Page 5 | Concerns over visiting UK

MythicalBiologicalFennel · 04/10/2021 11:54

I know about a dozen people who have had it, most of them children who caught it in school and passed it on to the family. A couple of the adults were quite poorly for about two weeks, like a bad bout of flu. One of the children was severely ill and is slowly recovering.

In England there are no restrictive measures at all. There are around 30-35k new cases a day, so just under a quarter of a million a week.

Even in Wales where I am and where masks are required in most shops, many people just don't wear them / wear them on the chin / are apparently exempt, to a much greater degree than in other parts of the world.

MarshaBradyo · 04/10/2021 11:58

In England there are no restrictive measures at all.

We do actually have mask wearing mandated in some areas, even if not by law. Eg public transport here, some shops etc. It varies but in a large gallery recently everyone did whereas on PT it’s more mixed.

Davros · 04/10/2021 12:11

And we have to show negative LFT or double vaccination proof to go to venues, not local pubs and restaurants though

EileenGC · 04/10/2021 13:00

@MarshaBradyo

In England there are no restrictive measures at all.

We do actually have mask wearing mandated in some areas, even if not by law. Eg public transport here, some shops etc. It varies but in a large gallery recently everyone did whereas on PT it’s more mixed.

People don’t wear them. Or they declare themselves exempt. Why? Because mask wearing is not enforced. Public transport, shops, schools, pubs and restaurants, are full of people who don’t all wear their masks. Or they wear a cloth mask, which does fuck all against the virus.

Compare that with all other Western European countries, where 99% of people are wearing their surgical or FFP2 grade masks properly, everywhere that’s required. The odd unmasked person is genuinely exempt and has to carry medical proof with them.

That’s mask wearing, not what the UK is doing.

MarshaBradyo · 04/10/2021 13:05

People don’t wear them.

Not my experience. Some do some don’t. But tbh I couldn’t care less about surgical v cloth etc.

Countries who think they are doing it properly can do what they want and be happy and that’s great. So many eyes on U.K. saying it’s all bad but most people here are ok with it. Busy, not anxious I prefer it.

RunningOnFumes · 04/10/2021 13:21

So many eyes on U.K. saying it’s all bad but most people here are ok with it.
Yes, as a country we do seem to have arrived at the consensus that current rate of cases and deaths are ok. UK had the highest daily rate of cases in the world yesterday! Must seem odd/worrying if you visit from somewhere with lower rates/greater mitigations in place.

sartorius · 04/10/2021 13:41

But we are doing a LOT of testing,
particularly of people with no symptoms.
Do other countries test the whole household for 1 person with symptoms?
We are picking up loads of people who may not be considered a "case" in other countries as they have no symptoms.

Brickskithouse · 04/10/2021 13:42

@EileenGC wearing a mask in a restaurant or pub in any country is a nonsense, since as soon as you sit down you take it off. Makes no difference if it's surgical grade if you're not wearing it anyway. Long term wearing of masks in schools is very bad for interaction and learning. So like @MarshaBradyo, I am happy with the balance we've struck here.

darcy77 · 04/10/2021 14:05

I know lots of people (mostly under 50) who've had COVID. A few had been 2xvaccinated and still got ill but none of them were hospitalised.

I have primary aged children. First child had COVID in January (he was slightly poorly for about 90minutes). My second has COVID recently- she had no symptoms at all- we only found out because we were told to test as she'd be in contact with a positive case at school. I think around 5 cases were identified in her class.
We tested the whole family multiple times with both PCR and LFTs and no one else seems to have been infected or symptomatic.

You can't guarantee you won't be exposed because it's around in reasonably high numbers but vaccines offer good protection and ultimately we will have to learn to accept it's out there. I think being exposed to circulating Covid has probably acted as a booster shot so I'm hoping I'm even better protected. 🤞

lannistunut · 04/10/2021 14:12

So many eyes on U.K. saying it’s all bad but most people here are ok with it we have a strong covid-minimising tendency in the government, and a very sceptical media. UK, whatever the public believe, is going to have significant disability due to widespread covid, the impacts of the disease can not be reduced through 'belief' it is no worse than flu. I have thought often of Gummer feeding his daughter that beef burger - government approach to covid seemed similar to the BSE lies.

MarshaBradyo · 04/10/2021 14:25

@lannistunut

So many eyes on U.K. saying it’s all bad but most people here are ok with it we have a strong covid-minimising tendency in the government, and a very sceptical media. UK, whatever the public believe, is going to have significant disability due to widespread covid, the impacts of the disease can not be reduced through 'belief' it is no worse than flu. I have thought often of Gummer feeding his daughter that beef burger - government approach to covid seemed similar to the BSE lies.

What do you mean by significant disability?

Do you mean on individual basis? What specifically

Cameleongirl · 04/10/2021 15:23

I’m in a similar situation, OP, haven’t seen elderly parents for two years and one has terminal cancer. So we’re planning to visit over Christmas, separate accommodation, masks, will eat at home, etc. we’re fully vaccinated so I’m hoping we won’t be a huge risk to them if we keep our distance.

It’s a case of seeing her while we still can, or probably not seeing her again. So we’re going.

Verbena87 · 04/10/2021 15:26

“ Long term wearing of masks in schools is very bad for interaction and learning.”

Yes, but currently schools are in crisis - have you been in one recently? We had over 300 kids off indentured last week, some classes down to less than 10 students in. There is limited mitigation in place and as a result huge swathes of the school age population are missing out on learning because they’re too ill to be in, or their teachers are too ill to be in.

Verbena87 · 04/10/2021 15:26

infected. Not indentured to my knowledge!

TheLovelinessOfDemons · 04/10/2021 15:42

@MythicalBiologicalFennel

I know about a dozen people who have had it, most of them children who caught it in school and passed it on to the family. A couple of the adults were quite poorly for about two weeks, like a bad bout of flu. One of the children was severely ill and is slowly recovering.

In England there are no restrictive measures at all. There are around 30-35k new cases a day, so just under a quarter of a million a week.

Even in Wales where I am and where masks are required in most shops, many people just don't wear them / wear them on the chin / are apparently exempt, to a much greater degree than in other parts of the world.

In London it's still a legal requirement to wear a face covering on public transport.

Cruiser11 · 04/10/2021 15:45

TheLovelinessOfDemons only about 40% of people wear a mask on my train into London.

Brickskithouse · 04/10/2021 16:08

@Verbena87

* infected. Not indentured to my knowledge!

Yes but it's a different issue. I am responding to the OP talking about mask wearing in Italy keeping cases down. Long term it is not sustainable.

In any case our secondary school was at exactly the same crisis point as yours this time last year. This year only 7 cases to date. Unfortunately I believe the only way out of it is through it.

EileenGC · 04/10/2021 16:11

In London it's still a legal requirement to wear a face covering on public transport.

Yes, but the majority don’t care. Why? Because it’s not enforced. More than half the people on a bus or train don’t wear a mask. And a face covering, again, doesn’t do anything against Covid. You need suitable masks that actually prevent the spread of the virus, not a cut up bandana over someone’s chin mouth and nose.

MrsFin · 04/10/2021 16:12

I'm due to visit UK to see my family soon, haven't been there for two years due to the pandemic. I live in Italy, in the north, in one of the places hit by COVID at the very beginning in Feb 2020, however despite this, I still personally don't know one person who has contracted it, not even the Delta, no one pre and post vaccination

I don't know anyone who's had Covid either.

Cruiser11 · 04/10/2021 16:14

I don’t know one family that hasn’t had it in their household.

MrsFin · 04/10/2021 16:20

Mine!!

londonmummy1966 · 04/10/2021 16:25

I suggest that you stay in Italy and avoid our plague-infested incompetent inefficient country ...................

PrincessNutNuts · 04/10/2021 16:28

The UK is 16th in the world for most covid deaths in the last 7 days.

8th in the world for total number of covid deaths overall.

And 21st in the world for covid deaths per million overall.

OakPine · 04/10/2021 16:44

One thing is absolutely clear: Don't listen to randoms on the internet with their anecdotes!

JaninaDuszejko · 04/10/2021 17:15

And 21st in the world for covid deaths per million overall.

Which puts us behind Belgium, Italy and the US.