Why do so many countries have lighter restrictions

[IrishMamaMia]

This thread and question has come up in many different threads over the past few months. I'd describe myself as well-informed, as in I regularly digest a lot of news from all outlets. I have friends across Europe and US, what I would describe as similarly affected countries? Except from Ireland (I'm Irish and am well aware of how strict the measures are there), why are our measures so long-term and so much worse than elsewhere? Why cant we meet one person indoors outside of bubbling? Why can't I book to go to a Covid secure museum like my friends in Germany? Why can't I access simple grooming at a hairdresser for a month? Why can't my children learn healthy life-saving skills like swimming?Why can't I go into a book shop? America are just getting on with it. I keep seeing media reports that countries are about to be overwhelmed and they never are.
And this week we see subtle hints in the media that relaxation of lockdown might not proceed.
The media seem obsessive about travelling abroad? I couldn't care less I want the freedom to live a bit of a life daily.
Is anyone feeling this? I basically support lockdown in an emergency situation but I can't support this anymore. Was reading Steve Baker's comments on Question Time this morning and think he's right.
I feel like we've gone through the point of no return now and this is getting permanent :(

@Oblomov21

I don't understand why the restrictions are so harsh here.

This morning on the radio news it said Boris wants / is suggesting another 6 month lockdown. And furlough (which is currently April 21, but 2 weeks ago on the news that it was possibly be extended to Sep 21), now furlough extended to Jan 22.

This just crushes confidence. We think things are getting better. Things lifting in June 21. Andrew Lloyd Webber saying he wants productions in the west end ASAP.

I am at work now. We are printing company. Normally print for all the Cruises. And we normally do all the theatres in London for shows etc. Guess what? No work for us atm. And today's announcement just makes it all worse. It crushes the public's confidence.

No no no not another six months please no 😢

@Oblomov21 that's really upset me, I'm sat here crying, I can't do another six months we need normality

I live abroad in Africa and our cases has never been that high. They blocked flights in and out from an early stage and had it under control. Plus the people here tend to follow the rules better than in the UK and other countries. So I think this combined helped us to have minimum restrictions from an early stage. My kids have been in school since September with no disturbances.

I'm freaking out, I can't do this anymore, I'm on the verge of a panic attack I'm so stressed out

Please someone tell me I've misread it please say its not true please my anxiety is really bad

@kittensarecute I've had a look and haven't seen that yet thankfully. It is what I worry about though!

Thanks for the post @littleredberries I probably come across as obsessed with Germany but it just happens to be a place I know and where friends are. I really liked your post and it was very insightful.

My US state has not had high case or death rates and we came out of lockdown gradually last June and kids have been back in school since Sept. The things that I think made a difference...

We shut down earlier than the UK. Even before the state government ordered lockdown they'd started requiring things like masks, social distancing, etc.

The governor followed the advice of the state CDC throughout, and was supported in doing so by the legislature.

The federal government put financial systems in place early on to support people who lost their jobs or couldn't work because of Covid.

We were initially not allowed out to many public places (eg beaches and state parks closed) but they soon realised that it made more sense to allow people to outdoor places. There was never any restriction on how far you could travel for exercise.

Masks. They were required indoors from March. They've been required outdoors for several months. Required to be worn by everyone in school once it reopened, including teachers and all students other than those with a SEN.

Schools that don't have enough space for desks to be 3' apart have gone back on a hybrid basis. Because all students are provided with laptops/iPads by the schools, this has been possible. Also schools have had a lot of extra funding from the various Covid stimulus bills.

Easy access to testing from last summer onwards. No having to have particular symptoms to qualify. Lots of people got tests just in case.

Tourists can't fly in from Europe, which has helped keep Covid variants out.

We've had restrictions on tourists coming in to the state - they can't rent houses/hotel rooms without quarantining or providing evidence of negative Covid test.

Universities reopened very cautiously, with masking by everyone, strict rules about mixing, and mostly online learning.

At this point more than 35% of the population is fully vaccinated, and 25% is partly vaccinated. People are getting their vaccines at the correct dose intervals, which will help reduce the development of variants.

Our restaurants opened up carefully eg outdoor dining first, then indoor dining with distancing. They did not reopen bars because it was obvious that people who are out to drink and party are not going to distance.

Our cases did rise after each holiday (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Feb break) so we're not doing perfectly, but I'm glad to be here - it's felt like a good balance of economy and saving lives.

Watching the UK, it looks like it swings wildly from almost no restrictions to fully locked down. Schools being fully reopened with no masks. Eat Out to Help Out. Pubs reopened. Foreign travel allowed throughout the summer. Lockdown is too late each time. Lack of masking in public. Restricting testing only to people with specific symptoms. Inept government running systems like track and trace. An underfunded health system that has no spare capacity. A vaccine rollout system that potentially will create more Covid variants.

And then total lockdown again.

Good post @ZZTopGuitarSolo I think lots of things you've mentioned are a pretty fair assessment.
Interesting point also about the lack of inbound European flights.
I wish we'd had more balance to our restrictions.

Things that my state had in its favour. We're very spread out - not many people live in blocks of flats or crowded towns/cities. And we don't have much in the way of public transportation.

One thing that really strikes me about the UK is that healthcare for things other than Covid is still limited, from what I hear. I don't worry about my family there being in lockdown, but I do worry if they can't see the doctors/dentists they need to see.

(I know how hard NHS staff have worked - most of my UK family are NHS.)

Our state in the US (note that each state has its own government that handles things differently. Some states didn’t close or stop anything, some went the whole 9 yards and shut everything down, and others were somewhere in between) has a death rate per million that is less than one-third of the UK. But our population density is much lower and our climate is different. Our schools closed in February last year and have not been open for one single day since then with no opening date in sight. Shops and restaurants have just reopened with limited capacity. Office buildings have been closed over a year now.

One thing that was never stopped here was meeting friends and family members. I hear from my mum in the UK and I read on here about “bubbles”, no meeting outdoors, etc and it’s madness. It clearly hasn’t done anything to “slow the spread” with the UK having one of the highest death rates per million population in the world.

@IrishMamaMia

Thanks for the post *@littleredberries* I probably come across as obsessed with Germany but it just happens to be a place I know and where friends are. I really liked your post and it was very insightful.

No problem!

I went to Germany in September and face coverings were worn in shops and on public transport 100%. And I am certain that any behaviour such as that of Dominic Cummings last April would not have been accepted by any regional leader or Angela Merkel.

The inaction in March and September by our Prime Minister has meant that whilst there would be restrictions in place today, the total length of them has been longer than would have been the case with prompt action.

Population density

Climate- we're a temperate country in the edge of the northern cold, think about our issues with cold snaps and ice melting and refreezing.

Seasons

Variants

Population behaviour

The NHS

And a heap of other geographic and societal stuff before you get into politics.

i'm in BC (canada) and from province to province it's different and even the first nations communities have their own protocols in place. which has not helped my confidence in this countries approach.

but that being said i live in a smaller city less population density and certainly would not like to be under strict restrictions.
so lockdown lite where i live; due to the level of training hairdressers/barbers have been open all along. dine in at half capacity. masks when in shops but not when freely walking outdoors (but might consider it if the walk is popular, vs remote bush paths). last summer we had open air farmers markets and i hope we do this year as well (as i'm a vendor) stalls were more spread out and the configuration on the street was actually better for sales! masks mandatory and hand sanitizer available along with contactless payment methods.

i no longer see security at shop doors most days of the week.

@CuriousaboutSamphire I agree, the seasons have in particular been a bitch and as I've said before, I just wish we could have had a visitor in the home over winter.
The sun is shining today, the cases and deaths are lower than they have been and I'm off to book things in April. Thanks all :)

@fallfallfall ah I had the feeling Canada had a regional approach. It hasn't been reported on here much for some reason. I guess we just have so much of our own chaos to report on these days but had heard vaccinating was going well.
We've actually had covid secure farmers market here outside of the original March lockdown. Has been a mercy some weekends :)

@BritwifeinUSA - one part of that is priorities though. The priority here was schooling. They wouldn't have had schools closed for over a year - it just wouldn't have gone down well for so many reasons (childcare/childprotection/all the threads on mumsnet.)

I agree if schools had been closed for a year rates would be lower. So in a way there was a trade off with other things being closed/meeting up being banned during lockdowns (but not for the summer last year) in order to keep schools open.

France here. Where I live, despite new infections being robust, life is as normal as it can be when you and your children are masked up outside the home. The ski resorts are full, birthday parties in full swing ( I was the only parent wearing a mask when I went to collect dd this weekend ( she’s has already had covid), garden centres full. Gyms are reportedly opening for dcs.

It all feels like we are fiddling whilst Rome burns.

@99victoria

My son and daughter-in-law live and work in Switzerland. They got off very lightly in the first wave but had lots more deaths in the second wave. However, they have always been allowed to mix with other households in one another homes and in social groups outside virtually unrestricted. They have continued to spend their weekends going rock climbing, snow boarding and doing a range of watersports, having bbqs with friends etc. They have been working from home, have to wear masks on public transport and have had some non-essential shops closed. They have also had short periods of restaurant closures etc but these were eased at the beginning of March. I think there are lots of countries who seem to have been more compassionate in terms of understanding people's need for socialisation over the last year. We are definitely at the extreme end of legislating

Agreed. I live in an area which was tier 3 (remember those??) from end of October. That's now 5 months of being unable to meet up with anyone inside, or go for a meal or to the pub.

Hospitality and rule of 6 doesn't even get brought back until May, so it'll have been a solid 7 months of tight social restrictions, even though our vaccine rollout has motored on ahead of everywhere else. I genuinely don't understand it.

Watching the UK, it looks like it swings wildly from almost no restrictions to fully locked down.

"No restrictions" is not fair summary. In UK, We were only allowed indoor mixing for a short period and very limited numbers. DD at Uni has had 1 in-person teaching session/term. Many-rules-attached travel windows have opened & closed with short notice. Shops or facilities have been closed~half of the time & when open they had lots of rules about how you entered, bought things, walked around, what you could touch, inability to try things on, etc. Indoor mixing has been very limited in England anyway. I can't track Scotland or Norn.

In comparison, people in California, Idaho, Georgia, SDakota or Florida (my relatives there) could do huge amounts of mixing, travel & other activity we have rarely been allowed. Their opening up was very fast, overnight really. I don't think they quite get how ILLEGAL it is for me to have had any normal social interaction for last year. The fact that I don't know if it's legal for me to drive to the beach 5 miles away. My dad has seen his siblings many times in last month (indoors). Dad (age 78) is working again & doing his indoor hobbies in large groups. He gets to do that. Aunt (recent cancer survivor) & cousins went on a group jolly to Idaho in February. It is like another world.

Vaccinations. My experience; my 88 year old mom had to wait on hold for 45 minutes x 2 to get an appointment. But received it efficiently at a center easily accessible to her with an appointment for a second dose in a timely fashion. She’s in Quebec and I believe the province has moved swiftly with their roll out.
Friend in AB, took 3+ days to get her appointment 65+ group.
BC, friend called for elderly uncle, 2 cell phones on constant redial 8 hours.
Two communities that I know of (Prince Rupert and Haida Gwaii) have opened up to all community members 18+ who want to be vaccinated. Both tiny populations with a large percentage First Nation.
BC’s approach is to get as many first doses in arms with no set date for the second dose.

Country wise, I see 1% of the population being vaccinated every 2.5-3 business days (so we were at 8% on Friday, today nearing 9%)
A close friend is a retired director of public health (immunization expert) and says Canada has very low vaccine hesitancy. Expects a big uptake on this one.
Politically although lots ordered, not that much received yet. Will be getting some AZ, from the USA, which they’ve not yet approved and is nearing expiry (isn’t that kind...).
We lost our own capacity to manufacture a few years back, there is some potential to ramp that back up.

@RolloTomassi I'm in London and we had that slight easing in early December for two weeks but it coincided with one of my children having to isolate.
There's been several people here saying those in the UK don't obey the rules /masks but I honestly can't say that that's my lived experience and I commute into central daily. Compliance seems high in my area also. In addition to all this we have a very large testing programme. And surely some element of herd immunity from presumable hundreds of thousands of cases (I've had an uneventful Covid infection picked up from the kids, myself.)
Although I cede that @SavingQuestions makes a good point about schools as a priority here.

@pinkhousesarebest

France here. Where I live, despite new infections being robust, life is as normal as it can be when you and your children are masked up outside the home. The ski resorts are full, birthday parties in full swing ( I was the only parent wearing a mask when I went to collect dd this weekend ( she’s has already had covid), garden centres full. Gyms are reportedly opening for dcs.

It all feels like we are fiddling whilst Rome burns.</div></div>

You are free to cloister yourself and your children in fear if you'd like.

Politically although lots ordered, not that much received yet. Will be getting some AZ, from the USA, which they’ve not yet approved and is nearing expiry (isn’t that kind...).

I thought the issue with AZ was that they had not yet applied for approval in the US? Does that prevent Canada from getting their stocks?