Soo.... England circuit breaker?

[BabyLlamaZen]

Will we follow Wales? I'm pretty sure we will at one point, jusr want to know when!!

Is half term next week for most English kids?

[Oaktree55]

@CallmeAngelina yup they should rename “prioritising education” as “prioritising childcare”.

[Pieceofpurplesky]

A couple of points picked up.

PPs mentioned schools and not wanting them to shut. Sadly round here (North West) many Year 11s are already missing out and the playing field will be more and more unbalanced.

Secondly the rates were really low in summer when everyone descended on Cornwall. There are at least 4 teachers
From my school (and families) heading down over half term. All four have been in classrooms where pupils have tested positive/ been isolated. The staff haven't. There will be lots of this.

Finally whilst I don't want lockdown - a short lockdown nationally would be the only way to do it. We had very few
cases here in March but we locked down - so those who are low now need to do the same

[HesterShaw1]

@OrangeSamphire

Cornish businesses seemed to be very well prepared in general for the summer and covid safe practices were spot on.

I do wonder if we can pull off getting through October half term tourism with the same zero impact on covid we saw in the summer though. With people more inclined to go to indoor venues in windier, wetter weather.

Hi @OrangeSamphire, I think the whole being outside thing is key. We'd better pray for good weather. Or at least dry weather.

Also compliance with masks (if those make a difference) and distancing has been on the whole really high.

[Whohasnickedmyvodka]

Another cornish woman here I don't want a nother lockdown tourists are vital for our economy we will always get some idiots down here covid or not

[WanderingMilly]

No. No. Just no.
Pointless, it will only pause the virus, not get rid of it. We will be the same as now in a month or so. Oh, except that even more people will have lost their jobs, more businesses will have closed or gone bankrupt, more people's mental health will have plummeted and more people will have died because they can't access GP care, or hospital care for non-COVID illnesses.
Coupled with the fact that many places have low COVID cases, eg. rural areas, Rutland and so on. Why punish everyone??

[CallmeAngelina]

[quote Oaktree55]@CallmeAngelina yup they should rename “prioritising education” as “prioritising childcare”.[/quote]
Well yes, they can name it what they like, but it doesn't change the fundamental problem that leaving many schools open will ruin any attempt to slow down the virus (or whatever the hell their objective is).

And all those poor people will be locking down for nothing.

[CallmeAngelina]

Why punish everyone??

It's not about "punishing" anyone. Victimising ourselves is not helpful.
If it needs to be done, it needs to be done, but it should at least be done PROPERLY.

[OrangeSamphire]

Totally agree @HesterShaw1.

All we can do is hope for good weather. My weather app isn't making me feel hopeful right now though.

I do worry about how different it will be this time for two reasons:

• crap weather sending everyone to indoor venues
  
• last time (summer) we'd just come out of long national lockdown so holidaymakers from anywhere in the UK were all pretty low risk. That certainly isn't the case now.

[middleager]

@Pieceofpurplesky

A couple of points picked up.

PPs mentioned schools and not wanting them to shut. Sadly round here (North West) many Year 11s are already missing out and the playing field will be more and more unbalanced.

Secondly the rates were really low in summer when everyone descended on Cornwall. There are at least 4 teachers
From my school (and families) heading down over half term. All four have been in classrooms where pupils have tested positive/ been isolated. The staff haven't. There will be lots of this.

Finally whilst I don't want lockdown - a short lockdown nationally would be the only way to do it. We had very few
cases here in March but we locked down - so those who are low now need to do the same

Agreed. I have two year 10s at different schools.
One is on his second period of SI. That's 4 weeks at home with inconsistent remote learning.

It's a postcode lottery creating further inequality.

[Chestnutacorns123]

@WanderingMilly see @Pieceofpurplesky, that's why.

[HesterShaw1]

All we can do is hope for good weather. My weather app isn't making me feel hopeful right now though.

Too right. It looks completely shit :(

Yes, and there will be a lot more (probably) low lying infection already down here already, I agree. Autumn and winter are a completely different kettle of fish. Hopefully the measures we have in place will help mitigate it, and we won't get a repeat of some of the fuckwittery we saw in Eat out to help spread Covid Eat Out To Help Out

[Hopeisathingwithfeathers]

primary schools I think might be able to stay open as the evidence seems to be pretty clear that young kids don't infect one another

There’s no evidence for this. It could well be that children are asymptomatic though and so worrying silent spreaders. There are plenty of primary school kids infected and schools closing or partially closing. The circuit breaker in Wales is pointless.

[monkeytennis97]

@CallmeAngelina

But it's not a circuit-breaker. Wales have left primary schools and Yrs 7 & 8 open, so it's a complete and utter waste of time.
If England follows suit in the same half-arsed way, we will also send multiple businesses to the wall for nothing.

Agree with this.

[Dawnlassie]

No. My friend is a teacher and we want to meet up for a last minute walking holiday in half term weather permitting. They are unable to make any other week and I know how much they want a nice break away from their job right now.

[SheepandCow]

@TheoneandObi

Cooooeee Cornish bird here. And I personally welcomed visitors in the summer and don't believe they adversely affected our rates if infection. Crikey some Cornish folk travelled up country and could just as easily have brought the virus home as a souvenir!

Yes. Will Cornwall stop Cornish residents flying off abroad (mingling indoors with many other people in airports) or holidaying elsewhere in the UK?

A national approach (with restricted borders) is the only way to properly contain Covid. And proper containment is the fastest way back to normal safe tourism.

[knittingaddict]

@toxtethOgradyUSA

I see posts like this and can't help but think some people are revelling in all this.

I find posts like this so offensive.

I'm not revelling in it at all. I desperately want to wake up in the morning and find the pandemic was all a bad dream. I want to book a holiday, eat out at my favourite places, not wear a mask, not avoid other humans, not feel anxious. I don't mean overly anxious by the way, just normal level of worry in a Global pandemic.

However I also see why the restrictions are in place, what they are designed to do and will abide by them as much as I can. I'm also realistic about where this is potentially going and personally I think it's bad. Please can we not do what we need to do, to the best of our ability and get over this winter. After that we will see where we are and plan accordingly.

[Pinkcadillac]

Please no, not another lockdown. Infections will grow when you open up again. Ruining the economy will not change people's behaviour, so infections in family and friends gatherings will continue. People are tired and many are going to ignore rules about gatherings. What is the point of shutting the economy? It would be better to inform people of the dangers of poorly ventilated rooms. If you are going to meet your friends, open windows or better still, meet them in the garden.

[HesterShaw1]

A national approach (with restricted borders) is the only way to properly contain Covid. And proper containment is the fastest way back to normal safe tourism.

Why on God's earth would people in areas with low infections be willing to go under the same measures where the virus is out of control?

We have already tried that once. It didn't work.

[HesterShaw1]

It would be better to inform people of the dangers of poorly ventilated rooms. If you are going to meet your friends, open windows or better still, meet them in the garden.

Exactly this. We should be enabling people to keep in touch outside. Yes we can't control the weather, I realise that. But a warm coat and waterproof trousers and boots go a long way.

[IronLawOfGeometricProgression]

@BabyLlamaZen

Will we follow Wales? I'm pretty sure we will at one point, jusr want to know when!!

Is half term next week for most English kids?

Nah, let's wait a month until Christmas shopping season is upon us and screw the economy by having it then.

twitter.com/rabihalameddine/status/1317693935678943234?s=21

[SheepandCow]

@HesterShaw1

A national approach (with restricted borders) is the only way to properly contain Covid. And proper containment is the fastest way back to normal safe tourism.

Why on God's earth would people in areas with low infections be willing to go under the same measures where the virus is out of control?

We have already tried that once. It didn't work.

We haven't tried it. Our borders have remained completely unrestricted.
Closed borders excepting essential travel like food imports (proper quarantine where necessary) is the key to making lockdowns work (and ultimately shorter).

Ok. No national measures. In which case, seeing as democratic protests are excluded from restrictions re rule of 6, etc, there's nothing stopping a large group of people travelling from a tier 3 area to a place with low number of cases. As long as they register themselves beforehand as democratic protestors.

Separately if Cornwall wants to be different re restrictions, they can also fund themselves. Why should people in regions suffering more (partly because of unrestricted travel including Cornish visitors) fund Cornwall. Want to be separate, fund yourself.

[CallmeAngelina]

"primary schools I think might be able to stay open as the evidence seems to be pretty clear that young kids don't infect one another"

That is simply not true. Please stop spreading such mis-information.

[HesterShaw1]

What are you on about? And who on earth is talking about separatism? You are starting to sound unhinged.

If Covid hospital infections and deaths in Cornwall increase to the point that it's a problem, then people I guess will have to knuckle down and get on with restrictions.

However what is the point of locking down an area and diminishing tax revenue to almost nothing if there is no medical need?

It was you who brought up travel and international borders. We all know you won't be happy until we're all kept inside forever and the virus is completely eliminated. (Clue: not going to happen). Up you pop on every thread. You appear as though you think people are waiting for you to set them right and inform them of the correct way to think. It's beyond tedious.

[doireallyneedaname]

What an absurd comment. “Some people” are scared and can see that yet again we are leaving things too late. I’m embarrassed to live in this country.

[Frouby]

Fucking hope not, last one lasted months.

I am hoping that due to the sheer numbers of students and school children that will have had it over the last 7 weeks that it's naturally peaked in these settings and they start to fall nationwide with the current restrictions we already have. Which, apart from schools been back isn't that different to most of the summer.

But obviously the government can't say 'look, soon every student and child in the country will have had it so don't panic numbers will drop off soon when all your Guinea pigs have been infected and taken it home, but of you are reading this you aren't dead so well done'