What’s going to happen to ‘the North’?

[Napqueen1234]

I say ‘the north’ as I’m well aware it’s hugely varied (Am a northerner myself) but for arguments sake we will bung it all together.

In ‘local lockdown’ for weeks now but numbers still climbing. Other areas going into lockdown/increased restrictions whatever you prefer at a fast rate. The north on the whole seems much more affected than the south.

What will they do next? Surely they can’t enforce a ‘proper’ lockdown for just the north? Or just close northern schools? FWIW none of this has been mentioned but if numbers continue to rise surely more action is needed. I completely understand if you’re in a v low case area the idea of a national lockdown would be infuriating but can you ‘lockdown’ a huge part of the country?

Will it create a further divide and stigmatise the north generally? Will house prices plummet even in nice areas as no one wants to move if theyre likely to be severely restricted?

I know I sound a bit hysterical and I’m not trying to scare monger I just genuinely don’t know what the next steps are going to be for us up here (NW, rates >200/100,000 and rising). Not only that but the idea of us having all bars and restaurants closed and not allowed to see any other families/households when other parts of the country now makes me feel very envious and depressed.

I thought the plan was to announce a ‘circuit break’ of two weeks in mid October where it is like the spring lockdown except Schools stay open.
At the moment there are lots of after school activities going on where children from different schools mix ie swimming. Surely stopping these would help.

I don’t think they will stop support bubbles as that would impact the mental health of those living alone.

I’m a northerner I live in a lockdown town and I think something needs to happen and quickly, nobody is taking any notice, school Mums still arranging play dates, coffee, lunches etc. The pubs are full to bursting, with massive queues outside. No social distancing going on anywhere, it’s so scary.

@MrsGrindah

I am so disappointed with how many people are just ignoring it ( I’m in Leeds) . It’s only making it worse for everyone else. And it’s not just “ young “ people but people who should know better. So many people saying “ well I’m entitled to see my family “ etc etc. knowing full well that they’ll get away with it. I’m very upset with some of my friends and family members attitudes.

People are being very selfish it has to be said. I don't know if it's worse with northerners or it's just a coincidence that these are the worst hit areas.

People complied in March and April for one thing because it was actually enforced (proper enforcement is all these rule breakers actually respect) but because they were scared for their own health. The pictures of body bags in Italy and Wuhan and they complied for a month or two. Now they think 'sod it, if i get it i'll 99% be okay, i'll take my chances'

I'm in Scotland where we are not allowed in others homes and gardens and can only meet 1 other .. I think!!!!
no one is paying any attention to it .
I don't think a full lockdown is the way to go. the virus will never go if we keep locking down.

@annabel85 I don’t think it’s selfishness I think it’s reached a point where we know the actual risk to individuals who are younger with no Heath problems are incredibly low. Furlough is ending and a lot of people are at a point where they’re livelihoods are at risk. Where we are in the NW we have a lot of people in ‘don’t go to work don’t get paid’ jobs and may be self employed (eg tradesmen). People are ignoring the rules to afford their mortgage and feed their families. There are some people meeting in big family gatherings but for a lot of people just getting back to work when you’re in a high incidence area will drive cases up. Calling people selfish constantly isn’t helpful.

In Wales, ‘the South’ is locked down but ‘the North’ isn’t -yet-

People are being very selfish it has to be said. I don't know if it's worse with northerners or it's just a coincidence that these are the worst hit areas.

It's selfish to see family see that's corona is doing never would this ever be said otherwise.

I'm Yorkshire not yet having the restrictions yet.

I'm fully of opinion of some on here that if someone was suicidal, and needed to see family , people would say they are selfish that's how we have got.

@cathyandclare

But what about the South-West, why haven't they been affected as badly. Not that I want them to be, I'm just interested in the reasons. I was in Cornwall in the summer and it was rammed, with not much social distancing. Is it because of the population density and increased sunshine?

I don’t know. But parts of the SW are easy to commute to London from. I certainly know lots including family who commute to London. My guess is we had it pre-March. I know of people who caught it skiiing end of Feb-March who didn’t get tested as it wasn’t available.

Spoke to a friend today who is sure the SW had it in Feb in circulation and my boss had an “unknown” coronavirus in Dec. Make of that what you will.

The population is less dense here, but other than that I don’t know.

I don't think they will ban support bubbles but I don't think that is because they give a toss about people's mental health!

Inverclyde in Scotland was the worst hit area there in the first wave, now it seems to have less cases than some areas in Scotland. Maybe there is something in that.

@cathyandclare

But what about the South-West, why haven't they been affected as badly. Not that I want them to be, I'm just interested in the reasons. I was in Cornwall in the summer and it was rammed, with not much social distancing. Is it because of the population density and increased sunshine?

Transmission is in the vast majority in the home environment , packed out beaches and restaurants will have had little impact on transmission rates

But what about the South-West, why haven't they been affected as badly. Not that I want them to be, I'm just interested in the reasons

You mention it was rammed in the summer but for much of the summer hardly anyone even had the virus, so it wasn't circulating. And outside the summer peak much of the south west, like Cornwall, are very sparsely populated. An older population who aren't really going to parties and less likely to have to go out to work at the moment.

But cities like Bristol are vibrant and cases are comparatively very low. People don't like hearing it but parts of the north can be very unruly and don't like being told what to do. Nobody will stop them partying.

I half suspect the north will end up with stronger restrictions and get it under control. While this is happening the numbers in the south will start to bubble and then it will be our turn.

People don't like hearing it but parts of the north can be very unruly and don't like being told what to do. Nobody will stop them partying.

What the hell the south is the same it's just there isn't as many big cities between apart from Birmingham.

The north being unruly, christ I’ve heard it all now

Yes I think population density plays a part. London was hit badly in the first wave and under review now. Looking at a population density map and its the areas affected

@HeresMe

I'm fully of opinion of some on here that if someone was suicidal, and needed to see family , people would say they are selfish that's how we have got.

So true. It’s horrendous. It’s not selfish to want to see your family. It’s not selfish to want to provide for your children and keep a roof over your head. It’s not selfish to need to protect your mental health by seeing another human in real life. People who can stay at home 24/7 and think they’re saving lives are in a privileged position IMO. As long as people aren’t taking the piss we need to stop turning against each other and collectively turn to the Government to get their shit together and sort it out.

@Napqueen1234.

It is selfish to want to think that wanting to do xyz puts you above the law. We all WANT things to be different. But quite frankly I don’t give a stuff about people’s wants and desires if they are going to put my vulnerable loved ones at risk. Imagine telling someone’s whose family member is in ICU and they can’t get to see them that other people’s wants trump theirs.

And the “ what if people are suicidal “ argument is an extreme example. Nobody wants people who may be feeling suicidal to be at any more risk, but I doubt those are the ones partying in streets after 10pm etc.

And “ the Government should sort it out”....so we don’t have any responsibility then?
Sorry I feel very strongly about this having lost loved ones recently ( not to Covid) . I just think people are forgetting that many people are dying horrible deaths .

I think they’ll end up building a big wall and hemming is all in. They’ve been wanting to do it for a while so this is a great excuse.

I’m afraid schools are the issue on two fronts:

1. High schools, colleges and secondaries are helping to drive infection into different areas of the community as children mix and bring infection back into homes.

2. because schools are fully open, many with only basic COVID protections, parents and carers either assume everything is otherwise fine or cba to follow the other lockdown rules. If their kids are mixing socially all day then why shouldn’t they see friends at night?

IMO this is why we need to move to blended learning in local lockdown areas. And the circuit break will be no bloody good if schools aren’t closed. Classrooms are magic places where COVID can’t be passed on, quite the opposite.

I'm in Leeds under lockdown. If I look on the little map thing that breaks down cases by area its very clear that the massive numbers of cases are in the student areas (no surprise there). In my area there apparently are 0-2 cases but we're under lockdown anyway.

So we have a necessarily broad brush approach and allow people higher risk activities like schools, pubs, bars and restaurants, but ban lower risk activities like helping your live-alone Mum with her cleaning. Is it any surprise that people are doing their own risk assessments and taking a more flexible approach to lockdown than before?

@Tadpolesandfroglets I've got no issue with that 😏