What's the likelihood of restrictions after 26th jan.

[Kca29]

Plan B to stay in place for another 3 weeks as you know. What do you think the chances of more restrictions after that?? Would it be immediate? I guess there would be a few days notice?

It's my 30th birthday the weekend of the 29th. We've all just had covid and I was hoping to book a weekend away (in the U.K.) with Dp and dc. I'd be quite happy just to get away from the daily grind and watch tv in a hotel if it meant a break away 😅

Maybe I won't bother 🤷‍♀️

I very much doubt it will be extended. Too many business impacts.

I'm 99% confident there won't be any. It's pretty clear from the latest government actions (reducing isolation periods, scrapping testing for travel, scrapping PCRs if you have a positive lateral flow) that we're moving towards living with Covid completely unrestricted.

I don't think these are examples of things moving in the right direction though - they're measures to cope with the current shortage of available tests and staff shortages.

I think they will start to reduce restrictions as they're mindful that the deal was get vaccinated and life can return to some kind of new normal.

Given the question marks over the efficiency of the vaccines in stopping Omicron infections (albeit still effective at reducing symptoms) and the current move to 6 monthly boosters, presumably they're worried that people's desire to receive further vaccinations may start to fall otherwise.

@mocktail

I'm 99% confident there won't be any. It's pretty clear from the latest government actions (reducing isolation periods, scrapping testing for travel, scrapping PCRs if you have a positive lateral flow) that we're moving towards living with Covid completely unrestricted.

I don't think these are examples of things moving in the right direction though - they're measures to cope with the current shortage of available tests and staff shortages.

Yes, but the alternative to that would be restrictions to bring down case numbers. Which they obviously don't want to do or they'd be doing it now.

Bear in mind that whilst England currently has very few restrictions, other parts of the UK do, but for what you're planning I expect you'll be fine.

@Enzbear

Florianus And I know two young people who have died of cancer, one who almost certainly should have survived because they couldn't get treatment etc etc. But that's ok because the 99 year old got to live another year.

So do you think that the current 8000+ people being admitted for hospital treatment per day for Covid (including 110 aged 5 or younger on Bank Holiday Monday) should be denied treatment in favour of those two? And how come they couldn't get treatment when the NHS has repeatedly said it is open fpr cancer treatment?

Before attempting an anwer, remember that nobody gets admitted to hospital for Covid treatment unless they are seriously ill - especially given the current shortage of hospital staff around the country.

So do you think that the current 8000+ people being admitted for hospital treatment per day for Covid should be denied treatment

This statement is completely untrue. There are absolutely not 8000 people being admitted per day for covid.

So do you think that the current 8000+ people being admitted for hospital treatment per day for Covid

This is NOT true, at least not in the UK. At their peak in January 2021 it was only around 4,000

So do you think that the current 8000+ people being admitted for hospital treatment per day

Source for that ridiculous statement please.

@Aposterhasnoname

So do you think that the current 8000+ people being admitted for hospital treatment per day

Source for that ridiculous statement please.

Sorry, the current number of people in hospital with Covid is just over 8000:

news.sky.com/video/covid-19-a-look-at-new-covid-cases-and-hospital-admissions-in-the-uk-12502342

We were warned that Omicron cases are generally less severe, but the exceptionally high transmission rate means that the number of severe cases is now very high.

What would the current restrictions even prevent you from doing? Assuming England of course. Even if plan B was to continue, it wouldn't put a stop to any plans that I might have or make.

I don't think any good can come from making assumptions and generalisations about a group comprising thousands of people. The loved ones of those who have died of/with Omicron in the UK aren't a monolith, every family and set of circumstances will be different.

@VikingOnTheFridge

I don't think any good can come from making assumptions and generalisations about a group comprising thousands of people. The loved ones of those who have died of/with Omicron in the UK aren't a monolith, every family and set of circumstances will be different.

Exactly so. And in many cases doctors do not know why some people are hospitalised by Omicron while others seem to be able to shake it off easily.

Sorry, the current number of people in hospital with Covid is just over 8000:
We were warned that Omicron cases are generally less severe, but the exceptionally high transmission rate means that the number of severe cases is now very high.

Well you’ve just proved you have no idea what you’re talking about and just doom mongering for the hell of it.

Firstly, the article you linked to is dated 22nd December, so massively out of date. You’ll no doubt be delighted to learn there’s now 18,000 in hospital with covid. So you can wave your doom stick around with that number. However, I’m sure you’ll be less eager to also point out that this is half the number that were hospitalised at the peak last January, hilarious that you thought 8000 was very high.

You’ll also hate this graph which clearly shows hospitalisations are not rising at the same rate as cases. Sorry to burst your bubble but I’m sure you can cherry pick the doom out of that lot.

Damn the graph didn’t post

Seems it's all over according to the DM today .
It's not much worse than the flu and the army medics have been ' roped in ' ( their words today online , certainly not my words)
I doubt we will see any more restrictions in England anyway.
The poor hospitals and staff have to just limp on and the rest of us have to try and stay out of them as much as possible if we can of course.

Extra restrictions I do not expect. The existing ones minimal as they are in England remaining I see as possibly continuing.

It’s all going to be gone by the end of Jan, hopefully and it seems a strong likely hood the pandemic is over. Likely we will still need vaccinations but it will be put in with the flu jabs or something annually

Sage and scientists are saying omicron gives immunity against delta, so it’s pushing out all strains with a high fatality rate. Right now they think it kills one in 40,000.

I’ve currently got it, tested positive on the 3rd, still positive today, and like most people with symptoms, I’ve had a sore throat, a bit of a cough, sneezing, headache, and feeling knackered, with aching limbs. Today I feel a lot better to be honest. So the thought it’s somewhere between a cold and flu for me feels correct.

Even Indy’s age are saying too late for a lockdown now so I think any major new restrictions unlikely, you should be good to go (providing everyone stays covid free obviously!)

The desperate last stand of the lockdown lovers is quite amusing I must say.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the current restrictions go on a bit longer either. Any political detriment Johnson suffered for introducing them has happened already and can't be reversed, and it offers the option of still being seen to Do Something. Masks in particular are psychologically important to a lot of people, for all that they're divisive. So I can well believe they won't go on the 26th.

The bigger issue coming up is probably the NHS staff vaccine mandate. The government have been fairly lucky so far that the dominant narrative in the NHS shortages story hasn't been their decision to take action that led to thousands of care staff leaving. That might change as we get further into winter.

Sorry, the current number of people in hospital with Covid is just over 8000

You understand this is with Covid and not because of Covid, right? It includes all folks admitted for everything else whi happen to test positive, so car accidents, heart attacks, everything? It also includes admissions to mental health hospitals, as stated by Chris witty.

They haven’t released the numbers but at least a third of those are in for other reasons, the rest are predominantly unvaccinated people in for short term treatment and stay a day or two.

They haven’t released the numbers but at least a third of those are in for other reasons, the rest are predominantly unvaccinated people in for short term treatment and stay a day or two.

Oh jolly good, So there's no crisis in the NHS, then. No need for all those hospitals to have declared critical incidents, no need for the army to have been deployed to help the NHS, no need for many hospitals to have postponed elective surgery.

Latest reports are that free LFTs are going to be scrapped apart from workplaces like hospitals. We are definitely going in the direction of "living with Covid" and moving away from restrictions.

@Florianus

They haven’t released the numbers but at least a third of those are in for other reasons, the rest are predominantly unvaccinated people in for short term treatment and stay a day or two.

Oh jolly good, So there's no crisis in the NHS, then. No need for all those hospitals to have declared critical incidents, no need for the army to have been deployed to help the NHS, no need for many hospitals to have postponed elective surgery.

Um what? Who said that?