Feeling scared about January

[Bettydot]

Is anyone else feeling really worried about what January holds? I’m watching cases and hospital admissions start to spiral ahead of the Christmas easing. Seeing news articles about how much hospitals are already struggling and January and February are always the toughest months for the NHS. I just feel despite all the hope on the horizon that January and February will be the worst months of the pandemic. It feels even worse that we can see what’s going to happen yet no one is stopping it. I worry not only about Covid but also the impact on other emergency admissions and urgent life saving treatments. I find it heartbreaking watching what’s about to happen.

I feel the same as you OP.

My husband had a positive Covid test on Tuesday, he's feeling unwell and I'm worried that he may struggle access help as our local hospitals are overwhelmed. Plus with Christmas coming our GP will be closed.

The three hospitals in our county have cancelled many procedures including my dads pacemaker battery change and an excision of his cancerous melanoma. My dad is upset and frightened.

Our local hospital is also a centre offering ecmo treatment for patients all over the Midlands and so the effects are very wide ranging. There is no ecmo capacity now available.

When I read about the making of people carrying on with Christmas as if they're is no pandemic my mind boggles.

Don't get knocked off your bike, don't have a heart attack & don't use any power tools, we will all be on our own.

You're right to be worried but I don't think it will be Christmas that does it. Covid is spreading in schools, fast. The government have fucked up by pretending schools are safe when they aren't. A little bit of mixing over Xmas isn't going to make the dent, the damage is already done.

I feel the same, I'm trying to take it each day at a time, I'm very worried about the school situation, classes as DC school this month have been dropping like flies. Luckily everyone seems to have had a mild case and recovered but it's been worrying to see how many cases and how quickly.

I feel like another lockdown is looking likely too. I'm also frustrated for all the routine operations etc that can't go ahead and have been cancelled. My own DC have had their surgery delayed since around April now.

No point in worrying about it, not like I can do anything about it.

whats 'christmas easing'?

I'm totally with you, it's like watching a slow motion (repeat of a) car crash. The government has again risked tens of thousands of lives. Never have we had a government so unconcerned about the deaths of citizens.

I'm really frightened about the post-Christmas period - not for myself in a major way but in general. It's terrible to think the government could prevent a lot of it but doesn't care to.

There is no ecmo capacity now available.

Where did you hear this?

I think you're right. At the end of term (mine was last week) I was super positive. People were starting to get vaccinated and I thought things would start to get back to normal by March.

But just a few days later, things seem pretty bleak.

I feel like everything is just going round and round in circles. I was feeling hopefully about 2021 but I now think things won’t be much better until 2022

Time will tell obviously but I wouldn’t be surprised if cases fall just into the new year. Yes there will be lots of mixing over the 5 days but the mass daily gatherings that is schools will be out of the equation and should more than balance it out.

It's terrible to think the government could prevent a lot of it but doesn't care to

What do you think they could prevent?

Why can’t people take responsibility for themselves? The government are shit but people are free to try and keep themselves safe.

Yes but if you have to work and your workplace is not Covid secure how can you keep yourself safe?

I do. DH company (not his but family) built a temporary morgue in April which has never been used, they've been told today it's starting to be needed. Such a sad thought.

@hartof

I do. DH company (not his but family) built a temporary morgue in April which has never been used, they've been told today it's starting to be needed. Such a sad thought.

Why would that be if deaths aren’t at the number they were at the peak?

Am very sorry you are scared OP but I am not

@inquietant

I'm totally with you, it's like watching a slow motion (repeat of a) car crash. The government has again risked tens of thousands of lives. Never have we had a government so unconcerned about the deaths of citizens.

I'm really frightened about the post-Christmas period - not for myself in a major way but in general. It's terrible to think the government could prevent a lot of it but doesn't care to.

Where was the government involved in my 'friends' decision to meet up for lunch last Saturday in one of their houses? They did it again yesterday. A slightly different crowd though so more in the mix. The government (imo) have royally fucked up but many of these cases are caused by downright stupidity.

@Reallybadidea the lack of ecmo was reported in our local press yesterday. This doesn't only affect our county but a large area of the country as it serves a very wide area.

@Caramel81

I feel like everything is just going round and round in circles. I was feeling hopefully about 2021 but I now think things won’t be much better until 2022

I feel the same way. Seems like every bit of good news is so quickly swiped away by something bad that follows.

I am dreading January, it's a miserable enough month at the best of times let alone this year. Can't imagine how it'll feel when the little chink of light that Christmas brings is gone, all the lights come down and we're just staring at another year of working from home, not able to see friends or family properly, no holidays or trips, masks and sanitizer everywhere. There is just no break in the monotony, it feels like living the same day over and over again.

I'm not dreading it, but I haven't been expecting everything to go back to normal after Christmas so I didn't have my hopes pinned on it. I've seen so many posts where people are expecting everything to go back to normal in the spring - absolutely no chance! I think 2021 will be mostly similar to 2020. Also as if the vaccine will miraculously fix everything, all they know is that if you catch it, it lessens the symptoms. They don't know if it reduces spread, or transmission.

@Chaotic45 even if one particular hospital is at maximum capacity for ECMO, it's a national service. There are a number of centres which offer this service and if one is full patients can be treated at a different centre (this happens even in non-covid times). There is still ECMO capacity within the UK as a whole so people in your area will still be able to access it if indicated (sadly it's only helpful for a small minority).

Can everyone please just take a moment to remember that every single year, for as long as I can remember at least, hospitals get extremely busy and sometimes even overwhelmed in January and February because it is prime respiratory illness season. The media is full of photos of people on trollies in hallways and ambulance queues. Without covid it would still happen Jan and Feb 2021 and so it is still going to happen next year too. I agree with a previous poster in that cases are on a natural upward trend at the moment and the 5 Christmas days will make little to no difference. However, this year the government can blame the mess on 5 days over Christmas. A period when people are likely to be mixing with less households than when it’s term time and the schools and many businesses are open.

Yes, lostinacloud, but the issue is that covid is on top of all that normal stretching of services due to winter respiratory diseases. Some hospitals now have around 20-25% of patients as Covid positive, so that on top of usual numbers is where the house of cards comes tumbling down, sadly.

Yep Im anxious. Govt seem completely unaware of the spread in schools and Im terrified my kids will bring it home and bump me off. We've managed nearly every other risk as best as we can. If they were small Id happily homeschool them.

I wish our govt had put even some of the precautions recommended in place.

Ah but apparently cases and deaths of flu, dementia and Alzheimer’s are way lower than normal this winter so maybe covid won’t cause extra but will instead make up for the lack of other illnesses