October Becomes November Lockdown

[BlueThursday]

New thread

I suspect this will be the second of many

Well I've got to decide whether to visit my Dad on his 80th birthday next week, it would have been fine this week as in the same health authority but not now as I'm stuck in Scotland's smallest local authority. Zero cases in my past of the county this week according to the map.

@Wbeezer my old dad is 87 and wants me to visit him regardless. I will do as he lives on his own. I’ll have to drive through three LAs but he’s very frail and it’s too cruel not to see him.

gibbons I bloody well hope so! We have just signed DS into the only "boys gymnastics" class Edinburgh leisure is running but it's miles away from us, so we're going to have to get the bus. Except public transport is "essential use only" in level 3. I'd say its pretty essential for us not to have to walk 10 miles return in the dark... so I'm going for the education exemption. Well, they are learning something....

wbeezer yes, you will be providing care for a vulnerable person. Care for his mental health (I'd be pretty down if I was alone on my birthday...), and he's vulnerable due to his age regardless of any health issues.

The thing is my Dad is a stickler for rules, is not bothered about birthdays at all and is as fit as a fiddle. It's me that would be sad not to see him. He's quite enjoying avoiding all social obligations and was moaning about having to do a zoom call tonight with old friends.
I think i will go.

DD's dance now saying back to zoom because they have children from lots of different local authorities coming together.

Nuts.

This virus is pissing me right off.
I've read all the statistics, we've been sooo careful, I've always wiped down my bloody messages, I've got loads of masks and hand gel and dettol sprays, honestly it's like frigging casualty in here...
We don't go out, social distance etc etc, dh has been to one pub since March and bloody caught it there. I think the virus is just laughing at us, like WAYAAYYY...

sorry to moan...

@Wbeezer I’m a bit jealous..my dad is awful, but now terribly frail, no friends, won’t do tech. His elderly sister and husband won’t see him cos of rules, so it’s just me. If he was not so difficult I’d have him move in, but not a starter. But I can’t just abandon him, rules it no rules

Oh, @ssd that’s hard. Did your dh get it but not you?

So far so good for me though I’ve been out loads, all within the rules, since it was allowed. Must be annoying @ssd

Oh such bad luck. Ssd

I was told I had it back in April and wasn’t so bad s9 hope same for you

We live in a stair with loads of other people including students so there was a lot of coming and going

@Wouldbegood, yes I'm lucky my parents are very low maintenance, as my children haven't been! My Dad can be a bit too sensible though, he doesn't do frivolity but I think my mum and I could do with some.

Yes he's fine now and ds and I didn't get it

@ssd that’s good to hear.

Thanks

That’s great ssd but what horribly bad luck

NotAnActualSheep yep definitely going for the educational loop hole here too
As we HE maybe that includes anything & everything I do with the kids....

@ICouldHaveCheckedFirst I think you live near me nearly everything I use is in a different council

Hi, lurker here.

Not travelling out of your health board area made more sense, actually, given that health board area is the relevant unit I would assume for measuring capacity to cope with covid cases.

I also understand the logic of not moving between levels.

But when your local authority in Level 3 is on the edge of a larger local authority in Level 3 where the amenities are, it makes little sense. Consider whether it is necessary, yes, but then we have tickets booked for an outdoor event next week - definitely not necessary, unless you include for mental health (which I think is important). I have been working from home since March, I have two children to look after myself, I have had ‘long covid’ and I have seasonal affective disorder (winter makes me depressed, I usually spend a lot of time out and about to cope). If the event is still running, then we will probably go as outdoors anyway.

Surely an outdoor event is fine? And mental health is absolutely an essential thing. SAD is horrible - 2 family members get it and by February every year I can't wait for the weather to improve.

If you're not on the bringing some light fluffy thread you may want to join for cheer through the dark days.

@KatySun if your outdoor event doesn't bring you in contact with other people and the guidelines continue to be guidelines and not law, then I would definitely go.

Lockdown or partial lockdown is a blunt instrument and particularly now when we've had to live with it for so long, I'd say that sometimes you need to do what makes sense for your family provided its genuinely not going to impact the numbers. For example I'm very glad that during lockdown, my octogenarian DF continued to drive his car once a week as many old people have now lost confidence and cognitive ability so cannot use their vehicles any more.

Mental health does matter and it's important to do things that help with it. An outdoor event is unlikely to increase the spread.

I may book something myself the lights at the Edinburgh Botanics were a lot of fun a couple of years ago. Unfortunately we won't be able to drag teenage DS there, but at the minute with school and rugby, his life is pretty much normal ( fingers crossed that continues).

Meanwhile the bbc has photos of Parisians leaving (to second homes, family?) that won't help the spread! Clearly not all guidance abiding there.

Just posted on the other thread but....

Just heard that S 4,5 and 6 must wear face masks in class in Tier/level 3.

Surely any sort of face covering will be a soggy bacteria ridden mess if worn in classes all day?

Another arbitrary rule that will make no difference to the numbers but will succeed in making people thoroughly miserable. If we were giving up our freedoms and it genuinely made a difference to hospital intakes I’d be all for these rules but know it will make FA difference?! I agree with someone up thread, maybe we should just be testing in care homes and hospitals now.

Mine take multiple masks and sanitise their hands - but agree teaching mask hygiene is really important.