Month long lockdown to 'pay' for 5 days over Christmas

[NotAKaren]

PHE have confirmed Sage advice that for every one day of relaxation over Christmas would require 5 days of restrictions afterwards. So for 5 days relaxation, which is rumoured to be what the government have in mind, would mean 25 days of restrictions. Is it really worth it?

The ones not following guidelines will be the ones complaining the loudest when it causes a stricter lockdown.

[quote NotAKaren]@OverTheRainbow88 I agree. How many businesses and jobs will be lost as a result? It doesn't bear thinking about. [/quote]
This lockdown shouldn't be happening, nevermind another.

boo That was my position as well before I was admitted into hospital and saw how overwhelmed they are.

they are going to lock us down again anyway in January I reckon, with or without the break at Christmas so may as well make the most of it.

I agree with this.

Then they can use 'well you all accepted the lockdown risk when you wantd xmas!!!'

January would be lockdown with or without a 'normal' xmas. Thats IF this one actually lets up by 2nd Dec, of which I have my doubts..I think this one will go on til vaccine now. But of course, it will be because 'rulebreakers' and such, rather than because virus.

@Friendsoftheearth

boo That was my position as well before I was admitted into hospital and saw how overwhelmed they are.

Yeah some hospitals seem hit very hard at the min.

Oddly, or local seems almost empty according to MIL, who goes regularly for various issues. She had to go to A+E a week or so back and was seen within half an hour, when the wait is usually at least 6 hours..usually more. She has to go a long way around the hospital for her back stuff, and staff members push her in a wheelchair as we have been told we cannot go with her. She says the staff tell her they are baffled as its so dead but the news says everyone in the NHS is struggling. Apparently, the local is actually currently down on expected admissions. This is also in an area with very high infection rates, so its really confusing. Not saying hospitals are not struggling, just wondering how on earth ours seems to be..seemingly a massive exception to the rule.

I genuinely wish instead of fucking about with the unused nightingales (no staff for them..) more money was put into improving the NHS in general. Even 'after covid' the NHS could do with a boost. Also, nursing and such need to be made into an attractive career, rather than chip chip chipping away, and expecting people to want to do it, thats ridiculous!

I think they will let people mix at xmas. As then the people can be blamed for skyrocketing infection rates. Similar to how it was 'rulebreakers' who caused this rise in infection, and was nothing at all to do with EOTHO scheme literally paying people to go out and mix, and schools of course have nothing to do with any of it either

Fairly sure we will stay in all over xmas. We will have MIL here, but we are her support bubble anyway so thats not breaking any rules, currently anyway.

Mind, I really do think the nightingales were simply a willy waving contest by Boris tbh. Look, we can do this, aren't we great! What a good idea! But, it cannot be used so its just for decoration really

Tory voters are so easy to spot Always blaming the public for putting pressure on key workers forgetting that a lot of the public are key workers themselves.
Rather than criticising the Government for fucking about with key workers pay and thinking claps and rainbows can pay the fucking gas bill.

I'm a key worker (work in a supermarket) and get the abuse from members of the public that comes with it. Never voted Tory and remain a firm supporter of Corbyn and the values he brought to the Labour Party (beside the point). Hate this government and the 'one rule for us and another for them and their wealthy supporters' attitude.

But I still believe that nothing is made better by the selfish attitude by a lot of people. We need to work together to get through this, but this will never happen. Christmas is meant to be about giving and thinking of others, if people desperate to save Christmas believed this then we wouldn't be having Christmas outside of current bubbles to protect the vulnerable.

Always blaming the public for putting pressure on key workers

Can you show me the post that is blaming the public for putting pressure on the NHS or services?

I don't think I have seen a single post that blames the public! The issue is capacity. No country has infinite beds, millions of doctors - we can already see hospitals struggling to cope in France, US and Italy. We are doing the right thing, we do not want people dying in the car parks.

My hospital was packed with people having heart attacks, strokes and brain tumours, no one was in there 'wasting time' we were all very seriously ill. No one is going to a hospital that is full of covid patients unless they are seriously ill!

So yes the hospitals are under immense strain. We need to do what we can do to help them through this. I waited 8 hours for a bed on a ward, and I was one of the lucky ones. For goodness sake we really need to understand how important it is to get the message out there.

Not read the thread, but no! Why would we risk killing 10,000 people just so we can have a day with households combined?!!! Aside from single person households and the vulnerable (who should be allowed to bubble up), everyone else can cope for one year staying within their households for Christmas Day! I mean FFS?????!!!!

If the vaccines work then the government can give us all an extra bank holiday in the spring and we can all have a belated Christmas Day celebration then!

we should remember that covid does not recognise christmas so neither should we

@VulvaPerson

they are going to lock us down again anyway in January I reckon, with or without the break at Christmas so may as well make the most of it.

I agree with this.

Then they can use 'well you all accepted the lockdown risk when you wantd xmas!!!'

January would be lockdown with or without a 'normal' xmas. Thats IF this one actually lets up by 2nd Dec, of which I have my doubts..I think this one will go on til vaccine now. But of course, it will be because 'rulebreakers' and such, rather than because virus.

No, it will end on the 2nd December as we have been repeatedly told.

5th December is Small Business Saturday.

we should remember that covid does not recognise christmas so neither should we

🤣🤣🤣🤣 just stop.

Well in today's papers the latest suggestion seems to be that we carry on with this lockdown and have a week of Christmas. My heart sank at the prospect of this. What will happen to all the small businesses and restaurants if they have to remain closed during their busiest times.
How can it be safer to keep us all locked down and then a free for all for a whole week?!
Why can't we just reopen the safest sectors as planned, and keep christmas to 1/2 days? Why does it have to be a week or a five day celebration?

It’s ridiculous. Far better to go into January with low figures ahead of mass vaccination. Rather have a quiet Christmas than risk that more positive start to 2021.

@Friendsoftheearth - I think the 5 days is because they plan to start on 24th (many people have their big family celebrations on Christmas eve, not Christmas day, or travel to see family on that day anyway), then as Christmas day is a Friday, we have the bank holiday for boxing day moved to the Monday 28th. A lot of people will go "home" or have visitors for that whole period, or split up seeing people over the few days of that long weekend.

So lift restrictions on Christmas eve, put them back in when its back to work on Tuesday 29th seems the most practical if we are doing it.

Also, knowing that rules will be broken anyway, spreading it over 5 days at least takes the pressure off having to see everyone on one or two days if it was only Christmas day/boxing day - i know if it is 5 days, we'll see family a couple at a time over the 5 days rather than have one big meet up.

Not worth it at all. I would prefer to see shops and restaurants (but not pubs) allowed to open from the 2nd, than to allow indoor mixing of households in December. Support bubbles being the exception of course. I can't see both happening.

Also not sure how that's going to work with schools finishing right before Christmas? My DS finishes a week before, so we're definitely not going to mix households as we don't feel that would be safe for his grandparents.

@Friendsoftheearth

Well in today's papers the latest suggestion seems to be that we carry on with this lockdown and have a week of Christmas. My heart sank at the prospect of this. What will happen to all the small businesses and restaurants if they have to remain closed during their busiest times. How can it be safer to keep us all locked down and then a free for all for a whole week?! Why can't we just reopen the safest sectors as planned, and keep christmas to 1/2 days? Why does it have to be a week or a five day celebration?

I’d rather we saved jobs than the economy too, plus all the illness and deaths that will follow in January after people go mixing indoors.

It’s one Christmas, people can still celebrate with their households and single person bubbles. I don’t get why people would want to risk their health and families health not ruin sectors of the economy for a turkey dinner and alcohol essentially.

Much better to celebrate once safe and the vaccine has been rolled out.

No one is really following the rules anyway the only reason I'm not going out is because all the places i go to are closed everyone is still out and about even my local market had stalls out on Thursday not many admittedly but they were still there

I’m following the rules as are most people I know.

@slipperywhensparticus

No one is really following the rules anyway the only reason I'm not going out is because all the places i go to are closed everyone is still out and about even my local market had stalls out on Thursday not many admittedly but they were still there

People are following the rules, lots of people are. It's harder for them to get results from that if many others don't, but lots of people are putting in the effort.

I didn’t think it’s sensible from an infection control angle to relax the rules, but it is up to us as individuals whether we go mad or not! I’m concerned I’m going to have pressure put on me (clinically extremely vulnerable) to see my brother and his wife who don’t bother distancing etc. My mum lives near us so I’ll have to see her too, and she’ll want to see my brother and his family too. I’m probably going to be doing less than is permitted, and be judged as a killjoy or something by people wanting to justify their own behaviour (who usually argue that people like me and the elderly should be locked away anyway).

Everyone is following the rules here. No one is planning big christmases or seeing the elderly in their families unless they are alone.

No one is expecting a normal bloody christmas. The idea is faintly ridiculous. We can't all pretend that there isn't a virus that can kill circulating and it will just make an exception because 'it is christmas'.

If they don't get a grip on the narrative pretty bloody quickly we are going to see tens of thousands of people die, and that will be the legacy of the christmas spirit of 2020.

I live on a main road its busier than ever no one is staying in everyone is out about and mixing in my area