Greater "this is not a lockdown" Manchester

[CityGirl182]

Anyone else sick of us being treated like this. I'm in one of the regions where "variants of concern are spreading" and am really annoyed by the messaging.
There's surge testing and a vaccine boost, although apparently we're not getting extra vaccine so surely this just means second vaccines will be delayed?
And we're being advised to avoid travel out of area and avoid meeting people inside. But you've got Andy Burnham out saying it's advisory and not a law. So do you want us to stop meeting inside or not? If it's only advisory then you've got some people bending over backwards cancelling plans and feeling conflicted about what we should be doing, and then there's some people just carrying on as normal. What's the point of this? If the government actually believes people need to do these things then why not say that and stop the mixed messaging and placing the guilt on us...

My son is invited to a party next week that's at an indoor play centre, do we go anymore?
Does my husband go to the gym? Can meet people in their garden? And no indication of how long we're being asked to do this, yet again...

I'm in GM and will be carrying on as normal.

I've been in this situation and just ignore it

When the law changes, I need to know. That's it.

Though the surge testing staff outnumber everyone in the High Street, it's fecking annoying but ignore them.

@Hoppinggreenim guessing we have the same local Sainsburys!

Sally Nook?

I'm in Leicester and we have the exact same messaging, surge testing, guidance........

I'm trying to make what I think are sensible choices as are the majority of the people I know and it's definitely easier with the nicer weather, so things like:

• most people are choosing garden parties for kids birthdays
• most people are choosing to keep kids parties to class groups only so it's the same groups of kids mixing at a party who have been mixing all week at school
• having play dates at parks or in gardens rather than in the house
• limiting indoor meet-ups so meeting up with one other household at the weekend rather than skipping between lots of groups in a short window of time.
• doing lateral flow testing
• been vaccinated

I honestly don't know if it will make any difference but it seems personally like choices I can make that fit within the rules, not to the guidance, limit risky contacts but still allow us to enjoy some of the businesses that have reopened me get the hell out of the house.

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo
Yes similar here best of luck to you guys

What massively peeved me off was the bleeding obvious and doing nothing about it.
When Bolton & Blackburn starting to see increasing cases it was obvious that GM and surrounding areas of Lancashire would follow....it happened last year and its OBVIOUS. People travel for work, school, uni, shopping etc etc so no way was the virus going to stay contained.
Why oh why didnt the governemnt do something about it then, nip it in the bud...but oh no lets wait for the shit to hit the fan again and do this half arsed carry on but dont carry on.
Im sick of it and am carrying on.

@AnyFucker

I live in the area and will be carrying on as planned

I will be doing the same.

@englishmaninnewyork

Funny how so many of the areas have a high ethnic population. All feels a bit like racism to me.

This statement makes no sense.

They were still taking it seriously - maybe that's why they have lower rates of infection?

Really? After all this time people still say things like this? Rates are lower in the south west because they are "taking it seriously". Have a word.

Leicester seems to have been locked down forever and a day. Yet rates remain high. It's almost as if the lockdown isn't having any impact No that can't be right can it?

They were still taking it seriously - maybe that's why they have lower rates of infection?

Wrong. And offensive.

If it happened where I live I'd be carrying on as normal

People are still trotting out this bullshit about some areas having lower infection rates because they were 'taking it seriously' ?? They do understand that being locked down almost permanently for longer than the rest of the country means we can't do anything BUT take it seriously, right?

Have a word with yourself.

I guess the problem is if it's not law you can't get refunds on anything - holiday cottages, gym memberships, etc. Unless the individual owner/gym is being super nice. So if I had a gym membership I couldn't suspend I'd carry on going, same if I lived in GM and had a cottage booked in Cornwall.

We’re in Lancashire are my borough has has 0-2 cases for the last at least 8 weeks and 4 cases for one week (which could have been one family) and 0-2 cases again since February. There have been no deaths in Blackpool teaching hospitals since 2nd April and there are 3 people in hospital with a Covid diagnosis (who could be on for other things). I’m not paying this “guidance” the blindest bit of notice!

It is getting ridiculous now. Local lockdowns achieve nothing (except misery and hardship). Why can’t we call a spade a spade here?

I’m in Kirklees. We’ve had the same guidance as Manchester /Lancashire now for 2/3 weeks. Safe to say, no-one is acting any differently. Multiple friends & acquaintances went on holiday around the country at half term. Restaurants & cafes are full. Softplay is fully booked everywhere. As is the local splash park. I live in a touristy village, it’s heaving. The holiday camping & caravan park a short walk away from my house is full. Last week with families, this week with retired aged people.

Until it becomes law, people will carry on as normal. As they should in my opinion, local lockdowns don’t work. And it’s always the same places. And it’s not because we don’t follow the rules. It’s because these places have large pockets of very poor areas where far fewer people can WFH or afford to isolate. They also have a population of ethnic minorities where vaccine uptake is much lower & there are high numbers of multi-generational households. Shutting down businesses & forcing people not to mix doesn’t work. As it doesn’t solve any of those problems. People still have to go to work in factories & trades. People will still live in large households & have vaccine reluctance. What works better is surge testing & surge vaccinating.. hopefully this is happening..

@AnyFucker

They were still taking it seriously - maybe that's why they have lower rates of infection?

Wrong. And offensive.

It's turning into us versus them, probably how the government wanted it. Convince their core voters to blame one section of society - the poor, BAMEs - to distract from their shambolic, corrupt handling of the whole affair. I also stand by that there is racism involved. I don't believe for a minute that a nice middle class London suburb would have been locked down in the way Leicester - huge Asian/immigrant community - has been. Regardless of data.

@Ilikewinter

What massively peeved me off was the bleeding obvious and doing nothing about it. When Bolton & Blackburn starting to see increasing cases it was obvious that GM and surrounding areas of Lancashire would follow....it happened last year and its OBVIOUS. People travel for work, school, uni, shopping etc etc so no way was the virus going to stay contained. Why oh why didnt the governemnt do something about it then, nip it in the bud...but oh no lets wait for the shit to hit the fan again and do this half arsed carry on but dont carry on. Im sick of it and am carrying on.

This precisely. Contrary to what a PP said, rates in GM have not ‘stayed high’. Before the Delta variant took hold, rates in most boroughs were around or below the national average. Anyone with half a brain could see this coming a mile off, which is incredibly frustrating

I’m in Stockport, where rates are increasing at a terrifying rate. I’m going to carry on using my common sense, because it’s been clear for a long time that the ‘advice’ from our pitiful excuse for a Government is mainly influenced by political factors rather than actual science.

The advice isn't just being given in the county of Greater Manchester but in Lancashire Leicestershire and West Yorkshire too, but AGAIN for some reason the media only seems to talk about "Manchester" (a city). Which only leads to more confusion

Some parts of Blackburn/Darwin (Lancashire) are really high
East Darwin 1,085 per 100,000
Wensley Fold 855 per 100 000

When other areas were in extended lockdown , at the same time it was allowed to spread through the South East and we had the kent varient which we kindly shared .

@englishmaninnewyork

Leicester seems to have been locked down forever and a day. Yet rates remain high. It's almost as if the lockdown isn't having any impact No that can't be right can it?

Well they've worked everywhere else.

@CityGirl182

Anyone else sick of us being treated like this. I'm in one of the regions where "variants of concern are spreading" and am really annoyed by the messaging. There's surge testing and a vaccine boost, although apparently we're not getting extra vaccine so surely this just means second vaccines will be delayed? And we're being advised to avoid travel out of area and avoid meeting people inside. But you've got Andy Burnham out saying it's advisory and not a law. So do you want us to stop meeting inside or not? If it's only advisory then you've got some people bending over backwards cancelling plans and feeling conflicted about what we should be doing, and then there's some people just carrying on as normal. What's the point of this? If the government actually believes people need to do these things then why not say that and stop the mixed messaging and placing the guilt on us...

My son is invited to a party next week that's at an indoor play centre, do we go anymore?
Does my husband go to the gym? Can meet people in their garden? And no indication of how long we're being asked to do this, yet again...

The problem is that the government promised a long time back that the route out of lockdown would be one-way.

Imposing a local lockdown breaks that promise. So instead they try to get around it by issuing guidance.

Andy Burnham has no power to impose legal rules, so he also can only say please be careful....

In answer to your questions:

1. Yes - it means vaccine doses are being reprioritised.
2. Yes - your local health authorities want you not to travel out of the area if possible and to avoid meeting people indoors. To an extent this messaging is working because cases were increasing VERY rapidly in Bolton at one point, but in that area at least the rise appears to have slowed.

As for timescales - nobody can say because it depends on whether or not the infections are brought back under control or not.

@Flaxmeadow

The advice isn't just being given in the county of Greater Manchester but in Lancashire Leicestershire and West Yorkshire too, but AGAIN for some reason the media only seems to talk about "Manchester" (a city). Which only leads to more confusion

Some parts of Blackburn/Darwin (Lancashire) are really high
East Darwin 1,085 per 100,000
Wensley Fold 855 per 100 000

I suspect most reporters think everywhere north of Watford is labelled "Here be monsters" on maps.

Ooh - there's an outbreak in the NW? Where's that? Ooh look it says Manchester there - Manchester United, heard of them. OK, so that's where it's happening.....