What are your thoughts?

[Catcrazy008]

Predicting a rough winter for COVID.
Possible lockdowns.
Is it likely that schools will close again and we will return to home schooling?
I really can’t face it, but if it’s going to happen, I would rather try and psych myself up for it.

I really can't see it unless the situation is completely dire. Schools will be the last thing to close, they'd shut everything else first.

I don't think there will need nearly so many deaths though.
What's the alternative to lifting the lockdown?
The govt can't pay everyone's salaries for ever, particularly when the rest of us are paying less tax (by shopping less).

Kids can't keep on being half educated at home
We don't really give flu a second thought each winter. People die of it all the time.
We DO have to live with Covid in society. There is no alternative.

I hope it does mean we just learn to live with COVID from now on…
Can’t face anymore lockdowns 😟

I think it's a possibility unfortunately.

I think all the pro lockdowners need to give up their salaries to support the economy should another lockdown be needed......

I think it will depend on the numbers of cases and deaths, There will be an outcry if deaths dramatically rise,
We seem to be lifting restrictions at a time when I have never known so many people in my area with Covid

@MrsFin

I don't think there will need nearly so many deaths though. What's the alternative to lifting the lockdown? The govt can't pay everyone's salaries for ever, particularly when the rest of us are paying less tax (by shopping less). Kids can't keep on being half educated at home We don't really give flu a second thought each winter. People die of it all the time. We DO have to live with Covid in society. There is no alternative.

This.

We have nothing left to give, if vaccines arent the answer then what can we do? We have to get on with life at some point, even if that life is unfortunately alongside covid.

That said, I wouldnt ever rule out another lockdown because I was certain we'd not have a second lockdown let alone three. I cant trust a word that comes out of our shitty governments mouth - anything is possible.

It depends whether we get a more dangerous variant or not.

If the worse we get is delta, then no further lockdowns but probably a booster jab in Oct or November.

I don't think anyone knows.

We have no idea exactly, if or when a new variant will pop up. Or how bad anything is going to be.

How strict of a lockdown will be, could be anyones guess.

I have just decided to not think about what could happen. Because then I go down the rabbit hole of what if there isn't but in a couple of years, there's a new, worse, pandemic and it all starts over again.

What's going to happen will happen and there's not a huge amount I, personally, can do about it.

No I think spread will peak before then

And then a stressed service but not lockdown

I think the main thing we need to be concerned about are variants, especially if we get one that escapes the vaccine (the government are planning in case of this scenario, I think along the lines of getting new vaccine out as soon as possible).

The only other issue I can see is if its a bog winter for flu and then covid on top. That could cause a lockdown.

We learn to live with it. Children can’t have 3 years of disrupted education.

The Prime Minister just told the country that the best time to open up completely was when the schools were off so I would imagine now he has discovered that covid spreads rapidly in educational settings and from there into the wider community we will see a whole raft of mitigation measures aimed at protecting our children in school from covid...

No?

@LadyCatStark

We learn to live with it. Children can’t have 3 years of disrupted education.

Learning to live with covid IS learning to live with the endless chaos and disruption.

@Mintjulia

It depends whether we get a more dangerous variant or not.

If the worse we get is delta, then no further lockdowns but probably a booster jab in Oct or November.

Have a look at the North East.

In some ways the best hope there is that it's a new variant causing that, and it can be contained.

The worst option is that it's just Delta.

And that's what Delta does.

It's just doing it in the NE earlier than in other places.

Because Delta is already everywhere and definitely cannot be contained.

I am mentally preparing myself for one. No-one really knows though - it's impossible to say, there's no data to help us forecast how things will go. If we have a lot of flu plus Covid, will that be too much? Do we need to increase NHS capacity across the board to cope with that?

Hopefully the vaccines will do well enough that it won't be necessary.

I’m going to assume there will be one and have started putting in place what we will do if that happens because there is no way I’m going to comply again. It was not good for my already poor mental health last time and also terrible for my baby’s development. We’ve already made arrangements with some friends and family who we would still see and who are happy to see us if it happened. I feel a lot calmer about the situation knowing that no matter what happens I can keep seeing people.

Based on past and current government policy, lockdown will at some point be the only option left if we don't want vital infrastructure to collapse.

The government's refusal to use standard infectious disease protocols such as effective border quarantines and effective test trace and isolate systems make that inevitable.

The wave the government is building up now is an exit from lockdown wave.

It's not an exit from covid.

I’m mentally preparing myself too.

Someone on another thread posted a link that Israel were concerned that immunity was waning from the Pfizer jab😭

Personally I am not sure how we save the nhs if we don’t educated the next generation. I know on mumsnet education is “just for lazy parents” but in the real world it actually gives us doctors, nurses, plumbers, electricians. We cannot go on for ever not educating the next generation except through getting them to watch a few joe wicks and other minor celebrities doing programmes on our national broadcaster!

But yes school closures are popular because the long term consequences are quite down the line so people deny they exist. So next year they will close by finally I do think the worm will turn on the idea particularly if employers start getting jittery about skill shortages etc. Maybe the academic year after?

“Effective test and trace”

But when it does work, and people are pinged, they all start deleting their apps as they don’t want to isolate.

Unless you make the app compulsory and impose punitive measures for a) not checking in b) not isolating and c) deleting app then the system is not going to work.

And I can understand why people ignore: it’s all right if you can sit in your house for a week or so and wfh/retired/do not work, but if you are a zero hours person or have own business….. it’s a decision to make.

I suspect we'd be told to work from home where possible, bubbles etc back and maybe rule of 6 back. I don't think we'd face a proper lockdown again. I don't think there is anyway they'd get people to comply unless lots of people are dying.

@kirinm

I suspect we'd be told to work from home where possible, bubbles etc back and maybe rule of 6 back. I don't think we'd face a proper lockdown again. I don't think there is anyway they'd get people to comply unless lots of people are dying.

That's the basis our MD is working from. He fully believes we will be told to wfh again.

Quite a lot of us were hybrid before. But he is keeping those that were office based at home. Its easier to keep them in one place.

Those that feel they need to go in have to book days and desks through reception and then are hybrid working.

Yes, it feels like a distinct possibility given sheer numbers at the moment. We have to hope the vaccine ultimately does it’s job. I would like to see a plan for children, starting with those who are CEV and CV as lack of anything for them is deeply concerning.