Have people's opinions changed?

[MassiveOverthinker]

Just wondering really, if the last few months have changed people's opinion on how we managed covid in this country.

Anyone wondering if maybe fewer restrictions would've been better and if more draconian ones (often called for) were unnecessary. Anyone wondering if we needed to close schools, swab and isolate our kids, test and trace etc etc.

Or do people generally feel we did what was necessary at the time and are only okayish now because of weaker variants and higher vaccination levels?

Anyone feel less angry at the rule breakers, those who don't want to be vaccinated etc?

If it all happened again, do you think your response to restrictions would be the same, or would you be a bit more inclined to think "sod that for a laugh".

(Asking for a friend).

I follow world news, but I've never felt the need to read obituaries in foreign newspapers. Do you think you became/have become a little over-invested in the pandemic maybe and are now finding it difficult to move on?

I mean that in the kindest way possible.

Well, it was clearly an absolute waste of my time writing a considered reply to you, wasn't it?

So you get to fling the word 'selfish' around like confetti, but nobody can suggest that it might apply to you? How selfish of you.

@LeftFootForward I think you are unaware of what I was referring to. I don't ever routinely read any obituaries, in any press. During 2020, because of the rates of healthcare worker death, there was special coverage (including promoted obituary features) on this topic.

I can see why, if you thought I was just intentionally reading all the regular obituaries, this would be confusing. But that's not what I was referring to. This was a prominent part of Covid coverage at the time.

You can claim I'm selfish, but since all I'm actually doing is shielding in my own house like I have since March 2020, it's a pretty meaningless claim.

Whereas when I say someone is selfish, I'm referring to actually putting others at risk.

You can claim I'm selfish, but since all I'm actually doing is shielding in my own house like I have since March 2020, it's a pretty meaningless claim.

Whereas when I say someone is selfish, I'm referring to actually putting others at risk.

But you believe "a handful of precautions should be maintained". You've not defined these 'precautions' but they would almost certainly impact negatively on many people's lives. So you're putting yourself above other people. Which is fine, and what most of us do all our lives, but when you casually accuse others of being 'selfish' for going about their lives in accordance with the law, some might say that you have a fairly broad interpretation of the word 'selfish'.

@LeftFootForward Also, believe me, I would love to move on! I am partway through moving counties, going from a city location to a rural one - and many other things not related to Covid. It is just absolute crap being CEV and having to still think about Covid risk when others feel genuinely able to forget it.

No one is CEV because they want to be.

@IcedPurple How does something like wearing a mask at the pharmacy 'impact negatively'?

I agree that most restrictions would be inappropriate to maintain longterm, and too burdensome for the community in general. But it's just so silly to pretend that a handful of protective measures in essential service settings are some awful imposition. They aren't. You are incredibly lucky to be healthy and it's so ungracious and in such bad taste to moan in the way you are.

@IcedPurple Also, I'm very largely talking about CV and CEV people more generally, not about myself. Because of my level of disability I have access to all housebound services, and so many of these issues don't affect me directly. Your assumption that I'm just being 'selfish' doesn't apply anything like as much as you think.

How does something like wearing a mask at the pharmacy 'impact negatively'?

Define 'something like'.

But it's just so silly to pretend that a handful of protective measures in essential service settings are some awful imposition. They aren't.

But you haven't told us what you mean by "a handful of protective measures", or provided evidence as to their efficacy.

You are incredibly lucky to be healthy and it's so ungracious and in such bad taste to moan in the way you are.

You have absolutely no idea as to the state of my health.

And in fairness, you haven't done yourself many favours by your generous use of the word 'selfish'.

What precautions though? Masks were not making a jot of difference to Covid rates when Omicron hit.

Looking back at 2020-21 it does feel like people succumbed to a kind of collective madness. The judging of other people who were clearly struggling was deeply unpleasant. On MN any suggestion that school closures might be harmful to children was immediately shot down. I was accused of causing my daughter’s mental health issues when it was blindingly obvious that her difficulties were caused by being cut off from her routine, her friends, her wider family and everything else that she’d previously taken for granted.

Of course, now it’s clear that long-term school closures WERE catastrophically damaging, a lot of people are pretending they never supported them in the first place.

No being cev isn't fun.

But still doesn't entitle others to make demands of their bodies. People absolutely have the right to chose a vaccine or not. No one has the right to judge others for their own medical decisions. After all you are not likely to fully know why someone chose not to vaccinate. Many opted not to because they were worried about side effects. That's perfectly reasonable and does not require someone else to sit and be judgemental about.

Scotland had the mask mandate the longest in the uk, with reasonably high compliance. Yet infection rates were higher than England.

I never supported school closures and if anyone was bored enough to look back on my posts in 2020 they'll see that! 😆

This kind of ridiculous reply is what makes it so impossible to have any kind of meaningful discussion on these threads.

I remember you waxonwaxoff0 - you’ve been consistent from the start! 😄

Fair enough, I missed that.

from what I have gathered common masks aren’t completely ineffective against omicron but if you consider the effectiveness of masks has never been, and never claimed to be,100% (I think it’s actually around the 35% mark) against the transmissibility and fast replication of omicron it makes it even less effective at reducing opportunities for transmission making little difference to infection numbers. That’s what a lot of the restrictions were about, reducing opportunities for infection whilst balancing a functioning society.

from that pov a lot of the seemingly nonsensical past restrictions do make sense when looked at as an equation. Eg. Taking your mask off to eat in a restaurant but having to put it on to walk through. Coupled with distancing and ventilation an infected person may only infect three people rather than ten because your particles were contained walking past the other seven people.

it matters less with omicron because it’s milder and we have vaccinations but there are still situations where that smaller chance of prevention is worth it because of the risk to people it presents.

I think one of the main problems is that at the beginning no-one knew much about the virus. I think the first lockdown was a proportional response (it was actually lockdown lite compared to some other countries although it didn't feel like it at the time) .

I do think though that one thing I have learned from the whole episode is that so many people are very thoughtless and judgemental and very intolerant of the views of others. I usually tend to think the best of people so it has rather shaken my view of humanity.

I also think that common sense went out the window.

I am still bitter that DP had to receive a terminal cancer diagnosis alone and that his funeral was an even more grim occasion than it needed to be.

One problem which I foresee is that the NHS is bound to have another winter crisis and I fear that having got away with imposing sometimes ridiculous rules, the government will be more prepared to do it again. Many politicians at the time were calling for even tougher rules so who knows what the reaction will be if this happens this winter or under another government in the future.

😁👋

A certain poster on this thread’s tone is very reminiscent of (rhymes with fanny and won)

I thought the certain poster sounded awfully like someone we haven't heard of for a long time - someone whose name was reminiscent of certain African savannah animals.

Glad I'm not the only one that thought this @RosaMoline

I understand the worry, but can't see any significant restrictions being imposed again. Maybe a half arsed attempt at masks, continue restrictions on visitors in hospitals for a long time, but nothing in the region of what we previously had.

This is because a specific combination of factors has to be in place for lockdown to be viable, and it's hard to see how those are going to be in place again during this pandemic. There were politicians calling for worse, but the parliamentary Tories are against more restrictions (not least because of the cost) and they'd probably kick out a PM who tried.

As well as a supportive Parliament, you need a general public who'll actually support restrictions. That would require cases to be at a level where enough people are scared into complying, but also not so high that key workers start opting out or that social unrest becomes a real concern. I'm not sure that ground exists any more. We are already seeing a shortage of key workers even now.

Lastly it also has to be paid for. Lockdown means funding people to stay at home out of the way, otherwise they won't do it. The financial will for that clearly isn't there.

No, lockdown was absolutely the right decision

Looking back, Covid was a big unknown, and the first lockdown was a hasty response to that. The government had to be seen to be doing something.
It was rather surreal... being told you were not allowed to leave your house unless xyz.

It was harmful for a lot of people though, and the minimising of that was really shitty to see. I was fed up seeing stuff about you only have to sit at home and watch Netflix. Yes, sit and watch Netflix knowing a friend was in mental health crisis and you were not allowed to visit them to prevent it escalating... or that a security guard would comment on the wine in your basket for not being essential, or being terminally ill and your bucket list not being able to extend to much more than finishing box sets because you were not allowed to do anything else.

Oh, and then there was the judging.... 'selfish' became the new buzzword... a way to shut down people like 'be kind' often was. On social media and on MN... oh, you suffered trauma and can't wear a mask? You are selfish, and are killing people. Have your shopping delivered and get a dog walker.
The vaccine coming in was great, and so many people felt it was a way to move on. But you are hesitant for your second dose because you had awful side effects from the first? Selfish, and are spreading Covid and killing people. Get your shopping delivered and get a dog walker. Or get rid of your dog because unvaccinated people clearly don't care for any living things and can't look after a pet.

Fucking hell, even in this thread now, in May 2022, there are posters saying that other people don't care about CEV for not doing things that are not even rules anymore.

The public have not appetite for another lockdown, even if the numbers got bad. The people that do... they are still locking themselves down even now.