Tighter restrictions? What else can be "tighter"??

[R2221]

Schools closed, work places closed, nailbars, hairdressers, clothes shops, closed. My high street is dead and a couple of big shops are permanently closing down. We've been totally indoors, going out only to get grocery and exercise.

Oh, gyms are closed, no play dates, birthdays, dinners or even coffee with friends. WHAT ELSE CAN BE DONE TO STOP THE SPREAD??? What would "tighter" restrictions mean? To me, next tighter level means no grocery and exercise :(

My local hospital is totally full. I don't understand why.

@StrippedFridge

Surely the most likely tightening is on treatment? Overstretched NHS means harsher rationing. Too old, too ill, no hospital. That's what the government wants to avoid on a large scale of course but it might be unavoidable.

I'm not sure that this IS what the Govt wishes to avoid over 5 years.

If we had invested properly in the NHS so it wasn't barely coping each winter anyway
If we had invested properly in a Test and Trace system that worked
If we had locked down faster and harder
Then we'd be in a better position as the virus mutates

However, we are where we are.
There is plenty of scope to tighten things as @Sandsnake says

It is important that we all remain personally responsible for our actions and don't 'turn on each other / blame each other'
We are NOT 'all in this together' as statistics show but we can all do our best to protect ourselves and each other until we're all vaccinated.

I have stopped watching news and get covid number updates through the traveling tabby website where I can see the numbers with no rhetoric.

Regardless of any rules I will meet my friend outside for a walk once a week, we have agreed. My mental health has to be worth something to somebody.

How are people getting it in supermarkets though? From getting too close to people? Touching infected items? Aerosols in the air (despite wearing a mask)?

If you go into the shop when it's not busy, keep your distance from everyone, wear your mask, be in and out as quick as you can, then surely that's very low risk. That's what everyone should be doing anyway, surely.

What do you mean, that’s what everyone should be doing? Everyone can’t go when it’s quieter, or it wouldn’t be quieter. And when it’s busy it’s harder to be quick, and keep a distance.

You do know that you could make coffee at home and transport it in a flask which will keep it hot

All day?

Come on, there are thousands of people doing essential work, working long days. They need to be able to get food and drink.

Meredithgrey1

How are people getting it in supermarkets though? From getting too close to people? Touching infected items? Aerosols in the air (despite wearing a mask)?”

Not going into supermarkets any more but last time I did, so many people still picking things up, looking at them then putting them back. Rummaging through the packs of meat and bacon to find the best ones, etc.
If they were asymptomatically positive, they were leaving virus on everything they touched. On hard surfaces like tin and plastic, it can survive for 72 hours.

@Aixenprovence

Twitter comments this morning on 'that photo' - the beach one - and how long lense photography gives the impression that people are closer than they really are.

Yes. Lots of fake news out there.

@Sitt

“ "There is an exemption for those in need of care. PND would qualify someone as needing care."

Although, part of the aim must be to avoid people developing PND (or other mental health conditions) in the first place. ”

Precisely. This is what under 1 bubbles are for - not just to support those who already have significant MH problems, but to avoid an unmanageable crisis of women’s MH and child safeguarding, which would also put a lot of pressure on the NHS.

Not to mention how exactly do new moms get a formal diagnosis of one these days when most of us haven't seen a health visitor since Feb/March, jab appointments are run on a tight ship and are not about Mom and it's impossible to get a face to face appointment with a GP.

Why do people think DIY is not essential? If something breaks you need to fix it. Could be click and collect though, to prevent browsing and family outings.

@puffinkoala

You do know that you could make coffee at home and transport it in a flask which will keep it hot

All day?

Come on, there are thousands of people doing essential work, working long days. They need to be able to get food and drink.

Yes thermoses work for more than 4 hours. Take a packed lunch and a thermos cheaper and less covidy

Dot is essential. Our mains oven switch broke on Sunday. No switch no oven.

puffinkoala

Why do people think DIY is not essential? If something breaks you need to fix it. Could be click and collect though, to prevent browsing and family outings.”

Fair point, we couldn’t use a handyman atm.

Garden Centres though, in January?

I don't disagree about garden centres - they could be closed except for people collecting pre-orders.

@puffinkoala

I don't disagree about garden centres - they could be closed except for people collecting pre-orders.

I drove past ours yesterday- packed.

Fgs, I love my garden, but if the worst thing that comes out if rhis is that my garden looks a bit shit for a year i could handle it.

@DenisetheMenace

puffinkoala

Why do people think DIY is not essential? If something breaks you need to fix it. Could be click and collect though, to prevent browsing and family outings.”

Fair point, we couldn’t use a handyman atm.

Garden Centres though, in January?

I bought a fleece cover, a thermometer and 2 cloches.

My garden fork is on its last legs. I might need a new one of those for digging over soon.

Gardening keeps many people sane. The seasonality of it is one of the reasons it helps mental health: there are jobs that need doing each month of the year that are peculiar to that time of the year.

Gardening keeps many people sane. The seasonality of it is one of the reasons it helps mental health: there are jobs that need doing each month of the year that are peculiar to that time of the year

riding my horse and going to the gym keeps me sane, I've had to give that up.

StrippedFridge

Gardening keeps many people sane. The seasonality of it is one of the reasons it helps mental health: there are jobs that need doing each month of the year that are peculiar to that time of the year.“

I know, I’m one of them, spend hours outside. Tomorrow’s forecast is excellent and I’ll be out until dark. Everything I need is available online.
The garden centres are full of folk going for a look see.

@puffinkoala

Why do people think DIY is not essential? If something breaks you need to fix it. Could be click and collect though, to prevent browsing and family outings.

Yes I found Screwfix very good last year, theirs was C&C, not that I would want to browse Screwfix anyway.

@MrsMiaWallis

Gardening keeps many people sane. The seasonality of it is one of the reasons it helps mental health: there are jobs that need doing each month of the year that are peculiar to that time of the year

riding my horse and going to the gym keeps me sane, I've had to give that up.

Going to the cinema for me or sitting in the coffee shop. Closed because it's not safe.

To be fair, I did by all my gear from a garden centre online and had it delivered rather than visit in person.

My point was more that often when someone does not see the point of a thing they say everyone can do without it. That's no way to decide what to close.

Is the spread really coming from garden centres? I doubt it.

If we are serious about stopping the spread to vulnerable people then we would be far better off putting the effort into hospitals who are by far the biggest infectors of vulnerable people. An awful lot of those people on covid wards came into hospital clear of covid and caught it from the NHS. They have had a cleanliness and contamination problem for a long time. It was c. difficile, MRSA and such like well before this. Spend money there not furloughing garden centre staff.

At the time of the first lockdown it was argued by many people that garden centres should be allowed to open because a) they’re mostly outdoors and hence lower risk b) a lot of their stock is perishable, so they’d suffer disproportionately from closure and there would be a lot of unnecessary waste.

I’m not 100% convinced by these arguments myself, especially in this colder weather, but it’s not a completely random decision.

Yes I found Screwfix very good last year, theirs was C&C, not that I would want to browse Screwfix anyway.

DH has done loads of click and collect orders from Screwfix and Wickes and each time it's been well organised and he's felt safe.

There's no need for essential DIY shops to close compltely.

"If we are serious about stopping the spread to vulnerable people then we would be far better off putting the effort into hospitals who are by far the biggest infectors of vulnerable people."

Interesting point. Did anyone ask Chris Whitty about this this morning? Infection control is very difficult in hospitals, but it would be interesting to know what has been done so far - I think I read a BBC report that the number of beds has been reduced in some places, to enable social distancing.

The garden centres are full of folk going for a look see.

Gardener here. This is my problem too. I do not want to go to the garden centre to buy equipment atm. Theres far too many browsers or people going for the home and gift stuff (particularly bad over Christmas) than actual gardening stuff.

Plus its still partly indoors and its still a non-essential journey.

My frustration with this is id like to support the local garden centres but they dont have proper online stores and i cant get the things i want even though i know they are instore. Id love better click and collect tbh.

Last year i did a fair percentage of my purchases for the year in January and February (before lockdown and it was apparent what was going to pan out) and im doing the same this year. January is my month for planning what im doing for the year before starting to plant seeds in Feb.

I have ended up getting stuff online, anyway. And not from the places id like to support most.

Im still pining over buying a Daphne. I can't get the one i want online. I know its at the garden centre just down the road.

I think this shows up a divide though. You have a bunch of people who think because a garden centre is open its fair game for any reason to go there. The flip to that are the people who want a certain plant pot, know they are in stock, just want to buy it, but still won't make an exclusive trip to get one as its a non essential trip. (My friend is doing exactly this btw. She's waiting until she has to next HAS to go past and she can click and collect or restrictions are eased a bit - even if they go out of stock in the meantime)

People are not hearing this message about non essential and have the mentally that if they shouldn’t be doing something the government will prevent them rather than taking the initiative for themselves. (We've seen this before btw: "If having a mortgage of over 100% was that bad, the government wouldnt let Northern Rock sell me one." Its an abdication of responsibility from the public)

@Aixenprovence

"We've had the 'the world is ending' message for nearly a year now and we're desensitised to it."

An interesting point. I wonder if it is something slightly different - people are protecting their mood/mental health by not reading/watching the news so much, or more likely reading it and mentally "shutting off". A "humankind cannot bear too much reality" type of thing.

What did Chris Whitty say this morning on the radio/tv programmes, does anyone know? I read a report on twitter that he said that running/walking quickly past someone outdoors is much less risky than, say, clustering outdoors.

CW was asked whether people should all be wearing masks outdoors. He said that there was no need if you were just walking briskly down a normal street, but if you were somewhere more crowded or hanging around in a long queue to get in somewhere then it might be advisable. But he caveated it all with the statement that you shouldn’t be leaving the house unless essential anyway.

Round here I would say it's household mixing. Pretty much all of our neighbours have had friends and family in and out of their houses this weekend (and we are not talking about single/elderly/vulnerable people who might be in a bubble or otherwise need support, these are adults in their 20s-50s who live with partners and children and are in some cases going out to work). It's so frustrating, I cannot even see how the authorities could start to police it, there just isn't enough manpower.