Govt realises that loads of people getting covid might actually be an issue

[noblegiraffe]

Sam Coates of Sky News is tweeting that Whitehall is getting concerned about the sheer number of people who will be having to isolate in the coming days, some from getting covid, and some from having to isolate.

"One source said gvt modelling done under Hancock suggested this scale cd potentially compromise transport and healthcare"

"One government source called this another lockdown by the back door"

twitter.com/samcoatessky/status/1413224477450817536?s=21

Apparently the plan is to make the app less sensitive so that fewer people have to isolate.

Stopping isolations increases infections so not necessarily a great solution.

I'm sure all the planning is well in hand though.

@claralara42

It feels like they were so busy going 'well cases rising doesn't matter so long as hospitalisations and deaths don't go up massively' that they forgot that people with covid can't go to work

Anyone with half a brain knew this was going to happen. The govt doesn't fall into that group though.

Anecdotal, but, I’ve just been a bit taken aback to discover this - fancied a takeaway tonight as can’t be bothered to cook, tried to order click and collect Wagamama but it’s not taking orders on the app. In fact none of the three branches localish are, so I called them and was told it’s because they’ve had to close tonight as they don’t have enough staff, too many of them are having to isolate. So I called another favourite restaurant only to be told the same thing! It’s a University city and, especially on Saturdays, they’re staffed by mostly students, so the age group where the rates are rapidly increasing. We’ve had high take up of the vaccine at the walk in centres in this area, but, I guess it’s not been long enough for them to take effect and the majority won’t be near to their second dose for a while.

Giving covid free reign to possible mutate into a vaccine-resistant strain is Fucking Stupid.

Which explains why the government are taking this route, I expect.

Well the number of 70% or so seems pretty consistent whatever the current measures are.

So l guess 70% would go back into a short lockdown.

Thing is the "current measures" aren't working, given that we have exponential growth in infection rates.

Schools will be closed in a couple of weeks which will have a big impact.

People who were happily getting back to socialising in 'places with a card machine' like my parents are now too worried to keep central London restaurant bookings where they would have spent £££
This strange policy will backfire in terms of economic revival

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Well the number of 70% or so seems pretty consistent whatever the current measures are.

So l guess 70% would go back into a short lockdown.

The current measures are very different to a full on national lockdown - for a lot of people they make very little difference to their everyday life. I highly doubt 70% would be happy to go back to March 2020.

I do take your point @Kazzyhoward . But is there not some way to keep restrictions (rather than lockdown as such) but still allow majority of self-employed to return to work? I know I keep coming back to the sporting stuff, but example would be reduced crowds to allow some form of social distancing, compulsory masks, etc. Why aren't secondary students wearing masks?? When we have our 'mini lockdowns' here, all secondary students have to wear masks and no-one is allowed to attend sporting matches whether inside/outside/stadium/community sports centre.

I'm a bit bemused that restrictions have been eased so much when it sounds like there is still quite a bit to go to get everyone fully vaccinated who wants to be. Why not wait a bit longer?

Surely if self-employed people end up with long covid or have to stay home to look after kids being forced to isolate, then that impacts their income also?

This strange policy will backfire in terms of economic revival

Exactly. Footfall never returned to pre pandemic levels. Lots of people are going to vote with their feet. Lots of people.

All those people saying ‘well you can choose not to go out’…. What happens when no one goes out?

We have a cautious population.

Why aren't secondary students wearing masks??

Because the government considers masks more of an impediment to their education than rampant covid in schools.

But really they are influenced by vocal groups who think that a kid wearing a mask is child abuse.

I'm a bit bemused that restrictions have been eased so much when it sounds like there is still quite a bit to go to get everyone fully vaccinated who wants to be. Why not wait a bit longer?

Because the government don't like nanny states or restrictions or telling people what to do. Johnson reportedly said he would rather see bodies piled high than have another lockdown.

@PseudoBadger

People who were happily getting back to socialising in 'places with a card machine' like my parents are now too worried to keep central London restaurant bookings where they would have spent £££ This strange policy will backfire in terms of economic revival

That's true because some people will avoid indoor settings, and also as more people will be self-isolating. I've already decided to do more outside as rates where I live are already high without easing the restrictions. I know not everyone will be more cautious, but some people will be.

@noblegiraffe

Why aren't secondary students wearing masks??

Because the government considers masks more of an impediment to their education than rampant covid in schools.

But really they are influenced by vocal groups who think that a kid wearing a mask is child abuse.

I'm a bit bemused that restrictions have been eased so much when it sounds like there is still quite a bit to go to get everyone fully vaccinated who wants to be. Why not wait a bit longer?

Because the government don't like nanny states or restrictions or telling people what to do. Johnson reportedly said he would rather see bodies piled high than have another lockdown.

My secondary school child is wearing a mask again )they all are )

Some areas have reimposed mask-wearing on a local level.

My area hasn't. No children are wearing masks, as per government guidelines.

noblegiraffe Johnson said that? I thought it was Trump who said that!

Apologies Endofether someone upthread said that secondary students didn't have to wear masks.

But really they are influenced by vocal groups who think that a kid wearing a mask is child abuse

I know this is right, but I simply CANNOT get over living in a country where people think a kid wearing a mask is child abuse, but allowing them to catch covid with a 7-8% risk of long covid is not.

I can't decide if it's stupidity or evil. I suppose it doesn't matter.

I live in a large city. Masks were reintroduced last week due to the rampant spread of the virus.

It came from the director of public health in the city.

Taking masks off in schools was insane. If they had kept kids wearing masks at school whilst reopening indoor mixing in pubs and dining and knowing that within a couple of months schools would have been closed anyway taking out a huge jewel in the chain of transmission that would have made sense and I honestly think we'd be seeing significantly lower infection rates now.

The government abandoning logic to please idiots like the us4ourselves lobby group has cost a lot. Not sure why they think it was worth it.

Yes it was Boris. A lot of overlap between him and Trump tbh.

Government guidelines are that kids don't wear masks in schools. Some local areas are overriding that.

But don’t they want it now to go through population while it’s summer ? So before the winter bugs start etc

I live in Cornwall and the G7 helped spread it round here massively .

Well that was the argument, End but they hadn't considered that catching covid means that you have to stay at home for at least ten days and that this might be a bad thing if lots of people catch covid in a short period.

OK, I think I had better go to bed before my mind is boggled too much to even sleep! (It's nearly 3am here - I stayed up for the tennis, but spent most of it saying things to DH like "But it's a full crowd, there is no SD - how is that possible?" and "No-one is wearing masks! No-one!!")

‘Learning to live with it’ would probably involve some measures like masks, ventilation and 1m rule.

www.nssd112.org/FullPlan

This is how one local elementary school district managed its reopening.

The reopening is fairly typical of how reopening was managed in suburban areas of a large US city.

And contacts isolate for 10 days, more Covid more contacts isolating, so remove isolation requirements means no isolation but more Covid.... and on and on and on and before you know it it's October

Oh, my mother lives in Cornwall, Endofether . I'm glad the schools there are wearing masks! She's had both jabs, but I'm still worried. She was also very against the 'utter madness' of having the G7 there.

@CakeRattleandRoll the cricket, the football and the tennis this weekend are all 100% capacity events under the auspices of the 'events research programme'. Each one has been signed off by the local authority, public health England and the government (DCMS).