Deaths everywhere, yet we are still going to work this morning. Why?

[TwirpingBird]

I am sitting here watching BBC breakfast with another harrowing video of ITU nurses at breaking point, ambulances lined up outside, 1800 dead yesterday, and headlines of 'lockdown isnt working', 'people arent complying' blah blah blah. Its all 'you need to follow the rules, you need to stay at home. I am seething.

My husband is leaving for work in an hour where he will enter 5 houses today to do completely non essential work because the government deem him a 'key worker'. My best friend will go to work in her office in a interior design company because she is a 'key worker'. Her husband will go to work giving quotes for kitchens in people's houses because his boss deems him a 'key worker'. None of my friends are on furlough. We are all seeing nobody outside of work. We are all sticking to the 'rules'. But how could we possibly expect the rules to work when everyone is still getting in their cars this morning?

I am raging angry. I am SICK and TIRED of being told 'follow the rules'. WE ARE!!! The rules make no bloody sense. And people are still dropping like flies, and experts are saying the lockdown isnt working, and the public are still being tarred as 'lacking empathy' because we are killing people. We are going to work! Kids are still in school! And then we come home and we do what we can but its never going to be enough. I am starting to wonder why I am bothering to hide myself away, managing a 2 year old and a newborn alone 5 days a week, naively thinking I am helping to manage transmission, when in reality its not helping at all because people are still at work.

The thing is with the whole 'essential' business is that in my mind it doesn't necessarily mean absolutely essential to someone's survival. Obviously no one is going to fold over and die if they don't get a takeaway coffee but it is essential to try as much as possible to keep the economy and businesses going. So if they can continue to do so as safely as possible i.e. takeout or drive thru where contact is minimal, then yes I think that is essential as it keeps businesses afloat, people in jobs and money in the system with low risk.

@PortChee I'm just having a wobbler. My mums got cancer, took awhile for a diagnosis because appointments kept a getting cancelled and I'm sat on my break after serving hundreds and all I want to do is hug my mum. I just want my mum.

I can't do this anymore, I just can't

[quote 2020canfuckitself]@PortChee I've seen numerous people who are self employed be left behind in all this. I'm so sorry and I hope things improve for you greatly [/quote]
Thank you. We've been fortunate that his work has been relatively steady throughout so we haven't been massively affected by this but I understand that is absolutely not the case for so many self employed.

My point was whilst I understand the worry of having to continue going out to work in a job that isn't necessarily 'essential' (although it is because it's essential we earn money), it also doesn't mean that I'm not grateful to have work. There are lots of people less fortunate than that right now, I can still be grateful.

[quote 2020canfuckitself]@PortChee I'm just having a wobbler. My mums got cancer, took awhile for a diagnosis because appointments kept a getting cancelled and I'm sat on my break after serving hundreds and all I want to do is hug my mum. I just want my mum.

I can't do this anymore, I just can't [/quote]
I'm very sorry to hear that about your mum, honestly I am.

I really hope you get to have that hug soon

@PortChee thank you

Think I'm losing my mind with it all. It's too much.

have you seen the job market lately?

Exactly.

Have you looked at what risk you’re really at?

For someone of my age / health, the flu is more likely to be deadly. I’ve never even registered that risk, let alone got a vaccine or anything else.

In their efforts to halt spread to the elderly, the government has made many people more afraid at a personal level than they really need to be.

@Tinty

You are all perfectly happy for Nurses to HAVE to go to work and nurse the sick patients or supermarket staff to work so you get your food and delivery drivers have to work to deliver it to you. Just so long as YOU don’t have to go to work and be at risk. I hope no one complaining of having to go to work, are buying non essential items from Amazon etc or sending your DC to school because it’s too hard to homeschool them, and you are a keyworker even though you are working from home.

That wasn't OP's point- she's not work shy and not wanting to work. She's saying that we can't expect Covid rates to fall (and new research suggests they aren't in some areas of the country) if we do a half-measure lockdown. If lots of people are still accidentally spreading it around a work and school then rates will stay high. This then has a knock-on effect on nurses and supermarket staff/delivery drivers so it doesn't help anyone.

and all I want to do is hug my mum. I just want my mum.

Keeping people from their families is the hardest part of this. It’s not sustainable for much longer.

@TheKeatingFive it's grim, the whole situation is completely grim.

It's like I'm living in a nightmare or something. Personally I think if we are going to lockdown then everything should be closed. If not, open everything up and do the traffic light system. Pre-booking etc..

I've already had to self isolate myself, down to a girl in work getting covid. We got sick pay which is rubbish. Then I panic about passing it onto my children

[quote 2020canfuckitself]@PortChee I'm just having a wobbler. My mums got cancer, took awhile for a diagnosis because appointments kept a getting cancelled and I'm sat on my break after serving hundreds and all I want to do is hug my mum. I just want my mum.

I can't do this anymore, I just can't [/quote]
No wonder. It sounds terrible, especially that individual who was on the way to his Covid test!!

I really hope things get better- it must feel awful just now.

@TheKeatingFive sorry if I come across as rude, I really didn't mean it if I did. It just blows my mind that I can serve coffee and not see my mum.

I completely get where you're coming from though

@Lovely1a2b3c thank you so much

Ok so this is really about you wanting your dh at home to help with the babies?

Agreed. We need to close as much as we can for three weeks only, for it to have a huge impact on case numbers. After the three weeks, we can ease restrictions and go back to this level of lockdown. Overall I believe we'll be out of lockdown far quicker if we do this, rather than trying to continue a half-baked attempt to control a more infectious virus.

I don’t think you’ve been rude at all 2020. I’m sorry things are so tough for you right now.

The firm I work for sells PPE and I can't do my job from home. What would you suggest I do instead of going to work?

@FindHungrySamurai

In 1960 markets weren’t queuing up to lend us practically limitless sums at negative real interest rates for extended periods.

There is a time and a place for fiscal prudence. I think spending decisions should always be made thoughtfully, but right at this moment it would be economically and medically catastrophic to take the “household” approach of borrowing the absolute minimum and paying it back as soon as possible.

But we aren't borrowing the "absolute minimum". We're borrowing hundreds of billions to pay for furlough, business grants, extra resources for the NHS, covering drastically reduced tax revenues, etc. Rishi is spending money like there's no tomorrow (except the 3 million self employed HE excluded from the support schemes).

I have a major issue with the comment the OP made.
Not because if the comment itself but because it’s not looking at the right thing.
It’s swelling the hook and the line of the crap fed to us by the government that says it’s all OUR fault if the number of deaths are going up.

The reality is

• the government dindt put the country back into lockdown WEEKS after we had already gone over the amount of covid patients in the first wave.
• it still ‘allowed’ mixing at Christmas despite all the experts advice.
• the number of cases is going down. Which shows that actually the lockdown is working.
• the number if death will go up because there is a delay between the peak in cases and the peak in death. It was like this in April. It’s still the case now. Nothing to do with people not following the rules.

I find it a shame that the anger isn’t directed at the right people.
Yes some, but actually a pretty small minority, don’t follow the rules. But that’s not where the issue is.

FWIW I was reading an article about Liverpool stoping cars ‘to see if they weren’t in breech of lockdown rules’. They arrested... people for drug driving, or with no insurance etc.... peopel breaking down covid rules that badly? Nope.
We need to atop all the curtains twitching and start trusting each other in doing the right thing.
Amd hold the right people accountable. It’s not becaus used people not following rules that we have the worst death rate in the world. That’s coming from political decisions (or in that case the lack of)

@TonMoulin I actually 100% agree with you. The constant bombardment of 'this is all your fault' has got into my head. Your opinion is the stance I had 6 months ago. Lockdown has worn me down. Thank you for talking sense.

@TonMoulin

I have a major issue with the comment the OP made. Not because if the comment itself but because it’s not looking at the right thing. It’s swelling the hook and the line of the crap fed to us by the government that says it’s all OUR fault if the number of deaths are going up.

The reality is

• the government dindt put the country back into lockdown WEEKS after we had already gone over the amount of covid patients in the first wave.
• it still ‘allowed’ mixing at Christmas despite all the experts advice.
• the number of cases is going down. Which shows that actually the lockdown is working.
• the number if death will go up because there is a delay between the peak in cases and the peak in death. It was like this in April. It’s still the case now. Nothing to do with people not following the rules.

I find it a shame that the anger isn’t directed at the right people.
Yes some, but actually a pretty small minority, don’t follow the rules. But that’s not where the issue is.

FWIW I was reading an article about Liverpool stoping cars ‘to see if they weren’t in breech of lockdown rules’. They arrested... people for drug driving, or with no insurance etc.... peopel breaking down covid rules that badly? Nope.
We need to atop all the curtains twitching and start trusting each other in doing the right thing.
Amd hold the right people accountable. It’s not becaus used people not following rules that we have the worst death rate in the world. That’s coming from political decisions (or in that case the lack of)

Totally this. As long as the government have everyone squabbling among themselves and blaming each other, no one’s pointing the finger at them.

@TonMoulin

I have a major issue with the comment the OP made. Not because if the comment itself but because it’s not looking at the right thing. It’s swelling the hook and the line of the crap fed to us by the government that says it’s all OUR fault if the number of deaths are going up.

The reality is

• the government dindt put the country back into lockdown WEEKS after we had already gone over the amount of covid patients in the first wave.
• it still ‘allowed’ mixing at Christmas despite all the experts advice.
• the number of cases is going down. Which shows that actually the lockdown is working.
• the number if death will go up because there is a delay between the peak in cases and the peak in death. It was like this in April. It’s still the case now. Nothing to do with people not following the rules.

I find it a shame that the anger isn’t directed at the right people.
Yes some, but actually a pretty small minority, don’t follow the rules. But that’s not where the issue is.

FWIW I was reading an article about Liverpool stoping cars ‘to see if they weren’t in breech of lockdown rules’. They arrested... people for drug driving, or with no insurance etc.... peopel breaking down covid rules that badly? Nope.
We need to atop all the curtains twitching and start trusting each other in doing the right thing.
Amd hold the right people accountable. It’s not becaus used people not following rules that we have the worst death rate in the world. That’s coming from political decisions (or in that case the lack of)

I agree with most of this, except that new research (ONS) shows that if you take all cases into account, including asymptomatic cases Covid rates aren't actually falling in some areas of the country.

According to this link
www.covidmessenger.com/
300 councils have falling numbers of cases and 15 councils have rising numbers

[quote 2020canfuckitself]@PortChee I'm just having a wobbler. My mums got cancer, took awhile for a diagnosis because appointments kept a getting cancelled and I'm sat on my break after serving hundreds and all I want to do is hug my mum. I just want my mum.

I can't do this anymore, I just can't [/quote]
It’s totally shit, my dad had cancer, had surgery before the pandemic and guess what no chemo because Covid. And yesterday we found out the cancer is back. So the one crumb of comfort I had that he didn’t have to go to hospital in a pandemic and risk getting Covid there is gone.

it’s shite.

@NearlyTheHolidays2

Agreed. We need to close as much as we can for three weeks only, for it to have a huge impact on case numbers. After the three weeks, we can ease restrictions and go back to this level of lockdown. Overall I believe we'll be out of lockdown far quicker if we do this, rather than trying to continue a half-baked attempt to control a more infectious virus.

That would be far better plus change key worker places to only where both parents are and working out of the home. So many are still in schools and lots could be home even now so it would certainly decrease if we followed Scotland and used the two key worker rules.

@Ginfordinner

According to this link www.covidmessenger.com/ 300 councils have falling numbers of cases and 15 councils have rising numbers

Typical that I live in one of the rising ones