So, what are you going to do?

[LaMarschallin]

To the people who are saying they won't stand this any longer:

What exactly do you plan to do?

March on the streets?

Run out of your house and hug your family?

Not wear masks?

Because you can't go to the cinema, theatre, festivals, shops, libraries, cafes, pubs, send your children to school, see beauticians etc without the government's say so.

I'm just interested to know what the alternative is to trying to keep the infection rate down is.

Twirpingbird I agree with your posts. I wish there was a like button. Best wishes to you and your little one.

@TwirpingBird

I really don't understand people, their selfishness and downright stupidity. So most of you plan to meet up with family & friends in the spring? Even if we are still being asked not to?

Yup. That's exactly what I am going to do.

Also, you say seeing people is what has us in a bad position. Most people have spent this winter seeing nobody. The virus still spread, because people are working. We are going to KEEP being asked to work and see nobody. They are extending this expectation from 12 weeks last march, to summer, to winter, to this spring, now into summer, and whitty has already said next winter will see more lockdowns. This isnt ending. They will never give us permission to see family, because the virus isnt going away, ever. Its here now. We have two choices; sit in forever, or take the risk. I have sat in, lost my mind, done my best and they keep moving the goalposts and expecting me to constantly be 'patient'. Well, my patience officially expires this spring. Patience isnt endless, but their lockdown plans are. I am making my own goalposts now. I am not losing more years of my children's childhood. I am never getting this time back. That makes me selfish. I am completely ok with that. I have spent the last year doing what I am told. I have done my bit

You took the words right out of my mouth

@SallyB392

I really don't understand people, their selfishness and downright stupidity. So most of you plan to meet up with family & friends in the spring? Even if we are still being asked not to?

Can you not see that we are where we are now in no small part BECAUSE people had to see friends and family at Xmas?

Can you not see that it's exactly because of the lack of patience that so many are currently infected (well over 100,000people are ill at the moment), by getting together with others you will feed the virus again. Numbers will go up, and we will be back at stage one.

If you love your family and friends don't infect them. Remember you don't have to be symptomatic to be infectious. The vaccine I sent 100% effective, and won't necessarily prevent infection, just hopefully reduce symptoms.

By this notion we'd never leave our homes again, are we ready for mass extinction?!

What a ridiculously scaremongery post, you need to come out of the rabbit hole Sally and seek help

@SallyB392

I really don't understand people, their selfishness and downright stupidity. So most of you plan to meet up with family & friends in the spring? Even if we are still being asked not to?

Can you not see that we are where we are now in no small part BECAUSE people had to see friends and family at Xmas?

Can you not see that it's exactly because of the lack of patience that so many are currently infected (well over 100,000people are ill at the moment), by getting together with others you will feed the virus again. Numbers will go up, and we will be back at stage one.

If you love your family and friends don't infect them. Remember you don't have to be symptomatic to be infectious. The vaccine I sent 100% effective, and won't necessarily prevent infection, just hopefully reduce symptoms.

It wasn't her family that infected mum....she got it whilst in hospital (the only place she visited in the 6 weeks before she died). Maybe she should not have had that last bout of chemo and stayed in. Maybe her chemo nurse should not have been working that day and stayed in, her driver that took her to her appointment, how selfish was he to be doing his job and not stayed at home? The receptionist? Anyone of those people could have been the one to pass it on, we will never know...what we do know with absolute certainty was it wasn't her children or grandchildren as we didn't go near either her or my dad and dad never left the house in order to protect her. Sometimes you can do all you can, stick to the rules, but unless you are never going to leave the house for anything or send your kids to school ever again, then the risk is always there

It wasn't her family that infected mum....she got it whilst in hospital (the only place she visited in the 6 weeks before she died). Maybe she should not have had that last bout of chemo and stayed in. Maybe her chemo nurse should not have been working that day and stayed in, her driver that took her to her appointment, how selfish was he to be doing his job and not stayed at home? The receptionist? Anyone of those people could have been the one to pass it on, we will never know...what we do know with absolute certainty was it wasn't her children or grandchildren as we didn't go near either her or my dad and dad never left the house in order to protect her. Sometimes you can do all you can, stick to the rules, but unless you are never going to leave the house for anything or send your kids to school ever again, then the risk is always there

Unfortunately, as sad as your post is, it makes a very important point that I think most have forgotten in their fear of the virus and their obsession with the idea that by staying indoors we will suppress the spread. Transmission is coming very often from unavoidable situations. People are so caught up with the idea of it spreading amongst family, when many times it's just out there and catching people when they are doing things that cannot be avoided. That risk will always be there no matter how much we lock ourselves away from the world.

@Carpedimum

*completely understand the death rate - it was the callous disregard “I don’t care”, & apparent delusion that death must happen to other families.

I just find this attitude staggering. These type of people would be shouting holy hell if their loved one couldn’t get the care they need in a packed hospital*

Haven’t read the whole thread so maybe I’ve missed the attitudes you’re describing. But I do find on these types of threads that often anyone who doesn’t agree to a strict lockdown is accused of being selfish or callous.

Things aren’t that black and white. You could argue that asking someone to imprison their children inside for months on end at crucial points in their development, to slightly reduce the already minuscule risk of your covid death is selfish and cruel too.

Some social distancing is necessary - I don’t want my parents to die either. But this type of draconian lockdown has gone too far. Is it really that bad for two children, for example, to meet in a park, where both families are not seeing anyone else?

I very much doubt all of the other countries with lower death rates have strict 100% compliance with the rules either. It’s easy to blame the uk’s high death rate on people breaking the rules, but it probably has more to do with us being an obese, junk food loving, binge drinking nation of stressed out workaholics. With an nhs that was already crumbling before covid.

@Someonetookmyname I don’t disagree with anything you say at all. My comment referred entirely to one post by @ChocOrange1 - no doubt that we all want our freedom back.

@SallyB392 you've hit the nail on the head. You really don't understand people.
You dont understand that people have had enough of being locked up, separated from their families and not being able to earn any money due to homeschooling.

You also don't understand that just because you want to stay locked down forever, not everyone agrees with you.
The vaccine is not 100 % effective...then what do you suggest?

@Someonetookmyname omg that's so true .unhealthy people can sit indoors continuously eating drinking and smoking but pointing the finger at everyone else accusing the being a risk to their health

[quote Dontforgetyourbrolly]@SallyB392 you've hit the nail on the head. You really don't understand people.
You dont understand that people have had enough of being locked up, separated from their families and not being able to earn any money due to homeschooling.

You also don't understand that just because you want to stay locked down forever, not everyone agrees with you.
The vaccine is not 100 % effective...then what do you suggest?[/quote]
I suggest that those doubting efficacy of the vaccine, or those wanting to stay at home, do just that.

The rest of us can return to life.

I did say if we are still being asked to remain at home.
I don't want to not see my family, I desperately WANT to see them but not at any cost. I fall into the very vulnerable group, so will have my first vaccine soon, my husband has had his because of his age. But anyone who reads the reports from WHO or the vaccine manufacturers knows that the vaccines at this stage, are ineffective against the current Covid variants. The vaccines are not going to end Covid, Covid is going to be around for a very long time, our only true arsenal against this biological enemy is to hit in the belly. If I was in power we would have had total lockdown, all shops and work places would have closed. Each household would have received a weekly food delivery, no going out, a complete stop to everywhere except essential services. We would live under martial law for 6 weeks.
With no hosts the virus would have stopped incubating, and then with all our borders closed, life could restart, properly. But instead, people led by an ineffective government, do what they want, when they want.
And yes I've stuck my head over the parapet, and ruffled feathers, but I'm entitled to.

But anyone who reads the reports from WHO or the vaccine manufacturers knows that the vaccines at this stage, are ineffective against the current Covid variants.

This is bollocks. What are you hoping to achieve by spreading crap?

"Except essential services" - it is in the essential services and their personnel. It is in the hospitals. It's in every community. The zero covid horse has long since bolted.

And yes I've stuck my head over the parapet, and ruffled feathers, but I'm entitled to.

You're entitled to 'ruffle feathers' but you are not entitled to scaremonger spread lies.

Come March or whenever I will do whatever is eased and some. No more "doing my bit to help others" because I think DH, I, and our family have kept strictly to the rules whilst everyone we know has done whatever they can get away with. I am no longer prepared to be the ones following it to the letter.

So, any walks with friends, tennis open, going a bit further afield, I will be taking FULL advantage of.

I am so over this crap.

And yes I've stuck my head over the parapet, and ruffled feathers, but I'm entitled to

Yeah and everyone else is entitled to tell you to pack it in you raving lunatic. See how that works? Martial law indeed

I have 2 older children who have both dealt with lockdown differently. The first refused to stay home and has taken up skateboarding. She has a whole new group of friends who also skate and is out nearly every day. She is fit, healthy and happy. The other has stayed home except for daily walks with either myself or her dad. She is a shell of her former self. Out of the two of them she was always the more balanced and happy but has had huge crying meltdowns over the smallest thing and is incredibly needy.
I’m going to be encouraging her see her friends from March.

Each household would have received a weekly food delivery, no going out, a complete stop to everywhere except essential services

It was using an essential service that infected my mum. It was using essential services that killed many in care homes, it was doing essential jobs that caused many more deaths. How, exactly, would closing everything down and having martial law have prevented them?

Follow the rules and the R rate goes down. Don't follow the rules and it goes up.

Just follow the rules.

@snowisfallingallaroundus of course that's true . Following the rules means limited contact , and as soon as you return to normal life and contact with other human beings , the R rate will go up, of course it will.
Are you prepared to " follow the rules" forever ? I'm not.

[quote Dontforgetyourbrolly]@snowisfallingallaroundus of course that's true . Following the rules means limited contact , and as soon as you return to normal life and contact with other human beings , the R rate will go up, of course it will.
Are you prepared to " follow the rules" forever ? I'm not.[/quote]
I think you'll find this is the new normal, no way will we go back to the way were were, that was evident when the two week lockdown of March continued for a year.

Each household would have received a weekly food delivery, no going out, a complete stop to everywhere except essential services. We would live under martial law for 6 weeks.
With no hosts the virus would have stopped incubating, and then with all our borders closed, life could restart, properly. But instead, people led by an ineffective government, do what they want, when they want

As bonkers as you sound, I actually agree that a short and strict lockdown right at the start and all borders shut until we had a vaccine would have helped us. But that obviously didn’t happen so we are where we are now, and need to decide how to move forward.

I note you are likely slightly older as your husband has had his jab. So no young kids to look after then, and you probably have a comfortable living situation.

Can you honestly say that a younger version of yourself, maybe with young children who are suffering, or trapped in a grotty flatshare with someone you hate, wouldn’t have broken the rules once? Maybe just to take your kids to see a friend outside, to help their mental health?

Would you be willing to give up your house and savings (as others are being forced to do) to keep lockdown going after spring? Doubt it somehow.

You know even if you wiped out all human traces of the virus by locking down (as per your plan) it might not kill it. This virus came to us from bats remember, are we going to lockdown every single animal in the world too?

As bonkers as you sound, I actually agree that a short and strict lockdown right at the start and all borders shut until we had a vaccine would have helped us. But that obviously didn’t happen so we are where we are now, and need to decide how to move forward.

Not that strict though, she wanted martial law!

“I think you'll find this is the new normal, no way will we go back to the way were were, that was evident when the two week lockdown of March continued for a year.”

No, this isn’t the new normal. People will simply refuse to live like this once the vulnerable have been vaccinated. They can’t arrest everyone.

It’s very worrying how much people seem to want to be locked down under state control.

@LucilleTheVampireBat

And please don't take this the wrong way but I have no interest in you, as an individual, and your nail thing

That's a bizarre response but...ok.... I don't think most people call having your nails done "a nail thing" but rest assured I have registered the thinly disguised intent behind your words. Not a frivolous nail person you, oh no, you don't understand us and our "nail thing". Gotcha.

You responded "Honestly, I do want to know" and then come back with ^ that weak attempt at a put-down? Why start the thread? Why pretend you were just asking for opinions? You weren't. You wanted to start a thread for the usual suspects to jump on and insult people who have had enough. At least have the guts to be honest about your intentions.

THIS ^

it was obvious what the OP wanted when she said “run out and hug your family?” Very sarcastic!

I’ve played by the rules not 100% but best I can , but I can’t judge anyone who’s broke them as we all have our own situations, and I can say that I will not be continuing to be isolated away from my family once vulnerable have had their vaccinations. Desperate to see my father who’s Alzheimer’s is continuing month on month to worsen. OP you need to recognise individual suffering - it’s not all about COVID-19! Not after a year for gods sake.