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Original poster

Refusing to go out until zero covid

347 replies

IrmaFayLear · 12/04/2021 10:08

Bil and sil have not been out since March 2020. They wfh, in 50s with no health conditions at all. They have both been fully vaccinated - two doses (sil’s best friend is a GP Hmm ). Dh was speaking to bil yesterday and he said it’s not safe until cases are zero worldwide, and that because they care so much about each other (!) they have decided that they cannot take any risk.

Are there many people like this? I was in the shielding category and although I have been ultra cautious, I have still gone for walks, dashed into the chemist in a hazmat suit etc etc. I wonder if they are extreme outliers or whether there will be more recluses now, feeling fully justified.

OP posts:
Belladonna12 · 12/04/2021 16:58

@TheKeatingFive

and it's not impossible that they could do it with Covid.

Even if that’s possible, it won’t be achieved any time soon.

Any estimates I’ve seen around vaccinating the adult global population seem to say 3 years absolute minimum.

Including kids? Fuck knows.

I agree that it won't be achieved any time soon. However, if someone's quite happy staying in their own property most of the time until then it's up to them. OP says they have a big house and presumably big garden. They're probably not sociable.
User135644 · 12/04/2021 16:58

Might as well never leave their home because they might be hit by a car.

TooManyPlatesInMotion · 12/04/2021 17:01

@User135644

Might as well never leave their home because they might be hit by a car.
Though many also seem to forget the risk of accidents in the home too! Nothing and nowhere is totally "safe". Stats from a BMJ article the other week on understanding risk attached. I can dig out the full link if anyone wants it.
Refusing to go out until zero covid
TheKeatingFive · 12/04/2021 17:01

However, if someone's quite happy staying in their own property most of the time until then it's up to them.

Well sure, but Christ knows what five to ten years of staying inside will do to you mentally. And all the health problems that would result in.

Belladonna12 · 12/04/2021 17:08

@TheKeatingFive

However, if someone's quite happy staying in their own property most of the time until then it's up to them.

Well sure, but Christ knows what five to ten years of staying inside will do to you mentally. And all the health problems that would result in.

They've already done it for a year and are clearly happy with it! Maybe they do go out when they think it necessary (we obviously went out for the vaccination ) but they just don't want to socialise.
Belladonna12 · 12/04/2021 17:08

we they

MercyBooth · 12/04/2021 17:10

Wait till the Government get the benefits bill for agoraphobia cases. You will see their fastest U turn re Covid yet
Will be as quick as shit through a goose.

beginningoftheend · 12/04/2021 17:11

@MercyBooth

Wait till the Government get the benefits bill for agoraphobia cases. You will see their fastest U turn re Covid yet Will be as quick as shit through a goose.
They're not bothered about the benefits bill for long covid, which is requiring the provision of specialist regional centres plus millions in research funding so I really don;t think they'll give a crap tbh.
Lassy1945 · 12/04/2021 17:15

A relative of mine now has ‘long-Covid’ though I could have told you she’d have long-Covid before she even had Covid hmm

This. With bells on.
For some people covid is the best thing that’s ever happened to them.

Wellbythebloodyhell · 12/04/2021 17:17

Leave them too it if they're happy enough, it's not an existence I'd like personally and not sure what perks having a successful business is if you don't enjoy the fruits of your labour but each to their own I suppose. It would only bother me if they were trying to inflict their way of life on others then I'd have to tell them to get a grip and butt out

Belladonna12 · 12/04/2021 17:22

It's interesting that everyone seems that they are the ones with mental health problems. It could actually be that they are more optimistic than most people regarding vaccines and more cheerful about the future. The vaccines have been very effective compared with the flu vaccine and the majority of people will be vaccinated so why shouldn't there be herd immunity in the near future?

Topseyt · 12/04/2021 17:31

@Belladonna12, I did not say that there had ever been any efforts to eradicate the common cold or flu! Confused

I am saying that Covid is not going anywhere any more than they are. We have to learn to live with it.

MercyBooth · 12/04/2021 17:32

@beginningoftheend yeah thats what i meant Also this.... People were also very reluctant to believe in post viral syndrome in the past especially if people with it couldnt work and were claiming benefits! People with ME were belittled, called lazy and told it was all in the mind. I wonder how they feel now!
The Government and certain people on here are happy to use long Covid to scare others and for emotional blackmail purposes. I wonder if the willingness to take it seriously will evaporate once the people who are suffering with it start applying for disability benefits!

duffeldaisy · 12/04/2021 17:34

"A relative of mine now has ‘long-Covid’ though I could have told you she’d have long-Covid before she even had Covid hmm

This. With bells on.
For some people covid is the best thing that’s ever happened to them."

Over a million people in the UK have reported suffering long Covid.
122,000 of them are NHS health service workers.
Exactly these kinds of attitudes have made life for people with CFS even more difficult for decades now. Really disgusting.

Lassy1945 · 12/04/2021 17:49

@duffeldaisy

Do you deny that some people are prone to exaggerate, hyperbole, catastrophise. Not because if any mental health issue but because of a personality trait.

Do you deny that some people may claim to have long covid for attention and drama?

Do you deny that some people may have rather enjoyed lockdown and not want it to end, for their own personal reasons rather than genuine fear.

SilverGlitterBaubles · 12/04/2021 17:58

I think the government and media have done such a good job or scaring people into submission it is going to take a lot of undoing to coax people back to life and work. Just look at the number of threads on MN where people are vaccinated and believe their employers are being U by asking them to return to their workplaces, they are utterly terrified. Some education and perspective on risk is really needed.

MercyBooth · 12/04/2021 17:59

The Government are going to be shocked. Shocked i tell you.......to find that they cant turn fear on and off like a tap.

BlowDryRat · 12/04/2021 17:59

There's someone like this at work. He never leaves the house. His wife only leaves to go to work. She strips off, clothes go in the wash and she gets in the shower as soon as she gets home. Post is quarantined. Food is disinfected. I feel very sorry for him. He's absolutely terrified.

AcornAutumn · 12/04/2021 18:03

@MercyBooth

The Government are going to be shocked. Shocked i tell you.......to find that they cant turn fear on and off like a tap.
I don't think they'll care tbh.
duffeldaisy · 12/04/2021 18:03

I think quite a lot of people have enjoyed elements of lockdown. Things like not having to commute/spend lots of money commuting, avoid difficult relatives, breathe fresher air because of the quiet roads, etc.
A very tiny minority may prefer it that way, or prefer to keep some of those things.

I think, though, the majority of people who are still concerned are so because they've not had a second jab yet, or any jabs, or are worried about numbers rising in their area, or about long covid. It's not finished yet for everyone, so it's perfectly reasonable for some people to still be concerned to some extent.

Then there are some with MH issues, like anxiety or depression or OCD, who will have different reactions again. Some people are still grieving.

But the number who would go through all the hassle of having to have tests, x-rays, etc to be diagnosed with long covid is going to be very small indeed. It's a very real thing. It's fairly rare, and it obviously varies in length for different people, but to immediately assume people are lying is horrible. People with invisible illnesses get so little sympathy, and the abuse and disbelief they get can cause a lot of misery. My friend with CFS struggled with that enormously.

Belladonna12 · 12/04/2021 18:08

[quote Topseyt]@Belladonna12, I did not say that there had ever been any efforts to eradicate the common cold or flu! Confused

I am saying that Covid is not going anywhere any more than they are. We have to learn to live with it.[/quote]
I know you didn't say that there had been any effort to eradicate the common cold or flu. My point is, how do you know that Covid will be like the cold or flu when unlike those viruses there will be an attempt to eradicate or at least achieve herd immunity.

islockdownoveryet · 12/04/2021 18:13

No I don’t know anyone that extreme.
I doubt worldwide will ever get to zero cases but maybe they don’t care and are happy to be a recluse.

Belladonna12 · 12/04/2021 18:15

They might be happy with zero cases in the UK or at least very few.

SilverGlitterBaubles · 12/04/2021 18:28

@AcornAutumn I think they will care when employers have difficulty getting people back to work and when the full impact of the mental health crisis becomes more apparent. Then there's the impact of those that have avoided seeking medical treatment.

islockdownoveryet · 12/04/2021 18:30

@IrmaFayLear

No one has asked them to meet up! They suggested dh was being reckless because dh mentioned that we (ie he and I and the dcs) are going to sit in a pub garden in six weeks’ time.
That would annoy me , they can lock themselves away if they want but saying someone is irresponsible for going to a beer garden in 6 weeks is nothing do with them . I hope they are not watching the news today they’ll be tutting away at all those going to beer gardens etc .