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Original poster

October lockdown?

999 replies

Goingdooolally · 04/10/2020 13:24

Hi
I can’t see another thread on this and I think it’s more Scotland than general CV related.

Any thoughts on this? I’m a teacher and there’s been no word at work but I’m hoping to go away for a week in half term (west coast) and really really hoping lockdown doesn’t happen! Selfish I know, but we need a break!

Anyone got any views on the likelihood?

OP posts:
Original poster
Goingdooolally · 08/10/2020 09:47

You are so passive aggressive and patronising @Jodri - you’re not happy for me at all Grin Booked pre pandemic.

OP posts:
aquamarine1 · 08/10/2020 10:15

@Jodri does not speak for everyone. My sister owns a b&b in the western isles and is delighted for guests to come. I'm taking my October holiday too without a single ounce of guilt, what with it not being illegal etc.

ticketiboo · 08/10/2020 10:23

We'd booked to go down to a cottage in County Durham and feel just like many of you, will do so without an ounce of guilt in knowledge we just plan to go on walks, play games, watch movies and enjoy the odd gin. Think rates are very high in the NE of England but we have no plans to venture into the urban areas and will keep ourselves to ourselves, except from maybe a pub lunch if anywhere lets in the dog. Can't wait, it's been a really stressful term and just to be somewhere else taking in new views and breathing in fresh air is going to be wonderful. Hope that everyone who has a break away planned has a lovely time Smile

WaxOnFeckOff · 08/10/2020 10:29

Yep, no guilt here either, we are going to the lake district which comes under the North West but the area we are going to has similarly low levels to my area of central belt. We had a brief moment of anticipation at the thought we may even get a lunch out, but that's likely to be dashed shortly if they lump these areas into the North West where further restrictions are likely to be announced. Apart from one night in Aberdeen dropping DC at uni, I've been looking out the same window since middle of June 1999.

iskwobel · 08/10/2020 10:52

The problem is that everyone wants to argue their corner. It's been turned from a matter of public health into something political that we can all have a personal opinion on. Everyone is "not infectious" when they want to go on holiday. Everyone's sister knows someone who fill in blank to suit . Everyone knows "how bad this has been for mental health and the suicide rate". (I would really like to see some figures on this especially as a percentage of excess deaths. )
Covid doesn't care about your views or your lifestyle choices.
The best thing to do now from a public health point of view would be a return to full lockdown for three weeks including schools. Then a cautious reopening of only schools and essential shops. Coronavirus would resurge but the people who would have died due to those three weeks would be alive.
A return to normal could then be extremely careful so we could actually celebrate Christmas.

This is an economic and political choice by the UK government. They had the money to bail out the banks in 2008. Tesco has just posted profits. The economy is not destroyed, just changing.

If they wanted to the UK government could bail out and support its citizens over the winter.
I wonder if there are any lives that matter to them?

WaxOnFeckOff · 08/10/2020 10:56

..and then gives her own personal opinion on what we should do.... Hmm

SallySeven · 08/10/2020 11:06

( goes without saying really but my personal opinion is:-)
A three week lockdown of the compliant majority won't solve the problem of those who won't be careful. Because they ensure it never is a complete lockdown!

WaxOnFeckOff · 08/10/2020 11:09

Put it this way, if everything was open as normal and all the people who want to, get on with things did so, where is the impact on those who don't want them open?

If you want to stay in your house, not go to pubs and restaurants etc etc you can. You can also not open your business if you want, you can give up your job etc. That way the people impacted are the ones who want to be. Those who require to be shielded can obviously continue to receive support and they could discourage the rest of us from using supermarket slots for those that want to shield on top of that.

Whilst doing it the other way round means lots of frustrated people, collapsed businesses, lost jobs etc from people who are happy to still be open and work, go out etc.

The potential impact is the health service. They could just do what they did before in keeping a reserved amount of beds for those who specifically require treatment "because" of covid and if or when there is no space, then we take our chances.

Ecosse · 08/10/2020 11:12

And then what @iskwobel? We just have continual cycles of lockdown indefinitely?

It’s not sustainable at all and we’d have no recibo my left. It’s totally disproportionate when the vast majority are at minimal risk from this virus.

Ecosse · 08/10/2020 11:12

*no economy left

iskwobel · 08/10/2020 11:12

Lockdown and UBI are not my personal opinion... they have been suggested by public health and policy advisors.

I'm fed up hearing

"I think everyone should just make up their own mind "

It's not just about you though is it. Guess I will just make up my own mind which side of the road I'm driving on today.

WaxOnFeckOff · 08/10/2020 11:14

As far as I'm aware, no-one is making you go anywhere iskwobel.

SallySeven · 08/10/2020 11:15

Iskwobel there needs to be a more authoritarian government or a less obstreperous populace for your lockdown to actually work.

In the case of roads we have police enforcement and the drastic immediate result of a car crash to dissuade those of the "I'll do it my way" mentality.

iskwobel · 08/10/2020 11:18

@Ecosse we really will have an economy left.
We have had pandemics and wars and all kinds of things in the world.
This is a BAD THING. We are going to have to deal with it as a collective society by doing lockdowns and supporting each other financially.
We could just let it rip through and have pure chaos, high numbers of deaths with the associated trauma and impact. Most people have no idea how much we rely on each other to keep society going. There are a huge number of people with so called vulnerability and they are spread equally through all levels of the population.

iskwobel · 08/10/2020 11:20

@WaxOnFeckOff no it's true, I'm getting all my shopping delivered and saving a fortune on petrol 😉

WaxOnFeckOff · 08/10/2020 11:29

Well exactly, and the more of us that are happy to be out and about, spending money, paying tax and therefore supporting the vulnerable, the better. Whether we do that or not has very little impact on those that don't want to, but it has a huge impact on those who do when we do it the other way, locking down etc.

Original poster
Goingdooolally · 08/10/2020 11:40

@iskwobel are you in the shielding category if you don’t mind my asking? Are you going out at all?

OP posts:
iskwobel · 08/10/2020 11:40

My spend doesn't really affect whether the vulnerable are supported @WaxOnFeckOff especially in small businesses. They have had the option to suspend VAT till March 2021.
The government has plenty of options to support businesses and society but the choice is to do things like give massive contracts to their incompetent pals
So we all have to pay with these lockdowns because they couldn't get a handle on it and work together across the 4 nations with a coherent strategy.
Off for some deep breaths now !!!!

SallySeven · 08/10/2020 11:42

I wish they'd restricted international travel very early on but they wouldn't and we are here now.

WaxOnFeckOff · 08/10/2020 11:43

That's a lot of whataboutery really.

People who want to live their lives with the risk are being told they are selfish for wanting to do so, but surely the people being selfish are those who have the option to stay at home with no impact to themselves whilst still telling others they have to too?

iskwobel · 08/10/2020 11:43

I am not in the shielding category at all, thankfully. It was a huge and daunting ask of those who are. But I am generally stuck in working at home.
Without being too outing I have professional knowledge of shielding at a population level.

AnnieHoo · 08/10/2020 11:44

Unlurking here.

People need to live their lives within sensible boundaries. Otherwise, we risk other health consequences and businesses will be destroyed.

WaxOnFeckOff · 08/10/2020 11:46

There are scientists who don't rely on the government for their job and research that shows that these lockdowns don't do any good, reports published in the lancet etc.

There are other ways to interpret the data etc. Do we think that they haven't already been wrong?

iskwobel · 08/10/2020 11:48

People have lost sight of what those sensible boundaries are and just want to carry on as before.

SallySeven · 08/10/2020 11:50

So I can judge you for having shopping delivered when the slots might be more useful for a clinically vulnerable person.

I think the government really could get central allocation of delivery slots sorted.
For the greater good. (I'm joking of course.)

Seriously though if you propose a lockdown you'd have to have a government that enforced it in their own voter heartlands!

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