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.”

Link

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?

@ballsdeep

I'm a teacher. We had 3 children in our whole phase coming into the hub in march. Now we have over 20 in a class. It's ridiculous and selfish. The council aren't checking like they used to, where they would need proof a parent couldn't work at home. Now it's like a normal school day and it's scary.

From the other threads I've read though it's not the parents, it's the employers.

So many are being incredibly shit at supporting their employees.

Parents faced with not being able to pay their mortgage/electricity/food bills or bending the rules will bend the rules.

That's human psychology - shelter, food, survival come above pretty much everything when you're forced to choose.

Me too.... the sheeple are insanely blinded and conditioned by the BS!!!!

i know there is a lockdown of course but are we ever going to get back to seeing doctors in the flesh, trying to get into my GPs is like trying to get into fort knox, kept waiting outside in rain, etc, surely doctors can enforce social distancing and masks etc, they are doing phone appointments but they have always done that , but not everything can be done by phone, this has been going on since march,

@Bewareoftheblob

Employees and employers and private businesses need to follow the rules.

I got flamed so much saying the same around Xmas and every one had rationalisations.

What we need it back bone.

And yes more is needed.

Excercise once a day. Walking from house.
Masks when outside for all. And so forth.

Sorry but it’s the only way until all vaccinated.

You can’t ignore the facts.

Funkypolar - I've had something like this in Starbucks too (pre this lockdown). I went in with mask on properly and stood at least 2 meters away from the 1 other person waiting in the store and the barista said 'stand over there' in a really rude way and pointed. I just thought, fuck off, you're not having my custom with that attitude and walked out...I do think some people are really enjoying the bit of power they feel they have in lockdown ordering people about and some others seem to be desperate for more and more and stricter lockdown in a slightly bizarre sado masochistic way...

They can't possibly ban support bubbles. I work from home and have been isolated and alone for a year. (Health issues unrelated to covid meant I was shielding for some of the time and was very unwell jan feb. Decided to bubble with another single girlfriend with no family. We have both suffered from depression in the last year and without each other I don't know where I'd be. To have someone else in the flat throughout this and someone to walk with every day is so important. We are so careful out and about. Mental health is so important. To have someone to cook for me for the first time in a year has meant so much. To have someone make a cup of tea. I deliver flowers and chocolate and shopping to several elderly people in the district who are alone in their flats. They cannot ban support bubbles or nourishing drop-offs. It's so important they don't. I'd rather die...and I mean that literally 🙏

From the other threads I've read though it's not the parents, it's the employers.

Definitely. The keyworker list expanded and many employers jumped on the bandwagon. Plus many employers (non-keyworkers) are forcing employees into work when they can WFI.

However, a minority of parents do take the piss though, judging from posts here on this forum.

Went for my daily walk this afternoon, around a residential area, and there was a lot of people stood on front doorsteps chatting to people. It's quite promising in a way as I hadn't seen that since the summer really.

Suggests people are maybe starting to get the message regarding household mixing. Only a small anecdote though.

Mask wearing outside is definitely not necessary unless in a very crowded space (like a protest).

The way I see it, if you need to wear a mask outside, guidance wise at least, then you're doing something you shouldn't be anyway (unless you're a key worker).

If you're in a busy park or area you should be wearing a mask at the moment, but you shouldn't be in a busy park or area. Go to the park when its quiet if you have to.

@EleanorRigbyWasReal

I don’t want to sound “down on the kids” but each time I go out, I’m getting more and more anxious about groups of teens not wearing masks and not distancing.

I don’t understand why not. They’re not babies and toddlers. Are they a bit thick? Parents don’t care?

Genuine question. Don’t flame me, please.

I work in a secondary school and I've witnessed this behaviour outside the school gates, and other places since September. But nothing is done about it, hence in part, why we're in the mess we're in now. Not sure what the answer is really, but I think we're about to see the consequences ☹

@Livelovebehappy

Seriously?? 90% of the population are complying? Not sure how or where they got that figure from, but round here I’m in the minority with following restrictions. Sick of people moaning about their life’s being on hold, whilst breaking rule after rule. People might not agree with the restrictions, but fgs just follow the bloody rules and lets get this crap over with.

I'd say 90% are 'trying' to follow the rules or at least paying lip service to them. Within that though you'll have people who can't apply common sense, don't understand the rules or will interpret a rule to suit them. It doesn't help the rules are a lot laxer than March.

In that case the other 10% are special or just bad people who think the rules don't apply to them. 10% is still a lot of people though in a very overpopulated island. You notice 10% of people more when a lot of the 90% are just staying at home and not causing a fuss because they're the ones who are out and being pricks.

To be honest, I think the only places that should be open are supermarkets and pharmacies. You could also put a ‘only 10 mile drive from home for your daily exercise’ limit on too. I’m apposed to saying no driving as I wouldn’t get my 6 year old to walk the streets round my house, we really need a wood/park. Pet food/hardware/garden centres etc really should be click and collect or delivery only.

The main difference between March and now is that back then building work stopped for a few weeks. Our street is now rammed as per with plumbers vans, loft convertor’s vans, tilers, carpet fitters etc, not to mention builders. Presume they are sending their kids to school, too, as they’re not at home to look after them? So saying, it must be hard on the self-employed. I’m sure I would bend the rules if I were in that position. I’m lucky not to have to, I guess.

@Beverley71

To be honest, I think the only places that should be open are supermarkets and pharmacies. You could also put a ‘only 10 mile drive from home for your daily exercise’ limit on too. I’m apposed to saying no driving as I wouldn’t get my 6 year old to walk the streets round my house, we really need a wood/park. Pet food/hardware/garden centres etc really should be click and collect or delivery only.

We've got a variant that is far more transmissible, we're in the middle of winter with very cold weather (as opposed to the start of summer with nice weather and sunshine from late March 2020). However, the restrictions are a lot more lax rather than tougher.

How are we supposed to get any kind of a grip on it?

It seems to me the government have lost all control of trying to contain the virus and everything now hinges on the vaccines. That's all well and good when that starts to make a difference - and it will get us out of this hell - but what about the rest of Jan-Feb? We're heading for disaster but Costa can still do takeaway coffees, this time last week we were getting ready to send the schools back. It's madness.

Exactly Just. Forever. You’re saying forever. Because this is an annual injection and by the time they’ve finished giving it it’ll be time to do it again.
Get used to it everyone. One walk a day permitted from our house if lucky. I said goodbye to my parents in person before we went from tier 2 to tier 3. They are early 70s. I don’t expect to see them again.

And I’ve not spoken to them since. What’s the point.

Actually when one dies I might be able to visit the other - if support bubbles haven’t been banned by then. Which they will have been.

I’ve taken this view with all my friends and family. No point if I’m never going to see them again 😂😂

@Fragileandcomposed why don't you think you'll see your parents again? My uncle is 85 and I fully expect to see him once he is vaccinated, socially distanced at first and then as normal.

Things will not be like this forever, people will eventually refuse to comply. Once numbers start to drop no sane person is going to accept only being able to leave their home once a day!

""The advice that ‘you can work if you absolutely can’t work from home’
Every business is milking that statement now they’re covid secure in theory

I worked from home 7 months from March but suddenly I’m full time and I’ve been given a key worker letter to use if stopped by police!

I’m not key worker but boss says I am now

I’m not alone

I don’t know a single person working from home

This creates false sense security

I work with 40+ people in an office building

All these people forced into work this time now need childcare etc""

THIS EXACTLY!

I'm on maternity leave now but i work for a corportate company who have 500+ staff in their office... we are NOT key workers but somehow they have managed to find a loop hole that says we are!!! They say it is covid safe in the office... cos they have hand gel on the desks.. people sit less than 2 metres apart but it has been measured as just about 2 metres apparently.. all people in office are working there as they 'cant' work from home which is bollocks! We are told that if we need space as its noisy or system is slow (meening they get less calls through, meaning less money for their business) we should go to office! Also saying the staff in building are in a "bubble" what the fuck.. 300 odd staff in a bubble its a joke!! Nobody wearing masks, friends chattig at each others desks...

Lockdown should be tougher by imposing heavy fines on businesses that insist staff who can wfh have to come in. Garden centres and places of worship should close (with an exemption for a worship leader to lead worship alone in the building), those travelling into the UK with no fixed address here should be required to pay (before getting on the plane/boat/train) for a place in a hotel to quarantine, construction sites should close etc etc. DO all of this before you close nurseries and make sure that the only aim of lockdown is to flatten the curve - no mission creep which keeps school closed for months on end.

They will pink
People will say they won’t but they absolutely will and if it is enforced by law what choice will there be? People said last March I’m not doing this for a year - yet here we are.

90%? More like 40 at a guess.

Because they will die of old age before these restrictions are lifted, that’s why.