To ask if we’re heading for another lockdown?

[TreeLine6]

So covid cases are rising and like clockwork, the likes of independent sage are back in the media calling for ‘protections’ like masks, isolation and social distancing to “avoid full lockdown”.

Is it time to reintroduce some measures like the rule of 6, a cap on large events numbers and maybe distancing and early closure for hospitality as independent sage are calling for?

Personally I feel that with vaccines and treatments, we are now in the best position we’re going to get with covid and would be very reluctant to comply with further measures, that themselves cause enormous harm.

@vodkaredbullgirl

Unfortunately I think we are 🙄

No the burden will be on individuals to make personal choices. Vaccinate, self distance and only go to places they feel personally safe.

The country can't afford another lockdown. My mental health is terrible at the moment (I'm going onto medication) and whilst I've a lot of stuff going on the COVID period and all its strangeness hasn't helped.

I have my opion you have yours we don't have to agree. Majority of complication where from people who had underlined problems but caught covid. Covid alone wasn't to blame the research shows that. Dont Tey causing arguments over a different of opions

No, of course we're not.

No definitely not. If there was nobody, including myself would take any notice.

No, because people need to work to pay their bills, to support families, to care for others.
The amount of money wasted on previous knee-jerk lockdowns means that my children and grandchildren will be paying this back for years to come. This is not Ebola - we must live with Covid.

Lockdowns are a luxury we cannot afford.

Whilst it was great that you were fine please remember that there are many who were not. My 4th dose of COVID broke me for weeks in June this year and I still use an inhaler. I was previously fit and healthy, but COVID 4 times has honestly reduced my physical and mental capacity now. I really, really don't want it again, for me, my children and my DP who has had to reduce to part time work after being severely ill with it.

The hospitality industry is being hammered by rising costs and fewer customers as it is. Another lockdown would kill it off completely.

I had the mild version and was unable to stay awake for a week. I still need to sleep 10 hours to avoid exhaustion months later. I can see how it absolutely could kill an elderly or very ill person, even as a mild illness. I hope there will be some regulation around isolation periods to avoid spreading it more. Even when elderly people are vaccinated they can get very ill. I don't think one of my elderly relatives has recovered even 6 months later.

@Whyarewehardofthinking

But are you vaccinated?

Healthcare in Scotland never STOPPED the mask wearing! Go to my GP's website and you have to click away from the COVID-19 pandemic precautions pop up. Dentists, opticians, pharmacists - all still wearing masks.

Anyone who thinks the reintroduction of masks and social distancing is "reasonable" obviously doesn't have anyone working in restaurants, bars, theatre, cinema or anywhere else in the hospitality sector.

I don't care about Covid any more. I have had my boosters to date, and as I'm 50, am booked for a flu/Covid booster in a couple of weeks. We've all had Covid in this house, we're not scared of it any more. I am not prepared to live a half-life because of this virus. And before someone calls me selfish because I don't care about some theoretical vulnerable person I may or may not come across in Tesco - you're right. I don't give any headspace to that, just in the same way nobody gave headspace to it in 2019. Obviously don't go out if you're obviously ill. But the testing, masks, distancing and the rest of it to "protect the vulnerable" - nah.

I don't see how another lock down can be justified at the moment, even if Covid is on the up. We're going to get waves of it periodically, like we do with 'flu (which is also a killer), but we don't lock down for that. There's a fair amount of immunity now, even though it's not perfect and does go down.

I do think though that people should wear a good quality mask if they have any hint that they might have a respiratory virus of any kind, and follow normal infection control procedures (hand washing etc) as we'll have a bad cold and flu season this year as well as Covid and it might just stop someone getting very ill.

I 100% agree it would be a bad idea but not sure where all the 'we won't comply with it anyway' posters are coming from - the OP mainly mentioned hospitality regulations, if the govt puts them in place (again I REALLY HOPE THEY DON'T) you won't have any choice but to comply with them, same as the last 3 lockdowns. e.g. if weddings are limited to 20, venues won't go ahead with 200 guests and risk losing their license. Same with pubs and groups over 6. If the govt decided to close all venues over 20 people, or restrict shop opening times/things you could sell, as the welsh goverment did last year, basically cancelling all indoor and outdoor christmas events, then you have no choice but to comply because everything you booked was shut down!

Yes people probably wouldn't comply with the limiting people only out of doors/not mixing indoors outside of your household regulations but that's not what the OP suggested, so it's irrelevant.

Absolutely not, not a single justification for it. No measures are required and public support and adhering to anything would be low. I’m baffled why people are still testing and asking about “the rules” - that ship has sailed, if you are poorly you are poorly so act accordingly.

Covid will always be around, now. Like flu and it’s many strains, covid is now seasonal, and will especially spike, especially around winter time. Given this we can’t be having more lockdowns other wise we would be having an annual lockdown every year for eternity!

Surely we just have to accept that covid is here to stay and we just have to get on with it.

i noticed they were all sitting on the same couch on grahem norton

No they'll never do another lockdown. How can they when they were partying at Christmas? Nobody would follow it.

Covid lockdowns and rules are the least of our worries anyway. Probably end up in a war soon.

Nobody will stop me seeing my family whether it's illegal or not. I'll wear a mask and get a booster but that's as far as I'm willing to go.

They won't do it and I personally would not comply.

Triple vaccinated. And since my third vaccine I've had it twice. The last time (literally infection number 4) was the worst for me. My DP was infected in January 2021 and nearly died. We are both mid 40s, did park runs and healthy. Both still unwell. We are teachers, so have caught it time and time again.

There is constant sampling of population groups who have regular testing. With the right sampling techniques, you can extrapolate to the entire country with a high level of confidence.

There are also other monitoring techniques, including sewage sampling.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing. I don't see the need for a lockdown. But it would be sensible to enforce mask wearing in health care settings, reintroduce free testing and ask those who test positive to isolate to get us through the winter but since this Government couldn't care less about protecting the NHS that won't happen.

I hope not but on a selfish perspective I don’t want DH, a doctor to have to deal with what he went through working on a Covid ward. Hopefully the numbers of hospital Covid cases won’t continue to increase.

Definitely not. I was terrified of contracting Covid in 2020 and very keen on the lockdowns.

Cut to 4 weeks ago - I got Covid and like it is for almost all people, it was like one of my colds with a bit of a cough and lingering catarrh.

It's now like flu in that some people are very vulnerable and they need to be protected - and do what they can to protect themselves - in the same way as happens with flu.

I’m in Sydney and we had an awful wave of covid, flu and rsv over Christmas, but even we didn’t have any lockdowns as we have high vaccination levels and no one would have done it after our prolonged lockdown in 2021.
We got through it, our cases have dropped dramatically now that winter is over.