Continuing with restricted lives despite people still coming into the country from covid hotspots

[Carycy]

Just found out our local college has been closed down due to the Indian variant.

I am seriously done with following the restrictions whilst people are still clearly being allowed to fly into the country from red lists and not quarantine properly.

Why on earth should we? What is the point.

India felt the same when the Kent variant arrived there in Jan-Feb, btw. Why do you think that people from red list countries are not quarantining properly when they have to pay nearly 2000 in quarantine fees plus tests?

They probably did. That was up to India wasn’t it? It just feels like we have had some longest of the lockdowns globally at great cost to our economy whilst simultaneously letting people come into the country spreading new variants etc.
It disheartens people that have barely left their own county for the past year.
My friends brother arrived from another European country whilst we were in the Jan feb lockdown. They did no quarantine properly. They came for a holiday staying with family. There were no checks. This was when it was frowned upon to leave your own village for everyone else.

The variant wouldn’t be spreading so easily if they were quarantining properly.

Even quarantining properly might not stop it, airport staff, plane staff etc. could catch it and pass it on.

I agree it's annoying though. Where I am in Scotland has barely been out of lock down vie over a year now. Yet there are people travelling internationally.

@Carycy

They probably did. That was up to India wasn’t it? It just feels like we have had some longest of the lockdowns globally at great cost to our economy whilst simultaneously letting people come into the country spreading new variants etc. It disheartens people that have barely left their own county for the past year. My friends brother arrived from another European country whilst we were in the Jan feb lockdown. They did no quarantine properly. They came for a holiday staying with family. There were no checks. This was when it was frowned upon to leave your own village for everyone else.

The variant wouldn’t be spreading so easily if they were quarantining properly.

I am not sure how one can stop 'foreign' variants from coming in indefinitely in a country where so many have families or work overseas, and where people are already clamouring for European holidays. Especially since the UK is spawning its own dangerous variants ( as is every country).The way out, IMO, is vaccination.

I don’t begrudge opening up travel when restrictions within our own country are removed.

I intend to have a summer holiday abroad if poss.
I begrudge getting emails from our school saying we need to be more strict with guidelines and school might close whilst simultaneously allowing free travel in and out of the country.

Strange thread to post spam porn video @Ollinica

Ollinica, I don’t think that’s a recognised side-effect that needs a PCR.
Very odd place for that kind of spamming.

@Carycy

The Indian variant isn't being imported from abroad. It's already here and the infections are domestic, it's just that (as with the Kent variant) it seems to be more transmissible- so when you get a hot spot it spreads fast. So closing down a school is just a mini fire break to stall transmission.

Yeah. We’ve kind of missed the boat on the Indian variant. There appears to be community spread and cases are increasing.

The fact that our border is much more porous than other countries is why we need more restricted daily lives. The more strict the quarantine requirements the less careful you need to be with everything else once you have cases down. I realise this annoying and frustrating because it could be different.

Yeah. We’ve kind of missed the boat on the Indian variant

Not for the first time.

We've got so much right on this THIRD attempt at dealing with the virus, but we're still making some of the SAME mistakes we did the first time - namely requiring concrete proof of a problem before addressing it, instead of assuming that anything new carries a risk and dealing with it accordingly until proven otherwise.

@Carycy

Just found out our local college has been closed down due to the Indian variant.

I am seriously done with following the restrictions whilst people are still clearly being allowed to fly into the country from red lists and not quarantine properly.

Why on earth should we? What is the point.

Yes the whole thing is ridiculous now. The PM and government clearly don’t give a fuck so why the rest of us mugs are bothering I’m not sure.

@Carycy I agree that it is time to stop domestic restrictions. It has been too harsh and for too long, and you are right that the cost is enormous.

It’s not the ‘foreignness’ of the variants, it’s that citizens of a country are locked down while people come and go freely, sit ‘indoors’ on planes, attend social events in other countries, and then come back, or in.

It makes no sense and has been going on throughout the pandemic.

I am very angry about it and it has been a major failing of the Gvt.

Whole schools closing down is going to be a feature of this term, especially since pretty much all mitigations except opening windows will be gone from next monday.

Indian variant is sending out some huge red flag signals, namely that it appears to be increasing exponentially while the Kent variant cases are dropping. There already appear to be a number of outbreaks linked to schools.

I totally agree, from the first lockdown, loads of flight coming in from all over the world, no testing at the beginning coming into the UK, while we all had to sit at home. That’s why I have always done as much as I possibly can when rules allow.