All restrictions removed on the 19th July

[Baileysforchristmas]

Do you think this will happen? I hope so.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9714743/England-lift-Covid-rules-masks-social-distancing-work-home-July-19.html

Were*

With the exception of masks, yes I think so.

Very difficult to justify not doing so once every eligible adult has been offered vaccines.

Maybe, but for how long?

Of course it won't happen.

Yes, I think so. Most adults will be fully vaccinated by then, I think?
I do think masks in crowded public places will probably linger for a bit longer though.

I think we should remove isolation but continue to use lateral flow tests and I cant see the harm in masks and SD where possible but beyond the personal responsibility works for me

Isn’t Wikipedia the place anyone can go in and edit?

Yes and no - almost anyone can go in there and suggest edits, but unless it's a brand new topic, or an area of very little interest and you manage to marshall up LOTS of people to assist with your truth-hacking, your edits will get rejected.

Various studies have found it more accurate than any other encyclopedia.

But as with anything else, it shouldn't be someone's ONLY source of information -it's very good, but it has flaws just like everything else. The great thing about Wikipedia is that the source material is all referenced so you can doublecheck facts for yourself.

No I think masks and some SD will stay

Wikipedia wouldn’t be my first port of call when looking stuff up.

Yes!

It’s interesting, I hate masks, but I’m pregnant and have only had one jab so far. So I think I would still use one if it’s crowded on the train or in a shop.

If it’s not crowded though and there’s no one around me, I probably wouldn’t wear it.

Although I know they protect me and others, as it gets warmer and I get further into my pregnancy it gets more difficult to tolerate them.

It’ll be interesting to see how many people continue to wear them if and when it changes to optional.

I think they will be lifted to bow to pressure, knowing full well they will be announcing a return to restrictions of some form in the Autumn when new variants or other ‘surprise’ developments will have altered the ‘science’. Of course none of it will be a surprise really!

Agreed, they’re more likely to get compliance in the autumn if they give us more freedom over summer.

If it just drags on all through summer, people may stop complying right when we actually need it more.

@tonystarksrighthand

No. There will be some other variant bollox they will come up with

So, I’m interested in why you think new variants are bollocks.

Delta has been shown to be roughly 50% more transmissible and twice as likely to put people in hospital, it took about 6 weeks for it to go from a few small clusters to being 99% of cases.

Are you saying those statistics are wrong/made up, or that we didn’t need to respond to them in any way?

Or do you mean that the fact there are new variants with worrying characteristics is bad/hard, and that is bollocks as in, a painful experience we’d rather not go through?

Masks are a complete placebo.

Only people that need them are medical staff who are supplied medical grade ones and wear them/dispose of them as directed.

Not idiots in shops with thin cotton ones where the elastic has gone and it slips off their face constantly

@randomkey123

Masks are a complete placebo.

Only people that need them are medical staff who are supplied medical grade ones and wear them/dispose of them as directed.

Not idiots in shops with thin cotton ones where the elastic has gone and it slips off their face constantly

I actually think part of the reason we have done so badly in this country is because of all the useless and unhygienic reusable cotton masks. You don't see people in Asian countries (where they have tighter control measures) wearing anything but surgical masks. Even in Germany they have banned the cotton ones.

I think masks in crowded indoor areas should stay.

I wonder whether the universities will get off their bottoms and start providing face to face teaching in the autumn if restrictions are removed.

Ditto will GPs start working again?

Ditto will my dentist unlock the door so I can walk in and make an appointment.

I was quite impressed with my local NHS yesterday though - my husband has possible glaucoma and uses eye drops every day. He had a hospital appointment yesterday and they said it would be good if he had laser treatment. He's booked in for mid August. It just shows that some parts of the NHS are functioning well. GPs look and learn.

@PuzzledObserver how did we respond to the delta variant? Seeing as it now makes up 99% of cases, did our response work? Or do we just need to accept that there will be lots of different variants (which pre-sequencing we wouldn’t have even known about in RT) and as long as they aren’t causing surges in hospitalisations/deaths, they aren’t actually a problem.

Honestly, I don't know.

I think SAGE, Boris and his pack of muppets would see us in some restrictions indefinitely but the tide is turning.

With hospital admissions and deaths so low, the G7 barbecue and now no quaratining for VIP Euro Finals...I think people are starting to wake up to what this actually is about, Politics and Money and not Health

I may still wear masks in crowded areas for a while after they're lifted. I'd prefer they stay as guidance at least - they're a good way to stem infections passing in general like flu etc.

As for wfh guidance - its almost not worth anything, if your office requires you to be in, then you have to go in.

it would be a bloody stupid idea.
However I am in favour of lots of the restrictions being eased. Making it possible to sing in choirs again for example. Giving the theatre industry a chance to properly start up again etc.

But I think wfh should still be encouraged (not necessarily mandated) and I have no issue with wearing masks in shops etc until we are properly out of the woods.

It wont surprise me if it they are not.
There was news on the radio about delta plus variant and 20 cases and it is more contagious this morning.

It seems like we’re definitely being prepped to remove restrictions.
Lots of talk by Valance et al about living with the virus.
And even though there was furore on here about the previous lifting of restrictions, the resultant hospital admissions didn’t happen.

So I reckon we’ll have the responsibility passed to us.
We’ll be told you don’t have to wear a mask in a shop, but that it’s a good idea.
We’ll be told you can go to bars, parties, clubs, theatres but that it’s a good idea to limit indoor mixing.
You can go back to the office without social distancing but it’s a good idea to work from golf if you can.

Basically the vast majority of ordinary folk will go back to a full life.
And a tiny but noisy minority on social media will bang on and on about selfishness yadda yadda.

Don't know about other things; but definitely holiday restrictions will be in place for longer, because they don't depend just on us: other countries may well be imposing tight border restrictions for a while.

The big elephant in the room is what will they do about unvaccinated children and the circulation of covid in schools when all restrictions are lifted? Will it be treated like any other virus and no need to close bubbles or isolate?. Just take time off if you have a high temperature or feeling too unwell to be in school but fine to go in with a snuffle or a bit of a cough and no need for testing? Schools will break up arounf the time the restrictions are lifted but they only solves the problem for the summer holidays. What after that?