To think they should pause meeting inside

[LastOrdersMaura]

In the last person to be overly concerned about the virus but the SAGE minutes show that there is something to be concerned about.
I think the economy can't take anymore and I really feel for all the businesses who are gearing up for opening on Monday. My friends cafe hasn't opened since October last year so she missed all the Christmas trade and has no outside seating. Her customer base are mostly elderly so unlikely to come out for takeaway. It would likely bankrupt her to hold off opening any longer.

The mixing in people's houses seems the least destructive part to hold off on. I know a lot of people have been looking forward to it but prolonged contact in a small space seems to be a major factor in transmission.
I'm looking forward to seeing others for a drink in their houses but I can see how it can go wrong. Most people aren't able to go for a meal in a restaurant every night of the week. I could however go to a different friends house every day, even multiple friends houses! Then if that friend does the same, that's a lot of indoor mixing. We have small children so the likelihood of them SD'ing is unlikely. Then there's older siblings at school, working parents, nursery etc leading to an increase in transmission. I feel restaurants are quite safe in comparison.
Those who want to will mix indoors anyway but it might make some think twice or not accept as many invitations. It has no impact on the economy. Yes it will have an impact on mental health but I think we're screwed on that part anyway. Anxiety is through the roof!
I'm fully expecting people to tell me to fuck off but this is the most sensible decision that BJ could make in light of the new variant. I'm not a lockdown lover, frankly as I haven't had a lockdown due to working out of the house throughout. I just want this to be over, properly over, not just kicking the can down the road.

[quote secretllama]**@MintyMabel* You can see them outside. Covid doesn’t care about fair.*

And I don't care about covid anymore. Works both ways.[/quote]
Yep, same here! Can't imagine my ma sat outside with hot water bottles and blankets like some pariah because the government said so. She's survived Covid in December but has been vaccinated twice, as have we. Fuck that.

Considering there are people in India who are getting severely ill with this variant even with the double vaccinations, I won't be going into or spending time with anyone indoors.

I’m fully vaccinated, as are my parents, and I have been seeing them indoors for months already. The same with my FIL.

I have seen a few friends inside over the last month or so which I’m happy to do because I’m fully vaccinated and if my friends are happy to have me over in that knowledge then that’s fine.

It’s time for life to resume.

Our neighbors have been doing it before the rules even lifted. They really pissed me off. They are mostly good neighbours accept for that

I need to mix inside. Where I live we’ve been under restrictions since around September with the whole tier system shitshow. I NEED to see people indoors at this point. For my own sanity.

But people won’t comply and the government know this.

@prettylittlestar

Our neighbors have been doing it before the rules even lifted. They really pissed me off. They are mostly good neighbours accept for that

Why did it piss you off? It didn’t affect you in the slightest.

@Abraxan Three or four weeks? Enough time for more people to get the first vaccination and for them to develop immunity - think it is three weeks?

I just heard something on the news about the mixing and variants etc and at one point, in relation to rule restrictions they were saying it’s really important the we still protect the vulnerable, including the vaccinated in case the vaccine hasn’t worked for some reason.

I mean what the hell??

So we were promised the vaccines were the way out of it and pushed to get them....to now being told the vaccinated are still vulnerable in case it hasn’t worked so we still need to protect them when it comes to considering relaxing the rules or not.

The whole thing is madness.

I’m so sick of hearing about variants now - it’s dominating the News channel and it feels like I’m living in some kind of parallel universe.

@Tootsey11

Considering there are people in India who are getting severely ill with this variant even with the double vaccinations, I won't be going into or spending time with anyone indoors.

Nah sorry that’s not true those that have got seriously ill haven’t had any vaccine I’d bet my last £10 on that .

@Tootsey11

Considering there are people in India who are getting severely ill with this variant even with the double vaccinations, I won't be going into or spending time with anyone indoors.

Can you provide a source for those becoming 'seriously ill'? An honest question, not a sarky one, I am genuinely interested.

So far all I can find online is reference to vaccinated Indian citizens catching it having mild cases:

www.independent.co.uk/asia/india/covid-vaccine-delhi-hospital-study-b1845438.html

And also:

www.indiatoday.in/coronavirus-outbreak/vaccine-updates/story/why-vaccinated-people-testing-positive-covid-expert-answers-1795739-2021-04-28

We ideally need the overnight stays so I can see my parents, and the kids can see their grandparents.
Whilst my parents gave driven 5 hours to sit in my garden then go home, it's an absolutely shitte day, and not one I'm prepared to do with the kids. DHs parents are even further away, and we haven't seen them since Christmas 2019.
Whereas add in overnight stays, and I can happily go down - just being able to stay one overnight and split the driving into 2 days makes a massive difference.
While you think meeting indoors should be stopped, you then fracture some families further.
There is no good way out - and frankly, I dont think people will stick by many rules if they toughen them again.

Why though?

Sorry but I want to say I've followed this to the letter. As a family, we've missed out on two 21sts, an 18th, a niece qualifying in her chosen profession, and mine and DPs wedding.
We've had our vaccines, there was not a question in my mind we would, and when I found out our GP had screwed up both times and missed us off lists, I argued.
My business is screwed, but a friend and I have worked out one we can do together from the ashes of both our businesses. Which won't happen if this carries on.

It's too much. They said yesterday the reason it's spreading quickly in the areas of, specifically, Bolton, was in areas of tint vaccine uptake.

Why should we miss out on our hard thought for, long awaited freedoms, because certain people won't see sense.

Make them sign a waiver. We can't make people have it. But we can make them sign something that says, if we don't have it, then that is a risk we understand.

I'm looking at my wedding for June 26th and I'm despondent now. I had to postpone last year..I thought, from April and the vaccine doing so well, we will be fine. I've sorted everything, paid for everything.

But due to the selfishness of one country and their governments lies and ineptitude, and Boris being a twat again, I'm looking at postponing again

We have to learn to live alongside it. We won't reach Covid zero. No one will. But we cannot sustain this.

Sorry but I think there will be riots. The likes of right wing twats like Farage, Tommy Robinson and the rest will capitalise on the fact this is another foreign variant, especially where it's from and it will kick off. There is only so much people will take and frankly, I've reached the end of my rope with compliance.

The variant does spread, so get people vaccinated, sod the 12 week wait, get it in people now. The FDA have approved Pfizer for over 12s so get them done too.

And some sodding transparency from Boris would be nice because I really don't fancy having to wait until June 14th to let people down again.

@Tiktokersmiracle I hope your wedding goes ahead .It's so bloody unfair isn't it, it just feels to me now that we should never look forward to anything so it's easier to let go when it gets cancelled.

So we don't meet up indoors , meanwhile 200 people get on a plane
No way will I follow not seeing family inside whilst others are off on holiday , mixing in airports , planes etc etc

Agreed @worriedatthemoment if anything should be paused it's all forms of foreign travel as that is where new variants are coming from.

If you feel more comfortable holding off op then that is good ..however I don't know one person that would comply
No amount of sitting home alone will "beat " this, all lockdowns do are delay the inevitable.

This virus will be around for at least our life time, in one form or another

[quote LastOrdersMaura]@RoseRedRoseBlue not me. I've lost my relationship and part of my children's childhood, I've lost my daughters reception year and my son's last year of preschool. I've lost friends who I might never see again due to rising health anxiety. I've lost a year plus with my elderly relatives. I've been on holidays to ghost towns and had my relatives abroad crying when they tell me they have no furlough scheme in their country and they can't work. I am not one of those people.[/quote]
So many people have suffered. The OP makes a really valid point.

They don't want that suffering to be meaningless. I get it.

But it's now time to think about actual real risks and what the NHS can realistically cope with, rather than just blanket restrictions and expecting people to comply.

I'd be happy to pause it all for say six weeks, if it was guaranteed that all the people who have been offered the vaccine and refused it were now going to take it. Time to get them done and get some immunity. However this won't be the case will it.

[quote LastOrdersMaura]@NoSquirrels I think idiot is a bit harsh. None of what she is planning to do is against the rules from Monday. Which is my concern. I see a lot of people doing individual risk assessments which is great but not everyone will do that I think the government need to really spell it out that just because you could meet multiple people a day it doesn't mean you should! A school mum is having six kids over to her small terrace house next week, that's her interpretation of the rule of six. If you say it's ok to mix inside then people will take that anyway they want to.[/quote]
You can’t have it all ways.

You’ve said you’re happy to meet people inside. Yet you want the government to say meeting people inside is still not permitted.

As you say, your friend is just doing what is permitted. So what do you want? You want the rules to stay in place but everyone to break them ‘a little bit’? Rather than a relaxing of the rules that still imposes restrictions? I’m not sure your strategy is any better than the government’s.

@cnversation

I'd be happy to pause it all for say six weeks, if it was guaranteed that all the people who have been offered the vaccine and refused it were now going to take it. Time to get them done and get some immunity. However this won't be the case will it.

You can’t force people to be vaccinated.

I'm staying at my parents next week and its not the first time this year. Really have stopped giving a shit. Every time we have visited (which has been less than normal due to the pandemic) we went inside. Its a 90 min drive so nothing huge either. We're prepared to make our own risk assessments like the grown ups we are.

The thing is, those who feel that indoor socialising should be held off are probably not doing it already and will continue to not do it despite being officially allowed to on Monday. The rest of us, however, will carry on regardless. Whilst the government can keep businesses shut if they decide to do so, they cannot stop people doing as they wish in their private homes.

It is true that there are groups restricting their contacts to a level that helps reduce transmission for everyone - such as most of those working from home.

However there is another group who adhere firmly to whatever the rules are. They will do it if it is allowed. They won't do it if it's not.

I think this is probably the largest group but I have nothing to back that up.

All my parent's friends seem to be in it.

So the rules matter.