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Covid

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Original poster

Is there something they are not telling us...

92 replies

Thoughtsfortheday · 12/02/2021 10:00

When they announced the start of this lock down, I though the advisers, scientists, Borris were very positive, it coincided with the huge roll out of the vaccine which was/is obviously very good news, I felt the over all message was positive “it’s just for a short time and then most things will be back to normal” type thing...

However I can’t get over, as we’re coming to the planned end of lock down the shift in positivity and what a gloomy picture seems to be painted...

Possibility of no holidays, uk included, no real map of schools returning, there was even news last night that this might last until all adults are vaccinated, the prognosis just seems to be getting worse by that day.

When will this ever end...

OP posts:

TheDailyCarbunkle · 12/02/2021 10:04

They have to keep up the doom and gloom to keep people under control. If they get too positive they won't be able to scare people into compliance anymore.

likeamillpond · 12/02/2021 10:08

I feel they're holding back on something.
If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say they're more terrified of the South African virus than theyre letting on.
BJ has a permanently haunted look. All his bluster and upbeat manner has gone.
I agree. Whetes it going to end?

OpheliasCrayon · 12/02/2021 10:09

No. No one is terrified, stop scare mongering

MaxNormal · 12/02/2021 10:10

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say they're more terrified of the South African virus than theyre letting on.

Why though? In South Africa they are well over the second wave now, everything is re-opening. This is without even having vaccinated anyone yet.

Bourbonbiccy · 12/02/2021 10:17

I think it important to stay realistic and not keep over promising. It's good to keep people with some moral, but that's only if there is some truth behind the optimism.

So yes, the government should be banging the drum of how well all the bodies working together has made the roll out of the vaccine such a success, so yes keep saying that's good.

But to tell people that holidays will be happening in the summer would be stupid, They don't know that will be the case. To tell people we will be out "as normal" by the summer would be stupid, (although most people know this won't be the case as they will start to relax restrictions slowly).

False hope and promises are not a good things, the truth is a good thing and that is that they don't know where we will be in the summer.

They can release their proposals if they had any, which I think is that they "hope" to get schools back by March and I heard Boris Johnson is going to make a statement about social distancing being in place until Autumn, but that was this morning on the morning TV, so possibly a load of tosh.
But that doesn't mean businesses wouldn't reopen, just social distancing in place while we start to open things back up.

But yes it's been a long old haul.

TheDailyCarbunkle · 12/02/2021 10:22

Yes, we don't want people to have any hope, we want them as downtrodden and miserable as possible because miserable people are less likely to put their heads up and say 'when are we getting our lives back?' Miserable, exhausted people are more compliant.

Worknoplay · 12/02/2021 10:26

WOuldn't it be because our charming prime minister refuses to acknowledge his failure to lead, and that he is incapable of giving bad news? The shit we're in is because of his decision to break lockdown over Christmas. He cannot make difficult decisions.

Please don't put him and scientists in the same bracket. Scientists said to shut the schools at half term for a short circuit break, they said not to meet up at Christmas, and now saying not to plan holidays. Don't listen to our useless PM, listen to the scientists directly.

titchy · 12/02/2021 10:31

Because they tried the 'this is how we're going to unlock and work towards everyone being free' last year. Culminating in the promise of a 5 day period at Christmas where households could mix, stay over etc.

That didn't exactly work for them did it. And they've finally learned that it's better to be very cautious.

If they start saying everyone can go on holiday in the summer, then people will think that means Easter and make plans. And then not cancel them.

Basically they fucked up last year and should have been a lot more draconian from the start.

And not encouraged people to eat out to help out.

Bluntness100 · 12/02/2021 10:31

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say they're more terrified of the South African virus than theyre letting on

That would be impossible to contain. We do not live in a global dictatorship. There would be no way to silence the scientists. Our means of communication is not just the government. So it’s not they are “terrified of the sa virus and not letting on” . That would only happen somewhere like North Korea where all communications are controlled by the government.

I reckon it’s to keep people complying until they are ready to release. Plus a shit ton of media scaremongering.

Cornettoninja · 12/02/2021 10:37

That wasn’t the impression I had at all. My impression was they’d fucked up the second lockdown and Christmas and were now backed into a corner. I don’t recall Boris being particularly positive when we hit 100k fatalities.

The vaccine brings new concerns to the table. Now we have a viable weapon against covid, mutations and variants are focussed on more because there’s now the risk of vaccines being redundant against new variants. If we had no vaccines right now we’d still be very focussed on other measures to reduce spread but vaccinations are important enough to require another level of protection to try and ensure the opportunity isn’t wasted.

You might not care if someone takes their shoes off on your old carpet but you make damn sure everyone takes them off when you get a new one laid.

citrusshowergel · 12/02/2021 10:38

No, I don't think they are doing this deliberately or hiding anything!

The sad facts are that there are new variants - e.g. the South African one - which our current vaccines may not be effective against. If restrictions are eased too quickly this variant will spread, leading to more hospitalisations which the NHS won't be able to cope with followed by more deaths.

Cornettoninja · 12/02/2021 10:40

He’s the worst kind of Disney dad.

Chosennone · 12/02/2021 10:40

I wondered this too. I just feel a bit lost this time. I don't think the messaging is clear. I also agree that Boris is not looking great, I understand given the mess he's made of things, but as the PM we need some rousing speeches, some target we're all working towards.
Logically, I can see it is about compliance, but during my anxious moments I feel paranoid about what is going on. That's why the data thread is good. Facts not anecdata.

ChocOrange1 · 12/02/2021 10:41

Last year they over promised. They said we could have a normal christmas, let us have holidays etc. This time they're under promising so they look better if they are able to open sooner, and they arent accused of lying.

MrsBrunch · 12/02/2021 10:41

I felt the over all message was positive “it’s just for a short time and then most things will be back to normal”

Literally no one said that.

RhubarbTea · 12/02/2021 10:42

@likeamillpond

I feel they're holding back on something. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say they're more terrified of the South African virus than theyre letting on. BJ has a permanently haunted look. All his bluster and upbeat manner has gone. I agree. Whetes it going to end?

I'd agree with this. I think they are secretly bricking it about the SA variant.

PicsInRed · 12/02/2021 10:43

You might not care if someone takes their shoes off on your old carpet but you make damn sure everyone takes them off when you get a new one laid.

We're verging into territory now actually, where we're so terrified the carpet may not remain perpetually pristine that we're shutting up the room and never allowing anyone to enter and make use of the very carpet we so anticipated.

Heyahun · 12/02/2021 10:44

It keeps changing because the situation keeps changing obviously! No point in giving us an end date as if things change again people will get angry about it - saying we were told we would be back to normal by...

Nobody can predict the future ffs.

Chewingle · 12/02/2021 10:45

We have vaccines!
We are leading the world In terms of numbers vaccinated

There is so so much promise

PowerslidePanda · 12/02/2021 10:46

As PP said - it's better for them to under-promise and over-deliver. Only took them a year to figure that out...

JoanOfArc8 · 12/02/2021 10:47

I don’t think they’re hiding anything either, just being realistic.

As others have stated, they’d be shot down in flames if they told everyone to book holidays and then if numbers increase rapidly, once the phased return of school happens, they’d have to do another U turn, just like Christmas.

I’m thankful that they are being cautious in their approach this year. They know so much more about the disease and variants. Imagine if they opened everything up early, told people they could mix, told people they could book holidays which then culminated in excess deaths again? We’re not out of the woods yet are we.

It’s such a difficult situation isn’t it and they’re often damned if they do, damned if they don’t.

Regardless of my thoughts on Boris, I wouldn’t wish to be in his shoes at all.

megletthesecond · 12/02/2021 10:47

What to titchy said. Last year's fuck up has led to this mess.

Cornettoninja · 12/02/2021 10:49

@PicsInRed I don’t really agree but I’ll wait for the announcement on 22/02 to make a judgement.

My impression is that the aim is to balance infections (which can’t be completely stopped) against the rate of vaccinations. If infections can be brought under control and the risk of catching covid in the community is very low restrictions can be eased alongside the vaccination programme without further pressure on the NHS. When the balance of vaccinated vs unvaccinated tips further in our favour (variants allowing) we can consider further easing. Any option is a very high stakes bet for both the survival of the economy and the survival of individuals.

I very much believe this (Tory don’t forget) government wants us back out making them and their mates money again and if they think they can balance it they absolutely will.

Jaxhog · 12/02/2021 10:57

I think they've (finally) learned to be cautious. There are just too many unknowns for anyone to be anything else.

Thewiseoneincognito · 12/02/2021 11:00

Many of us ignored the jolly jab and go rhetoric at the start of this lockdown. Simply because the mutations have them scared shitless, it’s plainly obvious they know that eventually one of them is going to break through and void the vaccine efforts. It’s not a case of if but when, that is if it’s not happened already. The bigger picture is slowly coming into focus now and it would seem that this will take more than just jab and go tactics.

The vast majority of the public wouldn’t be able to handle being told the whole truth in one go. It has to be done in stages to allow people to process and adapt to avoid chaos, unrest or disobedience.

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