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Covid

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Original poster

Does anyone think there could yet be a U turn over Christmas?

128 replies

HallFloor · 10/12/2020 22:37

At least in some areas.

It seems madness to me, after having to admit things are out of control in Schools (in London and SE, if not elsewhere) to positively encourage multi generational gatherings over Christmas.

I also wonder how many people plan to have their 3 household bubble and how many will decided it's too big a risk. My parents have said they're having Christmas on their own and whilst elderly, they have no additional risk factors and are not normally anxious.

Schools here are already gearing up for carnage in the New Year. We are currently debating going back on a remote timetable.

OP posts:

Hapixmas · 11/12/2020 09:01

[quote Waxonwaxoff0]@Hapixmas that would be a disaster for many working parents at an often busy time of year. Those of us who can't work from home will be left in the shit. I'd rather forgo seeing family for one year than lose a week's pay when I already only earn £8.75 an hour.[/quote]
I sympathise but there is never going to be an easy way out which pleases everyone is there? Teachers have worked hard an deserve a break. Children deserve to see family. Spread is mostly in schools. By closing them a week early, isolation means less likely for it to spread as much over Xmas, helping the NHS.

Nightmanagerfan · 11/12/2020 09:01

We are staying in our support bubble and not seeing anyone. My parents (early 70s), have decided they don’t want to see us. I respect their decision. We will drop Christmas dinner and presents off to them on the day and say hello.

It’s so sad - some people will lose their relatives to covid precisely because of mixing at Christmas. As we’re so near to the vaccine I think it’s worth holding tight a bit longer and then having a party/belated Christmas celebration when we can. It seems silly just to do it because it’s Christmas.

PurpleDaisies · 11/12/2020 09:04

Teachers have worked hard an deserve a break

It wouldn’t be a break for teachers. It would be online teaching.

Bronzino · 11/12/2020 09:04

I hope they will.

CeibaTree · 11/12/2020 09:05

@PurpleDaisies

The 5 day free for all was always madness and we'll all pay for it in the new year.

The whole point of the three households thing is it tries to stop it from becoming a total free for all, and they’ve said time and again that it’s still a risk so it should be done as carefully as possible.

My parents-in-laws are going to my brother-in-law's for christmas, and his wife's sibling and their family will be there too, including 4 children who each go to a different school - all of who are at schools in the worst hit parts of London. That kind of sounds like a bit of a free for all to me, but they won't listen to reason.

My FiL had coronavirus in March and is still suffering the after effects, if he gets it again it'll finish him off - but they have to have their 'family christmas'. It's complete madness.

They all seem to have missed the point about it being done as carefully as possible and I'm sure many others will too! So I think we will all be paying for it in the new year.

MarshaBradyo · 11/12/2020 09:05

@PurpleDaisies

Teachers have worked hard an deserve a break

It wouldn’t be a break for teachers. It would be online teaching.

True. Some people say closed. But most people are talking about remote learning.

starfish4 · 11/12/2020 09:06

The welsh minister said yesterday action was needed now and people basically needed to play their part as a lockdown over Xmas would not be palatable. Surely if they had to go into lockdown, the Xmas bubble has to go

MarshaBradyo · 11/12/2020 09:08

We should have done the same as Italy and kept it lower key. Or was it Belgium

It’s too late now but looking at US Thanksgiving numbers two weeks later (different scale but still)

starfish4 · 11/12/2020 09:09

Forgot to say, my Mum is the only one we might see for a walk or SD coffee at ours. We will decide in 24 after I've checked there are no new cases in certain years at school where I work.

PurpleDaisies · 11/12/2020 09:09

What did they do @MarshaBradyo?

GRAK · 11/12/2020 09:09

If I'm honest, I really don't know if I will be seeing extended family this year. The kids really want to but I'm not sure if I want to risk it.

Hapixmas · 11/12/2020 09:10

@PurpleDaisies

Teachers have worked hard an deserve a break

It wouldn’t be a break for teachers. It would be online teaching.

I'm talking about a break over Christmas. They may end up self isolating. I'm friends with a couple of deputy heads and as it stands, they have to be available on Christmas eve to contact parents in case of a school bubble burst. Why can't they just switch to remote learning for 1 week. I personally know a lot of teachers and they all want remote learning next week.

MarshaBradyo · 11/12/2020 09:10

Purple I’m pretty sure it’s one extra person in one of those countries. I haven’t checked though. It’s very slimmed down! People wouldn’t be happy I guess but it would keep numbers lower.

PurpleDaisies · 11/12/2020 09:14

Thanks Marsha. I can’t see one extra person being particularly useful, but one household could have been more sensible than two. Risks for people in the same household is broadly similar anyway.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 11/12/2020 09:17

Love how they test schools in the SE. It’s been rampant in northern and Midland schools too but they e been ignored. Even though they were in Tier 3 and London is still in Tier 2

Original poster

HallFloor · 11/12/2020 09:21

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Love how they test schools in the SE. It’s been rampant in northern and Midland schools too but they e been ignored. Even though they were in Tier 3 and London is still in Tier 2

It's because of the panic about Test and Trace over Christmas and the fact the schools do seem to be the source of the surge in SE with rates highest in the 10-19 age range, where it was young adults in the Northern cities

OP posts:

Fizbosshoes · 11/12/2020 09:22

We are seeing my Dsis and BIL (assuming no one is isolating) but none of our older relatives, which was a mutual decision discussed with them.
I may go for a walk with a couple of friends but otherwise no plans to see anyone else outside our household.

MarshaBradyo · 11/12/2020 09:22

@PurpleDaisies

True I just thought it could be household. I saw it on here and may have misremembered

Char2015 · 11/12/2020 09:24

There has to be a U Turn. If they don't, I do worry about what their intentions are, in that are they wanting cases to rise and people to die and this will be the only outcome by allowing mixing at Xmas. The impact that this will also have on schools in the new year will be huge. If they think schools are bad now, they have seen nothing yet especially if they don't do a u-turn. I'm scared for January.

Fizbosshoes · 11/12/2020 09:24

Please can someone explain the school theory and T and T.
If someone has symptoms, do they not have to contact people they have been with in the last 48 hours? ....So by Monday 21st that would exclude school, wouldn't it?
What am I getting wrong?

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 11/12/2020 09:26

Secondary schools are the surge everywhere not just London. But they’ve only acted on London.

Lot of Northern anger near me!

Bloodyfrostycar · 11/12/2020 09:26

I very much doubt there will be any change in the rules re mixing at Xmas and I also don't think there will be any move (or even encouragement) towards online teaching in England next week.

They've always said that people should consider the risk to older family members etc when deciding who to mix with so I suspect there will be a lot more made of this.

Moving lessons online is not as simple as it sounds. I know teachers who would be happy to do this but know it would not work because a) not all pupils have access to the right technology to access it (the Government announced provision of laptops etc to those who needed them during the 1st lockdown but it was very slow to happen and when eventually they did something schools were allocated far fewer than they needed (I personally know a school in a deprived area that was promised a small number that would have helped but not been enough, then later told they could only have 10% of that number)
b) not all pupils have an appropriate space or circumstances to learn at home
c) parents do not want to/can't afford to have to take time off work to supervise children at the last minute

I feel really sorry for the teachers who will be leaving for the Christmas holidays knowing that cases in their schools are rising and they will be expected to go back to work in January to close contact with children who will have spent at least a week (probably more, as I expect many people will carry on their bubbles in to the New Year) in very close contact with family and friends from all over the place. At least when children are in school there is some control over what they are doing all day.

Seriouslymole · 11/12/2020 09:28

@TransplantedScouser

No because no one will adhere to a ban anyway.

This weekend I’m travelling from my tier 2 area to stay with my 76 year old mother and take her and my ECV uncle out for dinner in a restaurant.

Why? Both me and him indoors have had it (confirmed)

My uncle acknowledges he’s not going to live to 100 - heart valve replacement, uncontrolledT2 and cancer

My mother has outlived all her family including two brothers who died from heart failure and the other was murdered. Ironically I caught covid after springing her from hospital in May when she was in for sepsis. They would not discharge her without a care package in place unless there was someone at home. I went to fetch her from a ward with covid + patients.

They frankly don’t give a shit about covid as life is for living.

After that, we’re going to Scotland to spend Christmas with the in-laws. Two single parent nieces, my sil and bil and their single son. In ten years we’ve never been there because there was never room at the inn at Xmas until dfil died and freed up a room.

I’m more likely to be killed going up the motorway than from covid (given I’ve survived it) and everyone in our circles have the view that what we currently are expected to do is not living but existing.

Remember - death comes to us all

Amen. I couldn't agree more with this.

I hope you have a wonderful time.

RedskyAtnight · 11/12/2020 09:28

@Fizbosshoes

Please can someone explain the school theory and T and T. If someone has symptoms, do they not have to contact people they have been with in the last 48 hours? ....So by Monday 21st that would exclude school, wouldn't it? What am I getting wrong?

Test results take a while to come back. So someone could have (say) got symptoms and tested at the weekend 19/20th, but not get their test results until a few days later. Which would mean school contacts on Thursday/Friday would have to be identified. Or it could even be people who had symptoms during the last week of term but didn't get test results until the following week.

Original poster

HallFloor · 11/12/2020 09:36

@Fizbosshoes

Please can someone explain the school theory and T and T. If someone has symptoms, do they not have to contact people they have been with in the last 48 hours? ....So by Monday 21st that would exclude school, wouldn't it? What am I getting wrong?

The time taken for people to arrange a test and get the results. Yes, they only need contacts for the 48 hours before onset of symptoms but they don't start that work until a positive test result is received.

OP posts:

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