Breaking PM Covid statement 8pm

[MissMarpletheMurderer]

Will he be on time? What will he say?

@ineedaholidaynow

Schools will suddenly have become unsafe!

He's have said some last minute data that shows everything is so different to the data we've been seeing the last 2 weeks.

And try to convince it's it's new data collected on schools - even though they've been shut fir 2 weeks!

We need an actual proper lock down with our borders closed. Keep bloody allowing planes, ferries etc to carry people in and out is pathetic.

He is obviously knows what the restrictions are going to be. Is there any reason at all to wait until 8pm. What kind of notice is that? I have just told my dd who has special needs that school is on tomorrow. It will be very difficult to explain that it isn't. If I had known at the weekend, I could have prepared her.

I wonder how Gavin's court case against local councils for (sensibly) closing schools early pre-Christmas would have played out. If the case was being heard this week. Bloody idiot.

We’re London, tier 4 since before Christmas, no mixing at Christmas, no primary schools starting back, essential reasons only to go out. What else is there? I guess make that the same for the rest of the country, Scotland are going back into lockdown with schools closed until February.

Then in London/south east I guess we’re up to tier 5 where we’re back to one form of exercise per day? Whole country should have been tier 4 since before Christmas holidays, there was no need for Christmas bubbles when it became clear the virus was out of control.

The papers are now reporting it WILL be a full lockdown including schools 😮

Peston has tweeted what will be said now

@cansu

He is obviously knows what the restrictions are going to be. Is there any reason at all to wait until 8pm. What kind of notice is that? I have just told my dd who has special needs that school is on tomorrow. It will be very difficult to explain that it isn't. If I had known at the weekend, I could have prepared her.

Completely agree, tell us now. Nicola Sturgeon has already told Scotland what’s happening. My year 6 has school entrance exams tomorrow, one later in the week and one next week. We’re in London where schools are closed but exams are classed as an essential reason to leave the house at the moment, we need to know! Bad enough we’ve had to choose secondary schools based on their website as no open days.

By the way, families like mine will be helping elderly relatives to vaccine centres to get the jab. Lots of workers and volunteers will be travelling to vaccine centres. It won't be like the March lockdown for that reason. Literally millions of people will be required to move around in the next few weeks.

@Popcornriver

Current Tier 4 is practically lockdown anyway except for schools.

Yep, I’m in Kent in tier 4 and it is almost total lockdown apart from schools and it’s been rife in quite a few of our local schools both primary and secondary. Much as it pains me with two DC trying to do A Levels and GCSEs, schools need to close at least for the rest of January while they’re (hopefully) busy vaccinating. They are going to have to revisit the exams too. It’s going to be really tricky for these poor teens - my DS is on his knees, mostly with the uncertainty of it all. I don’t know if I can prop either of them up much longer.

He said full lockdown schools closed

Although I would obviously rather they didn't I'm not against schools closing (voted with my feet and didn't send DD today) but the shambles that has been made of this is a disgrace. And now we have to wait until 8pm. It would be comical if I wasn't so infuriated with it all

@DianaT1969 You were allowed to take family members to medical appointments in Mach, caring responsibilities and medical appointments were always allowed.

• rather they didn't need to that should say

Absolutely fuming at the uncertainty. Why on earth are all the announcements so late in the evening. I need to know whether I need to sort out an alternative to nursery tomorrow (no idea what that actually will be but would be helpful to have at least a few hours to figure it out.
Also why do it after allowing all those kids to mix for the sake of 1 day. Absolute shambles.

FFS my daughters head teacher has spent all day on calls arranging things for tomorrow so the younger ones can return and the older ones go to online, if they close them all now that's all her time and effort wasted :-(
I still think Reception, Y1 and Y2 should be in school!

@Rainb0wDrops

Absolutely fuming at the uncertainty. Why on earth are all the announcements so late in the evening. I need to know whether I need to sort out an alternative to nursery tomorrow (no idea what that actually will be but would be helpful to have at least a few hours to figure it out. Also why do it after allowing all those kids to mix for the sake of 1 day. Absolute shambles.

When it’s 8pm it’s always bad fucking news as they want everyone to be home and watching.

@BaronessVonCake

If he says that hat primary schools need to be shut now ( to reduce transmission) then he's an idiot for allowing them to open today. All that mingling 🤦🏻‍♀️

As if we needed any more evidence that he is a complete idiot.

There's another thread on this which runs to 13 pages.

Are people going to watch/listen at 8pm? Unless it interrupts the TV schedule I'll pick up any relevant bits later but I doubt there will be anything new apart from definite school closures.

All I can say is that I hope a more rigorous lockdown this time will be effective. Nothing has been so far, for any length of time.

The uncertainty is awful. The differences between Tier 4 and an actual lockdown make a big difference to me. I work in adult social care with disabled adults and currently am able to work within the bubble support system. It would also mean I can't meet my Mum for a walk and she really needs more social contact/emotional support than my Dad can give her. I just want to know what we are facing!

*When it’s 8pm it’s always bad fucking news as they want everyone to be home and watching" yes, I missed nearly every daily 5pm briefing in the first lockdown as that was the quietest time for my daily walk, and I don't think I missed a single important thing.
But this time at 8pm might be different...

They had better not remove support bubbles - I think that was seen as a humane addition to lockdown rather than a relaxation of lockdown.

@Chimpanme - yes, just pointing out that it will be on a huge scale. In March elective surgery and routine appointments were cancelled.

Tier 4 everywhere and all schools and universities closed. Online learning only.

Why he left it it until today I don’t know, and after all his bullshit on the Andrew Marr Show about schools being safe he will look like even more of a rudderless twat than he already does.

If he's announcing a full lockdown and schools closed after waffling about how schools are safe for the last week and letting primary schools go back then he's complete fucking moron.