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?

Probably not - unfortunately the government has realised that it now has carte blanche to take away freedom so is taking rapid steps to make this permanent, like all but removing the right to protest, the right to bring a judicial review etc and this week will extend lockdown regulations until September (at which point, my guess would be they'll say " oh no, winter again, back into lockdown".

Yesterday's events in London do give me some hope, but how horrific that it has to come to that.

@XenoBitch

Yeah, pandemics don't last forever but this one is being drawn out due to the lockdowns.

Lockdowns were a feature of all previous pandemics. Ditto mask wearing and the closure of non-essential places. Even when people did not have knowledge of viruses and bacteria they understood that those measures made a difference.

@Bythemillpond

I will only believe that things have got back to normal when I am packed into a pub to listen to a band that one of my friends dc is in without a face mask.

Atm I can’t see that happening for years.

I think if we had not had lockdowns we would have been out of this quicker.

If we had not had lockdowns the NHS would have collapsed, and so would the economy. Can you really not see how illogical your statement is? It's akin to saying deaths from road accidents would be much lower if we all stopped wearing seat belts, or took up drunk driving.

And it won't 'years' before you can go to the pub to see a band. What a ridiculous, melodramatic comment.

I feel not, DH and I recently retired and instead of doing all the good things that we hoped to do like long holidays in places far away, we have jumped a decade or too and instead of a time of holidays and lots of concerts, am now facing being sat there watching TV, reading books and gardening, all very nice but there would have hopefully been plenty of time for that in our 70s and 80s

I suppose I should be thankful that I have at least experienced an already longish normal life

It certainly does feel like we will never get back to normal at times. The uncertainty can be overwhelming. We don't live any more just exist, what's the point? Some of the thoughts I've had for me and my family are quite scary but sadly I'm probably not alone in feeling like this.
To me it feels like we're exactly where we were a year ago, yes we have the vaccines but even they possibly might not work against new variants, so where does that leave us? Sink or swim time

As soon as shops and pubs open again it will feel more normal. I think many people are just a bit bored. It’s like going back to some era of making your own entertainment.

Going to work feels pretty normal.

I’m missing the feeling of being excited about going away in the summer holidays.I do love a bit of Europe hopping in the summer. Not really enamoured with the idea of Cyprus and every other Brit though.

However like the toilet roll shortage everything moves on. Next year we’ll be moaning about something else.

I think we have to get used to a very unpalatable truth- that the human race cannot control everything and that people do die. We will have to accept a higher death rate as the new normal. I think the whole approach to the pandemic has been wrong. We should not have been protecting and vaccinating the elderly at the expense of normal life for our children and young people, who are our future. Hard decisions should have been made about the level of intensive care support provided to people over the age of 70. Why 70? Because our life span was always "3 score and 10", and a line has to be drawn in the sand somewhere. The planet is very over populated and prior to Covid-19 coming along we had the very worrying problem of a growing epidemic of dependent elderly people requiring ever increasing amounts of adult social care. A huge increase in elderly people with dementia. Why on earth we decided that the best thing was to protect this group even if that meant babies went without seeing their extended families, children and young people stopped having any education or quality of life? I'm sure I will be flamed but it's my honest view that our approach has been all wrong. I'm a fit active 63 year old with asthma. I want to live, if course I do. Do I think I have the right to be vaccinated and carry on at all costs while children can't experience the fullness of life? No I dont- I've had a full and rich life already. The older generations should be prepared to move on and we should expect them to, that is what happens to every species of life.

I can understand why you are feeling negative after such a long winter in lockdown, but why not look at the things you can do with your five year old in a matter of days?

You can buy an Easter tree, decorate your house, invite friends over to celebrate? You can have your hair cut, take her to the shops for toys again and go out for dinner (outside) very soon (12th) everything is reopening. So whilst I share your disappointment about holidays, I have instead decided to enjoy this country. We can still enjoy beach days, swimming in the sea (thankfully we live on an island and so have many options) We have mountains and great cities to explore.

We are just coming out of lockdown, not entering another one. I would understand if you lived in Italy or France why you might feel depressed but here we have everything to celebrate, 51% of the population are now vaccinated, things ARE getting better.

Start planning!
Ask your child which theme park they would like to visit on the 12th and start bringing fun and friends back into your life, that is what we plan to do. We have the whole spring and summer ahead of us, and who knows what might be available soon in terms of holidays. Keep an open mind and enjoy what you can.

@halcyondays

The Spanish flu eventually mutated to a milder form and became endemic. Pandemics don’t last forever.

The WHO said early on that the pandemic would last about two years.

In Brazil it'starting to kill younger people.

That reads to me like you think this is the first one.

Mercy not at all. You misunderstand me. That's always how novel viruses, leading to pandemics or otherwise, have mutated.

My emphasis on 'this' was to say that the situation we find ourselves in this time is very different, due to the changed environmental conditions. If we don't address this, we'll experience more novel & powerful viruses mutating - rest of my post elaborates.

We will be back to normal very shortly

Everything's going to be alright.
As Thelma said to Louise.

I read how people are suffering in the UK and it makes me so sad as there was an opportunity to implement strict hotel quarantine there too. Being an island has perks.

@tcjotm

This was not possible in the UK, or elsewhere in Europe. Strict hotel quarantine wouldn't have resolved the issue. The context of Northern Ireland specifically made that unworkable (part of UK, so travel possible, but also connected to the island of Ireland, and as we have the Good Friday agreement, cannot - and must not - impose borders or border checks).

The Australia / NZ solution isn't workable outside those countries. Even within the countries it has been problematic eg decisions made re fines in Australia would not get support in European countries.

@joystir59

I hardly know how to respond. Your view that 70 is a cut-off age beyond which we don't prioritise care appalls me.

Your world is not one I want to live in.

The worst is over op. We are over the winter hump, now time to throw open the windows, enjoy the spring and make plans for a summer that will see all adults vaccinated in a matter of months.

Not sure if this helps... Life in Australia is almost back to normal except for no international travel. Still have restrictions for large events - I went to an outdoor concert last weekend which was enforced sitting down.

Very thankful to be able to live relatively normally, but it's certainly a surreal situation to not be able to leave.

I don't know why, but ever since last year when it all kicked off I've said 2023 for borders to reopen.

Well I believe the phrase none of us are safe until we are all safe. Until the whole planet has got itself vaccinated and numbers are in massive decline then all of our lives will be restricted in some way.

How does this negativity help you? I know people get depressed and stuck etc etc, but c'mon!

Days are getting longer and lighter. Our kids are back in school. Flowers are budding, trees are greening. Restrictions are lifting. Maybe you won't get to see a live bad in a pub this summer, but some outdoor festivals are making tentative plans to go ahead.

Why look for the worst case scenario?

Why do you think the previous 44 years of your life were normal?

What percentage of the world population lived like you?

What about previous generations?

Life always changes
Things could and probably will get better

Just to add to my comment, it should say a new normality. But in this I can go to my workplace safely with no masks, go to the gym, meet friends for brunch, enjoy Saturday afternoon G&Ts at my favourite pub, visit museums, and travel within Australia.

I don't know how people in UK and Europe are continuing to live under heavy restrictions. While controversial, personally (and the majority of Australians), are very happy with the border lockdown. Although how we will transition out of it with a overall zero COVID community attitude I'm not sure.

Normal changes all the time, as the PP who mentioned 9/11 and the internet alluded to. Foreign travel in the form we were used to certainly hasn't been normal for long at all. It only really took off in my parents' generation and had got, imho, wildly out of hand, totally unsustainable. So I don't see that as a great normal to go back to. On the general point, try to step back and look at the longer/wider view. Your comment about Spanish flu shows scant knowledge of history and perhaps reading more in-depth about how such things have impacting history would give you a better perspective and acceptance of how the world changes. There is really no normal to go back to, but that doesn't make it all bleak.

I think you will be seeing live bands outside your pub though, for sure! Which sounds good to me!

@EarringsandLipstick

I read how people are suffering in the UK and it makes me so sad as there was an opportunity to implement strict hotel quarantine there too. Being an island has perks.

@tcjotm

This was not possible in the UK, or elsewhere in Europe. Strict hotel quarantine wouldn't have resolved the issue. The context of Northern Ireland specifically made that unworkable (part of UK, so travel possible, but also connected to the island of Ireland, and as we have the Good Friday agreement, cannot - and must not - impose borders or border checks).

The Australia / NZ solution isn't workable outside those countries. Even within the countries it has been problematic eg decisions made re fines in Australia would not get support in European countries.

Yes - we have a land border with the ROI.

Even without all the difficult history it would still be a land border.

@halcyondays

The Spanish flu eventually mutated to a milder form and became endemic. Pandemics don’t last forever.

The WHO said early on that the pandemic would last about two years.

I told people 3 right near the beginning. Things were and still are to a certain extent, panning out like the Spanish flu.

The big question, as the op is concerned about, is what are governments going to do about things?

With Spanish flu, it was the roaring 20s afterwards[though then there was the Great Recession at the end of the 20s which was a prelude to WW11].

What is bothering me, is that a lot of things that people who were called crazy for even suggesting certain things, are coming true. How far will it all go? I dont know.

I am a Christian. Christians are always taught that there is always hope with God.
So things can always change for the better.

Dont lose hope op.

Things will go back to normal, but some won't be the same as pre-covid.

applesandoranges221 why would the government not want things back to normal, why would it want to keep us in an endless lockdown? It needs us all out to be out there, earning and paying taxes, spending, paying VAT etc.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is a completely separate issue to the pandemic. The bill was first mooted in 2019 in the Queen's Speech and built on what the Tories said in their manifesto about "backing the police".