yes I agree we are a good bit away from mass gatherings and gigs etc but it won’t be forever. Measures appropriate when 1 in 1500 people have the virus might not be required when 1 in 15000 people have it or 1 in 150000 people for example.

I appreciate that the news over the last 24 hours isn't great, however I do think people are being a bit over dramatic here. We always knew that this is how it would go didn't we? They told us as much when outlining plans to ease lockdown. One step forward, two back, one forward, one back. Carefully juggling case figures and lifting and easing restrictions in different areas so that we keep coronavirus figures try going along at a manageable pace rather than spiking sharply and causing massive pressure again. This will end but not yet. We need to see people following the rules more first though.

@sleepyhead

Scottish schools go back a week on Tuesday so they'll be beginning to have some idea of how it's gone.

We will all be watching Scotland

I knew we were doomed when Boris was giving the "it'll be over by Christmas " line. Great, absolutely chuffing great.

[quote deathswiftlyfollows]@drinkingwineoutofamug this was the ad below your reply 😂😂😂😂[/quote]
😂😂😂😂😂

@orangenasturtium

they are saying household transmissions are high

Household transmissions are often the highest risk for many diseases because that is where you spend the most time in close contact with people and when people are sick they spend all their time at home if they aren't hospitalised. However, quarantine prevents spread outside the home.

Only if people comply.

Given the amount who won’t and those that disagree with reporting them it i wouldn’t hold my breath.

@chaoticisatroll55

It's a new way of life I'm afraid. Time to readjust your settings. Forget about group activities, forget about foreign holidays , forget hugging relatives and hope to god you hang on to your jobs. They will get kids back to school not because it's safe but because the risks to society are too great if they don't.

People will only tolerate it for long, if everyone ‘forgot’ everything you have listed there is no life for anyone, it’s completely unsustainable for a long period of time.

Scotland are way ahead of us case and deaths wise so can’t really make a comparison as not like for like.

@Uhoh2020

Its better to keep schools open and close leisure activities. If there's nothing else open school is the only place they can mix and within the same "bubble". Not great for the economy though I can't imagine they want to re start the furlough scheme again

But if you go to a school that has 2500 pupils, even if you are only mixing with a year group of 270 (I refuse to call that a bubble, it’s laughable), and get the train in with hundreds of others-from all year groups, and are taught by 15 teachers who also teach across every other year (Hundreds of pupils), you’re hardly sticking to a consistent group.

Imagine if one teacher gets ill and has to self isolate-the school will need to get a supply teacher who would have been to any number of other schools-teaching hundreds of pupils from different schools on different days. Nothing about schools will be consistent or contained and it is naive to think it will be.

@ChristmasinJune

I appreciate that the news over the last 24 hours isn't great, however I do think people are being a bit over dramatic here. We always knew that this is how it would go didn't we? They told us as much when outlining plans to ease lockdown. One step forward, two back, one forward, one back. Carefully juggling case figures and lifting and easing restrictions in different areas so that we keep coronavirus figures try going along at a manageable pace rather than spiking sharply and causing massive pressure again. This will end but not yet. We need to see people following the rules more first though.

Exactly. This was always how it was going to go.

Gradually ease lockdown until we see things tick up, and the government gets solid data on what measures impact R0 the most. Then "surf" the numbers as best as possible to balance containing the virus with living life, and wait for the cavalry to arrive (vaccine).

We're in the hands of Sarah Gilbert and her team, and the other vaccine efforts.

It's still not clear how long our immune response to the disease lasts. Some credible people believe it won't actually be all that long. Combined with the fact that vaccines are not 100% effective (and the first vaccines may be even less effective than usual), and we're in this for the long haul.

I think 2024 is a reasonable bet for a complete return to normality :-(

Schools will open and stay open I think but leisure centres gyms etc might close again. I think the autumn/winter will be masks inside and out and less contact between households

Sounds like we just will not bother and hope we never needed state education really and schools never really did provide a necessary public service. Seems like a gamble but there we go!

@DameFanny

This Dementor trope is so fucking childish. If people kept their distance and wore a mask lives would have been saved and we'd be closer to a safe reopening of everything but no, more important that you hug your friend and don't wear a mask for 10 minutes because YOU'RE not worried than someone else's gran gets to leave their house with confidence.

Fucking ubermenschy shite.

👏👏👏👏

Track and trace here, elsewhere in the North of England is showing the primary cause of spread to be mixing between households in home environments.

School will bring millions of households in to close contact with tens to hundreds of other families each through our children spending the whole day in small indoor rooms with each other and teachers. Sharing facilities, eating and exercising together. No social distancing.

Shops, museums etc. are safer in comparison in that if households stay in their own groups keeping a distance, everyone wears masks, are in the buildings for a much shorter period of time, are eating in a family group in a cafe, parents supervise handwashing of younger children etc.

My children are desperate to go back to school, I want them to return. I don't see how it's possible in four weeks time though.

[quote StatisticalSense]@Uhoh2020
But children aren't the only people who need social contact. Sacrificing other venues (unless we specifically focus on children's play areas) in favour of schools is going to have a disproportionate impact on other groups that is likely to be worse than simply keeping schools closed. It is simply unrealistic to expect large numbers of young adults to basically remain in one room for several months whilst at the same time allowing children to get on with life almost normally and attempting such measures would just see large levels of non-compliance as there is only so long people can cope in such a situation.[/quote]
What do you mean like children have been cooped in 1 room for the past few months? Children have been without social contact for ages now if they can cope with it/put up with it then surely another part of society can do their turn.

Most people i know are only mixing with those where the children will be at school together come September so the optimist in me hopes that they're all mixing already so maybe it will be less impactful as we expect.....the realist in me thinks get masks on all secondry school and teachers (or visors for teachers maybe!?!) And maybe prioritise who goes back in secondary

Not that my opinion counts really but I still keep expecting to wake up from this odd dream

It was unrealistic to expect children to stay within the house for months on end but they had to do it