Let's face it. This is not going to be 4 weeks.

[Dustballs]

How can it be?

4 weeks won't make a tiny small dent in this second wave. And even if it does - what happens when the 4 weeks is up?

We were locked down for months last time and Covid still came back with a vengeance. How is 4 weeks going to make any difference at all?

Well, it depends on a lot of things.
How many people carry on doing their own sweet thing, blaming 'the shops' when they've been having drinkie evenings at home with their mates.
How many people keep on wearing the same dirty mask day in day out, if you're lucky sometimes over their actual breathing organs, and touching it then touching door handles etc.
How many people keep on spouting the same old shit about it being 'no worse than flu' and that it's just fake to keep us under control.

I'm no fan of this government, but I cannot see what they are possibly gaining from having another lockdown, if not to save lives. Will the deniers still be saying it's all made up if army trucks are carrying the dead away, like in Bergamo?

Yes, it's affecting people's medical treatment which is awful, and the situation where people cannot see loved ones in care homes is absolutely tragic (something desperately needs to be done about that) but doing nothing is not an experiment I wish to countenance.

What's so frustrating is that if they'd have gone in hard and early 3-4 weeks ago this could probably have been avoided.

Everyone was telling the govt that. And they dithered and whinged. And now it's worse.

As for how long the lockdown will last Prof Whitty's own graphs tonight showed this second wave not peaking until Feb 2021.

I honestly think this govt should resign or form a coalition with the other parties. They are simply not up to the job. And we haven't even had the no deal Brexit yet.

It will be four weeks in the same way that Wales will only be 2 weeks.

And I'm the Easter Bunny.

There was a thread on here yesterday where a Poster was getting very heated about the fact that Drakeford had been much maligned for introducing the circuit break.

She missed the point entirely that most folk agreed with it but it was the absurdity of the "essentials" rules that people had a problem with.

I was very surprised how many on that thread also believed that it would just be 2 weeks.

It certainly won't be now after today's announcement about England.

@Rosebudsandraindrops

Yes I am pretty done tbh. I know it doesn’t matter and no one cares because there are billions of people on the planet and it’s for the greater good but when they inevitably say it’s longer than four weeks that will be it for me. I’m using the next four weeks to get everything in place and sort my affairs out. I’ve had it.

This is worrying.

They won’t pay furlough To all those non-essential businesses for months on end again though

@SheepandCow I think the prospect of the cheap fast tests (at 95% accurate, so much better than PCR test) will be a more certain saviour in the near term.

The vaccine sounds great but it's production capability that is the obstacle. I haven't even been able to get the flu one yet.

@Rosebudsandraindrops please speak to someone about how you are feeling ie samaritans. Things seem pretty bleak right now but it isn't like the last lockdown-you can go out for exercise/ walks/ a drink/ walk outside with one friend how ever many times you want. It will be better for your children to be out and you will have something to talk abut when they come back every day. It will be be over when we get this vaccine. Please talk to someone and go easy on yourself.

@Rosebudsandraindrops please keep going . It's hard but it's not going to be forever, even though it feels like it I know

Everyone I’ve spoken to is more worried about not being able to go shopping for Xmas presents until December. Nobody knows which businesses will still be selling online and able to staff their warehouses, or whether delivery services will cope with everyone shopping online because the shops are closed. There’ll be an outcry if the shops aren’t open again before Xmas.

@Livelovebehappy

And I really hope all shops and public buildings that are open are going to be far stricter with enforcing mask wearing. It’s been too slack and half hearted.

It's not down to shops to enforce, though! People should have some responsibility. And honestly, although I steer very clear of the few people I see not wearing them, or not wearing them correctly, that riak from passing by briefly is minimal. The big risk is sustained (I forget, was it more than 15 minutes) direct contact - breathing distance - the kind you get when having a cup of tea with your nice neighbour, or getting tiddly at home with mates, or popping in and out of relatives houses for a chat.

Of course it won't. We'll be locked down in some form or other until at least March.

@Rosebudsandraindrops please speak to someone and keep going this too shall pass

*riak= risk!

I think they've realised that people won't abide by increasingly stricter tiers and so much variation, so they've gone for a blanket 'do nothing' and then anything less than that will feel positive and more people will comply. So even a tier 3 at the end of this will feel better.

This will all go on till April next year. Then people will say fuck it, life continues.

Judging by the behaviour I've seen today, there's no way four weeks will be long enough.
In the supermarket, despite there being a big outbreak close to me, some people still have no clue about social distancing. Some of them passed by approx 50cm away from me, even though I had stopped and tried to move as far away as possible. All I could do was turn my head away.
In my nearby city this evening, droves of people out on the street in the city centre, no masks and no social distancing whatsoever.
The longer people continue to be ignorant and selfish, the longer this will continue.

@Rosebudsandraindrops
As others have said, this is a bit different from before. You can walk out all day, walk with a friend, take your drink with you or get a takeaway, we know all the drills around food shopping etc so it won't be like last time, your kids can continue their education, and they need their mum SO much. If it is dreadful with your husband then use this time to plan every detail of your new life and make a new life for yourself and your kids as soon as this is over. In a few days we'll have a new normal and we will carry on taking each day at a time. I really feel for you, don't give up

@madroid

What's so frustrating is that if they'd have gone in hard and early 3-4 weeks ago this could probably have been avoided.

Everyone was telling the govt that. And they dithered and whinged. And now it's worse.

As for how long the lockdown will last Prof Whitty's own graphs tonight showed this second wave not peaking until Feb 2021.

I honestly think this govt should resign or form a coalition with the other parties. They are simply not up to the job. And we haven't even had the no deal Brexit yet.

All of this. 100%

@madroid
Those tests are something to be hopeful about. Fingers crossed.

Interesting different attitudes towards the flu jab. I knew the US and Canada weren't having the same issues with a shortage and wondered why - especially given much larger populations.

They encourage mass take up every year hence more supplies. In Europe we apparently target only the more vulnerable.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/flu-vaccine-shortage-covid-twindemic/2020/10/02/d71dd47c-026b-11eb-b92e-029676f9ebec_story.html

I hope anybody here who needs one manages to get hold of one soon. In the meantime these new measures, together with the ongoing social distancing, masks, handwashing, etc, will help reduce the chances of catching flu.

Meanwhile across the Atlantic on the other side of the world where I am, everything has been reopened for months and yet schools remain closed 😒. Our kids haven't seen the inside of a classroom for 8 months. Cases are soaring here and no one gives a toss.

I know it's really shit to be going back into another lockdown but I also know which I'd prefer. If my kids were allowed to go to school I think I would accept a lot more restrictions on my daily life. I wish they would prioritise education here in the same way.

Although on a side note I don't really know why teachers can't wear facemasks in school there? When kids go back here both kids and teachers will be wearing them.

@mineofuselessinformation
They need to do some public information ads. Too many people don't understand airborne transmission, nor do they get how to wear masks. Those Stay Home ads need to address this. Simple clear impossible to misunderstand language.

@MrsEricBana it’s bad weather

@SheepandCow, frankly, unless these people have been living under a rock I don't think the situation could be clearer. I'm not intending to be sarcastic to you, but feel totally exasperated at the attitude of 'I'm alright Jack' that some people have.
There were signs all over the supermarket that were clear for anyone to see, plus regular announcements.
The ones out tonight were clearly out for a good time before the new lockdown, so were hellbent on having their fun regardless.

In Victoria, Australia, the extremely harsh lockdown went from the scheduled 6 weeks to last 112 days.
Agree about message on masks. Because of shortage of them in first wave, we have been hammered that they were useless or worse harmful, and now changing the tune, needs a far stronger message

'Extremely harsh' lockdown it might've been - but the hard work of Victorians has paid off and they'll now get to enjoy safe proper freedom including over Christmas.