To think the Gov’t are ‘letting it rip’

[Tillsforthrills]

The rules that double jabbed household members of a positive case don’t need to isolate when more and more people are being reinfected even with boosters.

The rule that children don’t need to SI if their parents have it: spreading to teachers, early years workers and their families as well as their peers.

If they truly wanted to halt the spread, they would not have those ridiculous rules.

Let it rip should be replaced with living with the virus.

@Tillsforthrills

The government have been clever here knowing the havoc that will be caused by letting it spread freely with no SI rules and letting people have parties, attend events.

Lockdown by stealth so that they don’t have to help any businesses or industries financially.

That’s what it’s really about.

So you'll be happy with businesses closing indefinitely, people having no guaranteed income or jobs to return to, etc?

Exactly, I don't nec think they are trying to keep society functioning. They know there wouldn't be compliance with a lockdown over xmas though.

I really hate the not knowing. My anxiety copes better with A Plan.

People like OP have fallen victim to the hysteria. They cannot function without being babied. Self isolation for a milder variant of a virus, against which we have herd immunity now. The mind boggles.

My nephew had covid. Asymptomatic, picked up my an LFT and confirmed by PCR. He lives with 5 other people who did LFTs every day after his positive test and not one of them caught it. I've heard of lots of other people where this is the case so it's just pointless in my view. We have vaccines for a reason. Healthy people can't keep staying home for what is basically a cold to them

Sst did you even watch Chris Witty? There was an extra hour of him explaining to the mps on you tube if you want to see. It helps to be informed.

I would say with Omicrom, we may need to review self isolation rules and only have people isolate for a small number of days or perhaps while they have symptoms.

Brining in SI for a household (as they have done in Scotland) is going to decimate industry, health services etc. We simply can't have all of them plus people with Covid at home.

It is also likely soon that we will no longer be able to test everyone who had symptoms. So there will be no control over who isolates or not.

Omicrom is too contagious and unless we fully lockdown we are unlikely to be slow spread. But then that only prolongs things.

I really don't know what we need to do

You’re arguing for balance and calm consideration but also using phrases like ‘let it rip’.

Op huge amounts of healthcare staff will be off as a positive

Include close contacts and how many will be there to treat people?

The it’s economy first accusation is a superficial idea, not to mention deeply flawed that it shouldn’t count, look at the what will happen with much reduced services across the board

The balloon was this in the last few days? That was def the case with Delta but the belief is that Omicron is progressing differently.

The plans with opening up and being fine with it spreading freely were fine with Delta, but Omicron is behaving differently unfortunately.

I think they have accepted that it will spread through the population and are continually trying to get the right balance of restrictions that means it spreads through at the ‘right’ pace. I suspect that they would like the peak to be as steep/quick as it can be, just falling short of overwhelming the NHS, they don’t want to slow it down too much because that just prolongs things, but they have to slow it down somewhat otherwise it’ll be disastrous. It’s a fine balance and I don’t think there is really any way to fully know how to achieve it.

@MarshaBradyo

I agree with you but it’s happening already with Omicron.

There is no halting the spread of this. It’s not under our control. We can only slow it (and ability to do that is debatable). There is no stopping it, it’s just not an option. The sooner people accept that, the better.

Exactly.

Even if we try to reduce the speed of the spread of omicron it will just flatten the peak a little.

Also, as omicron seems milder, it makes sense for it to spread and replace delta.

Op yes it will but taking out anyone for SI would probably collapse the system

It’s going to be close anyway

@Tillsforthrills

The rules that double jabbed household members of a positive case don’t need to isolate when more and more people are being reinfected even with boosters.

The rule that children don’t need to SI if their parents have it: spreading to teachers, early years workers and their families as well as their peers.

If they truly wanted to halt the spread, they would not have those ridiculous rules.

In scotland household members are supposed ro isolate even if double jabbed. Although I think it's a 'should' rather than a 'must' due to lack of funding

As close contact that is

I think most options right now are going to result in chaos. It’s a case of pick your chaos (and always was, in many ways)

I really think we need to stop with this idea that healthy people or those with mild cold symptoms should be shut up for 10 days.

I am happy with the current arrangement. Those that aren't can do their own close contact isolation at their own cost.

@Tillsforthrills

The government have been clever here knowing the havoc that will be caused by letting it spread freely with no SI rules and letting people have parties, attend events.

Lockdown by stealth so that they don’t have to help any businesses or industries financially.

That’s what it’s really about.

If we go to lockdown they do not have to help business. Which other countries do furlough? Although this is what and many you probably want be at homes getting paid.

Yes I agree and ones that are vulnerable or have vulnerable family members will pay the cost unfortunately, people like teachers won’t have the option to ‘choose’ to SI to protect themselves/their families.

Perhaps soon even positive cases won't have to self isolate for 10 days anymore?

People don't isolate that long for a cold or flu?!

Omicron has an incubation period of two days or less, and it's super transmissible. By the time you know you have it, you'll have likely already infected tens or hundreds of people, even if you're only doing fairly ordinary stuff like going to the supermarket.

T&T is a bit pointless with Omicron, because the incubation period is so short. If you're a contact, by the time they get in touch with you you'll likely have been infected for days (and possibly even recovered).

Given all this, there doesn't seem to be any option but to 'let it rip'. Unless you tell everyone to stay at home and go absolutely nowhere for two months, it's going to spread like wildfire.

Thank goodness so many people have some form of immunity at this point, and that this didn't happen last winter. It doesn't bear thinking about really.

I'm now off to scrub myself with wire wool for using both 'let it rip' and 'spread like wildfire' in the same post

@fournonblondes

I want to be at home getting paid through furlough? Do you have to personally attack me with lies instead of just saying you disagree?

YANBU. I do think this is the plan.