No new measures in England before New Year

[Jourdain11]

Has just been announced by the Health Secretary and reported across BBC etc.

Fingers crossed nothing bu the 7ths as it's my sons birthday and he really wants a tea party bless him 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

I have mixed feelings about this on one hand it’s great that people can enjoy new year. However I have to ask the rationale behind this, we know the Tories didn’t support the recent restrictions so further restrictions would probably result in a revolt for the PM. So is his decision based on self preservation or based on scientific evidence?

@Wednesdayafternoon I take it you haven't RTFT?

@rrhuth

I think the population as a whole would feel better. I’m all of the ‘needs of the many’ at this point I do not think the population as a whole would feel better if there is no healthcare available, personally. I'm not sure you're understanding what that would look like for average healthcare.

There wouldn’t be ‘no healthcare’. There would be insufficient healthcare but that’s the case already. I really feel it will take something awful to get the tories to admit they’re underfunding the NHS, sadly.

I think a lot of it is partly because they knew people wouldn't comply, people would still see their families and friends.

[quote Lifeisnteasy]@itsgettingweird quite. I often wonder if the ‘covid anxiety’ is actually ‘returning to work anxiety’ because people enjoy listening to radio 4 and taking lots of tea breaks.[/quote]
Ain't that the truth.

@FrippEnos

Fairylights25 There is no way on Gods earth the government will allow schools to close after pressing ahead with NY. There would be riots and parents would never forgive them, and when considering just how many millions would be affected, it is unthinkable and they ruled out any school closures ever again some time ago.

The government won't have a choice if there are not enough teachers to open schools safely.

I'm a teacher. This evening the younger teachers at my school have been eagerly WhatsApping their plans to go clubbing on NYE.

Johnson will do anything to stay in power. This is a political decision not a public health one. He's just doing what his rebelling backbenchers and the media moguls want. I want to believe it will be okay, I really do, however I just don't feel positive about this one.

So basically all you'd like to see introduced is a ban/restriction on 'mass gatherings'?

You think that in itself will be enough to significantly reduce the spread of an extremely contagious virus?

It's not that I want to see it introduced, as like everyone I'd rather it wasn't. But I am concerned that without steps to try to slow the spread, that might put too much pressure on the NHS via numbers needing hospital all at once.

If we're just thinking sod it let it rip through everyone, then wfh should be abandoned. It doesn't make sense to me.

@TheScenicWay

My dds school struggled a lot with teachers off with covid just before the holidays but they managed to stay open. Some staff felt very ill, Others did not but all had to isolate for 10 days. They’ve all mostly had it now and disruption should be less when they get back. Schools that haven’t had it yet will have to prepare to struggle for a few weeks but it’s temporary and the reduction to 7 days isolation will make a difference.

I am not prepared to have my children's school struggle for a few weeks. If this is going to happen then other restrictions should be put in place to prevent it. Last term my DC missed several weeks of school because of the horrible cold virus going round and having covid. Not to mention teachers being off sick with the same things. This is on top of all the education they missed out on last year.

There would be insufficient healthcare but that’s the case already. I really feel it will take something awful to get the tories to admit they’re underfunding the NHS, sadly.

While the underfunding compounds things, if the healthcare system collapses it will be lack of action for a known risk. You can’t fund your way out of a pandemic virus, there’s a reason why other countries are tightening up their restrictions. It’s not for the lolz. I can only hope that if the worst happens it is criminally punishable.

If people are dying outside hospital maybe it will force the tories to admit the NHS is screwed and actually do something about it. Only graphic imagery will change the minds of their supporters it seems

I have seen it said that the Tories would in fact positively welcome it, because it will speed up their plans to sell off and privatise parts of the NHS

Fan-fucking-tastic!! No more restrictions please!

If anyone interested v informative Twitter thread by CEO of NHS Providers on current hospital stats - encouraging, but won’t get clearer picture until next week and so still too early to say that we don’t need to worry about omicron and hospitalisations as some are implying. Finally, observes staff shortages might turn out to be biggest stress of the Omicron wave for NHS.

twitter.com/chrisceohopson/status/1475540046677790723?s=21

I guess if you were Boris, you would look at what happened last Winter, which was very bad in terms of mortality, but then you had Spring and Summer for people to forget about it , maybe he is hoping he can make the same 'mistake' with the same outcome and get away with it again ?

@Poetrypatty

So basically all you'd like to see introduced is a ban/restriction on 'mass gatherings'?

You think that in itself will be enough to significantly reduce the spread of an extremely contagious virus?

It's not that I want to see it introduced, as like everyone I'd rather it wasn't. But I am concerned that without steps to try to slow the spread, that might put too much pressure on the NHS via numbers needing hospital all at once.

If we're just thinking sod it let it rip through everyone, then wfh should be abandoned. It doesn't make sense to me.

But again, as I asked above, given that Omnicrom is extremely transmissible, realistically what 'steps' short of a full lockdown are going to really help? Sure, you can close nightclubs and ban NYE celebrations, but is that really going to make a significant dent in numbers?

Take the case of Ireland, which has been under fairly tight restrictions pretty much without a break, and where said restrictions were ramped up a few weeks ago. They now have one of the highest, if not the highest, case loads in Europe.

Granted, I'm far from an expert, but I'm just not convinced that 'measures' are going to do much good with Omnicron.

30 percent of people are still getting delta I heard today on bbc news!
It's far from over, but as long as life seems to be normal, then the conservatives will carry on and just hope they made the right decisions.
I think many will be sensible , but many won't of course
Next few weeks will be interesting.

@Wrongkindofovercoat

I guess if you were Boris, you would look at what happened last Winter, which was very bad in terms of mortality, but then you had Spring and Summer for people to forget about it , maybe he is hoping he can make the same 'mistake' with the same outcome and get away with it again ?

You can't compare this winter to last winter, given that the vaccine roll-out only started last December.

I really feel it will take something awful to get the tories to admit they’re underfunding the NHS, sadly The Conservatives will never admit this. They will say it is the publicly-funded model that is at fault and they will move towards private health insurance.

But leaving that issue aside for another day, this There wouldn’t be ‘no healthcare’. There would be insufficient healthcare but that’s the case already is a strange take. There is insufficient now, yes, but it clearly has potential to get much worse if cases and hospitalisations do rise significantly.

Every single person who is currently waiting for an operation (nearly six million people, 1 in 12 people) is less well than they could be, every £ spent on covid is not available for other conditions, every nurse off sick is not available to treat people who are unwell with all sorts of things.

It is not about saving 'the NHS' as an abstract, it is about ensuring we have access to all the treatments we need for every single condition, illness, accident and episode.

@polar81

Fan-fucking-tastic!! No more restrictions please!

Amen.

@kickupafuss so what restrictions would you put in place seeing as a very transmissible variant will rapidly go through the usual high transmitting routes such as households, work environments and schools/colleges/unis?

So relieved, am so looking forward to New Years Eve in my pyjamas in the living room. 🍸🍸🍸

To be falr not sure the measures brought in other uk nations will make that much of a difference to the numbers , only time will tell.
They can always change tactics of they feel they need to at anytime as welll

You can't compare this winter to last winter, given that the vaccine roll-out only started last December.

You can if you are looking at it from a ideological point of view, the shit can hit the fan in Jan/Feb as long as things get better after that because people have short memories, this has been evident for the last 10 yrs or so when it comes to the Conservatives and the NHS.

@Wrongkindofovercoat

You can't compare this winter to last winter, given that the vaccine roll-out only started last December.

You can if you are looking at it from a ideological point of view, the shit can hit the fan in Jan/Feb as long as things get better after that because people have short memories, this has been evident for the last 10 yrs or so when it comes to the Conservatives and the NHS.

Well, I'm not looking at it from an 'ideological point of view', whatever that is when it's at home.

I'm looking at it from the point of view of a successful vaccination and booster programme making a massive difference to the situation.