Why can't people see that it is stupid to mix at Christmas?

[MagicSummer]

I know that the Government had to relax the rules for the 5-day period because so many people would have broken them anyway, but can people not see that mixing families, travelling and close contact is going to cause another spike in the New Year? It makes me so cross - why can't people just knuckle down and have a quiet Christmas this year without endangering the lives of their older relatives?

But IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY IF THE FOCUS WAS ON TESTING. As you were

Because I have no 'older relatives' (my last grandparent died earlier this year, completely unrelated to Covid).
Because I lost my job and live rurally, I am completely isolated.
Because I live in a part of the country that has very low risk.
Because I have very few friends and a very low risk lifestyle.
Because my MH has taken a real battering this year and if I have nothing to look forward to I'm at real risk of hurting myself.
Because if I don't see them I will spend Christmas in my place, alone. I'm not prepared to do that. I will have to be physically imprisoned to not see my family.

Im dreading the next few weeks with all these sanctimonious judgemental threads.

By all means have Christmas alone but stop judging people who are doing what is allowed and needed for them.

Last Christmas was the last one we spent with my mother in law and no way will I miss Christmas with my dad and other family. You never know what’s around the corner and COVID isn’t all that matters.

@Chessie678 I don’t understand why you don’t just meet up with your sister. Why let Boris Johnston or useful idiot Hancock have such control over your life?
Wear PPE or something if that makes you feel better.
More people are dying from suicide than Covid and yet you are all encouraging this fiasco.
I’m coming off mumsnet now as it’s like Stepford Wives. People are just brainwashed.

@Nicknacky

Im dreading the next few weeks with all these sanctimonious judgemental threads.

By all means have Christmas alone but stop judging people who are doing what is allowed and needed for them.

Last Christmas was the last one we spent with my mother in law and no way will I miss Christmas with my dad and other family. You never know what’s around the corner and COVID isn’t all that matters.

Christmas Day on MN will be AMAZING. All the curtain twitchers on here will be out in force, and there's nothing on the TV.

Why can’t people stop judging others?

My son caught Covid because somebody sent an infected child into school.

It is my business when others choose to put others at risk.
It's not just about 'death'. My fit son was ill, who knows about the long term effects.

He has to self isolate for 10 days, us for 14. If we catch it on day 13 we're locked in again. We are fortunate we can wfh, others cannot. My son is missing even more in school education in key exam years, addition to previous three lots of self isolation due to school.

If he'd given it to my mom in her 70s she might be OK, but then she'd also be housebound.

It's not only about hospitalisation or death, there's a host of practical and emotional sides to Covid, which you find out when somebody you love catches it.

@Krampusnacht

Because older relatives are people too, they have their own thoughts and many are willing and able to make their own risk assessment.

You do you. Let everyone else decide for themselves.

This !

My mother in law died, very unexpectedly, on Christmas Day last year, it would be cruel and unkind to leave my 80 year old father in law alone at Christmas. We will be seeing him although he is bubbled with a local friend and not us he will be part of our Christmas bubble.

I would dearly love to also see my parents, my dad has just finished treatment for cancer and will get results on the 18th December as to how successful it has been. Just trying to work out the logistics, but it is very likely we won’t see them. I have seen my parents twice this year and miss them immensely.

middleager Stop with the blame game, it doesn’t help anyone.

It’s a virus. It does what viruses do.

@Nicknacky

middleager Stop with the blame game, it doesn’t help anyone.

It’s a virus. It does what viruses do.

And when others help it along by sending infected children into school.

@Inastatus

Why can’t people stop judging others?

Because we're living in a society.

why don't you enjoy your quiet Christmas OP and stop worrying about what others are doing?

Because it's for all of us to be responsible. I'm mainly staying way from my vulnerable parents because I'd have to get the train to see them and I'm not risking catching Covid and giving it to them. But I'm also aware that if I DID give it to them (whether or not they survived) they might well then go to a shop or something and pass it to someone else. And I might come home and go to a shop and pass it to someone else. And on and on.

As a CEV teacher I'm very very worried about just how much I'm going to be exposed to the virus post Christmas due to families mixing.

I'm not seeing my elderly parents in order to protect them as I won't have enough time to isolate between finishing school and Christmas.

It's rubbish.

@FreshFreesias
Neither of us are the slightest bit worried about catching the virus but she wants to follow the rules. I wouldn’t stop close family coming to see me at any time if they wanted to but I’m not going to pressure them to either. In reality most people I know with young children have seen close family throughout all this but have kept fairly quiet about it.

I was just making the point that if you are concerned about following the rules there is a lot of pressure on that Christmas period now.

middleager So you know for a fact that a diagnosed covid child was sent into school recklessly to infect everyone else?

Or is it more likely the parent didn’t realise and it was inadvertent. But yeah blame them. It’s a virus not a STD.

Oh. And for everyone who posts about how we should respect the desire of people to see family.

Sod that.

It's very very selfish and people need to just deal with the fact that this year IS different and by not putting people at risk, we stand a better chance of making next year better.

Oh. And also - you don't then have to live with the guilt if you pass on the virus and infect/potentially kill a grandparent or vulnerable family member.

All because you want to have a day or two of a meal/watching crap tv/ more than likely having some kind of traditional family Christmas row...

It's just so worth it...

Our elderly relatives are spending Christmas in a hotel , they are sparing the time to come and see us on the way there on Christmas Eve
( FIL is 85 and old enough to make his own decision )

Having had a relative who has died from this, believe me when I tell you. You do not want your relatives to catch it. It hits the elderly very very hard

Trying to navigate the healthcare system just now is really difficult.

I'm not looking forward to doing it in Jan and Feb.

There must be so many who are not accessing treatment because of covid pressure.

@Nicknacky

middleager So you know for a fact that a diagnosed covid child was sent into school recklessly to infect everyone else?

Or is it more likely the parent didn’t realise and it was inadvertent. But yeah blame them. It’s a virus not a STD.

Yes, the school has had to write out to parents, sadly. Parents are sending in children who have tested positive and the school has pleaded with them not to. There are three now in the same class, but maybe we should just let a virus do it's thing?

I'm with you on this, OP, it's probably not worth taking the risk, especially for elderly/vulnerable people, but I also understand that many people feel desperate to have a "normal" Christmas. I suppose much of it comes down to how sociable people are, and how close they are to their families - being socially isolated is much harder for some people than others.

Alcohol is going to be another factor - after a few drinks some people might get a bit touchy feely and social distancing will go out of the window (hence pubs closing during lockdown).

I'm not judging anyone who intends mixing with other households at Christmas, it's their choice to take the risk, but l do think that some people might bitterly regret it, when cases spike in mid January and their loved ones are seriously ill (or worse). I really hope most people will scale down their Christmas interactions this year, or else the poor NHS staff will be inundated in January.

Mark my words - 21st January for next lockdown, anyone?

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

Not all of us have older relatives and want to see people

I think you've misunderstood the rule. Nobody is making you spend your precious Christmas with others. It's merely an option for those who would like to. The annual statistics for Christmas suicides are quite shocking. I imagine this year will be heartbreaking.

Because a huge portion of the general population are extroverts and think the world ends when they don't mix with other people.

They are reliant on other people, have no emotional resilience and have zero 'common sense' when it comes to meeting up.

A huge portion of the general population are too stupid to wash their hands after they go to the toilet. This whole 'Hands. Face. Space' campaign is falling on deaf ears.

There will be carnage mid-January.