It's all over isn't it?

[Bornslippery]

Just that really. Thankfully. Used to have a high temp twice a year and spent a few days in bed (few times knocked me for 6 and spent a week in bed as feeling so rubbish). So no change there for most. Seems it's normal again now. Been abroad twice this year and it feels no different than before.

if people do become very unwell no one surely wants to put themselves in a position where they do become unwell.

Its a play off of risks and benefits. The risks of getting covid, for me, are worth the benefits of living without restrictions. I didn't take strong measures to avoid minor illness before and covid is overwhelmingly likely to be a minor illness for me. Of course others would make different assessments, that's up to them.

We manage risks every single day. Every time you get in a car you run the risk of dying. Yet we take these risks all the time because quality of life matters also.

Im only speaking for myself here btw.

I’m glad the fear mongering by the media has stopped. It was really awful and caused so much damage to people who feared for their lives stepping outside.

I agree it’s so nice not having the restrictions and schools back to normal. People have missed out on so much these last couple of years. I say this as someone who has blood cancer, but do not wish for everyone else to restrict their lives. If anything this diagnosis has made realise that life is really too short and precious. Yolo as the young ones say😄.

The 'living with Covid' is more a getting kn with it really. I am baffled why masks were made optional as it really is here to stay.

That is precisely the reason masks were made optional. It’s here stay. The flimsy paper masks that people had screwed up in their pockets, and begrudgingly wore under their noses with huge gaps round the sides did nothing, and are hideous for the environment. Short term it made some people feel more secure, long term it’s a waste of time, money and resources.

Yesterday was the first time I'd been on the tube where no one in the carriage was wearing a mask.

My parents are in their 80s and have taken the view that they should take their chances with covid and get on with their lives. I think lockdown was particularly hard for their friends that had been recently widowed and couldn't be supported by their friendship group in the usual way.

That 99% lived half lives for 2 years, were forbidden from stepping outside their front door and wrecked the economy for that 1%. What more would you like them to do? What do you feel is reasonable?

I also can't see the U.K. accepting full-scale lockdowns again (although this view may not be shared by all).

I think the government Partygate enquiry put paid to that, plus the day of reckoning as to the social and economic costs. Hence Sunak and Shapps now trying to distance themselves.

Whose been living a half life for two years?
Restrictions for the most part ended over a year ,although mask wearing was required for longer in certain parts of the UK, but that was never enforced anyway ,undoubtedly from March 2020 untill March 2021 things were very rocky and uncertain, but ww were only under the strictest restrictions for 3or 4 months .

Are forgetting the months of lockdown, more months of rule of 4/6, virtually everything being shut, not being able to see family abroad for years at a time?

can I ask again; what would be enough?

Read my post again,as i said from March 2020 unrill March 2021 was undoubtedly rocky with lots of uncertainty, but the strictest of restrictions were for 3/4 months I'm not forgetting anything ,but it certainly hasn't been two years .

What a way to minimise others lives, but as long as you're ok

I think this is rather unfair. We weren't okay during lockdown, as our income stopped at we fell through a lot of the support cracks. Of course we're relieved that we can earn normally now. Many other people will have a similar feeling of relief that they can resume their normal lives, for various reasons. This doesn't minimise that it's still an issue for a minority of people but really what else can be done now?

''BeenToldComputerSaysNo
OK, so no one then.

Ah, didn't realise you hadn't read the thread to see the posts I was referring to!''

@applesandoranges221 - I was responding to @speakingofart. Have you tagged me in error or are you the same person? Nobody has said they love lockdowns, is asking for another one or has said they love restricting themselves. Some have views you don't share, but the rest is just assumption - e.g. the behaviour and thoughts of those who were in lockdown, or equating a mask in some situations to a lockdown etc. Lockdowns were unequal, just as removing all protections are.

I appreciate I’m jumping into the middle of someone else tagging you - but I would have responded similarly! The thread is full of people essentially saying it’ll never be over ( which I don’t actually disagree with, although I think I have a different understanding of that to them) and that masks/ restrictions should have carried on, some are even saying they’re still terrified of socialising. What they seem to fail to realise is that is mainly middle class/ boomers/ pensioners who were able to lockdown in the first place, and that we have utterly fucked our country, economy and young people in the process.

You can advocate further restrictions all you want - most people now are not prepared to live a half life to make you feel safe.

No - sadly it’ll never be ‘all over’ as long as some can make money out of it/control people’s lives.

How much disruption to the lives of other people would you say is reasonable?

No it isn't unfair. For a significant group, 'life hasn't gone back to normal'

I lost vunerable friends to covid. I am vunerable myself.

Lots of those also are vunerable also weren't ok during lockdown and had to basically hide away for many months to stay safe.

No one has said you can't now carry on with your life, just be mindful of the effect you have on others if you 'carry on as normal' when you have covid.

Would you send your child to school with chickenpox or mumps or measels? I would hope the answer would be no.

You are really not understanding my post are ,you?
I'm merely pointing out that it hasent been two years of half live,s we had one very disrupted year ,I can't think of anything I can't do now that I couldn't do before the pandemic .

No one has said you can't now carry on with your life, just be mindful of the effect you have on others if you 'carry on as normal' when you have covid

In terms of doing what though? DH is self-employed, he's worked through four respiratory illnesses so far this year as it would be ruinous not to. No idea if any were covid or not as he didn't test. I'm just not prepared to lose any more money to this, especially with the cost of living crises.

Nonsense was it only 3 - 4 months

There was as good as a de facto lockdown last Christmas due to Covid, not official as there was no furlough but people were advised not to go out and socialise

Schools were shut for over 4 months in total

a lot of places could only open with social distancing for a long time

furlough went on for a year and a half

minimising the restrictions and the impact is as bad as minimising Covid itself

Doesn't enter my mind until I go on Mumsnet - only place it still exists in my life anyway.

I said the strictest of restrictions ,people need to read my post properly , we didn't have lockdown last Xmas at all ,we had a large wave but there were no restrictions, my son tested positive for omicron just a few days before Xmas, so we didn't visit my elderly parents ,as my mum in particular is very frail ,but I wouldn't visit her if I had any virus tbh .

And I repeatedly said March 2020 to March 2021 was very rocky my kids were off school throughout both school closures despite my youngest having a full EHCP and being at special school ( special schools were largely ignored btw) I'm fully aware that even when schools were open bubbles were bursting left right and centre ,but it's still not been two years of lockdown has it ?

It really depends on what you mean by all over. The 'emergency' and days of measures such as lockdowns, masks etc. are over and should never return. Its questionable whether they had any real effect anyway. But COVID as a virus is here to stay, alongside all the other coronviruses, coughs, colds, flus etc. If it didn't have a name I'm not sure people would know they were ill beyond a cold now that we're all double/triple/quadrupally jabbed and have a much more mild variant in circulation. So it will never be 'over' over, but it will hopefully slide further and further from the front of our minds.

I'm merely pointing out that it hasent been two years of half live,s we had one very disrupted year ,I can't think of anything I can't do now that I couldn't do before the pandemic

I'm in the more than one disrupted year camp. This academic year still hasn't been normal. That's the third academic year of disruption (my son was about to take GCSEs before the first lockdown and has just taken A levels).

It's not entirely back to normal either. I have to wear a mask for my hospital physio. May not sound like a big deal but it's not much fun wearing a mask on an exercise bike. I also have to isolate for my second round of surgery which will involve pretty much not leaving the house for a fortnight and trying to minimise time with my kids.

This summer has felt more normal but we still had to test before getting on a cruise, again it's stressful when you can't test until you get to your destination country and the hassle factor if you test positive. Yes it was our choice but we'd booked it a year before so hoped testing would have been dropped by then.

It's not being selfish to want normality back and to question the huge economics burden and social cost of the lockdowns. The people I know in the elderly and vulnerable category also feel the same way.

I have two kids at school ,they had a normal year in the last academic year ,exams back to normal etc, they are advised to stsy home if they feel unwell for 3 or 5 days but testing isn't compulsory anyway and kids would normally stay off for a few days if they were unwell .