End social distancing now - it’s time to get back to normal

[peasoup8]

Four deaths from coronavirus were recorded on 5th September - and yet the economy is on its knees, businesses are folding and my GP refuses to do face to face appointments because of the supposed risks posed by this “deadly” disease. Whilst I have every sympathy for the families of those who died, there are more people killed on Britain’s roads each day than there are from Covid.

People said there would be a massive spike in cases/deaths after the BLM protests and guess what - that failed to materialise. Central London was packed when I was there last weekend so nobody is taking the virus seriously anyway. AIBU to think it’s time we end this social distancing farce now and get back to normal, before more people lose their jobs and homes and the economy tanks still further?

Cases only up because of testing not because of transmission

That’s undeniably changing. Cases have risen five-fold in a month.... Testing hasn’t.

This thread will age badly I think. Too many people can’t see beyond their nose despite what happened in March, and the US a month or so back, and is now starting to happen again in Spain. By all means argue for things to continue to get back to normal, but at least recognise the likely impact. Otherwise you just appear incredibly dense.

God cases are not rising!!

How many times!!!!

Testing has doubled since month or so ago!
Like pp, positivity change is nothing at 0.3

Death rate is not 1% as you’ve no idea how many have it! Half country could have had it by now you’d never know

Test positivity has gone up 0.3% so hardly an explosion is it

Stop scaremongering

Yes, YABU, to say something so utterly ridiculous. 3000 cases a day, is not nothing.

3,000 cases a day with low hospitalisation is manageable. Problem is, if it's rising then before you know it i's 10,000 a day and without locking down then it'll keep doubling.

They wanted us all back to work, back to school and college, eat out to help out. Fine. The consequences are cases will keep going up.

@AmelieTaylor positives have gone up 0.3% in the last 2 months..... That is a tiny tiny rise.

I have to admit I have having the same trouble with my GP. They tell me everyday there's no appointments and to ring back in the morning, and then when I finally got one it was telephone only. I'm really worried about her skin as her legs keep going purple. I have tried to take photos but it just doesn't show what it is really like. I think I will end up having to take her to a&e because I was just told to keep an eye on it. I want her checked properly.

@peasoup8

I don’t know anyone who is actually sticking to the ‘rules’ anymore now.

I don’t either. Many people are socialising with others as they did before lockdown. When I was in London there were people who weren’t bothering to wear masks on public transport, and most people weren’t wearing them on the fairly crowded pavements. Despite this there’s been no spike in cases.

How are people not making the very simple connection between measures like social distancing, masks etc. equaling low deaths?

See above.

What????

How has there been no spike in cases? We've hit 3,000 a day this weekend up from 1,000 a day only a week or two ago.

@peasoup8

Oh, and the fact that most people are ignoring the social distancing rules (if the threads on here are anything to go by) and the latest death toll is still only 4, shows just how deadly this disease really is

There are plenty of people on MN threads who still are social distancing, as well as those who aren't. From what I have seen, it's similar IRL - I have seen people who appear not to be following the SD guidelines, but among my own family, friends and colleagues the vast majority are still social distancing. As PPs have said, its likely to be because enough people are still following the guidelines, that deaths remain low.

So register with a different doctor, ring 111, go to a walk in, go to a&e

There’s only one doctor in my area who I can register with as that’s the only one whose catchment area I’m within. If I could go to a different one I’d be there like a shot, but all the ones with good (well, decent) reviews near me have strict catchment areas and don’t take patients from outside of those.

111 the call handlers are good but it’s ultimately pointless as they tell me to see my GP.

There are no walk-ins where I am and sitting in A&E with a small baby for hours on end is really not ideal. However I guess that is the only option left to me as my GP won’t do her job properly. Sadly I don’t have the money to go private, but if I did I would.

Yes, @RichardMarxisinnocent, I think that's correct. I strongly suspect that many of the shrieks and howls about how 'the government should force them all back to work/normal/Pret/whatever' are coming from people who would usually fancy themselves as opponents of 'the Nanny State'. Why don't you bore off and do you, and we'll do us, O libertarians?

I do agree OP.
And don’t forget, there is compelling evidence that the virus has been circulating since end of last year in Europe and it took until March for us to see the out of control numbers of infections and hospitalisation. Back then, there was no mask wearing or testing or treatments or hand washing etc etc
I just can’t see it ever getting to the level it did - even if they unlocked everything.

Why do you limit your criteria to deaths? There are far too many people suffering serious long-term consequences despite surviving Covid.

This is nothing like living through a war though! It's a ridiculous thing to bring into the argument!

I should say I agree to a point.
Maintain SD, mask wearing, hand washing but other than that we need to get back to normal now.

@Pobblebonk

Why do you limit your criteria to deaths? There are far too many people suffering serious long-term consequences despite surviving Covid.

And far too many people suffering long term consequences of lock down and the economy tanking...

Absolutely. While we’re at it, let’s stop spending millions every year on aeroplane safety. The risk of dying in a plane crash is 1 in 11 million. Absurdly low. What a colossal waste of money!

Oh wait...

I'm really worried about her skin as her legs keep going purple. I have tried to take photos but it just doesn't show what it is really like. I think I will end up having to take her to a&e because I was just told to keep an eye on it. I want her checked properly.

See this is the kind of thing I’m talking about. GPs have a duty of care and they need to be made to get back to work with face to face appointments now. @Jrobhatch29 please do take your baby to A&E if you’re at all worried and it’s the only way they’ll get seen. Hope you are both okay x

[quote PaddyF0dder]@peasoup8

Nah kiddo.

See, as someone who actually works in the health service and knows what this virus is like, I’ve kind of had it with pea brains online thinking their opinions are equal to the people who actually know about this. I’ve got more letters after my name than you have letters in you, and I can’t be arsed being polite with people like you at this point.

Now sit down, shut up, and let people actually competent for handling this situation do it. If there’s ever an emergency in something you’re actually qualified to solve, we’ll ask.[/quote]
👏👏👏👏👏👏

And far too many people suffering long term consequences of lock down and the economy tanking...

It doesn't quite equate to having your health destroyed. Given the choice, would you really prefer being in a long-term minimally-conscious state to having financial problems?

I’m guessing Paddyfodders the cleaner in the hospital because most nurses and doctors at least admit the vast majority of those who’ve died were extremely ill anyway

So just to get this straight:

• we should all scrap social distancing, because nobody's even doing it any more, but it's horrible to live through even though we aren't living through it because nobody's doing it any more, because it's crippling the economy, even though nobody's bothering with it, and if cases were going to start rising again then they would have been rising by now because we aren't social distancing any more, so we should all stop the social distancing we're not doing;

• and we need to save the economy by immediately reopening everything and scrapping social distancing, so we can have the thriving functioning economies that Brazil and Mexico and India and the US currently have?

I think your GP should see your baby too if your baby needs seeing, OP, but I don't think we should really forget everything we know about infectious disease and public health just because you're fed up.

This is such a sad thread. We are where we are because it’s what’s been keeping numbers of cases down. People have been trying to communicate this since March, but after what? Ten, twelve years? Of being constantly lied to and gaslit, out in the open, daily, we’ve hardened into factions. I doubt anything now could persuade the OP that this awful, imperfect solution to mass infection (and long-term hideous illness for some) is necessary, because they’ve been hardened and scammed repeatedly, and closed themselves off. I really feel for you OP, it must be so hard to live in such a state of anger.

@peasoup8 what restrictions are particularly bothering you?

Given the choice, would you really prefer being in a long-term minimally-conscious state to having financial problems?

No, but I’d prefer to have a mild illness or no symptoms at all (as the vast majority of Covid patients appear to have) than lose my job and my home thanks. I’m sick of people downplaying the impact of financial problems on these threads too. Presumably they’re people who’ve ever only been financially secure so have no understanding of what it’s like to be struggling or facing ruin.

This thread is like the bar at Wetherspoons. Full of ill informed and uneducated notions.

It's frightening to think some people have the vote.