What precautions do you still take?

[littlepetit]

Wondered whether many at this stage are still cautious (outside of official guidelines) even if not vulnerable

Does anyone still avoid certain places eg busy pubs or soft plays?
Keep windows open when visitors?

At this point everyone I know is a lot more relaxed and living life normally

At this point everyone I know is a lot more relaxed and living life normally*

That's my experience too.

*This is like saying “why bother with speed limits, either seatbelts work or they don’t”.
*
Because a car crash always has a bad outcome! So of course we do everything to prevent one!

Catching covid does not generally lead to bad outcomes. It might even be positive in terms of boosting one's immune system. Therefore we don't feel the need to prevent covid infections.

Masks where legally required. Lft tests for work when I remember. I tested positive last week and haven’t had a single symptom.

Apart from that we are living our lives as much as we can - restaurants, cinema, theatre etc

Cannot wait for masks to go again.

@AutumnAlmanack

Everything I can to avoid this thing!

• Wear a mask at all times unless outdoors
• Wear fresh gloves for each trip to a shop (although mostly having deliveries)
• Sanitize every time I get back in the car
• Wash hands as soon as I get home
• Avoiding pubs, restaurants, and anywhere where large numbers congregrate
• Generally avoiding people

Are you CEV? Do you plan to live like this forever? It sounds so miserable. I guess if you're very high risk it's understandable though.

I'm being extra cautious at the moment as I have two work trips coming up which I can't afford to miss. So mask wearing, not going out socially and only meeting up with friends outdoors. Also lateral flows when i'm meeting elderly family.

I wear a mask in public indoor spaces (its still law in ROI).

I'll open windows/doors if I have people round who I know are more cautious.

That's it really.

Masks where its required, wfh a hybrid pattern now which won't change qe did avoid anything indoors this wknd as our dd has xovid so we went out for a walk but didn't go inside for a coffee or anything just in case we spread something unknowingly

@Blubells

*This is like saying “why bother with speed limits, either seatbelts work or they don’t”. *Because a car crash always has a bad outcome! So of course we do everything to prevent one!

Catching covid does not generally lead to bad outcomes. It might even be positive in terms of boosting one's immune system. Therefore we don't feel the need to prevent covid infections.

We don’t do everything to prevent car crashes - we could have lower speed limits, harder tests before you are allowed to drive. You could go back to the days where someone walked in front of you carrying a flag if you wanted to drive anywhere. Or ban cars altogether. Obviously we don’t because that would be an excessive response to the risk of an accident.

Same with covid - we can do multiple things to reduce the risk (it’s not ‘we’ve got vaccines now so problem solved’). What we do to reduce risk via a balance with the cost/inconvenience of doing so - it always will be, covid isn’t going anywhere. Hopefully we’re nearly at a stage where what we have to do to reduce risk doesn’t influence our daily lives to any great extent. But things like “it’s just a cold” or “we’ve got vaccines now” massively oversimplify what is really complex.

None, other than masks where they are still legally enforced.

Though I haven't taken any precautions during the whole Covid hoo-ha, other than the ones forced upon me (masks in the few shops which were still open in March 2020), and the ones I have always done anyway (such as washing my hands when coming in from work etc - this is common sense, nothing to do with Covid).

None. We caught it over Christmas, probably from the cinema, but could have been from the two gigs we went to. Fair enough. We'd done nothing to avoid it other than what was imposed over the last two years, so expected to catch it at some point in its existence.

Though I've done nothing to avoid it, I have done what I can to reduce my personal known risk factors for when/if I caught it. Good nutrition, lost weight to be well within a healthy BMI, adequate vitamin d (and co-factor) levels.

AutumnAlmanack
Everything I can to avoid this thing!

• Wear a mask at all times unless outdoors
• Wear fresh gloves for each trip to a shop (although mostly having deliveries)
• Sanitize every time I get back in the car
• Wash hands as soon as I get home
• Avoiding pubs, restaurants, and anywhere where large numbers congregrate
• Generally avoiding people

“Are you CEV? Do you plan to live like this forever? It sounds so miserable. I guess if you're very high risk it's understandable though.”

Is there a problem with doing this if not CEV ? like some bloody competition on here who can ditch all precautions 1st , some spout off “never took precautions “ like they want some badge of honour, the virus killed a 45 year old male last week no underlying conditions he was just unlucky .
It’s January no harm in people being careful while cases are still high and rife in schools , which they are.. just will look like there not because of a lack of pcr testing .Does not mean their going to be living like that forever . It’s not like a bloody cold for everyone it can be like flu… so some one taking precautions to avoid and to avoid a week of work / school is no big surprise at the moment .

@Sallydimebar

AutumnAlmanack Everything I can to avoid this thing!

• Wear a mask at all times unless outdoors
• Wear fresh gloves for each trip to a shop (although mostly having deliveries)
• Sanitize every time I get back in the car
• Wash hands as soon as I get home
• Avoiding pubs, restaurants, and anywhere where large numbers congregrate
• Generally avoiding people

“Are you CEV? Do you plan to live like this forever? It sounds so miserable. I guess if you're very high risk it's understandable though.”

Is there a problem with doing this if not CEV ? like some bloody competition on here who can ditch all precautions 1st , some spout off “never took precautions “ like they want some badge of honour, the virus killed a 45 year old male last week no underlying conditions he was just unlucky .
It’s January no harm in people being careful while cases are still high and rife in schools , which they are.. just will look like there not because of a lack of pcr testing .Does not mean their going to be living like that forever . It’s not like a bloody cold for everyone it can be like flu… so some one taking precautions to avoid and to avoid a week of work / school is no big surprise at the moment .

Of course there's not a problem with it, what people do is up to them. But Covid is here to stay, I'm just interested in what people think is an acceptable number of cases to "relax" if any.

Mask.

Test before visiting elderly mother.

Avoiding gatherings, pubs, restaurants as I'm having fertility treatment and having to isolate could mean cancelling a whole cycle. I'm not scared of catching it for health reasons, just for the knock on implications that isolation would have.

I wear a mask at work (mandatory - hospitality) plus gloves when cleaning at work, or using the shared computer.

I use mask and gloves in supermarkets too, and sanitise all my shopping when I get it home.

I wear a mask in crowded places and indoors if visiting family, and always in the car if I'm giving a lift (passenger to wear face mask too...no mask, no lift).

I often wear gloves if I'm out and have to handle money (bank) or press well-used buttons (eg. to cross the road as a pedestrian).

I wash my hands and sanitise them all the time. I don't often have visitors but if they do I give them a clean towel if they use the bathroom and then it goes in the wash afterwards.

But then, I have always worried about 'germs' long before there was a pandemic and I always have a disinfected home....

“ Of course there's not a problem with it, what people do is up to them. But Covid is here to stay, I'm just interested in what people think is an acceptable number of cases to "relax" if any.”

Agree it’s here to stay and I suppose everyone will be different , every country will be different at least through 2022 anyway. Vaccines will get better as will immunity.
When plan b measures are dropped at end of month hopefully things may start looking a little brighter.
Everyone has different reasons for the precautions they take it does annoy me when people say not taking any precautions for a “mild cold “.
I had delta only symptom was stinging eyes on and off for afternoon but in no way would I downplay the variant. I think the same of omicron what’s mild for some will be awful for others. So totally get people will be cautious when cases are still high in areas .

I think masks will be around for a long time yet and no there not bulletproof but a little measure and comfort to some . They do help if someone is walking round with the virus but has no idea, which could be a few.. if we go off here them who refuse to go near a lft .
Life is for living and we can’t all hide away but at the same time after 2/half yrs it’s going to take time for habits to change and getting back to a near normal .Everyone will be in different lanes for different reasons and that’s fine .

Always wear a mask indoors. We've generally avoided crowded places - cinemas/theatres/shops etc for a while as we had some things we really wanted to happen that we wouldn't have been able to do if we'd tested positive. A big birthday treat for DD which had already been cancelled twice, a weekend away (which just happened). We probably will be a bit more relaxed from this point about going to busy places etc, though still wearing masks even if the mandate drops. MIL has been seriously unwell and in hospital for months and has only just got home so we'll be very cautious when seeing her at home as it would be awful if she ended up in hospital again.

None at all.

I haven't gone back to the gym. Would love to but it must be such a high risk place.

None apart from wearing mask where legally required and hand washing. We've been abroad twice in the last year, multiple theatre trips, regular gym attendance, a couple of festivals last summer, countless meals out, work in a secondary school - really just life as normal for us.
My adult daughter, who lives with it, got it just before xmas and it was like a bad cold for her. She hadn't had her booster. My OH tested positive on a work lft 2 weeks ago. He had absolutely no symptoms and tested negative on day 6 and 7.
I haven't caught it 🤔

None

Nothing (except masks if legally required).

None except masks. I’m very much enjoying normal life. Spent Saturday morning at a kids birthday party in softplay, Saturday afternoon in a packed splash park whizzing down slides with my kids, Saturday evening at the pub with my friends. Sunday, I collapsed in a heap 😂 but we did go out for lunch in the afternoon. I’ve had covid twice, I’m vaxxed, booster, young. Not remotely worried.

@Skinnytailedsquirrel

I haven't gone back to the gym. Would love to but it must be such a high risk place.

I've been to the gym - classes and gym for months and never had Covid.

pootle same here. I do spin 4 times a week in a small room with 23 others, and PT in.my trainers small studio.