Further Restrictions 'Stricter than March' Needed

[Bewareoftheblob]

From the Telegraph today:

Sage advisers are calling for a lockdown tougher than the one seen in March as they argue the current restrictions do not go far enough.

Professor Susan Michie, a health psychology professor at University College London who sits on a Sage subcommittee, said more stringent action was needed.

While around 90 per cent of Britons are sticking to the rules there are also "more people out and about”, Prof Michie told the Today programme.

"It should definitely be tightened,” she said. "This is quite a lax lockdown because we’ve still got a lot of household contact, people go in and out of other’s houses. We should have stricter rather than a less strict lockdown than we had in March.

“You have this wide definition of critical workers and therefore you’ve got really busy public transport. There's also this new variant, and we have the winter season and the virus survives for longer in the cold.”

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Do you think they'll follow through with this? Reduce the amount of children in schools, ban support bubbles, heavier policing of people going about their daily lives?

Why impose more rules when the state can’t or aren’t interested in enforcing the ones they’ve got?

This should be known as Total Lockdown

That’s what we’ve got up here in Scotland re: schools and nurseries and shutting more sectors at the moment.

But it’s going on longer than 2-3 weeks, loads of us with little kids are still expected to work (...somehow?), and my local Facebook group is still moaning that it’s not a real lockdown because we’re allowed outside to exercise more than once a day.

They can’t: public services are not resourced to do so.

It’s essential items only....so no browsing for tiles and wallpaper

I got verbal abuse on 4 occasions yesterday for politely asking
Customers to step away from colleague at the till who was backed up and had nowhere to move away from... they rudely told me they were wearing masks so it was fine

The coffee drinking browsers... was told they were ‘just looking and measuring up’

Friends met up ( unintentially) so blocked a busy end aisle to chat....I asked them to move on but they told me to fuck off and mind my own they weren’t hurting anyone ( people had to get round then leaving a foot or so to squeeze past)

Customer with mask pulled down, one of several I asked to put on correctly but one was rude back

@CKBJ

I posted this on another thread:

I think schools including nurseries should only offer places for NHS/Care/Police/Fire staff for the next 2-3weeks. As this would stop many people with children from working it would become a very harsh lockdown for 2-3weeks and therefore disrupt the covid transmission. Yes work places will suffer, including those that are critical, however with the way numbers are increasing it calls for drastic action. This should be known as Total Lockdown,we then revert back to the current lockdown and as soon as possible (End Feb/Mar) move the country back down the tier system.

As long as nobody needs to eat or distribute medicines etc. that should be fine .

@Cripesitsthegasman19

Not willing to give up my support bubble. They can go to soddery

Me neither. Don’t think many will be.

Just trying to keep everyone safe .... no furlough and I’m a manager so staff appeal to us to help keep the customers compliment as Boris won’t tighten up on retail

I think schools including nurseries should only offer places for NHS/Care/Police/Fire staff for the next 2-3weeks.

What about teachers, nursery staff, those who work in utilities, shop workers, delivery drivers, factories that process food etc...there are a lot of people who keep things 'ticking over'.

Quick look on my local FB has over 20 People offering things to collect/exchange and aren't bothered about making journeys for them. Even had over 100 People cheer on someone doing a sponsored walk to the next county and shouting down anyone who suggested that maybe it's be better to wait. Wouldn't need to make it step her if people just followed the rules that are there

M & S is open, Boots is open,
people are sitting in the arndale centre, outside sainsburys eating!

people are too blase, give them a mask and they think they are invincible

If they take away childcare bubbles I will be breaking the rules. I can't work from home (NHS) and I have a 2 year old who goes to my Mum for childcare. What would the holier than thou posters suggest I do with him?

Holier than thou??

How rude and dismissive. Nobody is telling you that you can’t send him?

and yet on my facebook community page > they were berating families for taking their children to the playground

The UK has never really had a strict lockdown like in Spain and Italy. I am in Italy and I am dreading a return to what we went through last Spring - but I am not sure whether the UK half-lockdown is not worse psychologically.

People are abusing the bubble system. Either intentionally or through ignorance.

Some people are regularly travelling significant distances to be with their support bubbles which must help with the spread.

I know it's controversial, but I think places of worship should also close - they are enclosed spaces full of people for quite long periods of time.

@Skipsurvey playgrounds were closed back in March.... think they are still open this time?

Everleigh2021 - I appreciate that your job must be stressful and that you are entitled to work in a safe environment and people should not be rude to you.

Some retail staff are also being bloody rude to customers too. M&S Foodhall last week. Wearing my mask, giving people space. At the self service checkout with DH and the assistant shouted at me that it was one person only at the tills and to STAND BACK. Not sure how I was meant to know this or why she had to be so aggressive but I complied of course and didn’t say anything.

I’m afraid I contacted M&S to let them know.

I need my support bubble. My child is under 1 and my mental health won't cope without it

Do you think they'll follow through with this? Reduce the amount of children in schools, ban support bubbles, heavier policing of people going about their daily lives?

Sadly I think they will have to as sufficient numbers of people aren't obeying the law.

They need to clamp down on the school places and stop advocating that more parents should have them.

I'm a KW in a primary school; I'm making my own 3 children work from home because there's an important reason we're doing this! The schools are not safe as they are indeed spreading the disease at home and into communities. Our primary had a rash of positives and isolation notices that came out over the last few days of the autumn term. Ruined christmas time for many as they couldn't (or weren't supposed to) leave their homes.

And the numbers are even worse now. People really aren't getting it.

I agree this lockdown needs to be tougher if it's going to have any impact. Offices need to allow workers to wfh. There are far too many children in as "key workers children", schools with 50% or more children aren't limiting the virus at all. There are too many people out and about, wandering around the towns....why are garden centres open? Last lockdown they were closed at first, only opening up as things relaxed. Ditto with many parks and National Trust places...no wonder people are flocking to them if they're open...

@Everleigh2021

Did you see the complaining here yesterday about women out having coffee and people complaining police were intervening with people travelling for ‘exercise’ ?

And the threads about how many kids are in school and people off to home bargains because all the Easter stuff is on the shelves?

This is no lockdown

The roads are still as busy as before lockdown in my neck of the woods.

I feel torn as so many small businesses will die if we shut everything except supermarkets. I live in a town with loads of indie food shops and I think they feel conflicted. How can you sell nice coffee and cakes and expect people not to flock to you and mingle around the premises eating and socialising?
I worry this is playing more into the hands of big business. I think we should have banned big stores like Asda and B&M selling home stuff. Why does a little independent gift shop have to close and Asda can carry on?

Looking out of my window it looks like a regular Saturday out there. Neighbours are in and out all day (they make a lot of noise about it), bubbles seem to contain several households, shopping takes place several times a day, there are queues of traffic the same as rush hour, lots of groups of teenagers out and about, people stopping to chat and blocking the pavement. Dcs went for a walk yesterday and couldn't believe how many people were about in cars or going into the shops, queuing for fuel. And going off threads on here schools are mainly open as normal although ds has about half his class online in his lessons with him. About 90% asked for places though. The whole thing is a joke but then if they make so many loopholes and vague guidelines then people will take the piss if it suits their needs. Retail is an interesting one and things like costa are definitely not essential. But then I'm privileged according to some on mumsnet in that I'm a single SAHM who is shielded so I don't have to worry about my job or other things.