Doom and gloom. ENDLESS

[Florelei]

I have had enough of all this doom. Just when you think there might be a bit of hope you see headlines such as ‘the vaccine won’t work’ ‘mutant strains’ and what has actually TIPPED ME OVER THE EDGE TODAY ‘lockdown until June’

WHAT ON EARTH.

How can we be locked in our homes and isolated for six months when we are vaccinating over 200k a day AND lots more are getting immunity through recovery from infection.

I understand things are bad and I have always done everything I can to protect the vulnerable but seriously we can’t be locked in our homes until June can we?

Can anyone talk some sense into me please because I feel like going into my garden and lying on my lawn screaming.

These kind of 1 in 100 year pandemics last 18 to 24 months to run their natural course, usually in multiple waves, but now with the vaccine we will save a few months off the natural course of the pandemic.

So try and think of it that way because it could have lasted until February 2022 so if we come out of it any earlier, that is a bonus. Also try and think of how many lives we have all saved by going through these lockdowns even if it has meant huge sacrifices on most people’s part.

I am not callous. I cannot stop living indefinitely to protect those that have already lived their life. Most people dying are end of life. My duty is towards my children, feeding, socialising, educating them and making sure they have a roof over their head. People die every day and that will not stop if I hide away at home

That’s exactly how I feel at this point too.

Agree with @Madhairday - I loathe this government but they have no motivation to keep lockdown going beyond the necessity of it - it does them no good. It's like all the conspiracy stuff that never explains what would be in it for Bill Gates, whose life is already as good as it gets, to chip everyone for mind control purposes. We are in a really bad spell but it's going to be better before
June.

@Madhairday

My worry we are now in a situation were we are expected to lockdown every winter because every life matters and we can't accept older and vulnerable people will die when there are treatments that could save them as long as the NHS isn't overwhelmed

No we won't, because this has never been about saving lives. It's been about avoiding the breakdown of society and in the long term trying to avoid least damage to the economy as economists in the vast majority agree that in these situations the best way back to a working economy is to contain the virus by locking down. The Tory government is not in the least interested in saving lives or in all lives mattering.

Honestly, it's baffling that some on here seem to think that the Tory government desperately want to keep tanking our economy by keeping us in lockdown for as long as possible, even to the extent of manipulating death figures to scare us so that we will do as we're told. Nobody actually asks the question why; for what possible reason would this right wing capitalist government want to keep the country from running at its best in terms of economics? Do you think it's because they want to 'control' us?

Just ludicrous thinking.

As it is, they just want to stop the NHS being overwhelmed so more people of all ages stop getting sick as well as dying, so people with other conditions can access treatment, so society can keep ticking over.

Yes, it's rubbish and everyone is struggling, but those saying they're fed up and are going to start breaking the rules are the ones who will stretch thing thing out for much longer. Cutting off your nose to spite your face.

I seriously doubt lockdown will continue til June. Vaccinations are going well and cases are coming down. Be optimistic OP, there is some good news out there.

You're wrong, part of the government rhetoric from the beginning is about saving lives, they've said this many times. Of course they don't give a shit about saving lives, they do this because it's emotive and it's part of their guilt-tripping crap.

@Nousernamesleftatall I’m with you 100%. Come this spring when all the vulnerable members of my family are vaccinated I’m seeing them. I don’t care about restaurants pubs etc but I’m having them round and hugging them all. We have lived a year doing the right thing for the greater good. The next year I’m focusing on my family. People can think I’m as selfish as they like I am done.

You're wrong, part of the government rhetoric from the beginning is about saving lives, they've said this many times. Of course they don't give a shit about saving lives, they do this because it's emotive and it's part of their guilt-tripping crap.

I didn't say that the Tories are not saying this about saving lives. They are saying that and you're quite right, using it as rhetoric to prove that they care. But what they actually want is the economy working properly. They know lockdown will get us there more quickly and so they say that they want to save lives in order to get people to comply.

The side effect to lockdown is of course that lives are saved as the NHS is less overwhelmed, so even if they do not mean what they say, it's good that it helps people to comply so this is over with quicker, for all sectors of society.

To be fair I think some Tory ministers genuinely do care, Matt Hancock for eg. But in general as a party they've never shown themselves in the past to give much of a fig about saving lives of the vulnerable.

I’m having them round and hugging them all. We have lived a year doing the right thing for the greater good. The next year I’m focusing on my family. People can think I’m as selfish as they like I am done.

So you think that stretching this out is the best way forward? You think you're immune?

I hope lockdown is over and done with as soon as possible. But people who do things like this are just contributing to its longevity, because the more opportunity for transmission the more the virus spreads. It does not care about your sacrifice for the greater good or how bored or fed up you are.

I am bored and fed up with not hugging anyone, even my dh and DC, because I am shielding. But I see beyond my own situation into what will be best in the long term for everyone.

[quote CaughtInTheCovid]@Nousernamesleftatall I’m with you 100%. Come this spring when all the vulnerable members of my family are vaccinated I’m seeing them. I don’t care about restaurants pubs etc but I’m having them round and hugging them all. We have lived a year doing the right thing for the greater good. The next year I’m focusing on my family. People can think I’m as selfish as they like I am done.[/quote]
I’m with you too. I’ve stuck to everything, hardly any family have met or held my baby. I’m back to work in March, I will be seeing my family at that point. It will have been a year, the most vulnerable will have been vaccinated. I’m not going to go crazy and see and hug everyone but I will be seeing my close family.

I also feel so much better having made that decision and knowing there’s an end point to when I see my family again.

The use of language is really interesting actually.

I remember on another thread whe we were in the tier situation. There was a poster wailing about normal healthy people being locked up to protect people who have lived their lives. Their opinion was that the vulnerable should shield( far tougher than Lockdown) but they used the phrase "stay at home temporarily "
I remember I was than accused of being a Lockdown enthusiast for pointing out the difference between tiers, Lockdown and shielding.

Op it is shit but I truly believe things will improve soon.

Op I felt the same when we went from tier 2 to tier 4 in days. All I wanted was to see a family member I hadn't seen in a year. But it was not to be. I am hoping for a window this summer

Op I agree its all rather depressing at the moment BUT this winter was always going to be awful even without the new strain.

And, we do have a vaccine... We are so close to spring.. Winter is almost behind us... The best scientists in the whole world are all working on this.. There will be a break through like the nasal spray.. Something easy and simple to help us all live normally.

Finally, news is drama... Covid is a gift to them.

Forgot to upload

O dear my post before failed.
Re 2017 to 2018 there were various reasons fie mr excess deaths. The wibter weather was harsh and there were issues with the flu jab. Only 34% excess deaths were respiratory related
Whereas most of the excess deaths now are related to a highly contagious virus. The flu vaccine program was extended to include all over 50s and restrictions were in place. Imagine how much worse it could have been? No comparison

Yes and 'excess winter deaths' are not at all the same as excess deaths over a year. These figures have been used completely erroneously to minimise covid.

This video from the FT is very much worth a watch on this.

www.ft.com/video/0cd6f9f9-664e-40f9-bad4-dde59d7c746c

@tarapinn

It is totally crap but I don't feel like lives have been on hold for a year.

Last summer we visited family, went to Thorpe Park, shopped, ate out, had friends over for bbq's and went to Cornwall for a week. DC were back in school from September and they had hockey club etc going on. Had friends over (rule of six) and ate at McDonald's

I don't get why so many other people did none of this kind of thing when they could.

I did do some things like this - and I'm so glad I did - but my big regret was being too swayed by the many people saying it was all too unsafe, that it was irresponsible to do these things, that 'just because you can doesn't mean you should', etc. I went to the pub a couple of times and loved it but it was always a bit tinged with anxiety about whether I should be, and same for other things, e.g. travelling to see friends or seeing my parents indoors. I didn't have the perspective I have now on how low cases actually were at that point, and I didn't know how small a window we'd get. I wish I'd done so much more, and that I'd done it all without worry!

I knew there was a reason I hadn’t been on MN much over the last few days

Excellent video. Thank you @Madhairday

The only way around it is to literally double our hospital capacity and have a vocation purely of covid nursing and doctors
🔮👀

@afternooncuppa

Italy isn't "returning" en mass.

The hospitality industry, which is the only one still more or less closed is being allowed under certain circumstances to reopen, depending on the colour of the region. (Equivalent to tier system) So, bars and restaurants. They've been allowed to open for takeaway and home delivery anyway.

[quote StepOutOfLine]@afternooncuppa

Italy isn't "returning" en mass.

The hospitality industry, which is the only one still more or less closed is being allowed under certain circumstances to reopen, depending on the colour of the region. (Equivalent to tier system) So, bars and restaurants. They've been allowed to open for takeaway and home delivery anyway.[/quote]
I beg to differ. My sister lives in Southern Italy where all the bars and restaurants are opening up regardless of Government rules as they are unable to sustain the restrictions without devastating effects on their livelihoods and the long-term impacts. The local Carabinieri are standing by helpless as they are unable to stop them (and most actually agree with them anyway). There comes a point where enough is enough.

It's happening in other countries too but it's not being reported in case it gives us any ideas. The media has to continue with the hysteria and scare-mongering so the horrors in the hospitals (caused by years of shambolic management and underfunding/cuts) cannot be blamed on them.

@OwMyNeck

You know the doom and gloom that you're moaning about? You're it.

I mean, "I'm in a nightmare that never ends"...get some perspective! IT's the 20th of Jan, as near back as Xmas and right before it you could go out and about, see friends and family,. have dinner out, drink in pubs, all kinds of things.

If you're so sick of the doom and gloom, maybe start with yourselves?

You are a truly, truly awful person.

Southern Italy is large and some of the regions are now yellow which means they CAN open. Legally. (Restricted hours though)
In others, understandably, the bar owners and restaurant owners are protesting that they want to open but can't.
There's nowhere currently in Italy where they can't legally open for restricted hours unless they're red zone.

Southern Italy has one red zone which is Sicily.

@tarapinn Because I was pregnant at the time so higher risk and thought I'd have my whole mat leave to do things like that. I also regret it.