Your thoughts on when life will be normal-ish

[charcb]

I realise this is purely speculative but what are people's thoughts on when we will be back to a semi-normal reality? Knowing what you know on vaccinations, when, according to you, can we expect the most simple of things to be back up and running again? I am referring to the simplest of things such as getting people back to their offices/places of work, having shops/gyms/entertainment venues permanently open, and the like?

I know we are a long way away from normal as we know it and that it may take several years to go back to it so I am not talking to getting back to total normality - ie no masks, no social distance, no restrictions.

I think things will be much better by the summer and next year will be better still due to the adult population all being vaccinated. We will continue to make progress on vaccine developments and treatments.
I think the danger exists in not learning from past mistakes and lifting restrictions too early, Id like to see all the over 50 teaching staff vaccinated before schools open, which should be around late April early May if all goes well.

@FranklyTruly

Personally I wish people would stop referring to 'normal' and asking when we will be back to it. There will be no normal I'm afraid - life has changed permanently and that will have to continue in order to keep people safe and save lives.

Vaccines may prevent serious illness, but they do not stop transmission. As a result, COVID will still be with us unless everyone in the world is vaccinated- which will never happen.

Therefore, everyone will still be at risk of permanent disability through Long COVID and 'mild' illness that will leave them in bed for a week.

Restrictions will therefore need to be in place permanently. Lockdown will stay for this year. We will when move to a slightly more relaxed regime in summer 2022 with people allowed to meet in gardens and go on holiday within the U.K.

But there will be no more large wedding, no more drinks with friends and no more large Christmas family gatherings. In order to keep people safe and save lives

The sooner we all accept this, the better, I'm afraid.

You’re a proper little ray of sunshine aren’t you?

Everybody has got to die of something. Life as we know it, isn’t going to changed forever. You’re just doom mongering and if that is what you truly believe then I suggest you speak to a therapist because that sounds like catastrophic thinking to me.

Yes, people will still die of Covid. Like sadly, people die of flu, sepsis, heart attacks, cancer, strokes, get hit by buses, trampled by elephants etc etc. They’re not going to shut down the world, forever, for something that - let’s not forget - statistically most people will survive.

I hope I can continue to work from home. That will be the new normal. I don’t want the old normal.

Are people that expect the normal to return by Easter, suggesting that all regulations, masks, social distancing, mixing with all and everybody, full international travel, all hospitality open with no restrictions etc, will be lifted and we will be back to a pre pandemic normal ?

I think Easter is when they will start to lift restrictions. So starting with opening schools and opening up some aspects of the high streets including thing like restraunts that can accommodate social distancing.

@Sirius99

Are people that expect the normal to return by Easter, suggesting that all regulations, masks, social distancing, mixing with all and everybody, full international travel, all hospitality open with no restrictions etc, will be lifted and we will be back to a pre pandemic normal ?

Who here has said that they expect everything to be completely back to normal by Easter?

Nobody, that's who.

Some restrictions will continue but for the most part things will return to pre-covid normal. I hate the bullshit WW2 analogies (because they’re nonsense) but the war ended in 1945 but rationing in some form continued until the early 1950s.

@FranklyTruly

Personally I wish people would stop referring to 'normal' and asking when we will be back to it. There will be no normal I'm afraid - life has changed permanently and that will have to continue in order to keep people safe and save lives.

Vaccines may prevent serious illness, but they do not stop transmission. As a result, COVID will still be with us unless everyone in the world is vaccinated- which will never happen.

Therefore, everyone will still be at risk of permanent disability through Long COVID and 'mild' illness that will leave them in bed for a week.

Restrictions will therefore need to be in place permanently. Lockdown will stay for this year. We will when move to a slightly more relaxed regime in summer 2022 with people allowed to meet in gardens and go on holiday within the U.K.

But there will be no more large wedding, no more drinks with friends and no more large Christmas family gatherings. In order to keep people safe and save lives

The sooner we all accept this, the better, I'm afraid.

Yes there will be some long Covid and deaths. Being in bed for a week is hardly the end of the world.

After all the adults have been vaccinated that can be the balance will start to tip. More and more of the population (and most likely governments) will realise that lockdowns and restrictions will be causing more harm than the virus. Yes, lockdown is necessary right now but it is not without harm. At this point life will slowly start to return to some kind of normal. It has to.

It all depends surely on the success of the vaccine rollout. Johnathan Van Tam said that when we have vaccinated the higher vulnerability groups 90+% of hospital admissions for covid will go
We cannot stay in lockdown certainly not to the middle of next year as some are posting unless we get the economy moving coronavirus will be the least of our probelms

FranklyTruly post actually made me feel really down. I've been going through chemo this year and it hasn't even worked as well as hoped. My mum, stepfather and sisters in France haven't been able to visit, I've not been able to see friends or do many things with my young kids and I'm just feeling really down about it all. It's all very well to say normal by 2024, or whatever, but maybe not everyone can wait that long. My fault for reading this thread, I know!

My predictions:

After Feb half term: Reception, Y1 and y6 back to school, but in bubbles of 15
3 weeks later primaries schools allowed to take back any years, again bubbles of 15
Secondaries all at home.

April - whole country moved into Tier 3.
All children back to school after Easter

Beginning of May - whole country moved into Tier 2

June time - Tier 1

If rates stay low Tiers removed for the summer; however, masks still needed. You won’t be able to come into the U.K. without proof of being vaccinated or a negative Covid test.

Pretty sure exam years going back will be a bigger priority than some of the years you mention.

I think what's sad is the countries that handled it better will get the vaccines rolled out and avoid all the the health impacts of me lliond of 'mild cases'.

The UK is going to have a lot of people left unable to work etc. due to the mistakes.

The sadness of a death of an elderly person is one tragedy, also the long term impacts on a younger person are really bad - and an ongoing economic cost to the country. This will be a big issue in the UK and USA for some time.

@Jourdain11

FranklyTruly post actually made me feel really down. I've been going through chemo this year and it hasn't even worked as well as hoped. My mum, stepfather and sisters in France haven't been able to visit, I've not been able to see friends or do many things with my young kids and I'm just feeling really down about it all. It's all very well to say normal by 2024, or whatever, but maybe not everyone can wait that long. My fault for reading this thread, I know!

Just ignore her, adding “I’m afraid” doesn’t make it any less bollocks.

@bluetongue try not to get down. Look back to history:

The world had had terrible pandemics before, measles, polio, flu (Spanish, swine). Only smallpox has been eradicated, but the world didn’t stop.
We’ve had 2 terrible world wars) within the last 100 years - with nuclear bombs being dropped on one country, and yet, the World continued without “restrictions”.

Humans, when their backs are against the wall, can do amazing things scientists have developed a vaccine in record beating time. New drugs are being found all the time for those suffering with Covid.

I maybe wrong, but I don’t think this we will never return to normal life and we will never meet in big groups again. I’m looking forward to celebrating like they did in the 20s and 50s.

FranklyTruly's scenario would also have the interesting effect of effectively ending the human race. How would anyone ever meet a new partner?

I understand the need to open up the schools and the economy and overall that is important. But I just miss family SO much. I have a niece who has only met her maternal grandparents and no other family..my parents are desperate to meet their first grandchild. I really hope that we get to see her by Easter at the very latest. They can't expect people to be apart from their families like this for months and months on end. Especially now that the elderly and vulnerable are being vaccinated.

This poor baby (as with many others) are just growing up meeting family members through a phone and it isnt healthy. Yes things are bad now and I am of course willing to play my part in all of this but there comes a point when things have to be allowed.

After Feb half term: Reception, Y1 and y6 back to school, but in bubbles of 15
3 weeks later primaries schools allowed to take back any years, again bubbles of 15
Secondaries all at home

I hope that if they do what they did in June and open up by year group, that they'd start with those children who got nothing last June.

So current years 3,4, 5 and 6?

That would even things out a bit.

When do people seriously think we will be back to pre pandemic normal ?

Spring 2022. Pandemics have a habit of lasting two years

@Jourdain11 sorry to hear about what you are going through. I had chemo 10 years ago. It must be so tough at the moment and not having that family support.

People are ridiculous on here. Just ignore them. I’ve come off many threads because people say ‘2024’ with no explanation or reason. They like to scaremonger.

They can’t stop people seeing family and friends for years. All pandemics in the history of the world have ended even without vaccines. In a few months we’ll be in a much better place.

The economy won’t survive with continued restrictions. Once the elderly and vulnerable are vaccinated and the hospitals can cope restrictions will be lifted. They may keep mask wearing but maybe not.

@NeverForgetYourDreams

Spring 2022. Pandemics have a habit of lasting two years

Are you sure about that? flu pandemics may have a habit of lasting 2 years, the aids pandemic has lasted several years, plague pandemics returned multiple times We have not seen a coronavirus pandemic before

All pandemics in the history of the world have ended
No they haven't, aids pandemic is still ongoing, flu pandemics have ended, we have never seen a coronavirus pandemic before, the only disease which we have eradicated is smallpox

I agree with Franklytruly, this is an inflection point for the human race, ultimately in hindsight we will see it as a springboard to better things, but the old ways are gone

@Yohoheaveho

I agree with Franklytruly, this is an inflection point for the human race, ultimately in hindsight we will see it as a springboard to better things, but the old ways are gone

The wise seer Yohoheaveho has spoken!