Is the government preparing is for a New Zealand scenario?

[lockdownbreakdown]

Does anyone else think we are going to be locked down until the majority are vaccinated and then the borders are going to be closed indefinitely to prevent new strains? I definitely get this vibe from all the stuff leaked in the press. It seems to be the only way we can stop new variant from ruining the vaccination programme as we cant vaccinate the kids if we let in new strains from abroad we will be going back into lockdown indefinitely. Thoughts?

@Kazzyhoward not where I am , ot was strict throughout march / april and a lot of business remained closed , many have not this time.

@patq1967

No the government is thick to have a plan of any kind , give to two more weeks and they will be rolling out " Eat out to help again " as for a strategy , not unless Borris called his dog "Strategy" they don't have one

Very good

The way to control this was all countries to of lockdown at the beginning but the who even advised not needed , and when america did they were accused of all sorts , Nz closing borders doesn't have the same impact as uk or usa , just the way it is and down to visitor numbers etc.
Now we have to rely on vaccinations or virus disappearing somehow as eradication is impossible with just lockdown on its own for many countries now .

The UK can’t shutdown the same way as NZ because Heathrow is an international hub. The second biggest in the world.
All these people getting annoyed with all these selfish people travelling.... do you know why they are travelling? Probably not. For the record I know lots of people still travelling between continents for work. They have to: they work abroad. They come home when they aren’t working.
My husband is one of them. He self isolated before, he tests in our home country, flies to the UK, flies onto America and has to quarantine there for 10-14 days and tests 3 times between arrival and end of quarantine. People can’t just get on flights without negative tests.

I wish people would think past their own situations and realize that maybe people have to travel to keep a roof over their head.

@BerlinCalling - another charmer! I can tell you I would much rather be living in "the arse end of nowhere" than in the UK at present (or at any time really) , but each to his own.

It's not a case of being anti vaccine, I have a sister who has multi allergies who can't have the vaccines, so not everyone will be vaccinated. She had covid she's been really ill, she had pneumonia with it, the anti biotics made her face swell up, she was offered to go to hospital but she refused. She is better and said even thigh she never felt so poorly she glad she didn't go in to hospital and still won't be having the vaccine.

Well said!

@Owl55

I think we should be campaigning to for all school age children to repeat this year . Children who are starting school to go in as normal and school could make adjustants for the sake of 3 terms . Secondary children would have real chance to take their exams and get extra support

This is absoutely feasible too - other countries (e.g. NZ) have children start at 5 and finish at 18. Just do that, problem solved. "Gap year" at end of school becomes "OE" after uni. Done.

*OE = Overseas Experience, usually approx 1 to 2 years working and travelling abroad.

I think we should be campaigning to for all school age children to repeat this year . Children who are starting school to go in as normal and school could make adjustants for the sake of 3 terms . Secondary children would have real chance to take their exams and get extra support

I know some posters have mentioned this. But it’s really the last thing here that I’d go for.

@Athrawes

No, because you still refuse to do lockdown properly. You are still all visiting friends and family and going to school and work. We, in NZ stayed home. All of us. For 7 weeks. At home. No work. At all. You lie keep refusing to do this.

When you say "You" you mean our Gov, right? This has been and continues to be a nightmare for many Brits.

[quote donewithitalltodayandxmas]@Kazzyhoward not where I am , ot was strict throughout march / april and a lot of business remained closed , many have not this time.
[/quote]
Not here, 2 weeks, everything was like a ghost town.... then firms opened up when they realised they could.

Agree no where busy as it is now but lockdown lite definitely.

Bojo the clown and the circus crew can hardly mange the virus in uk , let alone the uk borders . its what got us into this mess in the first place . when the government was just saying its a cold I kept looking up to the sky and see many planes and saying if those don't stop flying soon there is going to be problem .
I could not care less about holidays . If the borders shut down in January of last year it would be the case of chopping the finger off to save the limb but the way the government is doing it its chopping the limb off to to save the finger . longer lockdown continues the risk the pandemic will end socially , before even adult is fully vaccinated.

Close the borders to all people Those who work abroad will just have to zoom or furlough like the rest of the people whose work has been impacted. A short proper lockdown might actually do some good instead of just dribbling around half locked down for years

I wish they would, and get on with it.
We are effectively at war. We can't see our enemy, and guerrilla warfare has never been our strongest skill but if we treat this pandemic as a war we could win the fight, but it will need us to really buckle down and refind the war time spirit of our grandparents and great grandparents.
Sadly I'm not sure that our population is prepared to make the real efforts that this would need. As for our government their desire to be loved and feted a n d their refusal to set a direction and follow it is just causing a yo yo effect. This will go on for years unless we pull up the drawbridge. We are an island, we could beat it with a really concerted effort.

Important govt meeting on Tuesday to discuss 10 day, strict hotel quarantine for all arrivals to the UK.

There is some kind of mass population rapid-testing regime being rolled out. Friend has interviewed for the job to manage this locally, but it's being announced formally tomorrow.

Might be similar to the mass testing programmes that China keeps running every time they find covid in a new city.

@berlincalling

@eaglejulesk I think its a good job you live in the arse end of nowhere with an attitude like that.

I am with Jules on this one. UK lockdowns have been a matter of interpretation at best. All the while peppered with people whinging about their rights...

Right to travel
Right not to wear a mask
Right not to share personal information
Etc etc

We might be in the arse end of the world but at least us arse dwellers are relatively free to go about our lives.

Covid doesnt give a shit about attitude and rights. The only way to stop it (bar a fully vaccinated population) is to STOP non essential movement - no exceptions, TRACK essential movement - no exceptions and quarantine EVERY single international traveller - no exceptions.

The Netherlands is having a tough time with protests it seems

@GADDay your basing your opinion on a few posts on here not on real experience of people.
In rl most are not like this let me reassure you, same as us we only know what we read and we may have a family member , but in uk as I am sure elsewhere everywhere is slightly different .

@Whatamess582

The UK can’t shutdown the same way as NZ because Heathrow is an international hub. The second biggest in the world. All these people getting annoyed with all these selfish people travelling.... do you know why they are travelling? Probably not. For the record I know lots of people still travelling between continents for work. They have to: they work abroad. They come home when they aren’t working. My husband is one of them. He self isolated before, he tests in our home country, flies to the UK, flies onto America and has to quarantine there for 10-14 days and tests 3 times between arrival and end of quarantine. People can’t just get on flights without negative tests.

I wish people would think past their own situations and realize that maybe people have to travel to keep a roof over their head.

If you are a hairdresser or a barman your job is stopped for the greater good they would probably prefer to work to keep a roof over their head but aren’t allowed to

Can I check are supermarkets now the Uk ( and whatever other shops that are open) limiting the number of people in store at the same time?

I can remember seeing photos from my Uk friends and Uk media first time round of people queueing to get into them, but haven’t seen anything this lockdown.

Is this because it’s not happening, or is it because it’s common now?

I hope so, and I hope they hurry up about it, I think it’s the best way forward

@PicsInRed generally finishing at 18 is encouraged here most children go on to college or an apprentiship
My ds 16 ,year 11 does not need to repeat a year to then do his 2 year college course and finish at 19. Its not as simple as just repeat the year

@Whatamess582 I don't think
Some of those going to dubai have to travel and like we said if its really essential for work people can quarantine for 14 days on arrival ar hotel , like they do on other countries.