Continued caution? What are your 'sensible measures'?

[Halloweenrainbow]

For context I haven't had covid yet that I know of so unsure how I will be with it. I also don't want to pass to vulnerable family who have not had it so far either.

I'm the old 'group 6' so was once considered to be at increased risk. I'm vaccinated but several months ago now.

If you're like me are you still taking steps to avoid it?

I'm still wearing a mask indoors and on the bus despite sometimes being the only one! Going to shops and restuarants but at quieter times. Not comfortable yet with indoor concerts or going to the theatre but otherwise living life as normal and quite relaxed about it most of the time.

Are you doing the similar or is this overkill?

Wash hands

I thought handwashing did bugger all against something airborne that you catch by breathing it in?

Our sensible precaution is that we only see parents, grandparents, and otherwise vulnerable family friends outdoors. Our children have to go to school, we have to go to work, and so we present a risk to the clinically vulnerable. I wear a mask in shops too. We've been testing fairly regularly but won't be able to keep that up now that free tests have been taken away.

@RadioRouge

I thought handwashing did bugger all against something airborne that you catch by breathing it in?

Our sensible precaution is that we only see parents, grandparents, and otherwise vulnerable family friends outdoors. Our children have to go to school, we have to go to work, and so we present a risk to the clinically vulnerable. I wear a mask in shops too. We've been testing fairly regularly but won't be able to keep that up now that free tests have been taken away.

Yeah I did eye roll at the people sanitising hands as they wandered into Waitrose maskless.

I'm in the 50-59 age group, jabs, not had covid yet.

I wear a mask on the train, and in crowded public spaces. I finished chemo & radiotherapy this month so hopefully my immune system should be back close to normal. I wash my hands when I get to my destination and when I get home.

There isn't much else I can do.

I’ve not had it (as far as I know, only ever tested as mandated for holiday flights).
Don’t do anything extra. Practice normal hand hygiene.
Went to a concert this evening, another last weekend and a nightclub the weekend before that.
Life is too short to live in fear.

I’m like you, group 6 as a carer for vulnerable DD, haven’t had Covid yet.
I don’t wear mask unless it’s required: public transport or hospital.
I wash hands after handling post or grocery and sanitize hands a lot when out and about, especially before touching face or mobile phone.
I go to cinema, theatre and cafes.
I don’t kiss/ hug anybody except DH and DD and don’t shake hands (don’t need to tbh)

@Halloweenrainbow I’m similar to you, mainly to reduce risk to my elderly mother and people like her, rather than trying to protect myself

I wear FFP2 masks on public transport and in shops. They offer protection to the wearer - unlike surgical or fabric masks - and are in my opinion the only type of masks worth wearing now most people don't wear any.

I wear an FFP2 mask. And er, don't really go anywhere
Back to online shopping, no pubs/restaurants
Thankfully summer will make it easier as I can go to outdoor places again. The risk is too high at the minute with how many people have covid

I'm group 6 (carer and autism), but due to the autism I've never been able to wear a mask for more than a few seconds anyway.

I really don't do anything out of the ordinary now, don't like crowded/noisy places anyway. Been going to the gym throughout whenever it's been open. To the small, local supermarket (don't like how echoey the bigger ones are), love being outdoors so taken children to loads of that sort of place while my OH takes them to indoor stuff.

Life is for living, not for hiding away. I was seriously ill Christmas 2019 (as in should have been hospitalised), several of my children have previously been sick enough to need hospital over the years, all pre-covid. So for me covid is just another virus that we have to live with, because yes for my family a cold can kill and have just as bad symptoms as covid.

Also vulnerable.
NHS staff….mask at work and in shops /crowded places.
Still testing x2 a week and isolate if positive.

@Pugfostermum

I’ve not had it (as far as I know, only ever tested as mandated for holiday flights). Don’t do anything extra. Practice normal hand hygiene. Went to a concert this evening, another last weekend and a nightclub the weekend before that. Life is too short to live in fear.

Only idiots have made it about personal fear, though? It was always the cumulative impact of a severe respiratory infection on a population with no immunity- the enormous impact that would have on health services, and the effective crashing of healthcare with no way of processing the number of ill people from all illnesses, and the subsequent 2% death toll (this rate was for people who were treated. Way more than this would have required treatment, and without it would have died).

No matter how much you want to wish it away, 'not live in fear', and get on with life, a mature caution will be needed while everyone gets a feel for what balance new life will have to take to account for this very transmissible virus with roughly the same severity of conventional flu (which is already a huge burden on the NHS, which is already stretched).

I test when I have symptoms and isolate if positive. Realistically, I've had to isolate once over 3 years so I don't think that disruption is too much for my work/ family to handle. Some people have awful sick pay terms, however, and I totally respect that position, but that respect is generally extended when people are open about that being the reason they can't isolate, not perform some cognitive dissonance leap to 'get bk 2 normal' in order to quell their own guilt.

Just recovering from covid. Fully jabbed. I am still being cautious, wearing masks in shops etc and not going to super crowded places etc. 651 people died yesterday, its not going anywhere and I'll try to avoid getting it again as it wasn't 'just a cold' at all.

I've just had covid despite being really careful, masks, hand washing, staying away from crowds.
A week later, despite now testing negative, I still feel dreadful.
My eyes hurt too and when I googled covid symptoms it said your eyes may hurt as the eyes are one of the gateways into your body for covid.
I give up, now I need to mask up and cover my eyes 😂

I wear FFP2 masks on public transport and in shops. They offer protection to the wearer - unlike surgical or fabric masks

This is important point. If you are continuing to wear an ordinary masks you are protecting those (mainly unmasked now) around you, not yourself.
So if you're wearing a mask because you or someone in your household is vulnerable you're wasting your time now unless it's an FFP2 masks.

I've given up most precautions since omicron emerged.

It's now impossible to contain. We're all going to get it at some point.

@LucyLocketLostThePlot

I've given up most precautions since omicron emerged.

It's now impossible to contain. We're all going to get it at some point.

Well, yes, but there are more controlled ways to do it which allow for things like 4th jabs to be rolled out to strengthen the vulnerable immunity, or just generally allowing a peak to be reached more cautiously. Its not all or nothing at all

@Sillymummies123
Omicron is not containable to the extent other variants were.

Scotland has still had restrictions in place and facemasks don't go until next week.
And we spent most of March having highest numbers in UK🤷🏼‍♀️

Most aspects of my life have returned to normal. I work with vulnerable adults so I am still mask wearing in confined spaces whilst working. As a family we have all had covid in the last month. DD (17) has been ill for 4 weeks, she now has a chest infection and ongoing respiritory issues that they can't rule out aren't due to her recent covid infection. She is normally fit and well. This has shaken my resolve to "get on with life". Our GP made it very clear to me that they just don't really know enough about covid and its impact on the body yet.

Thanks everyone!

Yes, I wear a ffp2 (the ffp3s are a bit too pricey ). I'm just torn between feeling that it's a sensible precaution and wondering if I'm being a bit hysterical about it all. I never wore a mask to avoid flu but because I haven't had covid, I'm just a little more wary than most people. I also don't yet buy into the idea that catching it is inevitable - for now anyway. I haven't had it! The kids havn't had it despite being at school, family members havn't had it despite working throughout in health/social care type settings (regular testing). The official line is "wear a mask if you want to". Well I don't really WANT to. I do in the hope that it makes some difference to myself or others. I don't really WANT to avoid the theatre but it might lead to a bout of ill health that I would rather avoid.

How long I'll do this for I've no idea! Until prevelance goes down a bit? Until I catch it? Until there's more reassurance that I won't suffer long-term organ damage? I don't really know. Anyone else feel the same? Maybe I'm over thinking.

@Halloweenrainbow I'm still effectively shielding. Old group 4 (I think), immunocompromised and 4 vaccines. I get free LFTs and people test before seeing me. Fun(!)

I'm doing the same as you OP, plush washing hands but I always did that anyway.

My mum is CEV, she’s had 4 vaccines. Life is mostly normal for her. She’s anti-mask 🙈 She’s retired so does choose to go to the shops midweek and eat out mid-week rather than the weekend but that’s not a huge change to her life. She looks after her young grandkids multiple times a week, takes them to softplay & toddler classes etc. She’s just been on holiday to Croatia on a plane..

She’s declared that once she was vaccinated she refused to live life in fear in her twilight years. She’s looked forwards to retirement & grandkids and won’t have that taken away from her .. fair play. I do worry about her, my kids adore their Nana & obviously I love my mum. She hasn’t had it yet and I’m scared it’ll be bad for her ☹️ But equally, I fully respect her decision. I don’t think I’d waste the back end of my life either!

*she was group 4 back in the day