Are we heading for another national lockdown

[thebeachismyhappyplace2]

Do you think we are going in the same direction as France and Germany? And do you think schools will stay open if we do?

How I imagine it - is that school may close two weeks earlier before Christmas as that would give some comfort towards the idea of the two day of relaxation of rules at Christmas.

We can only plan to reduce risk, not eliminate risk. My dc are at school and a DIL is a teacher at state secondary school so I am aware of how it affects both. I work in healthcare.

If we choose to eliminate risk altogether - where does that leave other workers? You would have no people to deliver/work in food factories etc or supermarkets /medical staff to see to you if you have a car crash? We all can only play our part and reduce risk, not eliminate it - including schools.

A vaccine will be the only return to normal life we all want.

It looks like Boris will announce it on Monday for weekend or following week. I wish it had been done over half term and then gave kids a week of home learning. Then back to school but rest of country in lockdown. I don't think there will be furlough scheme this time if schools still open. I have just had a shopping delivery, now I suppose it will be murder getting my next one. I think we will be locked down for a month, all of November.

So if non essential shops, pubs, gyms, etc shut and there’s no furlough scheme what happens to all the staff? The redundancies are going to be massive.

I see the usual suspects have turned up.

In the right corner we have the "going to continue spouting bollocks that only I still believe" and in the left "let the over 60s die because I need my nails done".

HQ are very good at deleting the latter if anyone fancies a bit of reporting, but tbf, it's probably best to leave the former as they embarrass themselves and we can all point and laugh.

@Ecosse

So what do you say to the fact, reported today in the Guradian, that attendance in the worst hit Tier 3 areas was down to 60% before half term?

Those areas just also happen to be some of the most deprived in the country. What do you suggest we do for those pupils now that shoving them all back in the classroom has turned out to be a terrible idea?

If you actually cared about the deprived and vulnerable you’d be asking these questions to your MP. Where is the funding for learning tools for students in Tier 3 areas who have been self isolating or have had bubbles closed for weeks.

Some schools in the NW have hundreds of positive cases and are driving infection into the community.

Are you saying that we should just ignore all of this, not invest in making schooling consistent for all children (especially the most vulnerable and deprived) and allow infection rates to shoot up to the point where schooling is totally impossible for children in high infection areas?

What’s your answer? Because it does seem to have come down to the economy or schools. Most shopping and commercial activities are low risk in comparison to schooling 2000 kids in cramped school buildings every day.

You could all probably have most of your lives back if older kids were doing online learning.

Hopefully schools and nurseries remain open.

I understand the need to lockdown. Locking down will make schools and hospitals safer.

[quote Ecosse]@studychick81

The majority of deaths have been in care homes. The average care home resident will only survive for 2 years from when they arrive. Ergo, the majority of care home residents do not have long to live.

This year, we have had 9 months already of care homes being shut with residents unable to see their family and friends.

If ‘saving my the vulnerable means locking them in their rooms alone 24/7, many would prefer to take their chances and spend the (small) time they have left with their family and friends.[/quote]
Except again, that's not what has happened, is it?

Carehomes have been closed to visitors when there have been outbreaks. There have been visits with appropriate SD measures when restrictions have been relaxed.

As local areas have moved into different tiers, restrictions have understandably been increased.

[quote Ecosse]@user1471530109

We will not have a vaccine that prevents transmission for many years, if ever.[/quote]
Could you link to your unique evidence for this please?

It must be absolutely terrifying living inside your head. Do you just spend all day fantasising? Do you get some kind of weird kick out of it or do you genuinely believe what you say?

Schools are exempt from lockdown - thank god.

@studychick81

The lives of almost all teenagers are not going to be ruined because they miss some months of education or because they can't meet up with friends and party. That is very melodramatic. But, an older person or vulnerable person dying from it will, especially of the family they leave behind.

I know.

Fed up of people claiming children and students have missed out on so much. They will get their social lives back and presumably they would far rather miss a few things than have others fall very ill or worse.

They will need an economy and health service so the emphasis should be on those as they can study at home. If parents work, it can be done around that if need be with a little creativity. Missed education can be caught up on.

Fed up of people claiming children and students have missed out on so much

I'm fed up of people claiming they haven't when they know fuck all about other people's children.

@Codexdivinchi

Schools are exempt from lockdown - thank god.

Then the lockdown will not work, and thousands of people will lose their livelihoods to no avail. And then our children will really begin to suffer.

My own teenager, and the 300 I teach, were pretty stoic about the first lockdown (and we're in Italy so it was total) This time my region is in semi lockdown as of this week (schools online, 10pm red zone not allowed to enter, pubs and restaurants closing at 6) and I'm seeing a big difference already psychologically. This time they're finding it harder because they didn't think it would happen again. And now they don't believe any more that ultimately, whenever that is, things will be OK. They've lost trust in the authorities I think.

They'll be fine. Ultimately. But at the moment they're not. Unlike many adults though, they do know that what they're being asked to do is for the greater good.

I love the throw away comments re. only some months of education lost. This is threatening to disrupt years of education.

Lockdown has a good chance of working. Parents will be at home more with their kids with soft play shut and things like the trampoline parks.

@Ilovecheese53

Lockdown has a good chance of working. Parents will be at home more with their kids with soft play shut and things like the trampoline parks.

Really?

Parents will be doing the school run twice a day, mixing with parents in the playground and on the roads. Their children will be mixing with 30/90/120 other children and lots of adults.

@Appuskidu yes I know that children will still be mixing. Let’s not go back to that point because we have already looked at this issue.

We are talking about ideas of reducing infection rates. Have you read some of the other comments? Shutting schools makes it hard for everyone who works and LONG TERM we cannot shut schools.

To be honest I think the schools have done very well yes there have been cases but still it’s not as bad as I thought it would be PRIOR to September.

With the risk of repeating myself children are being tracked and traced at school so it is far easier to contain a positive covid case in that environment than it is if kids were out of school. We know that some would abide by lockdown but many would be out socialising with friends, in and out of other houses, having parties etc etc.

@justanotherneighinparadise

You are incredibly naive if you think they aren’t doing all those things right now.

We had a single sixth former test positive. When we tracked her contacts on just two days it added up to 50 kids across 4 year groups because of parties and sleepovers.

The message kids are getting is that they are invincible and can do as they please.

Which is the aspect which will change if they lockdown . No households mixing. Schools stay open.

If parents work, it can be done around that if need be with a little creativity.

Ah yes, that's where working parents went wrong over lockdown - we just weren't creative enough. Silly us!

I'm not hugely worried about my own DC because they're young and I think they'd catch up fine another few months of not-really-learning-at-all (which is what it would be). But parents who work outside the home, parents whose kids need more support, on and on... you can't just hand wave aside how impossible it is to expect parents to deliver education and work at the same time with "be creative" any more than you can expect teachers to eliminate the risk in schools by telling them to "be creative".

Fed up of people claiming children and students have missed out on so much

I'm fed up with you claiming my teenage children have not suffered during the last period of school closures (including the effect on A level exam cancellations)

I don't want any other parents going through this.

Everyone is having a shit time, it’s not a competition.

People are loosing their ability to empathise and naturally think their kids/family are in the worst situation.

It’s shit. Utter shit; not a competition of who is having it the shittest

The reason we're locking down is so that schools and Unis can stay open.

And yes, parents need to be stricter with regard to kids mixing outside of school!

@Ilovecheese53

Lockdown has a good chance of working. Parents will be at home more with their kids with soft play shut and things like the trampoline parks.

Considering it took 3 MONTHS to get the numbers down back in March, which was with schools and most workplaces closed, I really don't think a half hearted 3-4 week lockdown now will actually achieve much at all.