It’s only the North

[Vikingess]

There are now more Covid patients in hospitals in Manchester than there were after lockdown in March including some students in intensive care. People on here are still bleating about missing birthday parties. Do it matter less because it’s “only in the North”?

My sons office hasn't gone back.
They are skeptical about any advice to travel and everyone is still at home.
It works for him and he works harder here than in the office! It's not good for the economy though.

But you can't clasify all that area as one huge area, maybe we should clarify the Midlands and London Bristol ect as one entity.

But it (M62 corridor) is where the vast majority of northerners live, so it kind of is "the north" by sheer numbers

One thing I've heard said is annoying to northerners is the way the press seem to only talk about "the north west" or "Manchester" . I suppose if you look at a map its easy to think West Yorkshire is kind of in "the north west" but its irritating that it's always Manchester that gets mentioned, not even the largest city in the north. Also that people think of Yorkshire as being like Emmerdale or that vet drama thingy (creatures thingy?) but most people in Yorkshire live in urban West or South Yorkshire

Manchesters (the city) numbers actually haven't been that high until very recently. Leeds too. But they've both just recently taken off and are climbing fast. Interesting how they were relativly low until recently, compared with neighbouring cities and large towns

Students are a big factor in the recent big rise of cases in Manchester, presume it's the same for Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield etc.

@Vikingess

There are now more Covid patients in hospitals in Manchester than there were after lockdown in March including some students in intensive care. People on here are still bleating about missing birthday parties. Do it matter less because it’s “only in the North”?

You need to take that almighty chip off your shoulder!

NO ONE I know or I've heard has said any such thing.

Setting out my 'skin' here. I have/had Geordie parents, I was born down South, but lived half my life overseas, so I think I'm pretty objective!

I think a large part of the problem
Is that 'The North' got to the peak later than the South and when restrictions were lifted it was too much / too soon up & down the country, but had much more impact on the North because the numbers hadn't come down low enough, but the Govt were fucked no matter what they did. If they'd left the north locked down (which they should have) there would have been hell to pay, but not doing that has led us to where we are now.

Northerners (on the whole) are FAR more sociable, far more in & out of each other's houses and 'go out' far more often than Southerners. I'm not even remotely surprised that numbers in the North are harder to get/keep down.

Whilst our numbers are lower here, they're escalating quickly and it's scary

I don't know what the answer is, but trust me, I've not heard a single person with the attitude you describe AND as many northerners are complaining about parties/holidays/pubs as southerners!!

Violetparis Students are a big factor in the recent big rise of cases in Manchester, presume it's the same for Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield

Yes probably

The early big northern rises were in places like Blackburn and Bradford, though Bradford is a big city and a uni city as well. Seems to be the all the old mill town places in West Yorks and Grt Man where the rises first started

Have seen on social media that in Bradford they are asking people not to go to hospital unless really necessary. Saying they are very busy ATM

Try living in the Midlands, you will NEVER get a mention on anything. We are invisible here .

I agree with a lot of students contributing to the increase in positive tests in the North East, over 1600 this week from Newcastle and Northumbria uni. There's been an outbreak at Sunderland uni also. Then there's Durham and Teeside universities also close by. I'm not sure on their situation at the moment.

I also don't get why the north east is lumbered with Yorkshire figures!

@JeanClaudeVanDammit

I’m not one for the “I’m miserable so you all should be too” but it is a bit galling that where I live, cases were pretty low going into the first lockdown, but because of London we all had to do it. Now cases are higher here and looks like from next week it will be illegal for us to do pretty much anything whatsoever apart from go to work, but in London people are still swanning around Soho meeting their friends for dinner and drinks. Obviously the answer isn’t for other areas to lock down unnecessarily but it’s easy to feel written off as unimportant.

This. We were only out of restrictions for a couple of weeks before they were reintroduced.

They're not working yet they remain in place for months on end. It would never have been tolerated in the SE.

@Cocklepops

The only person I’ve seen suggesting anyone is thinking it matters less because ‘it’s only the North’ is you, OP and therefore I class you as a shitstirrer 😘

I've certainly seen it on here. I think the OP is right.

@Violetparis

I don't think people in support bubbles will stand for being told not to mix with anyone. I will not be leaving my sister who lost her partner to Cancer a few years ago at the age of 41 on her own. Removing support bubbles would be cruel and will lead to more illness and deaths from mental health issues.

I'm a single person living alone who works from home. I'm in a support bubble with my friend and her husband who are both retired. I will be upset if support bubbles are removed, especially if schools and workplaces stay open .

That's right OP.
Yeah cos over 6,500 Londoners are dead - largely because before the first wave, when cases were rising in London, the government did what it's doing again now. Downplaying the situation, no official tests = no cases, reporting a very interconnected city by individual boroughs to make numbers look lower, etc etc. Then when Londoners were ill and dying, they weren't admitted to hospital until it was too late to save them. Let's hope nowhere sees that scenario happen this time round.

Meanwhile in the North, cases rise - and boom, protective restrictions are set up.

Not that all of the north is being protected. Only parts of the north east is under restrictions.

Not enough is being done to protect anywhere - but definitely the North isn't being given less protection than elsewhere.

In fact, north of the border as in Scotland is better protected. They're fortune enough to have Sturgeon in charge.

Yeah cos over 6,500 Londoners are dead - largely because before the first wave, when cases were rising in London, the government did what it's doing again now.

But the numbers of dead in the first wave in other urban areas in England, per capita, were no different to London. You seem to be under the impression that what happened in London wasn't happening elsewhere in the country in March

Downplaying the situation, no official tests = no cases, reporting a very interconnected city by individual boroughs to make numbers look lower, etc etc.

Are you accusing the Gov't of falsifying the numbers?

Then when Londoners were ill and dying, they weren't admitted to hospital until it was too late to save them.

Now you seem to be accusing the health service of wilful neglect. This is massively unfair

Let's hope nowhere sees that scenario happen this time round.

London was not the only place hit by covid back in March

Meanwhile in the North, cases rise - and boom, protective restrictions are set up.

Is that wrong?

Not that all of the north is being protected. Only parts of the north east is under restrictions.

Eh? What on earth are you talking about. Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and much of Lancashire have been under restrictions from the start of local lockdowns. That is not the north east

Not enough is being done to protect anywhere - but definitely the North isn't being given less protection than elsewhere.

In fact, north of the border as in Scotland is better protected. They're fortune enough to have Sturgeon in charge

Unless you lived in a care home in Scotland.

@Flaxmeadow
Eh?
I'm equally confused by your reply... I said the North (like the OP did). How does 'The North' mean NW only?
Like I said, not ALL of the North is being protected. Some of the NE has been left out of restrictions. Perhaps some of the NW too?

Re London's huge death rate. It's precisely because of the sheer numbers of people there that failure to protect London meant lots of deaths. A high density population is more vulnerable because of the numbers and ease of spread.
More people = more people at risk of dying. Failure to act to protect them = putting larger numbers of people at risk of death or disabling Long Covid.

You're right, I think. The failure, during the first wave, to admit patients until it was often too late, wasn't just London. I think it happened in the Midlands too.

Is that wrong?
Well I don't think so (which I said in my post). Others seem to think so. Something about Freeeeeeedooommm!!

London was not the only place hit by covid back in March
I think everyone knows that? Some however seem to think it's done better than others....despite the huge losses of over 6500 people

Not sure how no tests and reporting a large interconnected city as individual boroughs = falsifying results?

Wilful neglect? That's how you see it?
I don't know why it happened. I like to think it was incompetence rather than deliberate.

for ilovesooty

Sturgeon can speak in fully formed sentences, thats a start.

I'm in the North and our small town is dead. A lot of pubs and restaurants haven't even bothered opening because a lot of people just aren't going out.

Despite that we've had a huge outbreak and are on the verge of a local lockdown.........which is all well and good. But I don't think it will make any difference because where I live had an industry that has people coming in from around the UK and around the world daily. And that will obviously carry on.

I really don't see the point in targeting Doris who goes to bingo once a week whilst at the same time having hundreds of people from up and down the UK all flooding into one building and mingling on a daily basis.

I’m in Manchester. Still keep seeing people without masks in shops (yes I know they could be exempt, but with our infection rate it’s a bit objectionable when they stand right up close to you), conspiracy theory idiots on social media, neighbours still having relatives visit, some students behaving very irresponsibly. It’s no wonder the restrictions aren’t working.
But equally the rules have been contradictory and confusing, and if we hadn’t already spent months in lockdown based on what was happening in London, people might be more compliant now. The way the government has ignore local authorities is disgraceful.

@SirSamuelVimes

Nah, Sheffield is South Yorkshire. That's practically France.

J'habite à Sheffield et je suis d'accord.

I'll give you Nottingham and Birmingham, but surely Sheffield is legitimately in The North? It's in bloody Yorkshire
Nottingham and Birmingham are in the Midlands, Sheffield is definitely in the north

When I was young I thought Leeds was in 'the south'. Well it was for me!

Try living in the Midlands, you will NEVER get a mention on anything. We are invisible here 😁

This with bells on. Even weather forecasters ignore us. Derby and Nottingham might be further north than London, but they are not in the north. East Midlands does exist.

East Midlands is definitely overlooked, as is Lincolnshire (does that even count as East Midlands?)

Same in a lot of the south east, silvergreen. I have never been in a neighbour’s house in 17 years of living here, and when it was clap for NHS people were eyeing each other awkwardly thinking “Who the hell’s that at no. 59?”

Otoh I work in a school where quite a few of the children are cousins, second cousins, half siblings, step siblings etc etc and everyone knows everyone in the big estate which the school serves. I must admit I’m sometimes a bit envious as I have no family really and live in Britain’s unfriendliest neighbourhood! It’s not just me as someone I know was cutting his hedge and the neighbour asked him his hourly rate, mistaking him for a gardener. He had lived next door to this person for five years!

Edithweston apparently it does!

@DivGirl

I'll give you Nottingham and Birmingham, but surely Sheffield is legitimately in The North? It's in bloody Yorkshire!

yes, you said it yourself its in 'Yorkshire' therefore not 'north' lol

the north east is a ligitimate defined area (the area in lockdown currently) that ends around the Darlington/Middlesborough line then 'Yorkshire' starts as a completely seperate area of the country and sheffield is the bottom of yorkshire too so no where near the 'north'

people seems to seriously underestimate just how big northumberland and durham county (which make up the majority of the eastern portion of the north is) is but Yorkshire is on the bottom of that and nowhere near 'north'