Further Restrictions 'Stricter than March' Needed

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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?

[quote countrygirl99]@Everleigh2021 I agree. In my experience it's much higher than that. At least 95%[/quote]
How do you know?

I haven't been in my town centre since March, I go to work, I come home. We go out into the countryside for walks, helped by the fact that we live very rurally. I have no idea what the great majority of people are doing.

My DS friend lives in a flatshare in the city with two others. Their parents and families live on the outskirts of the city. They have all moved home but still use the flat for gathering with a few friends to drink. It’s a three bed and the regular gatherings are usually between 3 and 6 friends - all different people each time. The neighbours have called the police several times and police are told they all live there. Police have not noticed that it’s different groups each time as they don’t check number of people to number of rooms nor do they check ID. These young people then go back later to their family homes some of whom are key workers. If the police don’t have powers to check these things out properly they need to be given them. If they do then they need to use them.

There’s only so much “lockdown culture” people can reasonably tolerate though. We’ve been in & out of it for a year now; if the govt had played their cards a little more sensibly with a few short, sharp lockdowns and imposed stricter limitations on international travel right from the start we wouldn’t be where we are right now.

@Hommkathebluecatt

There is not any lockdown where I live. People are out in shops, I saw 6! Mums with prams in a park chitchat happily Also on my local FB people say that shops like B&M or Poundshops etc have queues outside. Its a joke!!!! Im home and from where I live I can see my whole road, how people get people visiting, popping in etc.

Same here.

Mobile hairdressers still operating, people flying out on holiday, family trips to B&M. Some people aren't bothering!

The bubble nonsense was the beginning of the end IMHO. Cancel the lot of them.

I've know someone whose husband is a KW but she works from home full-time and she's sending her DC into school because they 'want to go'. So many people are taking the piss.

There are more shops open this time - B&Q, Homebase they were shut first time then when they opened in June there were big queues outside and strict measures about 1 in one out. Places like the Range - my one has an Iceland section - I visited during the November lockdown and stood in the queue with my Iceland food with people queueing behind me with pictures, Yankee candles, cushions etc, no food, just other stuff.
It is difficult though as Priti Patel said it the shop is open and sells it, you can buy it.
I don't see many out when I am walking the dog it is quite quiet and cold but people are bored and fed up now and in M&S when I went in for food which is on the ground floor, the womenswear on the same floor was open and people were browing at the sales stuff which again did not happen during the first lockdown.

I live alone and have a bubble with one person - I don't want to not see anyone ever during lockdown because of this boredom non-essential shopping. As I take the dog I also see people popping in other houses. A lady in my road who lives with her DH and has 2 under 10s has a bubble with both sets of parents but she does not work so cannot see a childcare requirement. Many of us are doing the right thing though.

Two girls meeting outside for coffee are not causing this

This sort of statement shows the problem. Every interaction like those two women meeting for coffee is causing this, in part. Every time I meet a friend I risk taking the virus to them, or them bringing it to me.

Every workplace
Every school
Every shop
Every train
Every park
Every street
Every home
Every hospital
Every doctor's/dentist's practice
Every taxi
Every bus
Every playground
Every nursery
Every interaction everywhere ...is causing this.

We are in a real pickle, as we have a weakened health service, a very weak test and trace, and a large chunk of the public who seem determined to do as much as possible rather than as little as possible within whatever guidelines.

I’m just back from the park with DH and it was absolutely packed with people walking about

Were you at the park on essential keyworker business yourselves, then?

No household visits allowed in Scotland for months now and no decline in rates.

Lockdowns don’t work, sadly

@GoldenOmber quite!

It is refreshing to read that at least a very evidently small minority of people apart from the scientific community get this. Naturally apart from the scientific aspect of virus mutations and transmission factors are the socio political economic issues to add into the complex mix of overall Covid pandemic damage limitation risk management. Essentially we can either continue with quasi soft lockdowns and evidently no containment or indeed go properly hard and harsh with a real temporary stop to economic life but permitting only minimal by necessity human survival sectors ie healthcare, food, utilities/technology/logistics, law and order with the rest temporary put in hold to contain and then eradicate with compulsory mass vaccination. No more blended scientific and socio economic contradicting policies where closed schools are semi full with no social distancing let alone use of PPE. What is better for long term strategic pandemic management? Short term perpetual cyclical semi lockdowns with continued out of control mutating super spreading and some livelihoods temporary rescued is probably not the answer as ultimately this needs to be properly managed in a strategic long term sustainable environment. In any case with overwhelming of NHS capacity is there actually any other options?

Our Boots is packed with people browsing the makeup and skincare section and the gift sets in the sales.

You'd never know there's a lockdown here and we're one of the worst affected areaas.

I think they should enforce tagging. Then they can make sure they know where we are at all times.

@FizzyFanta1

The problem is 1. too many people are breaking the rules and 2. there are too many permissible reasons for people to be out and about.

I’m just back from the park with DH and it was absolutely packed with people walking about and sitting on benches with takeaway coffees.

We need a proper lockdown- only key workers allowed to leave home. No popping to the supermarket, popping out for a walk or popping for a coffee.

Why were you at the park?

Why would you only let KW do this. Utter madness

@GoldenOmber

I’m just back from the park with DH and it was absolutely packed with people walking about

Were you at the park on essential keyworker business yourselves, then?

I think their point is people mixture mg outside their households. And like it or not, that is the issue.

If I stay only with my family, I can't pass it to another household.

Any time I meet a friend, the transmission link exists.

They just need to get the old and vulnerable vaccinated sharpish then there will be no need for restrictions

It’s about enforcing the rules more. Plenty of people are not complying. No point in any stricter rules as it’s just the same people complying .

@FizzyFanta1

The problem is 1. too many people are breaking the rules and 2. there are too many permissible reasons for people to be out and about.

I’m just back from the park with DH and it was absolutely packed with people walking about and sitting on benches with takeaway coffees.

We need a proper lockdown- only key workers allowed to leave home. No popping to the supermarket, popping out for a walk or popping for a coffee.

I was at the park and was disgusted others had chosen the most be there at the same time. I chose to judge them. Pot. Kettle. Black. Parks are the only thing kids have left. Hands off!

Def more around and maybe time to close non essential aisle in shop, allow food aisle to open and start back to one family member in shop , unless have young dc/ carer but not whole family of 6.
If someone desperate for a kettle they can be accompanied to the place but a vast majority can do online ir click and collect.
And get stricter with companies wfh , I could wfh but company not allowing and dh can't totally wfh and does office bit wfh , but in and out of houses ,which needs doing but could be limited to a couple a day to limit risk. Some companies could do more , maybe mask wearing mandatory in any inside place including offices , take aways shut ( del only ) as if we are meant to be home , all these stricter measures just for a couple of weeks , to really try and drive numbers down.
Last time outside takeaway cafes tables were taped off to stop people sitting etc. Yet doesn't seem to be case this time, where i alm. Also introduce a set travel limit for exercise , then everyone knows.

@howitworks

We need a proper lockdown like the first one.

There's normal traffic here, car parks of office buildings are almost full, lots of people wandering around the indoor shopping centre even though there's not much open and sitting on chairs inside eating lunch or drinking coffee (which of course means taking your mask off).

I work for a charity and we're put under pressure to work in the office because we are classified as key workers even though we're on computers and phones all day and everything we do can be done from home. No screens, no masks in the office, we haven't even had any bloody cleaners in since the lockdown in March!

Nobody cares anymore, They're overcondident because we've got a vaccine. I'm as fed up as anyone else with the lockdown, but it is desperately needed now and the more people comply with the rules, the sooner we'll be able to lift it.

So what’s the difference between this one and the first?

Bubbles would be fine if contact was limited to what's essential, eg dropping off a child with a grandparent.

But many will be 'in a bubble' but hugging, eating together, sharing cars and other behaviours that aren't allowed.

I have been getting a takeaway coffee whilst out on my daily exercise walk. I wouldn't go out for exercise then make another trip out later for a coffee. As previous posters have said, if getting takeaway food and drink is against lockdown rules, these businesses need to be ordered to close.

You can't blame people going to the shops when they're open!
Complain about the government not forcing them to close!