Do you think they will extend the lockdown or stick with 21st June As Freedom day?

[ihatebindweed]

I hope they don't extend, because it moves the goalposts and then could lead to another extension. As it optional to go to certain places like clubs, when they open, then people vaccinated or not can make their choice.

I sadly think they will extend it and ruin my party planned for the end of June.

We haven't been in lockdown for months now.

Maybe if we had been then the Delta Variant wouldn't have got in.

@ihatebindweed

I hope they don't extend, because it moves the goalposts and then could lead to another extension. As it optional to go to certain places like clubs, when they open, then people vaccinated or not can make their choice.

I sadly think they will extend it and ruin my party planned for the end of June.

I think maybe they will by a week or so. I think that's probably very sensible too, though I'm as desperate as the next person for us to be able to relax the rules - would much rather we didn't have to lockdown again though.

I understand you're worried about the party though - it's a shame nobody could come to your wedding and I hope you do get to celebrate really soon.

Until I can go to a gig and watch a loud band in a crammed sweaty room, it's lockdown for me. Live music is my biggest love and I've already bought something like 10 tickets for gigs in the coming months - nothing before Sept though.

However, 21st June was always the earliest date it would happen, and let's face it, always the date most likely to be pushed. I'm certain it won't happen. There might be a few minor relaxations, rule of six being ditched maybe, but not the big one yet. I REALLY hope it happens in July.

There’s no way they will keep to it and it has sweet fa to do with actual data. If they lifted everything at the start of summer there would be too much pushback by the time it gets to September/October and they want to impose it all again! More people might actually be awake to the fact that nearly every single adult (and maybe even those over the age of 12) whether likely to be vulnerable to covid or not is vaccinated and so what do cases matter and when are we actually going to get back on with our lives. They can not afford to risk such awakening. For now, those who have already figured this out are easily labelled anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists. It would be much harder to convince a substantial amount of the population that we just need “a few more weeks”

I think we'll get a week of "might have to be extended/scrapped etc" to prepare people. Then they announce that masks/social distancing/home working will stay for now in some aspect, but something like pubs can open as normal. Therefore rather than kick off people go 'yippee, let's go and get pissed'.

More people might actually be awake to the fact that nearly every single adult (and maybe even those over the age of 12) whether likely to be vulnerable to covid or not is vaccinated and so what do cases matter and when are we actually going to get back on with our lives

Exactly.

Who cares if cases rise...if people aren’t getting seriously ill with it, aren’t needing hospitalisation with it and aren’t dying from it then what does it matter?

What is the point in millions and millions and millions of people getting vaccinated if nothing is going to change and our lives are still going to be restricted?

Many people I know are just SO over it by now. Just let us have our normality back.

We can’t live our fully vaccinated lives wearing masks and having imposed limitations on what we can and can’t do.

As it currently stands, with the way the media and politicians are speaking it sounds like a delay of at least 2 weeks is looking very likely.

However, it’s not set in stone until Boris updates us.

Anything could still happen.

And another thing, considering the Spanish flu Pandemic, which was much more deadly to a wider population demographic than covid, lasted around 3 years, why is this one still ongoing almost 2 years after it has been found to have started in some areas of Europe? They didn’t have the vaccines or the medical knowledge or the track had trace technology that we have now and yet that one came to its own end.
I also question why there is an apparent 3rd wave starting in the summer months when this is a winter respiratory disease?

@IceCreamAndCandyfloss

I to hope and think it will be extended. There’s plenty of freedom already so we aren’t locked away like before. Local cases are rising and we had dropped to a low rate only a few weeks ago. Cases are rising rapidly and plenty still aren’t vaccinated or only half way through jabs.

Ultimately it's a race between the vaccine and the variants. We're in a situation where 2 weeks before June 21st under 30's still haven't had a jab. 30's and 40's have now had a jab but one jab only gives partial protection against the dominant variant.

Therefore opening everything up in 2 weeks is setting ourselves up for a third wave. The extra few weeks (to allow the 20's to get a first dose and 40's to get a 2nd) makes sense.

My main concern is foreign holidays though. If the borders open up properly again in July then who knows what variants will be brought back? I'd rather make the trade of everything opening up here but being more cautious over the borders.

Agree with the above - rising case numbers mean very little if hospitalisations aren’t going up to unsustainable level. That, ultimately, is all that matters.

And another thing, considering the Spanish flu Pandemic, which was much more deadly to a wider population demographic than covid, lasted around 3 years, why is this one still ongoing almost 2 years after it has been found to have started in some areas of Europe? They didn’t have the vaccines or the medical knowledge or the track had trace technology that we have now and yet that one came to its own end.

They also didn't have flights of people moving around the world and taking the different mutations all over the place.

@slashlover but they did have a shed load of soldiers returning from World War One from all
over the world.

Opening everything up in two weeks is setting ourselves up for a third wave

It really isn't because if YOU don't think it's a good idea, then don't go to a cramped pub or a gig. There is choice. No everyone will return to normal immediately. Conditions could be imposed as in rapid flow tests ? But I think that's OTT.

I've been to the soft play last week, it was a half term and even with masks and supposed restricted number it was rammed. And I'm not worried, as we have to live.

Lost -
I dont know but it being a variant that did well in india when hot there.

Anyway we in uk still spend lots of time inside in summer, pubs,offices etc

I think it’ll be allowed for some areas and not for others. Those of us in good old Lancashire will be left behind yet again thanks to the knobheads in those same certain areas in the south of the county that no one wants to visit anyway!

@ThornAmongstRoses

More people might actually be awake to the fact that nearly every single adult (and maybe even those over the age of 12) whether likely to be vulnerable to covid or not is vaccinated and so what do cases matter and when are we actually going to get back on with our lives

Exactly.

Who cares if cases rise...if people aren’t getting seriously ill with it, aren’t needing hospitalisation with it and aren’t dying from it then what does it matter?

What is the point in millions and millions and millions of people getting vaccinated if nothing is going to change and our lives are still going to be restricted?

Many people I know are just SO over it by now. Just let us have our normality back.

We can’t live our fully vaccinated lives wearing masks and having imposed limitations on what we can and can’t do.

Who cares if cases rise

I do!

The prospect of tens of thousands of children falling victim to Long Covid plus the additional risk of new variants isn't something I'm willing to chance.

The proportion of the population vaccinated is 40%. I know the government have been spinning stats for a while, so it’s difficult to get a feel of how many people still need vaccines before we’re fully vaccinated.

60% of the population being unvaccinated or partially vaccinated leaves a lot of room for covid to spread happily and something to go wrong.

We can’t keep getting beaten by the long covid stick. Post viral issues are a known phenomenon and we can’t keep living like this on the off chance some of us might be unfortunate enough to have longer term issues. Tens of thousands of children is a ridiculous estimation.
And what about vaccine side effects? Nobody even knows the long term issues there might be with those for adults or teenagers and yet many people are perfectly happy to agree for children to have those. That’s despite some evidence of heart problems and organ swelling in young people following vaccination which I would consider worse than long covid.

There has to be an end to this now I'm not into trading our freedom any more. If your scared stay in & let the rest of us get on with our lives & that includes travelling abroad.

@RafaIsTheKingOfClay

The proportion of the population vaccinated is 40%. I know the government have been spinning stats for a while, so it’s difficult to get a feel of how many people still need vaccines before we’re fully vaccinated.

60% of the population being unvaccinated or partially vaccinated leaves a lot of room for covid to spread happily and something to go wrong.

About 87% of the entire population double vaccinated for herd immunity, assuming no more variants come along (and that's a big if).

@Lostinacloud

We can’t keep getting beaten by the long covid stick. Post viral issues are a known phenomenon and we can’t keep living like this on the off chance some of us might be unfortunate enough to have longer term issues. Tens of thousands of children is a ridiculous estimation. And what about vaccine side effects? Nobody even knows the long term issues there might be with those for adults or teenagers and yet many people are perfectly happy to agree for children to have those. That’s despite some evidence of heart problems and organ swelling in young people following vaccination which I would consider worse than long covid.

It's not a ridiculous estimation when approximately 1% of cases result in Long Covid and Johnson's plan is to let Delta rip through the schools.

I think they should announce some 'interim' measures for 21 June - probably things a lot of people have slightly given up on anyway. You could probably say no social distancing required outside (for instance) and it would be fairly safe.

The big things that would make a difference are flights (to stop variants getting in/out) which we haven't controlled anyway, and ensuring people isolate when they should do (to stop clusters turning into outbreaks), which we decided would be too expensive.

I know in the US the myocarditis reported post vaccine seems to be in similar numbers to what you would expect in the general population. I don’t know about elsewhere. It’s been flagged out of caution.

Unlike myocarditis in teens with Covid there. Which has affected teens who only had very mild illnesses otherwise.

I’m not sure long covid can be equated with post viral illness either. There are a few early studies from the past year which suggest it needs looking into. The reality is we don’t really know what the long term effects are in people with Covid.

I think it would be sensible to extend the date by a couple of weeks to allow 20-somethings to get their first dose, and 40-somethings to get second doses.

I don't know why people are talking about moving goalposts because 21 June was never a firm date - it was a "no earlier than" date. Pity the government fucked things up a bit with lax border control, which allowed the Delta variant to seed. In the context of this variant the number of people who've had a first dose is not relevant - you need to look at the percentage of people who have been double vaccinated, as another poster upthread has already said.

I think the fact they still haven't opened up vaccinations yet to the 20s is a bit clue that 21 June won't be happening. I think it'll move back to mid-July to allow a decent chunk of that age group to get first vaccines and for more second vaccinations of the 40s and 50s to be done.

I can't get too stressed about it moving back a couple of weeks - by the time we hit mid-July we should hopefully have decent evidence that vaccination has controlled the number of people getting seriously sick and needing hospitalisation, even if case numbers are ticking up. As others have said, 21 June was always the earliest possible date rather than a hard deadline - I'd much rather do a couple more weeks with the current restrictions than lift things on 21 June and then end up back in strict lockdown come September.