How are people still catching the virus?

[Baileysforchristmas]

Numbers are still so high, are people catching it from supermarkets? Does 2 metres apart still stop you catching it? Are you still pretty safe outside if you stay at least 2 metres apart?

@Fluffycloudland77

Also round here people are getting fined for going into the next towns woods. We aren’t allowed to drive to exercise apparently.

Obviously I’ll avoid looking out my windows from now on.

You can drive to exercise if you can’t manage to exercise at home. That doesn’t mean drive miles away, ignoring local parks etc and finding a beauty spot in the next town/village/county to exercise. It’s a lockdown so people need to do what they can to lower their risks to themselves and others. Like the government and scientists said, we all need to act like we actually have the virus otherwise the number of deaths and positive cases is not going to come down that easily.

On my drive into work there has been no reduction in traffic at all so less people are working from home this time.

@chubbycheese thank you for your reply. It’s been looked at. I think I’ll give them a call this week to discuss it with them as I’m not comfortable with the risks but also don’t want to risk it becoming infected and becoming an emergency and having to access an appointment through emergency care as our dentist is very small.

Almost everybody else I know at the moment is catching it at work. In “covid secure” workplaces. These people worked from home first lockdown but that was deemed “not productive” by their businesses this time. We aren’t hearing anything at all around the spread in business places. I was amazed when people get saying the only thing left to close was schools when so many businesses are open that weren’t last time. I heard somebody say next thing to close would be supermarkets! Ermm no close the business my friend works at that distributes curtains!!!!

I’m in Derbyshire, we’re being told to stay in our village. Which is tiny so yes if I drive to the next village we’ll be fined.

Police are patrolling Calke abbey.

Schools, nurseries, workplaces. Plus loads of people still seeing family and friends where I am.

Millions of people doing non essential jobs that can’t be done at home are still out there day in day our filling up trains .

@Fluffycloudland77 not surprised. Someone should research the spread of the Virus at NT properties,even though it is all outside.

Where is the evidence (not anecdotal) that it's schools?

I detest the blame game when it comes to catching covid

This. Viruses do what viruses do and this one is very good at what it does.

You can SD til the cows come home, never see or speak to a soul, wear masks and visors and gloves and a full hazmat suit if you so wish, but you could still catch it from nipping to the supermarket for essentials.

The notion that if you catch it you must've been doing something wrong and broken a rule somewhere is ridiculous.

We all caught it from a friend who had formed a bubble with us. She’s not sure how she caught it. She visited over just before Christmas and then started to develop symptoms in Boxing Day and then tested positive. We all tested positive this week (we’ve been isolating since we found out friend was positive).

It’s the first time we’ve had anyone in the house since September (or whenever we were last allowed) but I have been out places with DC whenever we’ve been allowed to. Goes to show why having people in your home not a good idea. That said I don’t know the solution as my friend in bubble is single and is really hard for her being alone especially since she’s become ill.

@WitchWanderer

Afraid to say this concept that PPE/2m SD will protect against SARS-COV-2 - or that workplaces/schools can somehow be made 'Covid Secure' by following a Risk Assess is a bit of a false sense of security. My background/training is as an epi & still know many in field (epis/virology) & still follow the studies with pro interest. Primary vector transmission is now firmly proven as air aerosols. The 2m business comes from WHO & is based on 1930/40s studies on influenza transmission by LARGE droplets. Aerosols are far smaller & studies show infectious particles can travel WAY further than 2m/6' (30' +); they have also been shown to hang around on non-vented indoor settings for 3 hours or longer, so someone can walk through a cloud breathed out by infectious person hours before & become infected. Covid is now est as infectious as measles (IE ...very) & that was orig variant - that's why will need higher than thought herd immunity (70/80%+) to oppress it. New variant B117 (2021/12) attaches far more easily to ACE2 receptors....one reason younger people are becoming more seriously I'll with higher viral-load. Unless you have FFP3 facemask (US: N95/99) I'm afraid 'face coverings' or surgical masks won't cut it - may as well have loo paper over your mouth! Also goggles btw....why oh why don't people protect their eyes... Just an epi perspective

Totally agree.

I started a thread on here back in March saying surely covid was airborne. Lots of replies from people assuring me it wasn’t which indeed at the time was the official advice. Even though there was evidence that it was airborne from testing air samples in rooms after a covid patient had left the room.

I don’t go to the supermarkets, I get online deliveries. But I also have ffp3 masks and if I needed to go,to Tesco I’d wear one rather than a cloth mask which I think is useless. I used to be an ffp3 mask fit tester when I worked in the nhs so I’m fairly happy it fits correctly.

I’m still on the “bank” at the hospital but I won’t do shifts as standard ppe is a surgical mask. So many of my nhs friends have caught it at work it’s untrue. I’m not taking the risk. I have a vulnerable child at home. But I wouldn’t be allowed to wear an ffp3 mask. 🤷‍♀️

Maybe we need to look at telling everyone to wear an ffp3 mask if going to a shop. I know we couldn’t fit test everyone but it would still be better than a cloth mask.

Also I know other people who have pretty much ignored all restrictions and have been having parties, friends over etc, throughout and they’re all fine. 🙄

Last people I knew had it caught it from their dd who they believe caught it at school.

I think misinformation is playing a big part. I know of people who think you can end isolation early by getting a test.

At my mum's work (essential farm supplier) she says virtually none of the customers/staff wear masks or socially distance. They simply don't believe that they'll catch it - they think that as farmers their immune systems are stronger...4 staff members positive last week.

@SunshineBubbles

I think misinformation is playing a big part. I know of people who think you can end isolation early by getting a test.

You can if the test is positive....or that used to be the case not sure if it still is. A colleague was delighted with his positive test as it cut two days off his isolation period.

@Irishgal20

Also some of the symptoms are not classic Covid. Some people I know that have tested positive have a a cold, headache, aches and only a slight cough. No continuous cough, no temperature, no loss of taste.

Exactly this, my partner had a routine test on Tuesday as part of returning back to work after the Christmas break into a residential home. On Thursday she received a positive result, no symptoms and since then she's had sore eyes, a headache and really aches. No temperature, no loss of taste or smell and no cough. If she hadn't of had the test then we wouldn't even be self isolating I don't think. Which is worrying and I can imagine there is numerous other people that wouldn't even think these were symptoms.

@Fluffycloudland77

I’m in Derbyshire, we’re being told to stay in our village. Which is tiny so yes if I drive to the next village we’ll be fined.

Police are patrolling Calke abbey.

Your local police have lost their minds www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/derbyshire-police-reviewing-lockdown-fines-19593030 Aren’t they the same force that dyed a lake to stop people going there to take selfies last time? They are completely alienating the public.

XP Works in a high school. That's mostly empty. Most teaching staff are working from home apart from those covering key worker children. He works in the office and there is absolutely no reason he can't work from home. His employer has insisted that he comes in and they were sent in writing in a letter that if they had childcare issues they could bring the children into school with them.

So here we have an employer not only telling people to come into work when they don't need to in breach of the stay at home guidelines but encouraging them to bring children with them.

As long as employers are taking this kind of attitude there's not really any chance of doing a proper lockdown is there?

I live in SE London so their was NO mixing allowed over Christmas. As an indicator I will use the four houses in my terrace block and the four opposite.

My house has NOT mixed with anyone and has followed the rules religiously. The old lady over the road is following the rules so rigidly that she has chosen NOT to be in a bubble even though she could. She sees me when I stand at the end of her path after I leave her shopping on the doorstep.

However ALL six of the other houses had visitors over Christmas and new year. We all have drives for at least two cars, some can fit three. Mine and the lady over the road were the only ones without extra cars plus there were more parked in the road across peoples drives.

Next door had a loud NYE party, definitely lots of people in there and hugs and kisses on the doorstep when finally saying goodbye in the early hours of the morning (yes I saw it because none of us could sleep through the karaoke singing).

So, from my experience far more people have broken the rules than followed them.

They really need to update the symptom list for testing. The positives I know of had sore throat and lethargy or bad headache and stomach upset.

Xmas must play a massive part

Careful @CouldBeOuting, you’ll be getting told off for looking out your window like I was.

I don't think schools are the big contributor, certainly not at this stage, where to they have either been closed or numbers reduced for 3 weeks.

Unfortunately people just aren't locking down. Many have to go to work (on public transport), and the rest are out walking, shopping, chatting, meeting friends at the playground etc. People are forming "bubbles" for anyone they want to hang out with indoors.

It just isn't like March because most people are no longer fearful for themselves and their children. Put that together with the a more transmissible strain...and here we are.