Public reaction if there is another major lockdown

[bathsh3ba]

My daughters and I have been out and about enjoying the relaxation of restrictions (within the rules). Everyone seems so happy to be out and honestly not many seem to be socially distancing. At first I was nervous and now I guess we are used to it though still distance as much as we can. The impression I get in our area at least is that everyone has mentally had enough and in their heads they have moved on and consider we are on our way out. I really hope we are and it's great to see numbers still consistently going down - but it makes me wonder how people would react if there is another major lockdown. Would most still comply?

There won't be another national lockdown. If there is then the vaccines will have been pointless.

It will truly destroy the economy, the mental health of the nation.

There may well be some local restrictions but nothing like we have seen nationally.

Privately no I won't be having it.
But if shops pubs etc are shut, then I can't go to them.

I think it will be the same as other lockdowns.

Ultimately most people are self-interested - if they thought they were at risk (e.g. if there was a variant against which the vaccine was really weak) then people would act with self-interest and stop mixing.

There will always be a small percentage who don;t follow the rules - but the UK public have quite consistently been pretty compliant. I don;t think that would change.

No key worker movement. If you are that essential to your role live at work

I'm a community support worker... I'm only in the office 2 days a week, the other 3 are spent travelling to different houses, where exactly am I supposed to live? In my car? A lay-by?

@MarinPrime

Yes I think everyone would comply. Apart from the usual bolshie Mumsnetters of course.

It's not 'bolshie' to not be ok with not seeing your family for another six months or whatever it may be, particularly if you and them have been fully vaccinated. We were promised that vaccines were our way out of this, now we're told it's lockdowns not vaccines that curb cases. Which is it?

@LemonSwan

No I wouldnt comply unless they shut the borders and made EVERYONE stay where they are for 2 weeks. No key worker movement. If you are that essential to your role live at work. Shops should be closed and everyone either buy before hand or apply for a gov set up food parcel system.

Sounds extreme but I would rather go China for 2 weeks and be done with it than have another year of this.

And yes I gather the above is impossible as we are not self sufficient enough to shut the borders.

So its a no would not comply.

I've read some twaddle on here over the past 14 months but this is up there with the best.

I'm imagining supermarket staff kipping down in the tinned goods aisle and office staff making nests under their desks God knows what essential non-static workers would do. Paramedics, social workers and housing officers will be fucked.

All that and the people who caught it from their households during those two weeks would just go out and spread it all about again anyway. Brilliant plan. Almost as good as some of the government's ideas!

My sil messaged yesterday to say she’s just been told school for grade 7 to 11 (secondary) will be home learning again for the last 10weeks of school due to not enough teachers who aren’t isolating in her city in Canada. Honestly I was really surprised as I felt like we’d done with home learning. Our vaccine programme is further ahead though. I don’t think that with the vaccine programme there will be the same pressure on icu so shouldn’t be a need for full lockdown again. I may be wishful with that optimism though.

I thought the plan was 5 weeks between phases of re-opeing, with the idea that criteria need to be met before moving on. Therefore meaning we could get stuck at a certain point (possibly) rather than a full lockdown again. (mind you they said this with previous ones)

if you’re essential in your role live at work

How? I have dc and Dh and I are both key workers... where are the houses we could stay in? This is totally bonkers. Honestly, it’s worrying people live like this unable to see that there’s a need for balance.

I think the vast majority are truly fed up, and another lockdown would fall (mostly) on deaf ears.

We wouldn't be able to stop the shops closing etc but I think most people would continue to see their friends and family even if told not to. I would be one of these people.

The only possible reason for another lockdown is if there is another major spike in hospitalisations and deaths. If that happens, it means the vaccine has failed pretty comprehensively...

Hopefully, that will never happen, but if it did, I think it will be a much tougher sell as effectively we'd be saying that despite throwing everything the world can at a vaccine, we still can't control Covid... in which case, more people will simply say "enough" as there'd be very little way around Covid but to "take it on the chin" as a society... Maybe we would have to protect the vulnerable as best we could whilst the rest of the population gained immunity... Really hope it won't come to that though.

It would depend on lots of things, some people would rebel against any more rules,, some people would be scared again, and lock themselves in their homes,and fill entire rooms with toilet rolls and sanitiser !,some would go and jump off the nearest bridge. There would be massive protests in the streets, everyone will be out to get Boris,blaming him,for not stopping the virus, Everyone who was lucky enough to go on holiday abroad,in the short time available this year,will then get trapped in another country for some months, until it's safe to come home again., But basically,many people will just do as they please again, even though their homes get taped up.with a row of ten police standing outside.

Personally no. I also think people have realised they won't die if they leave their house.

Sadly, I think the vaccines won’t be enough to prevent another lockdown in the U.K., (we’re still in lockdown in Ireland btw).

Looking at the situation globally, the rates of community transmission worldwide is far too high and so that will inevitably lead to further mutations of the virus and the current vaccines we have will be ineffective against these new mutations, so we will be constantly playing catch-up.

Additionally, only a small percentage of people who are immuno-compromised have developed sufficient antibodies after being fully vaccinated that it’s still a complete lottery whether they will survive if they catch the virus.

Unfortunately, many people who have been vaccinated are assuming they’re now safe to mingle, but they’re still able to catch it and pass the virus on to others.

It’s hugely depressing that we’re going to continue to lose loved ones to this virus over the next year or so.

I think at this point unless a new variant was found to be significantly more dangerous then a further lockdown would cause more harm than the virus. The loss of our kids education, the damage to businesses and the economy, the NHS waiting lists, the mental health crisis - all of this will at some point have to be weighed against the illnesses and deaths from Covid. What is an acceptable level I'm not sure but it is something we will have to get to grips with.

Why do governments budget or limit spending at all, SirFredFGeorge?

In normal times, printing money is inflationary, so it's bad as it just makes your country more and more uncompetitive with the rest of the world, makes everything you buy in more expensive.

So inflation is bad for your country. Running permanent deficits that aren't investments that provide a return (say simply paying every worker more money) will lead to inflation. In crisis situations, it's a bit different, letting businesses fail will destroy previous investment - imagine say a coffee shop closing, the coffee machine, the chairs, everything will likely be junked, destroying good assets, not a huge deal on a coffee shop, but imagine that's a widget maker. So here even paying the wages and helping out the company is actually an investment in stopping that business failing and destroy the assets (both the physical things, but also the knowledge of the workers).

So you can borrow lots from yourself to invest, but doing it not to invest causes inflation, which impacts your ability to buy stuff from overseas.

I would hope to fuck everyone would apply common sense and ignore any orders to shut down. Fking farce and enough is enough. I wont comply and havent done for months.

@lljkk If they can afford endless lockdowns then they can afford to give poorer people money so they can self isolate. Im not going to comply with the former because they dont want to do the latter. Im sick of being told by them that we live in unprecedented times (but not so unprecedented that they wont let go of their ideology) there was even a Tory councillor on Newsnight who said if they give money to poorer wage earners so they can self isolate they will try to catch Covid on purpose so they can get the money........www.edp24.co.uk/news/local-council/norfolk-council-leader-criticised-over-newsnight-covid-comments-7869112

And another thing. These times are so unprecedented that they fucked off on their summer recess last year too. POORER PEOPLE NEED MONEY SO THEY CAN AFFORD TO SELF ISOLATE
But they want to carry on with their ideology that poor people are feckless so mustnt give them carrot only stick. In a fucking pandemic. THIS is one of the main reasons we keep going round in circles. Im still waiting for the scales to fall away from others eyes But their voters refuse to see it
And i bet Boris the Buffoon comes back from India and uses whats going on over there to emotionally blackmail and frighten the public.

@ShurImGrand123

Sadly, I think the vaccines won’t be enough to prevent another lockdown in the U.K., (we’re still in lockdown in Ireland btw).

Looking at the situation globally, the rates of community transmission worldwide is far too high and so that will inevitably lead to further mutations of the virus and the current vaccines we have will be ineffective against these new mutations, so we will be constantly playing catch-up.

Additionally, only a small percentage of people who are immuno-compromised have developed sufficient antibodies after being fully vaccinated that it’s still a complete lottery whether they will survive if they catch the virus.

Unfortunately, many people who have been vaccinated are assuming they’re now safe to mingle, but they’re still able to catch it and pass the virus on to others.

It’s hugely depressing that we’re going to continue to lose loved ones to this virus over the next year or so.

"Unfortunately, many people who have been vaccinated are assuming they’re now safe to mingle, but they’re still able to catch it and pass the virus on to others"

I just don't get the point of being jabbed and then staying in .... might as well just stay in

www.edp24.co.uk/news/local-council/norfolk-council-leader-criticised-over-newsnight-covid-comments-7869112

@hodgebit

The only possible reason for another lockdown is if there is another major spike in hospitalisations and deaths. If that happens, it means the vaccine has failed pretty comprehensively...

Hopefully, that will never happen, but if it did, I think it will be a much tougher sell as effectively we'd be saying that despite throwing everything the world can at a vaccine, we still can't control Covid... in which case, more people will simply say "enough" as there'd be very little way around Covid but to "take it on the chin" as a society... Maybe we would have to protect the vulnerable as best we could whilst the rest of the population gained immunity... Really hope it won't come to that though.

I think so too

Although will add I feel that it won’t come to that, but I hope we wouldn’t keep trapping ourselves in lockdowns

@Shopliftersoftheworldunite

I would break the rules. I have had covid, and both vaccines. My parents have been vaccinated. Many of my friends have been vaccinated because we work in healthcare so I would say the risk is low to the majority of people I would socialise with.

Lockdown bought time, and I was pro-lockdown initially but i have lost that now. If the lockdown was to buy time to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed, what have the government done as a longer term strategy to increase nhs capacity? More money? More incentives to train as nursing staff? Increased bed and staffing capacity?

It was everyone’s responsibility to protect the nhs when it was a novel virus that no one knew much about, no one had any immunity and it was ripping through the population in a way we didn’t understand. A year later, that responsibility to protect the nhs lies solely with the government and they should get on with it - rather than demanding we all live under severe restrictions for an indefinite amount of time. Lockdown must never happen again.

Wholeheartedly agree with this. The government have had a year of my life and my children's lives, they're not having any more. The money that's been chucked at their mates could and should have gone towards shoring up our NHS / care homes etc.

Hopefully Labour will start actually doing what they are supposed to and actually being a decent opposition and if there are still Tory rebels they won’t pass any extension of the coronavirus regulations.

Vaccines have been sold to us as the only way out of lockdown, if these don't work or aren't good enough then honestly I don't know what will 🤷‍♀️ we can't keep in a state of semi/permanent/rolling lockdowns it's not feasible in any sort of sociable/emotional or economic way. We need to keep the economy going to sustain our public health services that can't happen if great deal of people are sat at home on furlough or unemployment benefits and businesses go down the pan. I dont know what the answer is but on going lockdowns and restrictions are not the answer in the medium or long term.
As many others PP have said if shops, pubs, hairdressers are closed obviously I can't visit them but I won't stop seeing people again

What's quite encouraging is, lots of posters on this thread/MN generally and people in the wider world are saying that they're not complying with mixing rules and haven't done so for a while - yet case numbers (under 2000 today, for the first time since early September when testing wasn't as widespread as it currently is) and deaths (10 today, although there is the Sunday caveat) continue to plummet.

Far more people aren't complying now than they were by a similar point in the first lockdown (plus more of society is open), yet numbers are lower. Which can only mean the vaccines are doing their job, whatever BJ claims to the contrary.