Is this really the end

[Beatinghearts]

It look like. It’s finally the end of this and everyone will be getting back to normal.

I'd have much preferred the Australian, New Zealand, East Asia approach... opened up (but temporary restricted international borders).

Well, so would I, although tbh I doubt it would ever have worked given how much we rely on imported food via RORO freight.

Either way, we have no time machine, we can’t fix the past. What we can do is put ourselves in the best possible position given where we are now. Mass vaccination is doing that nicely.

I don’t get this logic of “our government fucked up in the past, therefore vaccines won’t work now.”

I've never said the vaccines won't work. I'm very pro vaccine. I would, however, prefer they we hadn't risked a major set back by importing the Indian and South African strains and then allowed them to spread. Particularly a shame seeing how well we're doing with the vaccines. What a shame to risk going backwards, when all that is needed is temporary border restriction and real quarantine. Just those few months whilst we get people fully vaccinated. Still, fingers crossed it won't impact too badly on the rollout.

This from The Guardian on Wednesday:-

No worries. Australia doesn't need to rush. They're getting there but there's no frantic desperate panicked need. Unlike here, with our 150,000 deaths, long lockdowns, and NHS 5 year backlog. Unlike the UK, Australians (including my family over there) are receiving routine healthcare as normal.

I've seen posters on threads saying we should have fully automated imports and exports (operated robotically presumably) in the U.K. and forget the roro we currently employ.

Yes im sure they'd be super easy to just bung in at Dover etc. No extra cost. No vast engineering. No design needed. Wouldn't take a trice.

Routine healthcare is doing well here. Smear tests, mammograms etc.

Australia is encouraging domestic tourism for the time being. No bad thing. We could with the same boost for our own UK tourist economy.

Be good to hear from Aussie mumsnetters are in full agreement with you there @Tealightsandd.

There are quite a few Australians who are pleased with Australia's handling of the crisis so far, and still wish the government would get a move on with the vaccines.

Have you tried to book a holiday in the U.K. recently?

@tobee

Routine healthcare is doing well here. Smear tests, mammograms etc.

The NHS has a backlog of up to 5 year delays for treatments and diagnoses. This won't be helped by the exodus of traumatised exhausted staff. Many are looking to career change after the pandemic.

@tobee

Be good to hear from Aussie mumsnetters are in full agreement with you there *@Tealightsandd*.

I've seen a few (some who are living over here) who aren't happy because they want to visit family asap. But they're a (generally relatively young healthy affluent) minority.

The Australian elections will indicate how popular their pandemic approach has been. Bear in mind a whopping 40% of Australians don't have a passport. It's not cheap to travel long haul. Many people (UK or Australian) can't afford to travel pandemic or not. I'm quite sure a largely normal domestic life with closed borders is the preference for the majority over the UK way...

...The UK approach of long lockdowns, with the mental and physical health problems that causes, ruined businesses, 150,000 dead, long term health issues, and 5 year NHS delay. Oh - and very disrupted schooling.

My friends in Melbourne would be glad to hear they’ve escaped long lockdowns and disrupted schooling, as they seem to believe they had a pretty shit few months there last year!

I wish very much we’d had Australia-level deaths and infection rates here. But, come on, we don’t need to pretend everything in Australia has been lovely and brilliant the whole time. No country has handled this perfectly.

My family in Australia (admittedly not Melbourne, which btw is nothing close to the shit show UK situation) are immensely grateful to be in Australia. They are absolutely horrified at how things have been over here.

@Tealightsandd

My family in Australia (admittedly not Melbourne, which btw is nothing close to the shit show UK situation) are immensely grateful to be in Australia. They are absolutely horrified at how things have been over here.

Okay?

They're looking forward to getting vaccinated but they're accepting of a little wait. As soon as possible is great but if it's a slightly longer wait, so be it. They're safe, alive, healthy (no long Covid), and getting on with life. They gladly take a little wait over the alternative (the UK way).

@Tealightsandd

They're looking forward to getting vaccinated but they're accepting of a little wait. As soon as possible is great but if it's a slightly longer wait, so be it. They're safe, alive, healthy (no long Covid), and getting on with life. They gladly take a little wait over the alternative (the UK way).

Again: okay?

@GoldenOmber

Do you not understand what temporary means?

Christ.

Once again: my concern is that giving a xenophobic, authoritarian government the power to close borders and keep them closed as long as they feel is a threat is not a great idea.

Yep...

I really hope so.

Are you bill gates