Meeting outdoors in small groups and outdoor sport next month

[Mrstiggywinkle1]

Just read an article saying once schools have gone back on 8th March, that they will allow small groups to meet outdoors and outdoor sports to start up again.
Then an unlock from there, starting with outdoor dining/drinks in pubs and restaurants before indoor.
I’m personally hoping the domestic tourism industry opens up in late March or early April so my family can come here and visit from the north east, we are in the south west. Also have lots of friends who work in the local tourism industry here.

So things are looking up and I feel much more optimistic than I did 2 weeks ago.

So it clearly says it is not a reason to delay schools opening.

I do wish people would read things properly before spreading false info.

I've been wondering this morning, with all the incredibly clever people in this world and advances in science, why hasn't anyone come up with an easy and cheap test we can all do at home 3 times a week to prove negative to having the covid, to allow people to go to work and school and pubs etc? Teamed with an app to prove the negative result to allow access to these places.... Amazes me this hasn't been created yet Because you have to work out how to recognise the virus. You can identify its RNA ...but that doesn't tell you you necessarily that you've got live virus, it may be fragments of RNA left over from dead virus. You can recognise the antibodies - but they'll still be there once the virus his been dispatched. We have easy and cheap in the form of the lateral flow test, but that misses one in four of people who have Covid.

An app sounds ideal, but a) not everyone has a smart phone b) some people have a smart phone for phoning people and don't use apps and would find it difficult to do so c) a lot of people with smart phones have older models which may not run the app

"Mmmm. Outdoor dining in March. I'll not be first in the queue."

March was glorious last year! ☀️

I am hoping that campsites can open after Easter. Social distancing is easy on campsites. Most really upped the cleaning of facilities last year once they could open. We would love to see DD who lives 120 miles away, we visited last year after lockdown, used our caravan for facilities. Met DD and her DP outdoors, walked ddog in forest areas away from people, it was fab.

@DavidsSchitt

"Mmmm. Outdoor dining in March. I'll not be first in the queue."

March was glorious last year! ☀️

Was it? I don't even remember. Difficult to imagine when there's still snow in the forecasts.

March was lovely last year, it's really variable. DS1 has a March birthday. It was snowing the day we brought him home from hospital but we had his second birthday in shirt sleeves in the garden.

I'm longing for another glorious summer like last year to make all this a bit more bearable but how often do we get two in a row?

@BelleSausage

People need to be really careful about relying on 8th March as a hard date.

At the rate we will only be about 30% vaccinated.

There had also been a huge rise in children with a syndrome caused by the virus. This might slow down school opening.

Those vaccinated are the risk group- so let’s open things up!

I'm not clinging on to 8th March, but I do hope that it's around then for schools. I think that shops will be next, maybe mid-March and then hospitality will open very slowly afterwards. We'll see...

Your predictions could be half right once schools are back fully but I don’t think that’ll be 8 March. 8 March will likely be a few year groups open first.

The new variant transmits hill more quickly in children as well as adults. They’ll be cautious.

News today - 100 children a week being hospitalised with pims. ONS last week said 1 in 8 children get long Covid.

We need schools open but open safely.

Schools aren't going back on March 8? That was the date given for the earliest possible time not when it was going to happen.

ONS last week said 1 in 8 children get long Covid did they?

"1 in 8 get long Covid"

I know I'm being pedantic, but surely this means 1 in 8 of those who have had a positive covid test

Given many (most?) children are asymptomatic (and therefore don't get a test), together with the heatmap stats here: coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases?areaType=nation&areaName=England

I would say that the risk to children of getting long covid is on a par with being injured in an RTA or playing sport or getting some other illness that requires hospitalisation.

@Cheescats have you read the last two paragraphs in the Guardian article you are reporting as "news today"?

@MNnicknameforCVthreads

Charming.

I did read it and I disagree with Whitty. Up to a hundred children a week is a lot.

And logically, if it is proportionate to the spread then we want to keep the spread low. Letting them all run around in school with no social distancing or masks is the total opposite.

But yeah, 8th March. Go for it.

The infection rate is really going down, by the time half term comes and goes we will at a very low level, and there will be no reason to keep schools closed.

In terms of other services. Shops are relatively easy to keep safe with managed numbers and restaurants ditto. So I definitely think the end of March we will be see these things reopening. By Easter everything but masse drinking in pubs will be open. We need to reopen the economy asap!! I still am not sure people are totally understanding the trillions of debt we are in, and we simply don't have the luxury of keeping everything closed any longer!!!!

@Sparklingbrook yes it was lovely and warm last year. The day I picked the kids up from their last day at school we were all in shorts and flip flops in the playground. We sat in the garden for the whole week afterwards even to eat!

[quote DavidsSchitt]@Sparklingbrook yes it was lovely and warm last year. The day I picked the kids up from their last day at school we were all in shorts and flip flops in the playground. We sat in the garden for the whole week afterwards even to eat! [/quote]
No recollection of that at all was that Easter? I was working at that point before getting furloughed. But it's rare for March to be the sort of weather where you would be booking up at a restaurant for outside dining regardless of a one off where it happened to be nice one year.

@BelleSausage

You disagree with England’s Chief Medical Officer?

Says it all really!

I don’t think they’ll keep schools shut much longer than beginning of March, particularly for primary. Especially when Scotland are sending younger kids back this month potentially.

@Lissy23

I don’t think they’ll keep schools shut much longer than beginning of March, particularly for primary. Especially when Scotland are sending younger kids back this month potentially.

Wales are too I believe

Schools won't be back March 8th

Given Scotland and Wales are bringing back younger children on 22 Feb, could you elaborate @Perfect28?

I agree peefect I think they will be back in February.

As others have said, too many people are pinning their hopes on this one date. Perhaps some year groups may return on a part time basis that week, but there is no way schools will be open to all then.
They clearly said that's the absolute earliest date!

I think the government will move the date forward, Boris is quite rightly being very careful not to get our hopes up, but really the infection rate is now plummeting. Hospitals are in a steady place, millions are being vaccinated every week. I am feeling very optimistic that we will be going back sooner rather than later now. The announcement is due next week, and I believe the cabinet have already agreed a date! So unless someone leaks (unlikely) we haven't long to wait.