Hope the Govt keeps its nerve

[Wizzbangfizz]

Against another lockdown?

I know it is back bench pressure keeping us from where wales and Scotland are going to be/are. Due to that though I think we have a chance of coming through this - seeing it out and hopefully getting on with it on 2022 (I'd except back to tables in hospitality) - especially in light of the 10-7 days isolation reduction now?

Does anyone really think that we could have kept Delta or Omicron out with quarantine regulations? We are less than 25 miles from our neighbours, you can sail it in a dinghy if you are desperate enough. Were we supposed to ban all freight as well, to keep the drivers out?
Once these variants arise they are going to spread eventually, all lockdowns do is postpone the inevitable. We need to trust the vaccines and ride this out now.
I wish we had politicians that would actually

I find it quite worrying that, nearly two years in, people are still posting shtick like that tbh @Mybalconyiscracking

Yes BoJo should be holding his nerve at the moment. Hopefully lockdown not needed then over zealous authoritarians Drakeford & Sturgeon look foolish. That’d be nice.

Oh my god the smoking thing again. It's just so....bizarre!

Just had another thought.

If masks work as well as they reckon, why is Omicron suddenly outstripping all previous variants in terms of speed of spread? Am I missing something?

Do masks need to be variant specific?

@Mybalconyiscracking

Does anyone really think that we could have kept Delta or Omicron out with quarantine regulations? We are less than 25 miles from our neighbours, you can sail it in a dinghy if you are desperate enough. Were we supposed to ban all freight as well, to keep the drivers out? Once these variants arise they are going to spread eventually, all lockdowns do is postpone the inevitable. We need to trust the vaccines and ride this out now. I wish we had politicians that would actually

I totally agree with you

I hope he does. I think the go hard go early mantra has had its day as a response. Pre vaccine you could argue the right thing to do but now when half the population (over 12) is tripled jabbed it’s OTT. Either the vaccines work or they don’t ( and they do)

@MummyPop00

In my area where cases have always been very low it’s ripped through primary schools like wildfire. There is no mask/mitigation there, then children bring it home where there is no mask either. Add to that lots of people still not wearing masks (perhaps better the last few weeks) but we’re unlimited in what we can do etc. so I don’t think this is a mask problem.

@Mybalconyiscracking

Does anyone really think that we could have kept Delta or Omicron out with quarantine regulations? We are less than 25 miles from our neighbours, you can sail it in a dinghy if you are desperate enough. Were we supposed to ban all freight as well, to keep the drivers out? Once these variants arise they are going to spread eventually, all lockdowns do is postpone the inevitable. We need to trust the vaccines and ride this out now. I wish we had politicians that would actually

There are clearly some people naive enough, yes. I've seen it claimed before, though never with any detailed knowledge of how the supply chain was going to continue working in these circumstances. Never gets beyond something something New Zealand.

For Omicron in particular, quarantine and travel restrictions are pointless. It was well in already long before we acted. Talk about shutting the stable door long after the horse had bolted.

Some of the comments: people just love a lockdown and a doomsday scenario don't they...

Well the actual evidence is showing that the variant is milder and vaccines/boosters are there for those who want them. So no there is no need for a full lockdown.

Also, the polls are starting to show that while there was a majority of people in favour of lockdowns during previous waves, now public opinion has turned. So politicians won't want to impose measures that are no longer popular with many.

There is no scenario where we have zero deaths from Covid anyway.

It’s looking good isn’t it. No further measures at all announced for England and now talk of lockdown going away. I’m starting to get a bit hopeful we may escape!

@ElectraBlue

Some of the comments: people just love a lockdown and a doomsday scenario don't they...

Well the actual evidence is showing that the variant is milder and vaccines/boosters are there for those who want them. So no there is no need for a full lockdown.

Also, the polls are starting to show that while there was a majority of people in favour of lockdowns during previous waves, now public opinion has turned. So politicians won't want to impose measures that are no longer popular with many.

There is no scenario where we have zero deaths from Covid anyway.

Important point about public opinion. The support levels have fallen. You really need pretty high approval from the public to make any kind of lockdown or even significant restrictions worth attempting, both practically and politically.

Data is looking good so far and WHO have said the pandemic should end in 2022. Please let them be right!
General Tescos have a big speech that can be found on line but I can’t find much media reporting on it, strangely. Or not.
www.politico.eu/article/who-forecasts-coronavirus-pandemic-will-end-in-2022/

Some people on here do seem to love restrictions and lockdown don’t they. I wonder why?

General Tedros

London has highest omicron cases at the moment.
The data shows covid hospitalisations were pretty steady through delta but they are soaring now.
Although, its not a forgone conclusion that this wont happen elsewhere with rising cases, it shows that it is possible hospitalisations will soar everywhere.
Of course londin may be an anomoly but we wont know till more data.
Scotland and wales have more restrictions. Wales starts after christmas day. I think it is sensible to put in place now as it gives some time for people to plan for restrictions and prepares people. Remember last year when English schools went back for one day and then closed last thing. It was chaotic.

If the restrictions are needed the Welsh and scotland govs can removes them quickly.

I know where i would orefer to be.

Article in the Telegraph this morning saying 'No need for new Covid restrictions as Omicron hospital risk two-thirds lower' Apparently further measures are 'becoming increasingly unlikely' Praying this is true - would be the best Xmas present ever! 🎅

@Overthebow

Some people on here do seem to love restrictions and lockdown don’t they. I wonder why?

Have you never in your life had to do something you didn't want to, that you really disliked , but did it because you knew inaction would be a lot worse? Is that why you can't understand others and make out like people want and enjoy lockdowns

@Covidworries

I thought hospitalisations weren’t ‘soaring’ though? I know this is an absolute numbers game over %’s (ie. low % hospitalisations but massive numbers infected can still mean hospitals overwhelmed).

@AnyFucker

Agree, op

No. More. Lockdowns.

This.

I am so against lockdowns. It will cause more harm than good.

@nojudgementhere

Article in the Telegraph this morning saying 'No need for new Covid restrictions as Omicron hospital risk two-thirds lower' Apparently further measures are 'becoming increasingly unlikely' Praying this is true - would be the best Xmas present ever! 🎅

Wouldn’t it just

"When i was growing up in Germany, I was fascinated by news reports about life in very dangerous places. Residents of Baghdad or Tel Aviv seemed to put themselves in danger simply by going shopping or meeting friends for a cup of coffee. How, I wondered with a mixture of horror and admiration, could anybody be willing to accept such an existential risk for such a trivial pleasure? But the truth of the matter is that virtually all humans have, for virtually all of recorded history, faced daily risks of disease or violent death that are far greater than those that the residents of developed countries currently face. And despite the genuine horrors of the past 24 months, that holds true even now."

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/12/omicron-end-of-pandemic/621089/

I think this piece more or less nails it.

It looks like the Omicron thing will burn itself fairly quickly (and involve only "some" pressure on hospitals).

But regardless, the time for heroic measures is probably past. We're at the stage where it's mainly about getting all the vaccines you are entitled to, and then deciding for yourself what level of restrictions you are happy to impose on yourself.

To quote Ron Weasley in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows": "We'll just have to wing it, mate."

@Sasketchewoo

Which is the fate of the significant minority of Long Covid sufferers, who have lost the ability to earn a livelihood.

There is zero evidence there is any one condition called 'long covid.' There are a mixture of persistent symptoms being seen in some people who have had the virus (and no doubt a minority are having a really bad time of it thanks to that), but there is every chance that most people will fully recover over the longer term. You are talking as if a miasma is passing through cities and people are turning into zombies as if by magic.

Well said

@Kokeshi123

"When i was growing up in Germany, I was fascinated by news reports about life in very dangerous places. Residents of Baghdad or Tel Aviv seemed to put themselves in danger simply by going shopping or meeting friends for a cup of coffee. How, I wondered with a mixture of horror and admiration, could anybody be willing to accept such an existential risk for such a trivial pleasure? But the truth of the matter is that virtually all humans have, for virtually all of recorded history, faced daily risks of disease or violent death that are far greater than those that the residents of developed countries currently face. And despite the genuine horrors of the past 24 months, that holds true even now."

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/12/omicron-end-of-pandemic/621089/

I think this piece more or less nails it.

It looks like the Omicron thing will burn itself fairly quickly (and involve only "some" pressure on hospitals).

But regardless, the time for heroic measures is probably past. We're at the stage where it's mainly about getting all the vaccines you are entitled to, and then deciding for yourself what level of restrictions you are happy to impose on yourself.

To quote Ron Weasley in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows": "We'll just have to wing it, mate."

Good post - I agree.