Is life never going back to normal?

[JuneMoonstone]

I feel incredibly lucky that I've lived 44 years of a normal life. I am heartbroken at the way life has become. Like so many others, I feel like I am existing, not living. I don't see any point in making plans, I don't feel any hope for the future. I was feeling quite positive about the progress made in the UK with vaccines and seeing the infection rates and death rates lower. However with the news about the rest of Europe going into lockdown due to escalating infection rates, I can't help but feel that we are never going to get out of this bloody mess. I cannot help but believe that we will have to live our lives under constant restrictions forever now because of this virus. Is life really going to be shit from now on? Will I ever be able to, for example, go into a busy pub on a Friday night and watch a live band and have a bloody good time again? Will we have to wear face masks permanently in public places from now on? I get a very strong feeling that this will be the case. It's my daughter I feel for the most. She's just 5 years old. What kind of a life is she going to have?

In NI singing is also banned in crèches, nurseries and even in childminders' homes. So little kids are, by law, banned from singing nursery rhymes together.

And this was brought in at a time when cases are low and falling and Covid wards in hospitals have been shut down. It makes no sense.

@RaraRachael @Wildswim
This is a link to an article in SMH showing how singing was responsible for a cluster over here...
Our cases are so low that we have the resource to fully investigate things. It's awful that kids are banned from singing though.

www.google.co.nz/amp/s/amp.smh.com.au/national/nsw/virus-spread-through-air-at-western-sydney-church-analysis-concludes-20210406-p57gt7.html

How does it make no sense? Singing projects more aerosols into the air giving a greater chance of transmission. Having them rammed in classes with no distancing is risky, saying well let’s at least not have them singing in an enclosed space is a tiny concession.

How can you be furious about that ffs?

@TheHoneyBadger

How does it make no sense? Singing projects more aerosols into the air giving a greater chance of transmission. Having them rammed in classes with no distancing is risky, saying well let’s at least not have them singing in an enclosed space is a tiny concession.

How can you be furious about that ffs?

Surely it has to be proportional. The vast majority of children will not have CV at any given time.

If they do, it will be transitory. So to prevent the absolutely miniscule risk that a toddler might infect someone whilst singing (but not while crying their heart out at the unnatural rules they have to follow at nursery) we won't let them sing.

The fall out of this is poorer language development, poorer social skills, poorer musical skills and reduced brain development.

So whilst inflicting this unnecessary punishment on our babies, the same posters are telling teenagers, 20/30/40 year olds to go and get a vaccine they don't need that has a small risk of killing them or ruining their health.

People have lost the plot completely. Shocking.

It's just another shit thing to add to the shittery of the past year in schools. No indoor PE so we have to take them outside in all weathers which they (and I) hate.

I'm just so fed up with all this. Thought the vaccine would make a big difference but it hasn't - nothing has changed.

We could just close nurseries and schools if you find any tiny safety protocol to be so traumatic and unnatural and likely to have children sobbing their hearts out.

Luckily kids are nowhere near as melodramatic and inflexible as some posters.

Things have changed - we can meet outside again. On Monday morning I'm going to gym before work. Next month we can sit in pub gardens and we're looking to be set to be out of all restrictions in June. It's coming! I'm going away for 5 weeks over summer and hanging onto hope that we'll be allowed to fly because I haven't been able to go and sort out overseas business for two years now and I may end up losing a property over it if I don't get there asap.

Stop catastrophising and recognise things are getting better!

I mean 'nothing has changed'? Have you looked at death rates, hospitalisations, etc? Lots has changed ffs.

God given freedoms, experimental vaccine, muzzles - you won anti-vax conspiracy theory bingo there! Well done. Not sure what the prize is

It's not a 'tiny safety protocol'. It's a damaging rule that doesn't save lives or the NHS. Arbitrarily applied, with zero evidence.

The alternative is not closing nurseries. Surely that is catastrophising.

How is it damaging for kids not to sing inside the classroom for a bit? Honestly - has your life been that sheltered that not singing in class seems like a traumatic event?

There is no evidence to show stopping toddlers (or anyone) singing saves lives. Any rule that damages children's development and impacts on their enjoyment of life should have evidence behind it.

None of this 'it's such a little thing, just do it and shut up about it'.

There should be robust evidence for every measure. Otherwise, why do it????

@btwwhichonespink I agree. It’s ridiculous and more creep creep creep of restrictions that will have little impact on cases/deaths and much impact on enjoyment of life.

“There is no evidence to show stopping toddlers (or anyone) singing saves lives. Any rule that damages children's development and impacts on their enjoyment of life should have evidence behind it.”

Hardly been time to gather evidence from a properly carried out scientific study on singing nursery children. Nobody planned for this pandemic and in the short term, I find it’s only common sense to put in sensible emergency measures to minimise the spread. Everything is a balance right now isn’t it. Gradually, restrictions will be either lifted or maintained when it is certain what works and what doesn’t work to minimise the spread. If early years settings can stay open to help working parents out then most would accept that, for now, no singing indoors is a small price to play.

Woop woop I can't wait to sit outside in the freezing cold to meet friends - it's snowing here atm.

Well you can meet them indoors soon ffs.

What are you all going to moan about when everything goes back to normal?

Some of us view things differently to others- we're allowed to

What are you all going to moan about when everything goes back to normal

But when will things go back to normal.

I mean really normal. No masks, no social distancing, no Covid passports, no tests or vaccinations and being able to travel the world without having to isolate in a hotel on the way back. Not just being told we are allowed someone in our house.

@TheHoneyBadger Yay finally I win at something. Clearly my prize is just a conspiracy theorist title. What’s yours? A life saving vaccine? 😅

You've already had one post deleted baggy - maybe try and ease up on the anti vax/they're coming for your children next spiel going forward.

I appreciate you have some pretty miserable stuff going on in your life though and hope things get better.

@Bythemillpond

What are you all going to moan about when everything goes back to normal

But when will things go back to normal.

I mean really normal. No masks, no social distancing, no Covid passports, no tests or vaccinations and being able to travel the world without having to isolate in a hotel on the way back. Not just being told we are allowed someone in our house.

All restrictions end in June!

7 deaths today #justsaying 😘

Things aren't going back to normal this year. There's absolutely no way. But I think summer will be pretty much ok.

@ConstantlyChanging

Things aren't going back to normal this year. There's absolutely no way. But I think summer will be pretty much ok.

That's your opinion, sweetheart, not a fact.

@kittensarecute I randomly just happened to see two posts by you in quick succession and I can see you're struggling so even though your response to me is fairly aggressive I won't reply directly. What I will say - as a fellow anxious person - is it might be safest for your health if you plan for both contingencies as that way you won't struggle as much if it turns out that there are still restrictions after 21 June. I suspect you know that that's likely so being prepared rather than being combative at the mere idea can perhaps give you back that control that this pandemic situation has taken away from you, to an extent.