Is there another lockdown now or not?

[Overthebow]

BBC is showing new guidance for Bolton, Blackburn, Kirklees, Bedford, Burnley, Leicester, Hounslow and North Tyneside.

Is this supposed to be another lockdown? I’m confused.

@newnortherner111

It is nowhere near the restrictions even pre 17 May. Nothing is being closed.

Nothing is being closed. But non essential travel in and out is being advised against. So we should be avoiding many things that people have been doing.

It’s guidance not law

If you are planning on visiting those areas you and the people you are staying with can get free LF tests which you might consider sensible to take prior to the visit and after you get home

It's guidance, not law or a proper lockdown. As far as I know, they're not closing non essential shops or banning people from eating inside.

Trouble is that if anyone from those areas has a half term holiday booked, they're probably faced with the choice of cancelling and losing money, or ignoring the guidance and going.

Completely shit way they've dealt with it, again, sneaking out the guidance without consulting local health officials, but it's only the north (mostly), so we don't matter.

Just pisses people off, makes it harder for businesses etc and doesn't create a good mindset to get people to cooperate.

@freckles20 How can guidance "come into force"?

@IHeartKingThistle

Oh God. My parents have just moved to a village outside Leicester and are desperate for the DC to go and stay at half term. Do we not go???

@IHeartKingThistle if you want to post the place concerned on here, or PM me id be happy to let you know where it falls within the county in relation to the previous areas of concern vs area that haven't been included.

@freckles20

I live in Leicester and I had absolutely no idea about this until I heard it on this morning's national news. Apparently it came into force on Friday. It was not advertised or mentioned anywhere at all that I'm aware of.

Since Friday we have been shopping, eaten indoors in a party of 6, DH has been to watch Leicester City play in the stadium surrounded by lots of people and travelled to London on the train twice.

Many many people have been enjoying lockdown realises- not least because we have been effectively locked down without any relief since all this began.

People were and are on their knees. Leicester has had such a hard time and it feels like the decision makers just cast us off like lepers. Why on earth hasn't this been publicised and managed? It's hardly the way to get people to comply, and before we know it the variant will have moved from these hot spots to the rest of the country.

Yep, I'm in Leicester city too and saw this last night and had the sense of dread because I feel a local lockdown coming on. Again.

So incredibly fed up of it. We haven't been to any indoor things yet but have enjoyed several outdoor kids birthday parties over the last week, all in gardens where parents had gone above and beyond to beg, borrow and buy gazebos and anything at all that would provide shelter from the incessant rain so the kids could stay outside but still enjoy 'normal' experiences.

The feeling that it's all about to come crashing down is very real right now.

@Hazelnutlatteplease

Its guidance because they dont want to have to announce they are locking down an area again. The government are burying their head in the sand

It could well turn into a lockdown as a country we tend to ignore guidelines.... It will then need to be longer and harder. They also dont want to close the schools which is probably necessary.

It's really just the government being spineless.

Came on to say basically this.

Another bloody dithering episode from Johnson, the man can't make a decision when people's lives depend on it

[quote Rosehip10]@freckles20 How can guidance "come into force"?[/quote]
@Rosehip10 I see your point.

But we weren't told anything about this. We can't follow guidance that we were unaware of. We watch the news, listen to local news and read the newspapers. Nothing was mentioned.

So we have been merrily not following the guidance including leaving the county for Norfolk and Devon, attending national sports events and travelling to London on the train.

Ok so this isn't Leicestershire?
My mate lives in Leicestershire

Just want to remind everyone that vaccine take up in Bolton is in line with national average take-up. Don't fall for lies. The variant is escaping the vaccine to some extent, that is more of an issue than their take up rate.

Also relative age profile of areas matters - if you are 28, you haven't been offered a vaccine.

In my area two places look very low for vaccine take up. The areas where students and young professionals live.

Another Leicester city living mumsnetter here.

There were about 9,500 Leicester fans in Wembley on Friday night to watch the rugby. Talk about stable door after the horse has bolted...

Obvs not Wembley but Twickenham.

I live in Leicester and I had absolutely no idea about this until I heard it on this morning's national news. Apparently it came into force on Friday. It was not advertised or mentioned anywhere at all that I'm aware of.

Yeah the BBC article says it was published online on Friday with no announcement. Are we all meant to be continually checking government websites for new guidance now? Surely if they want people to do it, they need to do better at making it known.

@freckles20

Apologies, if it came across that way. I mean people as in society in general. It's being asked here every day at times if something is 'advised' or 'mandatory', as many, many people are now refusing to follow something unless they are legally obligated to - and often not even then. It's certainly something that's not linked solely to your area.

@Lissy23
I’m Calderdale as well. I’m involved in regular Public Health updates as part of my job, our rates are rapidly increasing, we’ll be included in this group before long I imagine ☹️

Are people actually dying from the Indian variant? My understanding was that the vaccine has significantly lowered hospital admissions and deaths and that the vaccine does work on lowering the viral load with the Indian variant? I don’t understand why they are basing restrictions on the spread of the virus and not on hospital admissions? Unless I’m missing a rise in hospital admissions? (I don’t keep up with the news).

In the past guidelines have eventually lead to restrictions being put in place so I can see why people are worried, no one wants to be put back into a lockdown.

I live in Leicestershire, so not included directly but obviously the advice is not to travel into Leicester which we are very close to. The first I knew of this was when I read on this post about 30 seconds ago so it’s not very well publicised at all!

Deaths would take a few weeks to rise after cases do.

Just because there's few deaths now doesn't mean the rising cases can be ignored.

The new guidance doesn't affect me (not yet, living within it at the moment), but the only reason I'm aware of it is because it's on MN. DD and DH haven't heard about it either.

@LadyPenelope68 Oh no. I’ve got my parents coming up next month for my birthday.
As it’s advisory, I hope I can still see them though. I guess as long as we meet outdoors. But it’s the travelling into area that’s going to be an issue, as they live in the south east.

I shall be ignoring the 'new' guidance. I live in West Yorkshire and we have not been out of Lockdown since it all began last March. We had 3 weeks last summer where we were allowed to have guests in the garden before that was ended, so they can sod off if they think I'm not having my parents wholive in Kirklees round to our house in the neighbouring authority, and they can sod off if they think we are going to cancel our holiday which we have booked for half term! We have all had the full vaccine- where will this ever end- we need to live with it!

If they do these lockdowns they need to keep non essential shops and outdoor pubs/dining open for their residents then they will be much less likely to travel out of area, if they close everything in certain areas people will much more likely travel to adjoining areas.

Well, soz Boris, I’ll still be going on my half term holiday tomorrow. And if the traffic at rush hour, bars, pubs, restaurants, kids indoor activities in Kirklees is anything to go by, no-one has a clue.. & I doubt will do anything different..

This is killing our area. Businesses are going left, right & centre. Mental health is on the floor. Enough.

Its guidance because in order for it to become law it would need to be a Statutory Instrument that was approved by the Commons before it is a law.

The Government want to avoid that (for now) because there is no guarantee what the TOry backbenchers would say or exactly how you put it in writing.

Why they didnt announce it though

When do we think BoJo or Hancock will do a little announcement about the hotspots then? Its obviously hit the news today that they've changed the guidelines so we should probably expect some kind of bumbling speech about local lockdowns not being wanted, but maybe being needed, not being ruled out, but not being enforced just yet and if we all just do our but then things maybe, could be, possibly will improve. Bad Leicester, if residents just did their part and Hands, Face, Space, but clearly not blaming the individuals, he knows how careful everyone's being, but if they were more careful..........in it together, will see this through, unprecedented times.......blah blah blah.