Predictions on how things will be post lockdown?

[Lissy23]

I know nobody can say for sure.

But personally, I think lockdown will be lifted in March at some point and it’ll go back into a tier system until April, maybe May. With everyone in tier 2 or 3. Nobody in tier 1 or 4.
Then most things back to ‘normal’ by May, but we still have to wear masks and social distance. Possibly the rule of 6 inside and outside too.

I’m predicting lockdown until end of Feb, tier 3 for most until end of March. Then everybody into rule of 6 inside, max of 20 outside for spring, back to normal by summer. They can try and keep social distancing but many won’t distance from friends and family once we are finally allowed to see them again. I certainly won’t be.

I think it all depends on the new variants. The vaccines don’t protect you from catching it and they don’t know if it the stops you transmitting it so it’s not a full way out.

I think we’ll be in lockdown until after Easter and then with lots of restrictions. Every winter we’ll have restrictions.

Life will never be the same again. It’s really quite sad 🥲

@Helenj1977 do you really think that? Lockdown until after Easter?!

@Helenj1977

I think it all depends on the new variants. The vaccines don’t protect you from catching it and they don’t know if it the stops you transmitting it so it’s not a full way out.

I think we’ll be in lockdown until after Easter and then with lots of restrictions. Every winter we’ll have restrictions.

Life will never be the same again. It’s really quite sad 🥲

Do you really think that or are you just scaring people? We’ve had pandemics before, they’ve all ended. Of course we will be out of lockdown by Easter. Yes we may need some light restrictions next winter, but once the vulnerable have been vaccinated there is no need for harsh restrictions anymore and we won’t have any restrictions at all next year. There’s no need.

Lockdown until after Easter?!

It’s really not that hard to imagine. Easter Sunday is 4th April this year and this lockdown is provisionally in place until the end of March. It’s not that big of a stretch that it might be extended even just marginally...

Even Chris Whitty said yesterday that he thinks we will eventually go back to normal. He said he thought it would be "months, not years" and that it wasn't even certain we would have restrictions next winter.

There was a daily mail article recently that said ministers were "considering" a plan to lift some restrictions on 23 March, a year after the first lockdown was announced, with pubs opening from early May bank holiday. That sounds fairly realistic to me.

Not quite your question I know, but I think that assuming all the elderly / very vulnerable are vaccinated over the next 2/3 months as planned (allowing for overpromising / inevitable fucking up) there will quite a divide between the former at- risk Covid people, and healthy not-at-risk from Covid people. Because there will suddenly be a time when all that need it have had the vaccination and - problem (pretty much) over! Covid will have turned out to be a temporary thing. Then you are left with the never-were-at-risk people who now have the permanent problems of destroyed businesses, job losses, mental health issues, ruined exam hopes, seriously delayed operations. No government swooping in with a solution for these people. There will be a feeling that people have had their lives permanently destroyed for a temporary issues. I think this will be the big problem post Covid.

Definitely think lockdown til Easter. Teachers vaccinated during the Easter break ideally in age priority. Schools back post Easter and back into tier 4, gradually dropping down the tiers as infection rates improve. Tiers abandoned august with mask wearing and social distancing in public places kept until this time next year - but we will be allowed inside eachothers houses. Masks and SD hopefully abandoned for good spring 2022 when numbers should be low - or earlier if no resurgence next winter .

Schools will re-open before some other activities I think. Given the nastiness of Gavin Williamson, he will want to re-open schools for the last week of term if vaccination has happened for most of the four highest groups, I suggest.

If the rates drop quickly, they might be able to open secondaries with the testing plan I guess. Primaries if they can test teachers and at a push Y6? But I can’t see rates dropping that quickly and the testing sounds impossible. Maybe they’ll just get exam years back.

I worry about schools and parents. Even if they vaccinate teachers, what about parents?
By March, the elderly will be free from risk, but the rest of us won't. It will be a interesting time...

I just think we all have to be realistic.

Hopefully they’ll create a vaccine to completely stop us getting it. That’s the only real way out.

Youngsters partying, worriers will wear masks on public transport Japanese style. Most people will carry on a before. Coughing in public will get the side eye.

I think the 'national mood' for want of a better word will change very quickly. The intent and motivation to get back to normal is just massive. The government and press will seize on this; you can already see the wording and tonality changing at some of those PM briefings.

I think a handful of people will hang onto masks but the vast majority will stop bothering. More people will stop doing it, the fewer other people they see doing it, if that makes sense.

I agree with @JovialNickname as well, the sense of millions of long-term wrecked or damaged lives over what turned out to be a temporary concern will grow and become the dominant narrative. Austerity is estimated to have caused about 130,000 excess deaths, mainly from poverty or illness. It's not unrealistic to think that we'll see a similar figure from the covid-era economic response and subsequent depressions.

My moneys on late juneish.

Don’t think it will ever be the same again. Masks for a long time. A lot of other things will be fairly normal though I don’t see those who used to work in offices prior to wfh continuing to do that 100% but perhaps half and half. That would mean employers could half the size of the workplace in theory, ie half the office on Monday Tuesday, clean and sanitise Wednesday, the other half in Thursday Friday in the same seats/desks. Which could mean lots of empty buildings as well as shops. Empty building that could be turned into rental flats.

I think June too. But I admit it's a feeling in my water type of thing!😂

@Helenj1977

I think it all depends on the new variants. The vaccines don’t protect you from catching it and they don’t know if it the stops you transmitting it so it’s not a full way out.

I think we’ll be in lockdown until after Easter and then with lots of restrictions. Every winter we’ll have restrictions.

Life will never be the same again. It’s really quite sad 🥲

Totally disagree it went back to normal after every other pandemic it will with this one and they won't lock business down every winter etc there will be nothing left

@Mousehole10 exactly .. what no weddings ? No theatre ? Etc my dad lived through Asian flu that killed kids things went back to normal

@Elieza

My moneys on late juneish.

Don’t think it will ever be the same again. Masks for a long time. A lot of other things will be fairly normal though I don’t see those who used to work in offices prior to wfh continuing to do that 100% but perhaps half and half. That would mean employers could half the size of the workplace in theory, ie half the office on Monday Tuesday, clean and sanitise Wednesday, the other half in Thursday Friday in the same seats/desks. Which could mean lots of empty buildings as well as shops. Empty building that could be turned into rental flats.

I work in an office in the city I think will be part time from home which has been bought forward a few years /no going into the office even with a cold and I think people will wear masks voluntarily in the winter other things will go back to normal

People won't comply much longer already riots in Denmark