Is there something they are not telling us...

[Thoughtsfortheday]

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...

Well if they said in March 2020 this shit will go on forever people probably wouldn't have been so compliant. Plus they need to maintain an element of fear so that people are compliant by. choice.

As far as I can see the picture shifted with the more transmissible new variant, as if they then finally accepted that they can't wing it anymore 🤷‍♀️

@TheDailyCarbunkle

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.

They aren't at all. They are pissed off and non-compliant.

Or do you mean that YOU are compliant?

I reckon it’s to keep people complying until they are ready to release.

Yes whilst they are vaccinating people they still need to keep those vaccinated fearful so they don't ignore all the rules.

@o8O8O8o

False hope is damaging and destabilizing it's better to stay in eyore mode ....gloomy but stable

And you don't think no hope is damaging and destabilising?

Using holidays as an example, why couldn't Shapps have said 'we don't know yet whether holidays will be able to go ahead so people should book with caution'? There was no need for 'people shouldn't even be thinking of booking holidays'.

What good is the press constantly running stories from 'scientists' saying we need to lock down until everyone is vaccinated, me may have to social distance/wear masks forever.

@Flaxmeadow

A problem I think is that Boris might say something like... "hopefully, if we all stick within the guidelines, we might be able to lift some restrictions for Xmas"

Some press will then have screaming headlines saying...
"Boris Says Restrictions Will Be Lifted At Xmas!!!"

Really? i have followed his statements and he usually is quite clear in his comments ie 5 days of xmas or have a jolly small xmas later on.

Hancock was also very clear in December, after the first vaccines "we hope to be back to normal by the spring, certainly by summer..."

Perhaps less clear is Grant Schapes "don't book any holidays" but Hancock says "i ve booked Cornwall for the summer"

From the very beginning, the govt has given out mixed messages & its happening still.

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.

The gov has made massive fucks up but I do think human nature generally gets overlooked. They have to try & manage that too.

@TheDailyCarbunkle

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.

This.

Most people are able to work out that there's a risk of cancellation for UK holidays, and a much much larger chance that holidays abroad will be unworkable, and will decide how much risk they want to take in booking now or waiting until later.

Update is due 22/02 - and that date has been well publicised for some time.

I don't think we can reasonably expect them to change that date simply because some people find it difficult to wait a while.

I am encouraged that they do seem to be saying that numbers are moving as they hoped. Schools are prioritised way ahead of holidays, so that it what we're likely to hear about first. And it might be sensible to allow time for impact of school opening on transmission (especially community spread via secondaries as vectors in new variant areas) before taking next steps

Schools are 0.4 so if its over 0.7 (allowing for say 0.1 ones in already )we will be over 1 already without anything else.
Unfortunately people vaxxed except nhs are not the ones causing the spread.

It feels like there is a lot they are not telling us.

Criminalising social interaction and leaving your home, closing businesses and schools on a whim, publicising conveniently-timed new variants with just enough info to scare but not enough for people to understand, and controlling the narrative of the masses with carefully curated propaganda is NOT a normal reaction to a serious but not overly deadly respiratory virus.

Massaged statistics, unreliable tests that always present the worst case scenario, the constant dashing of hope and the daily dose of doom and gloom to keep us depressed without any idea of what the end game is.

Billions of pounds poured into a long-term covid industry composed of vaccine passports, perpetual testing, potentially biannual vaccine programmes and much much more. Most pandemic diseases dissipate naturally and do not need these long term measures. So why this one? Why are they so sure?

And you don't think no hope is damaging and destabilising?
Oh contraire I completely agree that no hope is damaging and destabilizing
The question then becomes the which is worse.... false hope or no hope 🤷‍♀️
There are no good options, this is the catchphrase for the pandemic, this is why it's so hard
There is no good way forward

@Thewiseoneincognito

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.

From what I have seen, most scientists don't think that the virus will evolve to the extent that it is completely able to escape vaccines. It's thought to be unlikely - so while not ruled out, certainly not inevitable as your post seems to imply? In fact I don't think that I have seen any scientists say what you have said: ("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. ").

Most pandemic diseases dissipate naturally and do not need these long term measures
Probably you are thinking of pandemic flues though? We don't have any experience of coronavirus pandemics to inform us here.

Most pandemic diseases dissipate naturally and do not need these long term measures. So why this one? Why are they so sure?

Surely it's because they are unsure?

They're probably just fucking exhausted.

It's so relentless

Most pandemic diseases dissipate naturally and do not need these long term measures

What are you basing that statement on? Flu’s generally have vaccines developed quickly and things like Ebola, SARS or MERS are much deadlier so kill their hosts quicker than it can spread so have never reached the level of a pandemic. Other diseases actually attract quite a lot of intervention (TB, norovirus, chickenpox). We already isolate people with chickenpox as standard, if it mutated and began spreading in the way covid has we’d take the same measures. It’s not unusual for hospitals and care homes to close to visitors and schools to completely close due to outbreaks of norovirus.

I think your confusing personal experience i.e very limited, with experience on a national level.

Behavioural scientists advise the government about strategies. Maybe the government were being over optimistic and bullish about recovery before, have been slowed down by the new variants. A cautious approach is better.

Honestly look how people are becoming more and more divided over lockdown.

Rather than explain things clearly, the media perpetuate the fear, uncertainty and doubt whilst the Government stands by.

Why is that??

I think it's more to do with bloody Sage.
Did you see what one said last night? Constant never ending rule of 6 and masks?
So that means no pubs no clubs, no weddings, no parties.
Fuck. That.
When we see that Australia have concerts and stiff going on now.
The thing that needs to happen is ditch "red zones" for quarentine, and close the border entirely unless for work or compassionate reasons and make it law that anyone coming in or out for those reasons only must do hotel quarentine. That is exactly why Australia is back to pretty much normal.
I cried last night as I've tried to be updbeat and positive. But I want to be able to be excited about my wedding but looks like that won't happen this year or next if Sage get their way.
How can we let children back in classrooms but say no socialising? What a load of crap.
I think some of these scientists like control now. The Vaccine is here, astra-zeneca and Pfizer have both said they can alter the Vaccine easily (like with flu jabs) so they aren't worried. Yet another medication is looking promising to stop the illness being deadly.
You cannot say no to socialising pubs and life yet say yes to schools, commuting and working in big offices, supermarkets and factories.
I'm sorry I've just had a gutful of it all now.

I'm sorry I've just had a gutful of it all now
Don't be sorry when you have nothing to be sorry for.

I don't think they're holding back/not telling us something - I think they try and make the best out of a bad situation so instead of last year saying it is going to last an entire year, they will say lockdown for 2 weeks and things can start going back to normal.

I think this allows people to have hope that it will all be over soon but it also does the opposite where people say I am not doing this anymore as they promised this but aren't doing it.

My motto is to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

My motto is to hope for the best but prepare for the worst
Bloody hell I was just about to post "hoping for the best but expecting the worst" after Alphaville came up on my playlist.

A few more weeks thats all. Things will then start to properly improve.

@o8O8O8o

Most pandemic diseases dissipate naturally and do not need these long term measures Probably you are thinking of pandemic flues though? We don't have any experience of coronavirus pandemics to inform us here.

We possibly do - there’s a (mainstream, non-bathshit) theory that the 1889 flu pandemic was a coronavirus, OC43. That one’s now one of the common cold coronaviruses but it seems to have crossed into humans at about that time, and was probably a lot nastier once it was hitting a population with no previous immunity.

Even if we don’t, though, we have had pandemics of all sorts of different diseases and have never needed severe measures to continue long term.