Is anyone actually going to follow the rules from spring?

[Cloudsurfing]

It will have been a year since being allowed to properly see friends and family. Even in summer last year you still had to social distance so seeing family was difficult, and some areas had tighter restrictions throughout. Everyone I know is going to see family and friends from spring, regardless of what restrictions there are. I am too. The government do know that most people won’t stick to it from then, right?

Is anyone on here actually going to not see family at that point? I know Mumsnet seems to be full of people who are happy to isolate for years if need be, but are you actually going to?

@TheMerrickBoy

You cannot just 'put your family and yourself first' in a pandemic though - by which I don't mean, you should not be selfish, or you cannot do that because it's wrong - but because that doesn't work as a concept. A pandemic means we're all connected whether we like it or not, and acting as an individual doesn't work and isn't realisable.

Nobody likes this, everyone's miserable - to say you will keep on doing the right thing doesn't mean you're enjoying it, or that you don't understand (and know) how hard it is, but deciding it's over won't make it so, and in fact it will make it less likely to be over.

Um, yes I can and I will.

Pretty limited ability to do just that with everything closed now but but rather than joining in and calling the lockdown lovers "selfish" for expecting me to carry on indefinitely putting their health and happiness before my own and my family's, we'll just crack on thanks very much.

And yes, as @TheKeatingFive puts it, we've been pretty much independent health care wise for years. NHS not interested, so I'm not buying the argument that it's my job to "save" it for others either.

In the next two weeks we should be presented with a much clearer plan of the route out of this. But one of the factors that will impact that route is peoples behaviour and if too many people take their own route ignoring the impact than there is every chance the rest of the population will end up spending longer stuck under the restrictions

We have always and will continue to follow the rules around not visiting businesses which have closed.

The face mask rules are a nuisance but it's easy enough to follow, but I do have one of the official Scottish exemption cards which I would only ever use if they came up with the "bright" idea of wearing masks outside.

As far as visiting and meeting other people, we'll certainly continue to follow the rules around trespass and societal norms ie respecting the wishes of others.

The risk of not following "the rules" is obviously a bit more nuanced than whether the virus will spread or not. It's more about the risk of a fine or police involvement.

Take speeding in the car for example: I might drive at 80 on the motorway but if there were average speed cameras I'd follow the rules.

With the covid rules, a walk in the local park, or a household gathering, with two other mums is likely to go undetected. A trip across 3-4 rural council areas to pickup something from Facebook local is more at risk of a police stop.

@glitterbubbles I'd feel the same as I'd feel if we were hit by another car on the road or if a tree branch fell on me etc etc.

You cannot de-risk life, or expect anybody to do it for you.

I'm capable of making a balanced risk assessment for myself and my family and planning to do just that as we've now done more than enough for others.

Yep, selfish bastards going to supermarkets to buy life sustaining food.

news.sky.com/story/covid-19-supermarkets-most-common-exposure-setting-for-catching-coronavirus-in-england-latest-data-shows-12136418

Um, yes I can and I will.

Um no you can't, because you're not a discrete entity that can't be affected by other people and that can't affect them. So you might 'put them first' by doing what you want, but that's not 'putting them first' in the sense of, say, keeping them from catching Covid. Whether you like it or not, we're all in a community when a pandemic hits. You're not 'putting their health first' when you see other people, are you?

Nobody 'loves lockdown' - obviously not! I hate it, I want it to end, but I want it to end because the virus is under control, not because a load of selfish twats decide it's ended for them, which means it's effectively ended for everyone.

The government temporarily using common sense asking people to go out for essential reasons during a pandemic is not a permanent infringement on/ the beginning of a destruction of personal liberties.

@TheMerrickBoy what you mean is that you don't want me to.

I get that, but I'm afraid I don't agree and will take the "risk" of being fined for seeing friends who are happy enough to meet up.

@Nuggetknuckles

The government temporarily using common sense asking people to go out for essential reasons during a pandemic is not a permanent infringement on/ the beginning of a destruction of personal liberties.

Oh it's going to be permanent. Restrictions continuing. New variants, vaccines less effective. Fear propaganda. Why can't people see what is happening

@Beaniecats why will the goverment want to do that? It makes no sense , no economy is not good for a goverment

[quote noimnotdoingit]@TheMerrickBoy what you mean is that you don't want me to.

I get that, but I'm afraid I don't agree and will take the "risk" of being fined for seeing friends who are happy enough to meet up. [/quote]
No, that's not what I mean. Struggling to see how you've got that, but never mind. Fill your boots.

And this, ladies and gentleman, is why we're all fucked.

There’s nothing so permanent as a “temporary” government measure. Or will Saint Boris prove this wrong?

I don't have much family nearby so not seeing them often is not unusual
and I don't tend to do much home entertaining

The things that I could do if I broke the rules
Have friends round or visit them at home (do this about once every
couple of months or less anyway)
Have family round or visit them at home (do this about every 2-3 month or less)

Yes I miss the odd hug from friends and family but phone calls and Zoom are actually ok for most of the things I would get from having friends and family round or visiting them at home. This is only true though because my elderly parents and PIL are no longer alive. A couple of years ago, I would have found not being able to visit them in their care homes very difficult but nowadays I find it OK really.

The things I can't do any way - most of these I would do one or more very week and they are the things I really miss that on a day to day basis

Visit museums/indoor attractions/gyms/theatres/concerts (with DH or friends usually)
Eat out/pubs
Mooch around the shops/sit and have lunch and people watch
Swimming
Choir twice a week, including a 1-2 performances a year
Go on holiday and do the above thing things

'just feel for a year we've heard nothing but lockdown and precious little about staying healthy or treatments/supplements. India introduced a $3 covid kit and Spain were shit hot on Vit D supplementation to good effect. What do we get here? Screamed at for wanting to see our loved ones after a year'

Really? Well we've heard for nearly a year that overweight and obese people have a much higher risk of serious illness so I presume obese people have been eating healthily also the benefit of vit D has been mentioned repeatedly, so if people aren't taking it why not?

No one is 'screaming' at you.Transmission needs to be reduced as much as possible when there's a pandemic, it is a simple as that. Use the 'support bubble' allowance if eligible if not just ring your family for a chat and make the most of your own household.

No one is having a great time. I miss my family and friends, can't wait to get away on holiday, can't wait for lots of things but I can understand why we can't do it now.

I bet we'll be subjected to the same gormless faces on the telly in the summer when they book a holiday oversees and then get all 'no one told us this would happen!' When there's an outbreak and they have to quarantine.

[quote donewithitalltodayandxmas]@Beaniecats why will the goverment want to do that? It makes no sense , no economy is not good for a goverment [/quote]
I dont know is the answer
But they are

Yes, I will if it's asked of us, and I think the hysterics on here shouting WE NEED TO BE FREE THIS IS FUCKING RIDICULOUS will find they're in the minority. As they have been all along. And will continue to be.

I’m seeing my parents as soon as they’re fully vaccinated.

They won't be immune - you need to wait 3/4 weeks.

Yes, I will be following the rules.

@TheMerrickBoy

It's 1941 ffs, I have had enough of blackouts now.

Literally no comparison whatsoever

Yes, but that is down to my own personal set of circumstances. But similarly I won't start hurling abuse at people who won't be following the rules either - thats up to them, they have a different set of circumstances to me and have assessed their own risk accordingly. We need to become a little more of a live and let live society, lots of people have become quite nasty and judgemental without knowing the full details of a situation

@everybodysang

Yes, I will if it's asked of us, and I think the hysterics on here shouting WE NEED TO BE FREE THIS IS FUCKING RIDICULOUS will find they're in the minority. As they have been all along. And will continue to be.

At first maybe but the mood is definitely changing thankfully

@Beaniecats what is happening? I keep seeing people say really ominous vague thins like this, what does it mean? What are the government doing?

@TheMerrickBoy

I understand what you're saying and what you'd like everybody to think, I just don't agree with you.

We are not all at the same risk from Covid.

Like it or not, some of the low risk (and the vaccinated, it seems!) are getting to the end of the time frame they feel it's a reasonable ask to put strangers before themselves and their families.

@Beaniecats yes, the mood is definitely changing.

I did not feel this way in April last year.

Really? Well we've heard for nearly a year that overweight and obese people have a much higher risk of serious illness so I presume obese people have been eating healthily You'd like to think so wouldn't you? But there was a thread here yesterday about an obese person pondering whether to gain another 9lbs in order to speed their way up the vaccine chart.

Vit D was only very belatedly given out to care home residents and in nowhere near high enough doses. The public took the take home message from NICE review that there was no scientific evidence it cured covid, which was entirely missing the point. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence and the point was to have sufficient D to keep the immune system strong.

As for screaming, headlines scream at us daily, as does Pierce bloody Morgan.

[quote itwaseverthus]Yep, selfish bastards going to supermarkets to buy life sustaining food.

news.sky.com/story/covid-19-supermarkets-most-common-exposure-setting-for-catching-coronavirus-in-england-latest-data-shows-12136418[/quote]
Actually, this story is wrong. The research shows people with COVID are likely to have visited a supermarket, not caught it in a supermarket. Mass outbreaks among supermarket staff are actually rare, and where they happen are more linked to community transfer (car share, families mixing).

I say this as someone who works in government affairs for a retailer and spend half my day on calls with government.