AIBU to be sick of people who think it's all back to normal?

[JanusTheFirst]

Woke to the news that my cousin died early this morning of Covid. No underlying conditions and she was vaccinated. But she was elderly. She hardly ever went out but must have picked it up on a rare outing to the local shop.

People are still dying and we should still be looking out for those vulnerable to this awful disease. It isn't all back to normal. My cousin is dead and she wouldn't be but for Covid.

All the tests I've seen (Tesco, savers, boots) have been around £2 each. Boots sells 5 for around £10.

Some people have no symptoms or will have been out and about before symptoms present.

£10 for my family of 5 then?? Not affordable is it?

So many excuses here...

Wearing a mask to a shop, pharmacy and public transport (places where other people have to be) when feeling unwell doesn't cost anything. You don't need a government order to be a decent human being.

Actually, combined tests for covid and flu (with saliva sample collection option) exist, so especially those meeting their vulnerable relatives have a choice - mitigate the risk or shout about living with virus.

She was elderly. I’m sorry for your loss but we all have to die of something. Locking up young people or restricting their lives to protect people who have already had theirs isnt the answer.

I believe they don't work at protecting the wearer of the mask but they work (to some extent at least) at protecting other people if the wearer of the mask is infectious themselves, particularly if they are coughing.
The flaw is that people generally won't wear a mask while they feel well (I'm the same) and Covid (like flu) is most infectious before the symptoms really show.

I would still wear a mask if I was coughing though, it could protect some people from catching my infection.

@x2boys yes I agree. And I hear of more and more people who can't afford to stay off work when they have COVID but think they can work through it. I don't have the answer but I know lots of - otherwise relatively healthy - people are carrying on working while they have it.

What about people who work in a school though, like me? People have to be there but it is reasonable to expect all school staff and all pupils to wear masks forever because it's a "place where other people have to be"?

I also work in a place 'where people have to be'

There's no chance in hell they would wear a mask. Not a chance

And there's also no way I could wear one either

I am sorry you lost your cousin, that is very sad, however unfortunately as the first poster (quite coldly I'll add) said, flu and other viruses kill many elderly people every year. Covid is now treated like another flu (I work in public health) we continue to monitor it to make sure there isn't a huge spike in hospitalisations/deaths as new variants appear but generally speaking it is now just another virus endemic in the population. It is unlikely to go away, unfortunately people will continue to die, mostly the elderly or clinically vulnerable, the world can't stay locked away forever. This doesn't mean that every death isn't tragic, I don't value an elderly person's life any less than anyone else.

I agree. It's unrealistic to expect workers in places "where people have to be" like schools, supermarkets etc to wear masks all day when the general population don't. People who suggest this never work in such places themselves, in fact they often seem to predominantly work from home

No excuses from me. Masks don't work and I don't want to wear one

Well, I’m back to normal, as in I don’t do anything differently compared to pre-Covid. The environment around me isn’t, as in there are even longer NHS waiting lists, inflation and resulting higher interest rates, increase of deaths from heart disease, developmental issues in children etc. But the majority of those are as direct result of the measures taken against the pandemic, not as a direct result of Covid itself. So I don’t attribute them to Covid, but the government, and to some extent, the media and the people.

Exactly this

Unfortunately it's not just the test though is it ,as I said my.dh,currently has a virus ,according to.his employer he had already had too much time off sick ,he has underlying health issues,and ironically was classed as CEV,during lockdown ,if he doesn't go to work tomorrow he loses his job ,we can't afford for him to lose his job.

I'm sorry for your loss. It's fair to ask that people test and stay home if they are unwell. There will be higher deaths even with treatments, because there is an additional virus now, it's unfortunate but we can't wish away covid. We do all need to live our lives now though, young children and young adults especially missed out on an awful lot of normal life the last few years, and it is not fair to ask them to continue to do so.

even working in the nhs covid is now counted as part of your sick leave
we dont have to test unless we have symptoms
even so, if you are working in a busy department without masses of staff to cover you, people go into work
sadly the attitude towards sick leave for colds has not changed at all, which is appalling.

It's really sad your cousin passed away.

But it's not realistic to expect the entire population of the UK to keep testing and isolating as covid is never going away.

As sad as it is, I'm actually quite heartened by this thread.

Majority agree we have to continue as normal. About time too

I’m so sorry for your loss and the lack of empathy from some people on here. I completely agree with you that it’s being pushed out that all is back to normal when it clearly isn’t. My husband works in frontline healthcare and he gets a different view of it to the average person. I’m clinically vulnerable too and I don’t understand why we are so against wearing masks in this country on public transport or in shops. For most people this is only an hour at the most whereas my husband and his colleagues have to wear them 12 goes plus. Probably the same people who stood and clapped for the NHS.
@TwilightSkies exactly there is no lasting immunity with covid this is the problem.

My friend killed herself during lockdown. She had mental health issues but she managed them well with exercise and socializing.

Should I lay her death at your door op? Do you think that is fair? She was in her early twenties.

How about the hoardes of children missing their developmental milestones due to COVID measures? Or the disabled children who were without any kind of support? The children killed by domestic violence? The murder and arrest of women doing things that were perfectly legal in 2019? Happy to take responsibility for that? After all, it was COVID measures that directly caused these issues and more.

As many others have said, what you want is not feasible long-term or supported by the government. It is not fair to ask people struggling with the cost of living crisis or rebuilding their slow businesses after being left out to dry to by the government whilst many were on furlough to stay home and test, losing out financially, so people can feel safer. And it is feel safer, not actually measurably safer.

We now know COVID passes asymptomatically, we know masks don't work, we know elderly people and the vulnerable are vulnerable to it, as they are vulnerable to flu and other seasonal viruses. None of this means we should practically lock down or change our lifestyles as it makes little difference.

Yabu op. COVID is here to stay and is yet another factor you will have to work into your own risk factors, we all die of something and to be quite frank your elderly relative was lucky to have so much time when so many people don't get it.

I work in retail. At the start of covids first lockdown I took 3 months unpaid leave as the news was like we would be stepping over dead bodies in the street and I panicked as I have my elderly not in good health mum living with me. Went back after 3 months as I wasn’t entitled to any money and needed to earn. Worked though the rest of the 2 years with abuse from the public, short tempers, some ignoring the one way systems, social distancing and others taking it to the extreme and jumping down the throat of anyone within 2 meters of their back. Wore masks, rubbed my hands raw with sanitizer all for 10p an hour over minimum wage.
i have been jabbed 4 times and still got covid and I have just recovered from flu which was worse than the covid. I won’t be going back to wearing masks or social distancing or paying for tests. I am sorry for your loss but old people die every winter of flu. My own father did long before covid. I worry more about the younger people who will now die of cancer due to lack of diagnosis for 2 years. Children who have lost 2 years of their childhood and education. People who have lost income and businesses. People who are now having to choose between heating their homes and buying food due to the energy crisis and cost of living crisis. People who are at risk of losing their homes due to large mortgage rate increases. Shutting down the world for 2 years was never going to be a good idea yet they did it anyway.

Re people out spreading flu-

If someone genuinely has flu they simply can’t crack on, you literally cannot get out of bed, so unlikely to be out spreading it.

Had flu last year and Covid - flu was way worse, although felt terribly tired for 3 weeks post Covid.

Same in schools. Covid absence is now counted as part of our sick leave. Take too much and it will be used against you.
We no longer get free LFTS from
work so if we start to feel ill we are expected to still come in untested. If we buy our own and have Covid we need to provide photographic evidence of the positive flow test. Employers have massively tightened up on this.

I had Covid just before Christmas. I started testing negatively on Christmas Eve but was asymptomatic - other than what I thought was a normal cold - and wasn't sure when the Covid had begun. The only reason I tested was that I was to meet 3 friends for coffee a few days before Christmas, two of whom would be in the 'vulnerable' category. They were pleased I had tested, as I could have ruined Christmases otherwise.

This was my 3rd time getting Covid. Pre-vaccinations, it was horrendous and I didn't know if I'd make it. It's been fine both times since the vaccs with only mild symptoms. I don't have an active social life, as I'm a homebody, but do work in a school.

Anyway, I'm a single parent and did have to knowingly go out to buy Christmas food with Covid. I felt awful about it, but didn't really have a choice. I wore a mask and kept gloves on throughout. Tried to keep my distance even though the shop was rammed. At least because I knew I had it, I could practise some sort of damage limitation

I have now run out of tests - I used to get plenty from school - so wouldn't test quite as freely now. Or at least not unless I really had to.

I'm so sorry about your cousin, OP.