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...

@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'm in West Yorkshire and our council have only just started to roll out new guidelines. I didn't even realise our numbers had gone up until then because as you say the media really only focuses on the Manchester data,

I’m in Salford cases are rising. I’m also NHS staff, I’m fully vaccinated. I lLFT twice a week and wear PPE. I’m carrying on as I have the last few weeks. My current normal is very careful anyway. I wear masks sanitise my hands etc. Don’t meet in big groups in small places etc.

I have a small friendship group and we test before meeting. I’m meeting friends Sunday outside a pub. I’ve already been away to a U.K. destination. I need to see family and friends which I do very safely but while enjoying myself. I’m not fussed on abroad holidays this year and have no more U.K. ones planned yet. I’m ok at the level of activity is at and don’t want to go backwards and can’t go back to lockdown. I’d rather postpone 21st for a little longer maybe with some measures reduced but some kept. I get this isn’t simple for some and their jobs/mental health.

At this stage GM/northwest have had restrictions for so long we don’t even know what’s ‘normal’ anymore. We had high level restrictions for most of last year. People are fed up and I can’t see them going backwards to doing little now they have more to be able to do, especially if vaccinated.

I’m also in greater Manchester I’m not doing anything different and I refuse to law or not law it’s bloody ridiculous and I’m past caring tbh .

School trips, including residentials, are still continuing. So don’t say bus loads of children can leave areas of concern and tell me where I should and shouldn’t be going as an individual.

Right now the numbers are simmering away, pockets of rising cases will become more common around the country as summer rolls on.

I expect after a few weeks of people ‘carrying on as normal’ like there is no problem Gtr Manchester will go into restrictions similar to Tier 3 last year.

@Thewiseoneincognito But why is it happening ? Is it because people are not getting vaccinated ?

@NotBot is spot on there

[quote userxx]@Thewiseoneincognito But why is it happening ? Is it because people are not getting vaccinated ?[/quote]
I think with Bolton ,whilst the rates of vaccination in Bolton as a whole were average or above average ,there were pockets where vaccine uptake was very low ,which skews the figures ,we had the vaccine bus so hopefully that's helped to get our rates down

userxx- lots of reasons.

More people in roles they are unable to do from home

More people in roles with no sick pay - they can't afford to take time off. Really can't - not just going to be a bit skint that week/month - people not being able to pay rent or feed families, and the £500 the government offered really isn't enough for the working poor. (if they qualify)

Unclear messaging from the government

Generational living in some areas, in overcrowded housing

Some groups being reluctant to vaccinate

Lack of investment in local transport infrastructure meaning people if they do have to travel for work are doing so crammed in like sardines, despite notices about social distancing.

That's only a few off the top of my head

I thought the vaccine cut down the odds of you catching the virus. Is that not correct ?

@beenrumbled

userxx- lots of reasons.

More people in roles they are unable to do from home

More people in roles with no sick pay - they can't afford to take time off. Really can't - not just going to be a bit skint that week/month - people not being able to pay rent or feed families, and the £500 the government offered really isn't enough for the working poor. (if they qualify)

Unclear messaging from the government

Generational living in some areas, in overcrowded housing

Some groups being reluctant to vaccinate

Lack of investment in local transport infrastructure meaning people if they do have to travel for work are doing so crammed in like sardines, despite notices about social distancing.

That's only a few off the top of my head

Certainly in Leicester we have:

3 large hospitals
3 large universities
High proportion of warehouse/retail/food service type work

So very large numbers of people who weren't able to just stay home, lock yourself in and keep away from other people. Lots of front line key workers and jobs where WFH was physically impossible.

Add in multi-generational housing and deprived areas and it's no wonder that case rates stayed high even when in official lockdowns because so many people fell into the 'essential work' category and/or lived with all the people they were going to be able to infect.

And we were told the vaccine would be our saviour....

userxx My understanding is that it can reduce the chances of you getting covid, but that it reduces the chance of being really ill with it more. Although you have to be double vaccinated and against the Delta variant the vaccine is not quite as effective.

@userxx

I thought the vaccine cut down the odds of you catching the virus. Is that not correct ?

Vaccines do cut the odds but it’s not 100%

They are finding some people admitted after having only one vaccine, with the delta variant it isn’t enough cover and needs two vaccines and time after for immunity to develop.

Most admitted are under 65. People 30/40/50s in the main. Very few fully vaccinated people are admitted but vaccines were never 100% even before variants. So some people can and still will catch covid just not being seriously ill with it. Some people’s immunity may not work effectively due to health conditions.

However NHS did state that it looks like it’s breaking the chain of serious infection needing long stays in hospital.

I’m in Trafford so one of the effected restriction area and I’m not doing anything different. I’m going into work as normal, have meals booked for next week, meeting friends etc. It’s not the law and I don’t believe we should be penalised for boris not closing the borders and allowing people from effected countries in. Complete bullshit and were being punished. Stay safe and carry on as normal.

I wouldn't even follow it if it were law now 🤷

@AnyFucker

And we were told the vaccine would be our saviour....

Once most people are fully vaccinated. We weren't told that as soon as anyone has any vaccines we can just go wild. We need to actually deliver the vaccine programme which is 2 doses and then 3 weeks following the second dose for immunity to build, and we need to deliver that programme to the majority of the community.

I live in GM and hold Johnson completely responsible for the delta variant spreading here. He didn't put India on the red list because he wanted to travel there and do a trade deal. It's his fault it is rife in GM and other areas. We are on our last day of isolation as 2 of my kids have had the delta variant over half term and it hit them quite hard.
Maybe anybody told to isolate should take a leaf out of Michael Gove's book and pretend they are doing a pilot scheme so they don't have to isolate.
Our kids are just collateral damage to them, they have taken a wrecking ball to their education and mental health. It's not sustainable. My niece is on her 2nd bout of isolation this month. I'm so angry as this was so preventable.

Seriously Scotland has had harder restrictions than you. We are still in tiers. If you have more than 50ppl per 100 00 you go back up a level and restrictions get added. You can't travel out of your area boundary.

It's the only fair and safe way to do it.
And yes I've been in an area that got locked down harder when other areas did not.

And yes I've been in an area that got locked down harder when other areas did not

Like the NW then.

Johnson and his pals can swivel on a rusty spike.

I'm careful, don't meet large groups, avoid busy areas and sanitise.
I will not be behaving differently or irresponsibly

@digginthedancingqueen

I live in GM and hold Johnson completely responsible for the delta variant spreading here. He didn't put India on the red list because he wanted to travel there and do a trade deal. It's his fault it is rife in GM and other areas. We are on our last day of isolation as 2 of my kids have had the delta variant over half term and it hit them quite hard. Maybe anybody told to isolate should take a leaf out of Michael Gove's book and pretend they are doing a pilot scheme so they don't have to isolate. Our kids are just collateral damage to them, they have taken a wrecking ball to their education and mental health. It's not sustainable. My niece is on her 2nd bout of isolation this month. I'm so angry as this was so preventable.

This, just this!

I expect after a few weeks of people ‘carrying on as normal’ like there is no problem Gtr Manchester will go into restrictions similar to Tier 3 last year.

I think hell will freeze over before we go back into a tier 3 lockdown, cant see anyone adhearing to this. I certainly wont be, ive done everything the government's asked for and they can feck off if they are locking me down again. Boris should have put India on the red list weeks ago.

@beenrumbled

userxx- lots of reasons.

More people in roles they are unable to do from home

More people in roles with no sick pay - they can't afford to take time off. Really can't - not just going to be a bit skint that week/month - people not being able to pay rent or feed families, and the £500 the government offered really isn't enough for the working poor. (if they qualify)

Unclear messaging from the government

Generational living in some areas, in overcrowded housing

Some groups being reluctant to vaccinate

Lack of investment in local transport infrastructure meaning people if they do have to travel for work are doing so crammed in like sardines, despite notices about social distancing.

That's only a few off the top of my head

Well stated

@Ilikewinter

I expect after a few weeks of people ‘carrying on as normal’ like there is no problem Gtr Manchester will go into restrictions similar to Tier 3 last year.

I think hell will freeze over before we go back into a tier 3 lockdown, cant see anyone adhearing to this. I certainly wont be, ive done everything the government's asked for and they can feck off if they are locking me down again. Boris should have put India on the red list weeks ago.

I agree I think we have to start asking the question who are we protecting now if they even think about local lockdown and tier nonsense ?