Get rid of all restrictions

[AnEpisodeOfEastenders]

I think it's time for all restrictions to be removed. There has been plenty of time for people to be vaccinated / boosted that want to, those that can't or don't should take their own precautions.

If we test positive then we shouldn't need to isolate, shouldn't need to declare it and should just treat it as a normal cough / cold / illness. If you feel up to going to work, out to the pub, seeing friends or family then do so. Everyone I know who have had it say they feel fine.

Life has been disrupted for far too long, the costs associated are astronomical and will be a crippling debt for generations to come.

and it can v easily re infect
It can reinfect people who have had prior variants (although not as badly as feared judging by recent German data) but there's nothing to suggest you'd keep getting omicron infections.

Research out today showing an Omicron infection is protective against Delta. Just doesn’t work the other way around.

There’s no evidence to show you’ll just keep getting omicron. Post infection you’ll have a high dose of antibodies against it.

Is the elephant in the room that we have had hardly any restrictions since summer yet other counties (France) who have kept many restrictions with their masks and vaccine passports are doing worse? Like I said before, it’s as though half hearted measures do bugger all. It’s lockdown or nothing. And there won’t be a lockdown so here we are.

We're having the biggest wave we've ever had.

But the size of the wave is surely less relevant than the seriousness of it?

@Blubells

We're having the biggest wave we've ever had.

But the size of the wave is surely less relevant than the seriousness of it?

Yes that's why people are concerned. We are tracking slightly above those predictions all the Covid deniers didn't like.

See graph below.

Yes that's why people are concerned

What exactly is who concerned about?

@Blubells

Yes that's why people are concerned

What exactly is who concerned about?

Oh you, just the medical director of the NHS and every other person who actually works in and knows anything about the health service.

NHS medical director Prof Stephen Powis said the service was on a "war footing". Prof Powis said the NHS "cannot wait to find out before we act" given the number of infections and uncertainty about Omicron's severity.

You going to claim to know better than him?

Is the elephant in the room that we have had hardly any restrictions since summer yet other counties (France) who have kept many restrictions with their masks and vaccine passports are doing worse?

It's interesting, isn't it.

it’s as though half hearted measures do bugger all. It’s lockdown or nothing. And there won’t be a lockdown so here we are.

Here we are. :-)

@Alexandra2001 "I find it rather worrying that the UK is once again an outlier and not only in Europe, what does Boris know that no one else doesn't."

What do you mean by this?

@Delatron

Research out today showing an Omicron infection is protective against Delta. Just doesn’t work the other way around.

There’s no evidence to show you’ll just keep getting omicron. Post infection you’ll have a high dose of antibodies against it.

Is the elephant in the room that we have had hardly any restrictions since summer yet other counties (France) who have kept many restrictions with their masks and vaccine passports are doing worse? Like I said before, it’s as though half hearted measures do bugger all. It’s lockdown or nothing. And there won’t be a lockdown so here we are.

France has way more beds per 100k of population than the UK

Thats what you have not factored in.

50,000 hospitalisations in 4 weeks can sink the NHS, while France is able to absorb it.

Thats the consequence of the last 10 years of Tory NHS austerity.

x2 essentially France vs UK (normal beds & ICU beds)

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_hospital_beds

@Blubells

We're having the biggest wave we've ever had.

But the size of the wave is surely less relevant than the seriousness of it?

This is what the hard-of-thinking just can’t grasp.

You're not really restricted compared to other places.
Wear a mask if you want. Test if you want.
Go on holiday if you have a jab.
Really get over it.

I would seem we need to take out the sock puppet for this one

Yup.

Don’t have to declare it? See friends regardless? What an awful selfish post. What about those of us with underlying conditions do we just take the hit so you can carry on with your life? I’m glad everyone you know who’s had it has been fine, that must mean it’s not dangerous at all. It’s such a shame 150,000 people died but you don’t know them so let’s just ignore that. I just can’t believe how utterly selfish people in this country have become it makes me feel ill.

Thats the consequence of the last 10 years of Tory NHS austerity.

It was the EU that mandated the economic policy that we had to follow, now we are free of the yoke of foreign interference we can invest £350million a week in the NHS.

What is the booster take up like in France, Italy etc

Is the elephant in the room that we have had hardly any restrictions since summer yet other counties (France) who have kept many restrictions with their masks and vaccine passports are doing worse?

Err the UK has a far higher death rate than almost all European (comparable) countries.
UK - 149k
France - 124k
Germany - 112k
Italy - 137k
Spain - 89k

Adjust for pop. per 1m and the UK still has an awful death rate, especially against Germany, only Italy's is higher.

During the summer/autumn, UK was having around 100 deaths per day, european countries 10 or 20.

So having no restrictions might be great if your alive and well, it hasn't proved to be for many others.

I’m pretty sure many countries have better healthcare systems and more ICU beds than us. So we keep endless restrictions because of years of underfunding of the NHS? Or we start to think a bit more long term? Because Covid is going nowhere. So every year the NHS will be ‘overwhelmed’.

@MarshaBradyo

What is the booster take up like in France, Italy etc

As of mid December, UK was ahead of these countries by 5 or 10 %, no where nr the double he lied about (again) Fullfact did an article on it.

Also, EU used mainly Pfizer in its initial program, which apparently offers better protection against Omicron than AZ, though the jury is still out on 2 x AZ and a mRNA booster.

There’s a balance though. We can try for zero deaths and stay completely locked down if that’s the goal here?

My point is if masks and vaccine passports and mitigations work so well why is the rest of Europe suffering high or even higher cases than us right now?

@Delatron

I’m pretty sure many countries have better healthcare systems and more ICU beds than us. So we keep endless restrictions because of years of underfunding of the NHS? Or we start to think a bit more long term? Because Covid is going nowhere. So every year the NHS will be ‘overwhelmed’.

I would have hoped that 2 years in, we'd be seeing some longer term thinking around the NHS and its capacity to treat people. So preventative health campaigns, more staff (remove tuition fees) and asking BJ where these 40 hospitals will be built and when??? Let alone when he plans on sorting out social care and integrating with NHS, stupid having it privatised, its clearly not working.

These were all election promises made 2 years ago.

Oh well Alexandra we’ll see with omicron wave what happens.

You seem convinced already. Why did you say U.K. was outlier btw? Afaik many countries in Europe have comparable numbers or higher.

Aus high too and US cut isolation time.

What is the outlier part?

@Delatron

There’s a balance though. We can try for zero deaths and stay completely locked down if that’s the goal here?

My point is if masks and vaccine passports and mitigations work so well why is the rest of Europe suffering high or even higher cases than us right now?

...because they work against Delta but do not against Omicron?

So had the UK had more restrictions this year, together with a hi vaxx take up, we'd have more people still with us, without locking down.

The two kinds of restriction which have most impacted our family have been

• restricted availability of GPs, doctors and nurses

• restaurants closing due to lack of staff

both attributed to illness due to covid.

I'm not absolutely clear how these restrictions are to be lifted, with any others.

@luckylavender

For those of you asking for removal of all restrictions. If you're in England, what 'restrictions' do you find so onerous currently?

Testing, constant threat of isolation over your childs every little cough and sniffle, having to get young kids to always be aware of this by sticking swabs in their nose and throat when they are crying and struggling. Things being cancelled at the last moment and seeing kids disappointed faces time and time again.