Costello's tweet re Whitty & lockdown Now retracted *edited by MNHQ at OP's request*

[mac12]

Anyone heard anymore on this? Apparently amid the testing chaos, we’re now thought to be at 38,000 cases a day & CMO wants a 2 week national lockdown
twitter.com/globalhlthtwit/status/1306351773356118022?s=21

I think a lockdown at the moment would be too premature sadly. Premature in the sense that people will not take it seriously because they’re not seeing the effects themselves. I have lost two family members to covid so I am fully aware of how dangerous this thing is. Until the hospitalisations start shooting up and the death rate climbs we should wait- it would be a waste of time otherwise.

I will do lockdown again - let's be honest, if everything is shut aside from Tesco, we will have no bloody choice. Nobody really cares how often anyone else goes for a run.

But I absolutely am not doing the bloody clapping again

Talk to the hand. only if you wash it first.

I think Boris has pretty emphatically said he's trying to avoid another one because the economy can't cope?

@Notverybright

Talk to the hand. only if you wash it first.

And put hand sanitiser on top of that, and then a glove. And stay 2m away.

Yes that’s what he’s been saying since the last lockdown was lifted, still there are people spreading rumours on Facebook etc that the government want to lockdown. Yes I’m sure a Tory government can’t wait to be more interventionist and spend more money.

I’m currently staying and working in a coastal town in East Anglia and oh boy, lock down has ravaged this place.
A community already on the bones of its arse has been severely impacted by the lack of tourists.
I don’t know how they’d get through another lock down.

For the people here the reality of unemployment now is far more worrisome than Covid.

Whitty is the useless wanker who completely ignored the most vulnerable in care homes in his desperation to protect the NHS. Apparently he can’t do two things at once. He should have been sacked.

@HelenaDove, I agree that there is a “but what next?” question. Strategy seems to be to flatten the second curve, but two weeks isn’t going to do that.

@Coffeeandbeans

Yes let’s have another lockdown so that is office workers can continue to wfh and get paid. But oh, I still need my food delivered so let’s get the shop workers in and the bin men, and the care staff and the NHS acute care staff and the bus drivers etc etc. We are becoming a divided society - those that have to work out of the home irrespective of a lockdown and those that can stay safely at home.

Yes this, most of those shouting for lockdown will be comfy in their houses with gardens getting their deliveries and moaning about slots not being available

I live in the lowest prevalence area in England. Why should we go on strict Lockdown? Sledgehammer plan to crack walnut is wrong.

@Friendsoftheearth so life here day to day is totally normal. We can do all normal activities, all shops etc are open. We do have to keep apart and keep hands clean of course but school has been running normally since May and the only change I have experienced on a daily basis is that my gym showers are shut!
But, yes, we can’t leave the state. This isn’t too much of a drama but all my family are in the U.K. and no one is going in or out. On one hand, this is great as daily life is more important than holidays but equally, lots of us here are now asking the question “what comes next?” as we can’t see an end to the border quarantine with the outside world, and fear that as soon as it opens, our cases will rocket up again, making us totally reliant on a vaccine.

Lancashire police tweeted that they fined a woman £10k yesterday for organising a street party. Yet street parties were encouraged during the last lockdown for VJ day.
Shame she didnt live on a different kind of an estate and have access to a few shotguns, she would have been fine with a shooting party.
Couldn't make this up.

they should just close the pubs, gym, swimming pools and restaurants!

@ReuT3 unfortunately you are one of the few. Its unbelievable driving home from work and seeing the complete lack of care by a great percentage of the population

@Batshitbeautycosmeticsltd you don't think it's selfish? To completely flaunt the rules because it's not affected anyone you know, not considering the elderly going out for their weekly shop next to those that have spent the previous weekend with 5000 others in the nearest town centre?

@AlaskaThunderfuckHiiiiiiiii

Totally agree - only local lock downs - why shut down areas of the country where the infection rate is minimal. Concentrate on the problem areas - find out where the outbreaks are coming from (eg recently some have been traced to large gatherings, others to particular work area etc) sort the problems out and leave the rest to carry on.

Personally I don't think that the virus can be eradicated we just learn to live with it until it weakens or enough people have had it to die back or a vaccine... Lock down all over the country doesn't help at all.

'AlaskaThunderfuckHiiiiiiiii Thu 17-Sep-20 07:42:39
Localised lockdowns is the way to go, I’m in a rural area of Scotland that had very few this whole time. Currently 0 people in our hospital with covid. Why is it fair to lockdown every area then? My DC have also been back at school for nearly 7 weeks, both primary and secondary, no rise in cases, no teachers dropping dead'

@Thewiseoneincognito

I think a lockdown at the moment would be too premature sadly. Premature in the sense that people will not take it seriously because they’re not seeing the effects themselves. I have lost two family members to covid so I am fully aware of how dangerous this thing is. Until the hospitalisations start shooting up and the death rate climbs we should wait- it would be a waste of time otherwise.

you are probably right

but i am sure Chris Whitty said for the schools to open something would have to close

@lljkk

Spot on the phrase I was searching for - lock down is a sledgehammer to crack a nut

@Serin street parties weren't encouraged! It was fine to sit in your own front garden with some flags and a slice of cake, this was 50 people in one house.
Agree about the shooting though, another example of the us and them.

New Zealand had one of the earliest strictest lockdowns and has had only 25 deaths. Lockdowns do work, but they have to be done properly and kept in place until infections are almost eliminated.

New Zealand locked down before the virus had properly taken hold, and closed all borders. Were about 6 months too late to try the same thing

I guess I am biased because I work in a non essential shop. I am currently flouting the rules and getting my mum to look after my kids whilst I work. I held of on this for 2 months and worked only weekends, my income was less than it was when I was furloughed and my house was a mess, and it caused strain with my dp. I’m worried as we are in a high risk area that we will be in a local lockdown and that I’ll have to go back to this, my manager wasn’t exactly jumping for joy at my request to work weekends the first time. I’m worried I will have to quit.

I know a lot of people who have it worse than me including care staff and supermarket staff. Their wages are too low for the sacrifices they have made.

I don’t know what the solution is, but I hate all the uncertainty.

Costello should be able to understand that we are moving into a new phase of the pandemic and national lockdowns won’t work a second time.

Johnson has emphatically said he's trying to avoid another lockdown.

That means another lockdown is as good as certain.

they should just close the pubs, gym, swimming pools and restaurants!

....and make sure those industries are properly funded to comply.
It's easy for a consumer to "just not go swimming/to the gym/pub etc for a month or 6".....but what about the thousands of people employed in those industries?

I'm in Northumberland and about to go into local restrictions, despite my particular area having only 48 infections per 100,000 cases but my close enough areas are much higher (Sunderland for example) so we just have to get on with it.
But a 'fuller' national lockdown? Perhaps necessary, at some point but
I don't think people will comply this time. Cummings selfishness / Johnson's defense of the indefensible and the Govt's general Covid incompetence since have done a lot of damage to public trust I think.