Next announcement from Boris

[whoamitojudge]

Does anyone know when it is?
With all this new talk of this current lockdown not being enough I just wondered if maybe he’d step up and say something

I thought he was just coming back on telly every day to talk about how many vaccines they’d done and bang on about that. They’ve stopped doing all the figures and graphs like they did in lockdown 1.

I hope he never announces that support bubbles aren’t allowed. I’d ignore it, but I’d rather not risk being made into a criminal for doing something as basic as being in the company of one other person.

When we were allowed out to exercise in Spain at the end of the first lockdown the rule was the four ones : with one other person, 1 km from home, one hour, once a day.

The issue with bubbles is that people are taking the piss.

My lovely 71 year old neighbour is in a bubble of about twenty. Her children, her grandchildren and her friends are regularly parked outside her house. At Christmas she had many visitors. I realise she needs interaction and socialising but really?

Many others act like her. It’s one thing to be bubbling with your elderly parents or single sister or divorced best friend. It’s when you continue to see and invite your entire social circle to your home and claim ‘my bubble innit’ is where problems arise.

Either way, I believe a curfew will be imposed.

Vivienne, I agree, except I might allow a small number of very closely defined bubbles.

But yes to only exercising with your household.

I agree that unless they take these serious steps the rampage of virus will continue.

Perhaps a good question for people to ask themselves is ‘ would I feel confident that if I had a road accident or discovered I had a lump at the moment that the NHS would be in strong position to treat me quickly and effectively’.....and if the pictures on the news of hospitals make you think the answer is probably ‘no’ then see the staying at home and limiting contacts as the answer to that, rather than being about Covid.

Covid still seems remote to lots of people apparently. They still don’t know someone who’s been hospitalised or died. They can’t see a risk to themes levels or apparently to any of their elderly relatives or friends. Until they see the impact of their actions on themselves and the kid of health issues they really can imagine themselves having, they just cannot see why it matters if lots of people have it and need hospitalisation.

I'm in Belgium. masks in public places have been compulsory almost since the start. You can be fined if out without one and could not access public transport. You are allowed one close contact, who may come in your house, everyone else you need to see outside. This has been the case since October with no relaxation for Xmas. You need a negative test to enter the country and then need to quarantine. Working from home is obligatory where possible and there are teams checking work places to ensure this is adhered to. Our numbers are now a fraction of what they were in October. Primary schools never closed. Secondary are 50/50 distance learning.

I suspect many people are adhering to the real rules. All the lists above, re people claiming they are key workers, visiting garden centres etc etc. Are all true.
But I doubt Boris will address all the reasons listed on this thread. He probably even couldn't!

@doubleshotespresso

Support bubbles are vital to the general well being and sanity of so many I'd hate to think this may be removed. We actually would be within the guidelines to use my parents as a Childcare/support bubble but have chosen not to for now. However I'm fortunate in that I'm able to do this as I've got support from DH who's wfh. If I was a single parent I'm sure I'd be terrified at the thought of zero support.

I think with so many frontline workers so heavily reliant upon takeaways that would also be a a tough choice to deliver to many already at breaking point.
In my view the general public need to be more compliant, we should literally be going shopping or exercising outside that's it... there seem to be so many exceptions and a general feeling of lockdown fatigue the whole "stay at home " message is getting lost. We have too much riding on this and nowhere near enough enforcement...

Why exactly can KWs not buy prepared ready meals from the supermarkets?

Why do they "need" and takeaways?

I get choice may be crap of using say a hospital cafeteria, but certainly the lack.Of choice is no reason to keep them open if they are part of the issue and allowing additional unnecessary contacts.

This is all a result iof people mixing over the Christmas period - a friend has Covid from doing just that 😳

Those suggesting the removal of bubbles clearly have no idea what it's like to go through this alone.

I'm a single parent, went through an awful divorce on my own during lockdown early last year after discovering the year before that my now ex husband of 25 years had had an affair. I had to deal with that on my own without seeing anybody.
I wfh full time since March, I either have my DS with me or I'm on my own while he is with his dad, who is now living with the woman he has the affair with. Last year I went for days at a time not seeing anyone at one of the hardest times of my life. When bubbles came in I had no one to bubble with as my family are at the other end of the country and local friends have parents or siblings that are a priority to them and rightly so.
I've complied with the rules and met friends inside/outside etc etc as and when things have changed.
I met a guy a couple of months back who is in the same position as me, lives alone, has his daughter some of the time and works at home. We were tier 2 at the time so less restrictive than some areas.
We have now bubbled and see each other when we are both child free.
I cannot tell you how much of a difference that makes to me. I could not go through what I did again last year for months. And I'm a strong person.

I don't think anyone can underestimate the impact of loneliness and solitude, particularly when they have others around them to support them.

@doubleshotespresso

Likewise, bubbles have been a nicety, but basically been abused by many.

As a lone parent, I don't say this lightly, it would be better to.reduce close contacts now with a view that they could be reintroduced if things become better controlled. That would include social and childcare bubbles. Though it may mean a choice between schools or bubbles reopening first.

@SingANewSongChickenTikka

I don’t think support bubbles should be removed, but I do think people should be limited to being part of one bubble only. I know many people who are part of several and the amount of mixing they are doing given the current situation is ridiculous, but perfectly within the rules. For example my mums friend who is a support bubble for one daughter, a childcare bubble for her son’s family and a support bubble for her other daughter who has a new born. She also have a friend she meets daily for exercise and does shopping and some care support for her elderly parents. I’m not saying none of those people doesn’t need the support, but for it all to come from one person is so risky.

People are only allowed one support bubble, the person you mention isn't allowed to be in a support bubble with both her daughters.

@joystir59

I will not comply with the ending of my support bubble. That would make me suicidal.

100% this.

@FitnessFad

It's unbelievable that some people think support bubbles should be removed. As I previous poster said, I presume these people don't live alone. I live alone, no partner, and no family. You can't honestly expect me to stay in alone for months on end? It's crazy how brainwashed people have become.

Exactly - removing support bubbles for single adults would be cruel, even more so in winter than it was in spring. It's not even weather to be outside for long periods of time.

Let's not forget many of the adults will be people who've recently separated, been widowed, had kids move out etc. Major life changes that people struggle with at the best of times.

The virus doesn’t worry me, I know it’s scary but all our ancestors must have survived all other pandemics or else we wouldn’t be here wasting our time would we?

Well, no, that's not how ancestry works - if people are dying avoidable deaths because our shithow of a government were too slow to act, they don't get the chance to become ancestors who survived the plague. Also, people were having a lot of children a lot younger in previous pandemics, so a lot of our ancestors didn't survive plagues, they just left surviving children.

Why make the point? Because that kind of 'survival of the fittest' bollocks is the same as 'take it on the chin' - not only is it manifestly incorrect, it also seems to say disabled and other vulnerable people are expendable to you. A lot of people are going to be surviving children of plague victims this time around as well.

I've got so many children in my class. It's been growing each day. 1 parent key worker and vulnerable is up to the school to decide so my school are coming up with reasons to incite so many children to attend. They've said they won't exceed 15 per class but that doesn't allow for SD

I've just read in the Guardian there has been a tightening on the key worker guidance that people working from home shouldn't be putting children into schools. I support that as wfh for non-KW is just as hard going and we are never going to get out of this at the current rate of kids in schools. Hopefully school heads will use common sense re exceptions and bring numbers down in schools for a start. I would also think garden centres etc should be closed. Aside from this we need to give the lockdown a chance, we can't possibly have seen the impact just yet and people's mental health is really suffering as it is. Support bubbles have to remain in my opinion, so important but maybe a reiteration of the rules.

'For example my mums friend who is a support bubble for one daughter, a childcare bubble for her son’s family and a support bubble for her other daughter who has a new born. She also have a friend she meets daily for exercise and does shopping and some care support for her elderly parents. I’m not saying none of those people doesn’t need the support'

Yes it is astonishing how some people think they can do what they like and call it a bubble. It really needs ramming down people's necks. One exclusive bubble with one other household only if you fulfil the criteria.

They need to restrict things that they can "police". Bubbles and exercising are not police-able, so a waste of time. They will have to close more physical premises, such as churches, garden centres, takeaways, and non-food shops (i.e. barrier off the clothes areas of M&S, etc). Local councils can police physical business premises, so more restrictions can be enforced.

Hopefully they’ll make early years settings for vulnerable children and children of keyworkers only

We went out for a walk today, we got near the shops and expected it to be quiet, thought we'd just have a wander round. In fact, it looked quite bustling with lots of people about. So we turned around and carried on our walk in a local open space where we only saw about 6 people in an hour or so.

The M1 sounded busy. This lockdown doesn't appear to be anything like as effective as the one last April/May.

I do know lots of us struggle mentally with the lack of normal life, but it seems a shame that it's spreading so much with the vaccine being rolled out.

[quote MotherExtraordinaire]@doubleshotespresso

Likewise, bubbles have been a nicety, but basically been abused by many.

As a lone parent, I don't say this lightly, it would be better to.reduce close contacts now with a view that they could be reintroduced if things become better controlled. That would include social and childcare bubbles. Though it may mean a choice between schools or bubbles reopening first.[/quote]
They're not social bubbles, they are support bubbles and for many they are absolutely not a nicety, they are a lifeline. I have abided by the rules so far, only saw family last year because my dad died and some of them came to his funeral, have only seen two of my friends (one of them for outside walks only) since March, I need my DP as my support bubble to keep me sane, the loneliness of lockdown 1 nearly broke me.

the shops need to start restricting how many come in again-its ridiculous 2 adults and kids doing a fmaily shop not necessary

i dont think takeaways should close i dont see the relevance maybe just coffee shops

Yes, the roads seem very busy. Where is everyone going if we are supposed to ‘stay at home’ and only go out for essential visits?

For people who don’t have to go out for work, why would they need more than 1 or 2 trips in the car per week, if that? Lots of people should be able to go weeks without using the car...that was the case in the first lockdown, there seems to be acceptance of much more going out now.

The idea of going to the shops for a wander around......surely this isn’t the idea. Isn’t the idea that you go to the shops as infrequently as you can and just when you need stuff - it’s not meant to be a leisure activity. The only leisure activity is a local exercise activity per day, with family or max 1 other person.

Watch Andrew Marr tomorrow morning Matty Hancock will deffo drop some hints.
To be fair it’s all over the media which is how they’ve warned us up in the past.
More restrictions are deffo I reckon.

I’ve no idea how they sort our support bubbles. I know a lot of people who are taking the absolute piss and loads of bubbles.