Self Isolation likely to end in March

[Overthebow]

What does everyone think about this?

I personally felt massive relief when I heard this, finally looking like the end of restrictions on our lives. I know it will be scary for some people who are more anxious but for me I am really looking forward to this happening.

Re masks in school, saying they are mandatory means nothing.
Our setting has seen maybe two students wearing them? My dc school again, no or wears them so saying they haven't worked in Scotland is moot.

I'm happy to start to ease back to normal but I'm concerned if a new nasty virulent strain appears, what then?

I can't see this is the end and I just don't feel confident that if something we need protecting from, they will do it

[quote OnceuponaRainbow18]@Overthebow

What job do you do?

I think it’s easy to be happy about this in certain jobs. Working in a school I think this is bollocks and won’t be teaching my class if kids in there have covid[/quote]
Found the teacher!

In terms of isolating "properly" 3 out of 4 of our house hold tested positive at New Year. On day 9 I went for a walk at dusk with DH (we were both still positive on an lft but didn't feel ill) the weather was crisp and we didn't pass another person at all. So technically yes we broke the rules but I would say pretty minimal risk.

I'm CEV, so a bit worried to be honest, especially as cases are so high (over 2k/100k where I am). I don't want restrictions to go on forever, I really truly don't. But I don't think now is the right time unless you're a PM trying to save his own skin

A few weeks when Omicron has fizzled out further, perhaps.

@Waxonwaxoff0

Happy, on a purely personal level. When DS and I had Covid we were not ill enough to justify staying home but obviously we had to.

but my DD was so ill she ended up in hospital (no underlying conditions, no reason to think she'd get so unwell). I'm aware that my example is just as anecdotal as yours but Covid ISN'T just a cold etc, it can cause such a lot of damage and mitigating against spread seems sensible still - though I'm also very, very aware that isolation brings its own issues.

I don't know. I know it has to happen at some point and I think probably before DD got so unwell I'd have been a lot more casual about it but it's just such a horrible disease at times.

@beentoldcomputersaysno Indeed - perhaps reading various threads on here today made me feel the odd one out - but totally agree with you. Boris is saving (or trying to) his own skin at the risk of people’s health/lives. Getting my head around the 180 switch from the last 2 years’ advice of isolate/save lives/protect others to (essentially) @feel free to spread covid around. We can hope people will act with common sense and stay at home if positive, but the reality I’m sure will be different

The weather was crap that meant to say

@changingstages yes, that's why I said happy on a personal level. I know Covid is serious for some.

[quote OnceuponaRainbow18]@Overthebow

What job do you do?

I think it’s easy to be happy about this in certain jobs. Working in a school I think this is bollocks and won’t be teaching my class if kids in there have covid[/quote]
Factory worker here, no social distancing at work and I'm fine with it.

[quote Waxonwaxoff0]@changingstages yes, that's why I said happy on a personal level. I know Covid is serious for some.[/quote]
I know. I wasn't really aiming that at you, it just made me... muse on the whole thing. It makes me feel pretty anxious but obviously we do have to move on at... some point.

@SmashingBIouse

I'm CEV, so a bit worried to be honest, especially as cases are so high (over 2k/100k where I am). I don't want restrictions to go on forever, I really truly don't. But I don't think now is the right time unless you're a PM trying to save his own skin

A few weeks when Omicron has fizzled out further, perhaps.

It's not happening today, its aiming for spring when Omicron is likely to have "fizzled out" further.

I say over and over again on here. The biggest issue isnt making people isolate. It's making a system that allows people who feel unwell, stay home from work and still be able to pay their bills and to not be penalised by their employer if they find themselves poorly twice in 12 months. Fix this and people will be able to stay home and not pass their cold round the office.

Thank God! Finally some normality. Hopefully all of the "we need another lockdown" nut jobs will crawl back into their holes in fear of catching it.

Excellent news! Plus, some countries are lifting testing to enter if vaccinated or recovered from covid. This is what so many people have been waiting for!

@Caramelvanillafudge

If all the evidence points to it then fair enough *@frazzledali*, but I do know mask wearing didn’t seem to make much if any difference in Scottish schools.

There was decent quality evidence that proper mask wearing could make pre Omicron strains 10% less transmissible, which obviously at many points in the pandemic would be pretty significant. The evidence relating to schools specifically was much less clear. There were political reasons for reintroducing masks in schools when it became clear we'd have an Omicron wave, just as there have been political reasons for decisions the other way too.

[quote Flowers024]**@beentoldcomputersaysno* Indeed - perhaps reading various threads on here today made me feel the odd one out - but totally agree with you. Boris is saving (or trying to) his own skin at the risk of people’s health/lives. Getting my head around the 180 switch from the last 2 years’ advice of isolate/save lives/protect others to (essentially) @feel* free to spread covid around. We can hope people will act with common sense and stay at home if positive, but the reality I’m sure will be different[/quote]
Yes it is a 180 switch because things are very different now to what they were 2 years ago.
Why on Earth wouldn’t you want lives to go back to normal?
Even if you are vulnerable, being triple jabbed means you are at as low a risk of covid than you are of flu or any other nasty bug which you will have been before covid.
I literally can’t understand why anyone would want to carry on restrictions and this awful ‘everything stops for a mild cold for most’ through 2022
Absolutely bonkers. It must be those who have always been anxious or had a health anxiety becuase I really don’t understand it.

Scotland here, I am jealous.

I get full pay if I need to isolate (including if a contact as per nhs trust policy) but for me I don't want to be having to keep taking time out of work - I can't do most of my work from home so end up doing bits of admin and training that don't take very long. I know I'm lucky I get paid but it still really inconvenient and puts more pressure on the rest of the team if people are always off for nearly two weeks isolating.

Even if you are vulnerable, being triple jabbed means you are at as low a risk of covid than you are of flu or any other nasty bug which you will have been before covid.

Can you cite the specific data on that?

At as low a risk would mean that:

incidence [probability of exposure] x likelihood of being infected [probability of becoming ill after exposure, which is lessened by vaccine] x risk of adverse outcome [mortality rate for specific age group and vulnerablity]

would be the same or lower for Covid as for flu or other bugs. I haven't seen that analysis broken down for all age groups and vulnerabilities - where would i find it?

I'm not sure that they're announcing isolating to finish at the end Mar is just to save Boris' skin, I think this has always been the plan and has conveniently (for Boris) it's announcement coincides with him needing to look like the good guy. I have a couple of friends who have been working at the PCR test centres and have categorically been told their contracts Will not be renewed after March. No testing and no need to isolate kind of go hand in hand.
Similarly I've no idea how a child especially one asymptomatic will be telling their teacher they're covid positive when it's unlikely they'll even be testing in the first place.
As for masks in schools, it was never took seriously in my DC school, I bought my DS new masks and he told me don't bother because hardly anyone wears one and that included the teachers too

Even if you are vulnerable, being triple jabbed means you are at as low a risk of covid than you are of flu or any other nasty bug which you will have been before covid.

Sorry, meant to say, I would also - before I took this as Gospel truth - need to understand the impact of vaccine effectiveness waning in these groups, who were often the earliest to be vaccinated and boosted, and thus now at the time when vaccine effectiveness will be starting to wane markedly.

[quote OnceuponaRainbow18]@Overthebow

What job do you do?

I think it’s easy to be happy about this in certain jobs. Working in a school I think this is bollocks and won’t be teaching my class if kids in there have covid[/quote]
You probably won’t know if they have covid. If people don’t have to isolate, people will stop testing.

About time too.

have a couple of friends who have been working at the PCR test centres and have categorically been told their contracts Will not be renewed after March. No testing and no need to isolate kind of go hand in hand.

I've heard this too. It has been planned for a while. And numbers are coming down quite steeply so by end March they should be very low hopefully

I find it really funny, tbh. I've been watching the news from my own country, and they have way less case/admission/death, yet they are trying to implement restrictions. While in England, people are still getting sick, dying, and NHS under pressure but we are ditching everything now.
And I think by March, everyone must have had it and those vulnerable have suffered or dead, so yeah, it's likely we don't need any isolation anymore.

But what price we pay, we are yet to find out in the future.

This planned easing of restrictions was in the pipeline last November - well before Partygate.

www.lancs.live/news/uk-world-news/secret-covid-exit-plan-operation-22169956

It’s now emerging that a lot of people aren’t bothering to test anymore and quite a few of my friends are admitting that, despite the restrictions at Christmas 2020, they did meet up with others whilst giving the impression they were complying.

Whitty, JVT and Vallence have all said at various stages throughout the pandemic, there will be a time when sadly a certain number of deaths will have to be acceptable and we will have to move on.

As an aside, I heard an interesting comment by a commentator on TV late last night - in anticipation of todays announcement - saying if the government had to supply and pay for masks, they would have been phased out months ago. Certainly made me think.