Are we nearer the beginning, the middle, or the end of the covid pandemic?

[PrincessNutNuts]

They asked this on YouGov this week.

What do you think?

'Worked'.

@Oblomov21

"But no way is England going into another lockdown, most people are largely back to very much normal ine"

Back to normal? I don't think so!

There was a whole thread on this coronavirus board a little while ago where people posted about how their lives were completely back to normal now and they never really gave covid much of a thought nowadays.

@VikingOnTheFridge

'Worked'.

NPIs are like breathing.

You don't get the same benefit if you stop doing them.

What a fabulously batshit analogy.

We're at that part of the beginning where Joe Public only just realise that we're still at the beginning.

@EnnAndJay

We're at that part of the beginning where Joe Public only just realise that we're still at the beginning.

Or at the point where we have to realise that we cannot outrun a pandemic we can only manage our way through.

@EnnAndJay so glad you're back

Or at the point where we have to realise that we cannot outrun a pandemic we can only manage our way through.

And for that we need NPIs.

Which the Prime Minister mentioned a lot tonight, I thought.

I'd say middle. Some of our life has come back, the vaccine is making it less serious an illness for many, but I won't consider it the end until I can visit relatives abroad easily.

@EnnAndJay

We're at that part of the beginning where Joe Public only just realise that we're still at the beginning.

I hope we're more towards the middle, but as I said upthread, it's all to play for.

The more cases governments allow the more variants will turn up to potential extend the pandemic.

And the evolutionary direction seems to be more transmissible, and more able to evade immunity.

Which is not good news for vaccine only with no NPIs strategies.

@PrincessNutNuts

Or at the point where we have to realise that we cannot outrun a pandemic we can only manage our way through.

And for that we need NPIs.

Which the Prime Minister mentioned a lot tonight, I thought.

Yes to manage our way through it. Not outrun it or shorten it or somehow eliminate it. But to get through it as best we can

Its bloody groundhog day. What's announced in England we are already doing in Scotland. Where will she go next.

@anne2650

So why are we panicking and damaging the travel industry when it was only just starting to recover?!

From what I've read people don't want to come to the U.K. because of our out of control covid.

Even fewer tourists came here in 2021 than in 2020.

And even fewer have plans to come here in 2022.

Our travel industry isnt just about tourists visiting us though Princess. That is just one part - and possibly smaller than us visiting countries/business travel and transit.

The last one is important as it is part of the reason it gets here so quickly!

Out of control covid is also why countries often place restrictions on incoming visitors.

Well yes Princess but that is objectively a far wider issue than just the UK. This is certainly a European issue at the moment not just us. We aren’t Plague Island that everyone needs to keep at bay

@Quartz2208

Well yes Princess but that is objectively a far wider issue than just the UK. This is certainly a European issue at the moment not just us. We aren’t Plague Island that everyone needs to keep at bay

Tourism numbers aren't so far down for Italy, Germany or France.

Can I look at the dataset you are using for this. At the moment you are just making statements, would be good to see.

Particularly as Brexit is potentially a thing here rather than just COVID

Here’s the first couple of articles on Google:

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.cnn.com/travel/amp/uk-tourism-decline-restrictions-cmd/index.html

www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/germanys-tourism-industry-reports-significant-increase-in-intl-demand/

Just bumping to see what people think now.

Much of the prevailing narrative about covid over the last 22 months has been short-sighted, unrealistic, and imbued with a false optimism there was no basis for.

Yes this by some of the general public and some media

From "3 week lockdown" to "break the back of the beast in 12 weeks" to "exit wave", the narrative has often been that the end is in sight.

But govt and science was not saying it would end after 3 weeks or that it would be over soon. What they meant by this was to flatten the wave for the time being, until the next wave, but people interpreted it in their own way and read too much into it