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Will life ever return to normal?

139 replies

lockdownlow · 03/02/2021 14:35

Just coming here because I'm at home alone with my children after yet another morning of stress and exhaustion trying to WFH and help them complete their zillion tasks set by school, and my 8yo just came to me and said "Will my life ever be like it used to be? I miss it"
I painted on a smile and tried to reassure him that of course, it would be but inside I just had an awful sinking feeling.
I've come into my office for a quiet sob.
Will it? Is this his childhood now?

This is all really getting me down Sad

OP posts:
Beaniecats · 03/02/2021 17:41

Whitty is talking now about restrictions next winter
There's your answer
Unbelievable

BogRollBOGOF · 03/02/2021 17:47

There was a brief window of late summer/ early autumn where for much of the country, life was a bit easier. Things like being able to hold our Brownies in the park for 6 weeks, we even managed to hold two indoor sessions before the restrictions tightened. If it was allowed and open in 2020, it is going to happen this year, to more of the country. We're in a better position with the vaccinations and improving rapidly.

I'm very optomistic for life feeling much better April-September. I knew I'd find the winter tough, I have no love for it at the best of times, but even before vaccine progress, putting my hope towards the signs of spring approaching and actual spring arriving and the end of the respiritory illness season. I didn't put much thought into what winter would be like other than upgrading to a huge weatherproof coat and wellies for a lot more outside time Grin

Beyond that? I don't know. I don't expect total normal, but we will be in a far better position to reduce the load on the NHS and not having to rely on it with crude lockdowns and social isolation. So I think this time next year will be better than this point.

It will be a happy day when stadiums, and conference centres are full again. That will be the real return of normal, and the security to be able to plan and carry out events. But between now and that hazy point, there is much that will happen far, far sooner that will make us feel better.

And it's so hard for children. My 10yo commented a month ago that he can't remember what normal is, missing things like friends phoning on a wet Sunday, going swimming together and round to one of our houses to play. I've had school on the phone today discussing what we can do to try and ease my 7yo's lonliness as he's lost all social confidence and friendships wasted away in the first lockdown and he didn't rebuild them when he went back to school because of the damage done.

Better is coming soon. Already, daylight is stretching out and the world less dark than a month ago, litterally and metaphorically.

IcedPurple · 03/02/2021 17:47

@Beaniecats

Whitty is talking now about restrictions next winter There's your answer Unbelievable
What did he say?
covetingthepreciousthings · 03/02/2021 17:48

Well at current rates all adults will have had the vaccine by August.

Is this both doses though? I've just watched the press conference and Chris Whitty seemed to think all adults having the vaccine by May-August seemed extremely optimistic..

Beaniecats · 03/02/2021 17:50

Still a residual risk even if successful vaccine roll out
Ffs

redsquirrelfan · 03/02/2021 17:52

@hazandduck

I feel the same OP. My little girl is one tomorrow and I just feel sad. Her first year has just been so not how I imagined it. A year is such a long time in childhood.
I think your dd has had the best deal of all. All a baby needs is love, food and attention.

Hopefully things will start to improve in the next weeks and months and she will have a normal childhood. But I certainly wouldn't be worrying about the effect of the pandemic on a baby, there isn't one.

IcedPurple · 03/02/2021 17:52

@Beaniecats

Still a residual risk even if successful vaccine roll out Ffs
But that's not new news, is it? No vaccine offers 100% protection and not everyone can/will take it. But we can live with a 'residual risk' can't we? We do that with all sorts of other illnesses.
SleepingStandingUp · 03/02/2021 17:57

No.

I think schools will be back after Easter but the whole school mixing thing will reduce, having parents in the school every other week (primary) etc will go.

Lots of theatres, cinemas, eateries etc won't survive which will affect unemployment but also the affordability as venues seek to maximise income.
I can't imagine concerts and festivals but I think the ones that come back will have heavier mask usage, and smaller numbers. More open air than inside concerts.
International travel will become much harder, will require proof of immunity, clear tests etc and again much more expensive so more limited in accessibility.
I think lots of businesses which have WFH and saved money will keep it that way, so lots more empty office blocks etc. Which will impact on the highstreet along with the decrease in f2f shopping via internet on top of the preexisting struggles so the high streets will be decimated.

I think intergenerational rifts will develop - you stole our future Vs you spread covid and that with unemployment and less "normal bowl not new normal" will make is a more unsettled population.

And then there's Brexit

Delatron · 03/02/2021 18:04

Whitty said as this is a respiratory virus it will still be around next winter just like other viruses.

They said all adults by the end of August for both doses.

It’s like Stockholm syndrome on here. You will be released you just don’t want to be...

Inastatus · 03/02/2021 18:04

@Inthewhiteroom95

Eventually it will but I'd expect more of the same for the rest of this year at least. Things should hopefully start to improve by this time next year and open up a bit more. I think the virus will still impact our lives for the nect few years so things like masks social distancing will remain for the foreseeable future. I think that by 2025 it will be more or less normal again.
2025 😂 Doom monger!

OP please concentrate on all the amazing vaccine news - over 10 million vaccinated already, vaccines reduce transmission and still work effectively against new variants. A tweaked booster for the Autumn is already well under way. I think we will see a gradual return to normal over the spring/summer. Hang in there.

RosieLemonade · 03/02/2021 21:40

How can they justify to non-essential businesses staying closed till 2025 ?!?! when rates are already plummeting and the vaccinations are also slowing transmission?

Beaniecats · 03/02/2021 21:49

@RosieLemonade

How can they justify to non-essential businesses staying closed till 2025 ?!?! when rates are already plummeting and the vaccinations are also slowing transmission?
There will be a convenient new variant is how they will justify it
Waxonwaxoff0 · 03/02/2021 21:50

@Beaniecats do you really think it is affordable to keep businesses closed for that long? I'm baffled that anyone would think that will happen.

Beaniecats · 03/02/2021 22:22

[quote Waxonwaxoff0]@Beaniecats do you really think it is affordable to keep businesses closed for that long? I'm baffled that anyone would think that will happen.[/quote]
The mantra is covid, covid covid at the expense of everything though. How or when can this change?

ChocOrange1 · 03/02/2021 23:00

@Beaniecats

Still a residual risk even if successful vaccine roll out Ffs
So did you think we would stay locked down until we got a vaccine with 100% success rate and/or zero covid cases? Because I'm afraid the horse has bolted on that one! We will have to live with residual risk, as we live with the many many other risks in everyday life. As long as the NHS can cope with the numbers, then it can just be left to individuals how much risk they're willing to take.
Kokeshi123 · 03/02/2021 23:14

2025. Don’t be so stupid. We wouldn’t have an economy left.

I doubt the poster in question was suggesting staying in lockdown till then. She was probably alluding to the fact that some awkward bits may remain until then---like restrictions on travel for certain countries.

Sunnydays999 · 04/02/2021 00:49

When your at the end of your rope , tie a knot and hold on x

Wherediditgo · 04/02/2021 07:19

Flowers OP
My 3 yo DS asked me to play shops the other day and asked me to put my mask on Sad

It will be back to normal and I think it’ll be sooner than people think...

Wherediditgo · 04/02/2021 07:23

@Delatron

Whitty said as this is a respiratory virus it will still be around next winter just like other viruses.

They said all adults by the end of August for both doses.

It’s like Stockholm syndrome on here. You will be released you just don’t want to be...

They will want to be released soon enough -

The change in tone in the reporting from the media at the moment is starting to mentally prepare people for coming out of lockdown - I’m sure of it.

We’ve had weeks and weeks of alarming stories about bed capacity and ‘healthy young people’ dying

Now it’s all vaccine good news punctuated with the odd report on studies of how lockdown is adversely affecting children.

Very soon, we will start to see reports about unemployment and the economy - just as they’re re-opening it all again - to encourage people to get out and spend.

They’ll all want releasing soon enough.

CarlottaValdez · 04/02/2021 07:27

I hope normal returns. I think there’s been a slightly worrying precedent set of the government being able to control people/ businesses to stop the hospitals being too busy. I worry that the next bad flu season they’ll shut the theatres or something. Certainly they’d seemingly rather do that than fund the hospitals properly.

Sirius99 · 04/02/2021 08:37

Wherediditgo, what makes you think we will return to normal soon than people think ? It will be August at the earliest for Aldust to have their second jabs, that’s if the virus doesn’t mutate any further, why give people false hope?

starfish88 · 04/02/2021 08:46

@CarlottaValdez I agree it's a concern. We need to make sure funding for the NHS is a priority at the next election and that voters want a properly funded NHS even if it costs more in taxes in relation to shutdowns due to an overstretched NHS

Cornettoninja · 04/02/2021 08:52

Talking about restrictions into next winter and future years is just being sensible. There is no way to predict unknowns like virus mutations, vaccination longevity, global infection rates etc. We want reopening and recovery to be stable and that’s more likely with a cautious approach (and not subscribing to daft notions like ‘save Christmas!’). Expect and plan for the worst case scenario is sensible but doesn’t mean that’s definitely how things are going to go.

That being said we are not going to be a state of lockdown indefinitely, no one wants that. The goal is, and always had been, to get life back to as normal as possible.

Currently infection rates are going down which is great and means that at a certain level the risk is greatly reduced because exponential growth is at a lower rung on the ladder. Chuck vaccines in the mix and we’re in a much better position than six months ago. I’m personally expecting relief with the better weather, if nothing else it makes it easier to comply with social distancing outside which generally just isn’t a pleasant experience at the moment. Coupled with vaccines I’m confident that things will improve bit by bit and we’re unlikely to regress at a national level (locally is still a possibility in my mind).

Things are bad but they will get better one way or another.

Cornettoninja · 04/02/2021 08:54

@Wherediditgo the propaganda machine is fascinating isn’t it? It’s been really interesting to observe over the past year from every perspective.

Cornettoninja · 04/02/2021 08:57

@Sirius99

Wherediditgo, what makes you think we will return to normal soon than people think ? It will be August at the earliest for Aldust to have their second jabs, that’s if the virus doesn’t mutate any further, why give people false hope?
Why have no hope?

Science has achieved vaccines in less than a year and are reportedly confident they can tweak them to deal with the new variants. Manufacture and physical demands are the biggest issues but that doesn’t make it unachievable. We also have the more basic methods of infection control as unpopular as they are (basically keeping people away from each other).

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