Christmas IS going to be cancelled - last minute.

[Elephant4]

Isn't it?

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/18/boris-johnson-calls-crisis-meeting-to-discuss-response-to-new-covid-strain

They're panicking now.

@Butterymuffin

What's the point of announcing a press conference but not what time it'll be? They really are useless.

4pm in the papers

@Hangingover

My Xmas just got cancelled. DBro's close colleague just tested + and DF said best for us not to come. He is nearly 70 lives alone and is still mourning late DM. No other family, so he'll likely spend Xmas day alone. I'm at the other end of the country. I haven't seen him since Feb and I'm just sobbing rn.

I'm so sorry. It's so grim for you. 💐

It axes me that people are still hanging on what is going to be said. We know the rate is high, we know it’s increasing, we know NHS hospitals are becoming overloaded and we know what we should do to help prevent the spread- the facts aren’t going to change. We shouldn’t be mixing unless absolutely necessary- and that means if people live alone or are terminally ill etc not just cos you haven’t seen great aunt Sal for a while

4pm briefing, says Sky

People won't listen. And nor should they.

BBC: conference scheduled at 4pm but they are also pretty much saying 'don't expect it to be on time'.

[quote Unsure33]@Sbishka

They have said clearly the risk is high and look at your own circumstances so what do you think is best ?

They have been criticised for lockdown or not doing lockdown?

What can they do to help your situation and others at the same time ?

They were not to know there was going to be a mutation were they ?[/quote]
They could allow people to keep kids off if they can & desperately want to home educate & keep schools open for others where the family needs school for work/parents not in a position to teach?

Let us have more parental choice.

Social services follow up families where there is neglect.

It ain't rocket science.

That could work till Easter/ till CEV families are vaccinated.

More likely to be 5 at least then

Will they shut non essential shops?
It's all very well saying ' don't do this or that' but people won't comply or take any notice , sadly :(
Not sure what else they can say here?

SKY is saying 4pm; so 15 mins after that, given recent form

Only 15?

@Meredithgrey1

SKY is saying 4pm; so 15 mins after that, given recent form

Only 15?

The one that was delayed by 2hrs was fun.

*amazes not axes!!

4pm in the papers
So, like Hallowe'en, we'll still be waiting after 7pm. Next slide, please.

HerecomestheSon that sounds workable until you see what a lamentable state social services is in. It’s almost criminally underfunded, understaffed. (Sadly it is needed in one branch of my family but absolutely nothing can be done because...no staff and/or no will to do it.)

I would put a fiver on 5.30.

It is the Strictly Come Dancing Final at 6pm.

Do you remember, Boris had to finish in time before the Halloween episode?

What a shame we couldn't have a festive Matt Lucas parody immediately afterwards.

As pp said, Italy has just imposed a draconian lockdown.

Also I think it’s necessary, as another pp said, to stop people going to the shops in hordes to return stuff etc directly after Christmas when they’ve been mixing.

I must admit I’m scared about the virus mutation. They seem to be treating it very seriously. If the current vaccines are buggered then I don’t know what we’ll do.

When government policy is going to end up with more patients with Covid in hospital so other routine operations and treatment delayed even more, I think that people are right to be angry

Dp is a Cancer patient and it took them 4 months and multiple blood tests to finally not lose the test results.
And that was over the summer when the wards were relatively clear

Covid I think has become an excuse not the reason
There are less people in hospital overall than there were this time last year

I think lockdowns actually cause more infection than less
People are going to do what they are going to do after lockdowns.
Lockdowns just concentrate the amount of people anywhere at at or time.

@Sbishka

HerecomestheSon that sounds workable until you see what a lamentable state social services is in. It’s almost criminally underfunded, understaffed. (Sadly it is needed in one branch of my family but absolutely nothing can be done because...no staff and/or no will to do it.)

So how shit is it that CEV families risk death because social services can't get their act together and schools do their job?

If kids need social service support,it should come from that department.

I think, let CEV families take their kids out. And if social services want to follow up any kids at home, then that should be their responsibility. And if the govt needs to fund them to do it,then they should fucking fund it.

Hopefully they'll set road blocks up around London and bring the army in. And an automatic criminal record for anyone caught attempting to breach the regulations. It might be a good moment to set up an official neighbourhood surveillance system, too - with a hotline and financial incentives for people to call up and report their neighbours and friends for flouting the rules.

They could allow people to keep kids off if they can & desperately want to home educate

Hasn't that always been an option though, home schooling is not a new thing. If you want to do it with your kids, crack on.

@Jourdain11 sarcasm? Honestly can't tell these days!

I must admit I’m scared about the virus mutation. They seem to be treating it very seriously. If the current vaccines are buggered then I don’t know what we’ll do.

I'm worried about this too :(

@Jourdain11

Hopefully they'll set road blocks up around London and bring the army in. And an automatic criminal record for anyone caught attempting to breach the regulations. It might be a good moment to set up an official neighbourhood surveillance system, too - with a hotline and financial incentives for people to call up and report their neighbours and friends for flouting the rules.

It’s come to something when I can’t tell if this is serious or not

@sideEyeing I hope so too

@Meredithgrey1 I'm the same!