When was the moment you realised covid was serious?

[namechanged984630]

For me I think it was when it hit Italy, so early
March. Until then I really believed it'd be a storm in a tea cup like swine flu.

I remember certain songs I was listening to as I refreshed the news in early March that still give me the heebie jeebies even now.

And I remember taking my dog for a walk at some lakes a few miles away (so drove there) and wondering, on about the fifteenth of March, if it might be the last time for a while. When I was there an elderly man said to me that it was nice to get out to forget the state of the world, I'll always remember that.

I remember seeing the Wuhan hospital be built and only paying the vaguest amount of attention. So arrogant to think it wasn't a problem for us!

On 9/3 When I got a school email at 4pm saying school would be closed with immediate effect for 14 days (not in UK). Came home and spoke to UK family who thought it was all an over reaction! Little did we know!

Pretty early on. Ran into a school parent who was an epidemiologist by speciality but was doing something else. They'd had access to enough data and understood it well enough to look shit scared and evasive.

Ireland shutting down for St.Patrick's Day while we merrily carried on here. That was a real oh fuck moment when the Irish govt is prepared to close the entire hospitality industry and public events for that day.

The Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) speech to the nation while Boris still blustered and talked shite. It made me enormously proud but brought home that this was not going to be a short run event.

Sitting in the kitchen and realising that for a long time, although I kept away from people, I didn't take really take coronovirus seriously enough. (I think I caught it from a family member who had it so mildly that we didn't know he had it). All you doctors and nurses and others who appreciated the dangers and still kept on going to work... those who made their wills or whose partners made their wills....Just 'Thank You'.

Within my NCT group, we all had our babies in March 2016 and had invites out for 4th birthday parties which all got cancelled. I took my DS on a day trip on March 17th for his birthday and then didn't go out again for almost a year.

I was also affected seing McDonalds closed down as it seems to be one of those establishments that are always open.

@TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams that was a great speech by the Taoiseach, sadly I never found anything so motivating leave Boris’s mouth.

I thought the queens covid speech was excellent

There is one thing that sticks in my mind, I think it was late February.

Whilst driving to the supermarket I was listening to Radio 4 and they were talking to a man who I remember was a constitutional historian, although I don't remember his name. He was saying that, in the future, people would look back and think of the time before the coronavirus pandemic, and the time after the coronavirus pandemic, it would be that much of a defining event. At first I thought 'bloody hell, that's a bit melodramatic!' but then genuine unease set in.

to everyone who's lost someone.

When everything got locked down and the stay at home order came. My workplace was mandated to stay open so I would drive the 16 miles to work and back via what is usually a very busy road and saw maybe 2 other vehicles, which were both lorries. It was like the end of the world had arrived.

Well, what a thread this is! It has been nominated for a move to Classics so here it is.

The day the Woohan eye doctor died and the Chinese government lied and said he was alive. :'-(

ps And I was in hospital just before the lockdown . Scared as they were desperately removing half the ward and changing everything round ready . They knew it was coming . Chucking everyone they could out desperately. I was so relieved to go home and rather worried about members of my family and friends who work in hospitals.

I'm a teacher. The day we locked down schools we had a socially distanced meeting, all of us 5 metres from the next person and our head basically said we work for the government and we will do whatever it takes to look after the welfare of our pupils and families through this, this is our call to action. It really, really hit home what some of our kids were going home to and how much help they would need.
I'm still scared, scared for our futures, what the world will look like if we actually get to control this or if it will never quite come under our control. And the financial mess that this will leave long beyond our lifetimes.

@Rollintodarkness
'I'm still scared, scared for our futures, what the world will look like if we actually get to control this or if it will never quite come under our control. And the financial mess that this will leave long beyond our lifetimes.'
Try not to worry too much. None of us knows what the future will bring, but people during the last war probably had the same fears then as many do now. My long dead mother in law used to tell me how scared she was watching film at the cinema showing Hitler screaming out his speeches. Since the last war our country has had its challenges and problems, but this pandemic has been the biggest crisis since 1945. As parents and grandparents, we can't change the current situation but we can try to shield our children as much as possible (almost impossible, I know) and slap on a smile to soften things. If we show we're worried, it will impact them. Big virtual hugs to you.

I think ink it was when they confirmed the schools were indeed closing. It had been discussed in the playground and I was very much of the mindset "don't be so ridiculous " 🤣🤦‍♀️ I remember standing in the kitchen watching Bozza do his Churchill type speech and that hit me, I cried.

I also wrote a letter to my 2 young sons in case I caught covid and died. I was absolutely terrified of catching it and it killing me as I am all my children have. I sobbed writing it. I recently caught covid and was pretty unwell with it, but I've survived.

@PostMenWithACat

I don't think the seriousness has hit us yet. That will come when it becomes evident the country is bankrupt, interest rates increase, inflation increases, unemployment increases. Then the increased cancer deaths will hit us, increased MH issues, etc., a generation of young people deprived of GCSE, A'Level and university experiences. Time will tell us whether locking down caused more or less damage. Personally I don't think the roller coaster ride is over yet.

I'm still slightly in shock that the three week lock down in March 2020 extended until July, then we locked down again in November for another month, then after Christmas and until 12th April, and that we are all still wearing masks.

Of 1000 employees I am aware of about 20/30 who have had covid; all recovered, although one was ventilated. I know three people who have died: a 97 year old man who had had multiple TIA's and caught it in hospital and died within 28 days at his care home - after another TIA; a young man in his early 40s who had stage 4 cancer, who caught covid, recovered but died within 28 days; a neighbour with complex health issues who caught it from her carers and who was on end of life care.

I think the last 17 months have been surreally dystopian but Covid has killed a tiny, tiny percentage of people overall and who have contracted it and I have grave concerns about how statistics have been disseminated to us and the extent to which our human rights and freedoms have been eroded.

I know it's a bit hopeless just to quote others (a long quote too) but I honestly cannot express my feelings better than @PostMenWithACat

Personally, for me it was prob late March. I'm a single parent with 2 kids with ASD. I have pernicious anemia / Vit D deficiency, use a CPap for Apnea & have mobility issues. None of which made me 'CV' or even 'CEB' but I got really scared of what would happen to them if I died.

@Notenoughchocolateomg

That must have been hard. Glad you’re ok. X

I was in Lanzarote with DD technically celebrating her 21st but reality was I was really worried about her health after a terrible virus that Christmas.

Messaged a friend saying this things coming and our government is going to be useless what should we plan?
Flew back 26th February very nervously,
DD went back to Uni in Cheltenham, I went down to pull her out first day of the Cheltenham festival where most of her course and friends were working.
Kept saying throw everything in the car you won't be going back.

By the 10th of March I knew something was not right as my lungs were on fire with no other symptoms.

My Lungs are on fire threads here were an absolute lifeline for me undiagnosed and disbelieved with oxygen dropping below 92% night after night.

I found my people, so compassionate and thoughtful despite being so ill themselves. Some I've since met and some will be friends for life.

Still not well 17 months later.

[quote wantanotherdog]@Rollintodarkness
'I'm still scared, scared for our futures, what the world will look like if we actually get to control this or if it will never quite come under our control. And the financial mess that this will leave long beyond our lifetimes.'
Try not to worry too much. None of us knows what the future will bring, but people during the last war probably had the same fears then as many do now. My long dead mother in law used to tell me how scared she was watching film at the cinema showing Hitler screaming out his speeches. Since the last war our country has had its challenges and problems, but this pandemic has been the biggest crisis since 1945. As parents and grandparents, we can't change the current situation but we can try to shield our children as much as possible (almost impossible, I know) and slap on a smile to soften things. If we show we're worried, it will impact them. Big virtual hugs to you.[/quote]
Absolutely @wantanotherdog that's exactly what I have had to do every day since the whole world went crazy. I go into work, slap on a smile and give every child normality.

2 weeks before lockdown, I was at the hairdressers and asked him if he thought that coronavirus would affect his business. He said no, he thought that it would have to be pretty drastic to stop people getting their hair done. We weren't really worried about it.

1 week later, with the situation rapidly worsening, DD1 rang from the US to say that they were going into quarantine. She begged us to do the same. She is a scientist and had read a lot of peer reviewed papers which indicated the terrible effects of the disease and how many might die. She was very anxious, particularly about me and her dad. She said that it was time to panic when the scientists were scared, and they were scared now. I remember her bursting into tears and saying that we might not all make it through.

DD2 and her family, who live near us, decided to follow her advice and go into quarantine. They took their kids out of school, though the government was talking about prosecuting anyone who did so, and made arrangements to work from home.

I didn't think I would be able to persuade my DH, who is very stubborn, but he reluctantly agreed that we had to lock down. We told the grandkids that it wouldn't be for long and they would be able to come back again soon for sleepovers. How naive we were.

A week later, the schools were closed and the whole country joined us in lockdown.

Mother’s Day, my Nan is in supported living accommodation and went into lockdown before us. We were standing outside her flat and talking to her through the window, it felt surreal.

The one thing I really remember is being fit tested for FFP3 mask at work in a mental, health hospital. This was pre lockdown and we thought it would come via an overseas traveler through our places of safety. About 5 of us were fit tested, only 8 FFP3 masks were available in the hospital at the time. Looking back, it seemed such a remote possibility and we genuinely had no concept of what was to come.

I remember one pp having a go at me for going out for bread and milk. It was a polite, non goady discussion about how many times a week you went shopping.

@Spudlet

And on a lighter note, the time that I went a bit mad cleaning all the light switches with bleach and gave DH an electric shock And DS thought it was so funny that he wanted to see it again! We had to use a wooden spoon to turn the light off again, until it dried out. DH has not let me forget it yet

Shocking ! I wonder if that would be lodged as “ covid related “ in the Registers.

I wonder if future generations will look back with scorn. The way people behaved, partying, marching, refusing to mask up, refusing hand sanitizer. The government's messy handling and of course the sceptics and anti vaccine warriors. I hope the future remember how many did their best too and how front line workers gave so much.

Am late to this thread but hearing the london news regarding the amount of London bus drivers who died at the start of the pandemic was horrific.