I am special/exempt/don’t have to follow the lockdown rules because......

[Watermelon999]

Just waiting for all of the above to start...

What reasons will be bandied about this time? And when will people realise that the more of us that do it, the quicker it will be over?

And the Covid police have started already, wonder what rules they will make up in their heads this time.

The lockdown isn’t to eradicate the virus, it’s to stop our NHS hospitals being overwhelmed. And to slow transmission. Even with the Nightingale hospitals, we have a finite number of respiratory staff (or in fact, medical staff full stop). So we’re shuffling staff out of the NHS wards to the Nightingales. There’ll still be ward closures & cutting elective surgeries/emergency procedures as all the anaesthetists’ll be ventilating patients at the new centres.

Likewise, reducing travel doesn’t just reduce transmission, it also reduces the likelihood of road accidents, which take medical staff (paramedics & techs) as well as hospital staff away from COVID treatment etc.

The real horror in this equation isn’t the virus (and this pandemic has been caused by a nasty little bugger of a novel virus), it’s how chronically badly the NHS is underfunded (in terms of med staff & beds). Always seem to be money for middle management tho...

So since we can’t magic up medics, don’t be a selfish tit if you can. (And though I’d love to see my folks on my birthday on Thursday, day one of Lockdown 2: The Sequel, I’m not, on the whole, a selfish moo, so I won’t. I’ll probably have another one next year).

And yes, I have adult kids who live far away, and parents in care homes, none of whom I can see, and utterly shite mental health issues, and I’m due to finish a contract in November & have no clue if/where/when I can get a new job, but this is bigger than my wants & needs. This is about protecting each other.

PS. Stop raging at each other. Rage at the useless shower of sh*te who’ve cut NHs funding across the board, but still spooge money on things like Brexit, and Cummings & his insidious ilk, and subsided quails eggs & swan nuggets in Parliament.

But the virus isn't the only thing out there that's a danger to us. And complying with these rules, for many people, creates greater dangers. Being selfless and thinking of others is fine, up to a point, but there is a line at which you have to stop and do what you need for your own needs and family. If that weren't true we'd all give all our salary away every month to those in greater need.. We'd all volunteer in charity shops, we'd all donate £££ to charity instead of buying anything beyond the bare essentials. But we don't. Following these often nonsensical rules to the letter simply does not work for all people and actually won't do all that much to 'stop the spread'. Why don't we assume instead, that MOST people will do what they reasonably can and let that be enough.

This thread doesn't seem to have gone the way OP had hoped...

I have a colleague who insists that she can see her siblings (and all their kids) very day because "we're so close, we practically live together anyway". Erm... no you don't. And nor do your partners, who are going to work as normal and therefore could potentially spread it.

I wouldn't bat an eyelid at breaking the rules in some of the situations mentioned on this thread, but I think that if you can stick to the rules without causing yourself difficulties (other than being a bit sad at not seeing people) then you should do it.

It's a bit like the group outings to the supermarket. For some people, it's the only way they can manage, and that's fine. But if the limit on numbers in the supermarket is 100, then every unnecessary extra person is just making it slower for everyone else. Going alone means that the people who are already having a crap time might have a slightly easier time.

@user1471588124

So you have no empathy for me then op good to know because i dont fit into any of those catergories. Im not mentally ill, I'm lonely and very worried about the future, but thats just probably me being "fed up" in your eyes.

What is actually the point in following any rules at all? Ive sacrificed my chance at ever being a scientist because my final degree year is all online and so i havent learned the requisite lab skills. Spaces at the library must be booked weeks in advance and are harder to get than Glastonbury tickets. I sacrificed 5 months with my partner as he is not British and was forced to return to his home country in lockdown . I havent seen any family, including my parents in months. I'm risking my health in an essential job, the job market is bleak and my partner and i also have a potential no deal Brexit looming over us. I cant see my friends, go shopping, or go to the gym. Yet I'm apparently selfish and not deserving of empathy if i break the rules to see my boyfriend.

Ive now lost faith in not only this government but also in the idea we really live in a functioning democracy at all and i know im not alone in this. I used to want to help people with my life, now i see that no matter what you do it will never be enough so even trying is a falacy. Everyone is just looking out for number one, especially the people leading our government.

I am so sorry to hear that your life has been turned completely upside down, I hope you manage to tread a path through this, even if it is a different one to the one you imagined 12 months ago.

@user1471588124

“So you have no empathy for me then op”

Yes I do, it sounds really tough.

I’m in a totally different situation to you but also fear for the future, and have different worries and anxieties both work and home related. I am about to be redeployed for the second time due to our hospital having to cut routine services, which has led to us having to cancel numerous appointments for people who have been patiently waiting for months.

What is the answer though? Relax the restrictions and let rip with the virus? Increase restrictions and people suffer in other ways. My choice would be a short, strict lockdown to buy some time for the nhs.

Not starting this thread would probably have been a help.

Non-Covid related excess deaths up this year. Deaths in the home (non Covid) way up. Cancer screenings way down. Cardiac testing way down. Even London ambulance highlighted the huge increase in suicides they are attending compared to this time last year.

All caused by lockdown and the obsessive concern with only Covid deaths.

Lockdowns merely kick the can down the road. No one is arguing to "let it rip". Quarantining young, healthy people is madness IMO - I would prefer everyone to have an individual score based on body weight, co morbidities, ethnicity, age and so on. Then the really vulnerable/high scorers to be shielded and supported (including financially) while everyone else can go free and build up immunity.

@Orcus

Not starting this thread would probably have been a help.

But then how would she have managed to get up on her high horse?

@Vintagevixen

Non-Covid related excess deaths up this year. Deaths in the home (non Covid) way up. Cancer screenings way down. Cardiac testing way down. Even London ambulance highlighted the huge increase in suicides they are attending compared to this time last year.

All caused by lockdown and the obsessive concern with only Covid deaths.

Lockdowns merely kick the can down the road. No one is arguing to "let it rip". Quarantining young, healthy people is madness IMO - I would prefer everyone to have an individual score based on body weight, co morbidities, ethnicity, age and so on. Then the really vulnerable/high scorers to be shielded and supported (including financially) while everyone else can go free and build up immunity.

Half of the nhs staff would not be eligible to work...

Our department which deals with non covid medical conditions has just been closed for the second time. We are devastated for our patients, but have had to again cancel their appointments.

We have no choice in this, it is down to the amount of covid positive inpatients. If we don’t lockdown, deaths from other causes will be even worse!

....because I'm flying in from another country and the UK government is apparently planning to continue importing Covid. I'll be travelling from the airport by train and then taxi.

I don't agree with that I think excess deaths are caused by lockdown itself, and in the decades to come lockdown itself will have a huge negative affect on public health way worse than Covid directly.

And I am a HCP myself so know about staffing in the NHS.

Really Vintage? That’s really interesting, so if you have beds taken up by COVID patients other services could run as normal? You have the capacity? You wouldn’t have to choose between treating COVID patients and treating patients with other serious or chronic conditions?

Honestly all this finger pointing is not good for society.

What about cos I'm having my 18th/30th/40th/60th birthday and I just have to celebrate it with my friends. In April someone in next road to us an 18 year old had a house party with over 30 people there. Lots of v loud music and lots of teenagers arriving with helium balloons. The police broke it up as some one reported it.

caring have you read the thread? We're not talking about obvious idiocy like that. We got past that on p1.

I expect you probably would judge me for visiting my mum OP, despite her mental illness, because she already lives with an adult (my sister), so technically I am not "allowed" to see her.

And why don’t people like you op start giving a shit about other illnesses particularly mental health ones rather than your nasty, sneering post.

Oh yes, I wonder what excuses the “wear our masks around our chins on public transport” brigade will come up with this time

@HugeAckmansWife

But the virus isn't the only thing out there that's a danger to us. And complying with these rules, for many people, creates greater dangers. Being selfless and thinking of others is fine, up to a point, but there is a line at which you have to stop and do what you need for your own needs and family. If that weren't true we'd all give all our salary away every month to those in greater need.. We'd all volunteer in charity shops, we'd all donate £££ to charity instead of buying anything beyond the bare essentials. But we don't. Following these often nonsensical rules to the letter simply does not work for all people and actually won't do all that much to 'stop the spread'. Why don't we assume instead, that MOST people will do what they reasonably can and let that be enough.

Because it's not enough to do"what they reasonably can" as the virus is still spreading at an ever increasing rate, i.e. exponential growth. Perhaps people should have done what "they reasonably can" in the last 3 months when it was clear that case and growth was rising again? Unfortunately too many people have broken the rules/guidance, so here we are again. No one forced people to go on multiple holidays, go to EOTHO several times, go to pubs/restaurants every week etc - people could have restrained themselves - likewise more could have worn masks, they could have maintained 2 metres social distancing. Trusting people hasn't worked, hence another lockdown. People only have themselves to blame.

how about there is a separate board for "CV medal winners only" and all of you sneery "what about obvious idiots" people can go and pat yourselves on the back there while those of us with rather more difficult and real concerns talk through how we can sensibly manage them, apply some critical thinking and be empathetic?