Massive turn in opinion…

[Normando91]

Is it just me or has opinion on a possible lockdown or circuit breaker in the coming days or week completely changed in the past 24 hours?

I hadn’t looked at Sky News in the last 2 days as it all just seemed speculation and bleak but having looked tonight it looks inevitable that we’re going to face some kind of stricter restrictions, most likely after Christmas, but possibly before.

Everyone I’ve spoke to has gone from, no we will not go into lockdown (or further restrictions) to yeah, it’s coming.

Who would have thought we’d be back here a year later from lasts Christmases shit show.

I can't believe more people aren't up in arms about it tbh. We have spent the last year being told that the only thing that will get us put of this mess is a mass vaccination programme. Yet that's done and we are in the same place we were a year ago. If the government are so concerned about pressure on the NHS then they should have spent some of the money they put into the vaccines into make the NHS better structured to support the winter months.

Nobody has a bloody crystal ball. Virologists and other experts are frantically trying to keep pace with data on rates of infection, hospitalisations, deaths etc. Politicians try to do their best to deal with the results of that while trying to consider the NHS and other services, think about the economy - the cost of closing businesses, loss of employment etc. Keir Starmer said only a few days ago that Labour would be doing the same as the Conservatives in response to the pandemic.
Whining about the things some individuals have done that were wrong - such as the parties at Downing Street, Hancock and his woman - then using it as a justification for ignoring health guidelines seems quite childish to me. This problem isn't confined to the UK and some sort of battle about the party in power. It's world-wide and we're bloody lucky to even have the option to get vaccinated and take other precautions to try to keep our families and communities as safe as possible.

Lockdown won’t really effect me (if it’s just for 2 weeks). I only really meet friends outdoors, rarely eat out and rarely shop other than food. A 2 week circuit breaker doesn’t bother me, what bothers me is when they extend it and close schools but hopefully that won’t happen.

If you live in London it's become quite scary how many people now have it, people I know dropping like flies. Also, some huge number of ambulance drivers are now off isolating.

So yes, living here, the introduction of some kind of restrictions seems the only sensible option. If you live in another part of the country perhaps you haven't felt the urgency yet.

It seems mixed people who want it and wanted it earlier

And more who won’t comply

Tbh just going by here I have a party coming up and I don’t know what the general take would be

The ramping up fear to drive compliance has gone way too far now. The morals of it are extremely questionable.

I agree although I do think they can only achieve compliance through fear.

My mum has been shielding since March 2020.

So many relatives have shaken their heads at her and commented on it, but my mum knows herself better than anyone else and always said this virus could kill her.

It will be interesting to see what the actual excess winter deaths are this year, last year it was about 60,000, the year before about 29k (a very low year) 2014/15 about 43k. To what extent was last year natural catch up year? What will happen this year with the vast majority jabbed?

After all this at what point will the NHS become overwhelmed by mental health problems (internal and external). It’s not perculiar to the UK, most other governments are worried about their healthcare services.

Maybe it’s not the NHS that it actually under threat but the western way of life, overcrowding, unhealthy life styles, consumerism, families spread far and wide, revolving life round work.

Hope not otherwise not much point in wasting all that money on booster jabs - let us all have tax refunds instead. All we can hope is those few brave 99 Tory MPs who are in favour of freedom and the voters pressure their MPs enough to ensure there is not another lockdown (the Labour party has utterly let us down on this - the people of the red wall will not forget)

@Squeezita

My mum has been shielding since March 2020.

So many relatives have shaken their heads at her and commented on it, but my mum knows herself better than anyone else and always said this virus could kill her.

I find that so sad. I mean, it’s her life and fair enough it’s up to her but nearly 2 years of her life wasted living like that? I’m in the clinically extremely vulnerable group and have been triple jabbed and I’m trusting the science that the vaccines work and I shouldn’t get anything more than a mild / moderate version of covid if I contracted it. I am not prepared to put my - already potentially shortened life due to my health conditions- on hold for what could be years, no thanks. Any one of my health conditions could kill me, I’m not going to stay in my house cut off from the world wasting what good years I might have.

I suspect they'll stop all the things I like, but schools will be open.
So nye party with vaccinated adults in a friend's house- no.
Mixing with over 1000 kids mainly unvaccinated, mainly not wearing masks, not bothering to wash hands,squashing into the canteen and corridors sharing all my pens- go for it.

@Octavia174

If you have a relatively mild version of CV, why would you get tested? that means no pay (for most people) and no xmas.

Well. That right there sums up why we’re in the position we’re in. The selfishness of some people knows no bounds. 🙄

@Whitefire, I don’t know where you are, but here in London I see a significant percentage of people on buses and in shops, wearing masks under their noses or on their chins. Nobody ever says anything - there is zero enforcement, or at least none that I ever see.

A young Singaporean relative who was staying very recently, told us that 2 people she knows well at home were each instantly fined $200 (Singapore) for not replacing their masks at once, in between sips of their bubble tea in a shop. The shop owner was fined $1000 for permitting it.

She said there is an army of volunteer, trained enforcers who are constantly on the watch for mask wearing and lack of social distancing.

I wouldn’t want us to go to such lengths in the U.K., but IMO we are ludicrously lax.

“Omicron is good at evading immunity from prior infection and vaccination — but cannot evade protection from itself.”

The transmission of the Omicron variant is out-running the Booster campaign because it takes 7-10 days for the immune system to respond.

Yes but to be fair a lot of the most vulnerable were boosted first and are already past 7-10 days. I'm 60, boosted 2 weeks ago; the over-60s are 90% boosted by now and over-50s more than 60%. (In Scotland anyway - RUK is more complicated I'm sure.)

I don't know a huge amount about viruses, I hoped we were past the worst of it when the vaccines came out. It's really unlucky that this variant started to circulate shortly before Christmas. Several other variants have appeared since delta but not been "of concern".

I don't know if we could have started boosting sooner - some of the big centres are only just re-opening, but again then we didn't know omicron was coming til it came and presumably boosting too early doesn't help either.

I'm not Christian but I really hate that omicron turned up just before Christmas. Gies another month FFS! (that's to the virus not the govt)

[quote Foolsrule]@Octavia174

If you have a relatively mild version of CV, why would you get tested? that means no pay (for most people) and no xmas.

Well. That right there sums up why we’re in the position we’re in. The selfishness of some people knows no bounds. 🙄[/quote]
Are you really calling people who need money to survive and support their families selfish? We are one of the lucky families were dh can work from home, we’re mortgage free and don’t have to worry BUT lots of people do. Can you imagine being in a retail / hospitality industry at this time of year and suddenly facing your entire business shutting down? Being off work indefinitely? No wonder people are scared and don’t want to test / take time off. It’s not being selfish. It’s trying to survive.

Putting more money into the NHS does not address the fact that people take years to train to be a nurse or a doctor, it's retention of staff that needs to be addressed as well, many leave and can earn the same wages working in a supermarket with much less stress. The bursaries for nurses were also removed which would put people off going into that profession to start with.
Bed blocking has always been a problem as finding care packages and care homes to take people is always long drawn out and difficult especially as you then need to deal with social services and they are also stretched
I've no doubt that years of underfunding hasn't helped, but there are other factors too which has caused strain on the hospitals long before covid came along and made it all much worse.

If you follow the news, it’s becoming inevitable but yes, it’s all happening very quickly.

@Bagelsandbrie

I find that so sad. I mean, it’s her life and fair enough it’s up to her but nearly 2 years of her life wasted living like that? I’m in the clinically extremely vulnerable group and have been triple jabbed and I’m trusting the science that the vaccines work and I shouldn’t get anything more than a mild / moderate version of covid if I contracted it. I am not prepared to put my - already potentially shortened life due to my health conditions- on hold for what could be years, no thanks. Any one of my health conditions could kill me, I’m not going to stay in my house cut off from the world wasting what good years I might have.

It is sad, and she has missed a lot. But she is grateful to still be here (as are we) and ultimately it’s her choice.

I help as much as I can, one of the few concessions she makes is going for walks in woods etc where there are fewer people.

[quote Squeezita]@Bagelsandbrie

I find that so sad. I mean, it’s her life and fair enough it’s up to her but nearly 2 years of her life wasted living like that? I’m in the clinically extremely vulnerable group and have been triple jabbed and I’m trusting the science that the vaccines work and I shouldn’t get anything more than a mild / moderate version of covid if I contracted it. I am not prepared to put my - already potentially shortened life due to my health conditions- on hold for what could be years, no thanks. Any one of my health conditions could kill me, I’m not going to stay in my house cut off from the world wasting what good years I might have.

It is sad, and she has missed a lot. But she is grateful to still be here (as are we) and ultimately it’s her choice.

I help as much as I can, one of the few concessions she makes is going for walks in woods etc where there are fewer people.[/quote]
💐💐❤️

@LegArmpits

Lolz

And it's amusing because??

The massive turn in opinion I am seeing today is the huge increase in the number of Mumsnetters hating on and blaming the unjabbed.

Just this morning I've read that "these people" should be locked down until they comply, refused medical treatment because they "clog" NHS beds that should be reserved for the jabbed, who are "more worthy", that they should be forced to pay for their treatment, and that the jabs should now be forced on those who don't want them.

Yes, all that, on here, in one morning.

And from women who, in every other context, are adamant that no woman should be forced to accept something into her body without her consent!

Well. That right there sums up why we’re in the position we’re in. The selfishness of some people knows no bounds. 🙄

I’m lucky to work for a company with a generous sick pay policy, but if testing positive meant no money from employers or government then I’m not not sure I would get tested.

Yes I have to comply with shops shut etc.
No, I will do what I can with my friends and family. I have more than done my bit.

Do we think shops are going to be locked down? I work in a shop