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Easing of lockdown restrictions?


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1 hour ago, spacecadet said:

I thought very carefully about using the expression "no worries" as I was expecting this. I decided that I am still allowed to speak colloquially on the forum. Thanks for the lecture but I'm well aware of the arguments and I do have two brain cells to rub together! I have also read the news today about hospital admission after vaccination suggesting a fair amount of protection two weeks after the first dose.

There has to come a time when we can go about our lives and manages the risk and after last year I for one need the income.

 

I think the issue is what people mean by "go about our lives".   I have no problem with your work venture, and this seems like a logical next level of activity, safe controlled environment, detailed documentation of people involved.  But when i see people's view of "go about our lives" about things that greatly increases chance of resurgences just for self gratifications, i have some worries that we may be dragging this on for even longer....  

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I heard a 'vox pop' piece on the news the other day regarding vaccine passports to go to the pub. One chap thought it was a very good idea because it's too difficult to socially distance in a pub. I fear that kind of basic misunderstanding of the potential risks is going to be widespread.

 

Until I read MDM's information on the Christmas effect in Ireland I didn't know things had got so bad there again. I cannot understand why there isn't more information made available about how this is spread, surely by now they can be a bit more specific. Do you get it in supermarkets? Are teachers really at no greater risk than other professions? Do I really need to keep spraying the shopping with bleach solution? We have to live our lives according to the latest soundbites but then that's what happens when you can't trust the government to tell the truth anyway.

 

This is a very thorough piece from Reuters about how the 'Kent strain' took hold on the Isle of Sheppey:

 

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/health-coronavirus-uk-variant/

 

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On 25/03/2021 at 16:41, MDM said:

Just because it is legal doesn’t mean it is sensible. If everyone takes that attitude, then it will be back to lockdown in no time. 
 

Meeting people outdoors should be fine from Monday but travelling on public transport unnecessarily would seem to me to be very foolish at this point. You can’t socially distance on trains unless they are almost empty. When is that ever the case in central London? 

I have been using public transport, occasionally, and until recently it has been the safest place to be, with a train carriage or whole bus to myself - even tube trains if you avoid peak times. My last time on a train, last week, was very different. Far busier and a lot harder to avoid people.

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1 hour ago, Harry Harrison said:

I heard a 'vox pop' piece on the news the other day regarding vaccine passports to go to the pub. One chap thought it was a very good idea because it's too difficult to socially distance in a pub. I fear that kind of basic misunderstanding of the potential risks is going to be widespread.

 

Until I read MDM's information on the Christmas effect in Ireland I didn't know things had got so bad there again. I cannot understand why there isn't more information made available about how this is spread, surely by now they can be a bit more specific. Do you get it in supermarkets? Are teachers really at no greater risk than other professions? Do I really need to keep spraying the shopping with bleach solution? We have to live our lives according to the latest soundbites but then that's what happens when you can't trust the government to tell the truth anyway.

 

This is a very thorough piece from Reuters about how the 'Kent strain' took hold on the Isle of Sheppey:

 

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/health-coronavirus-uk-variant/

 


Great article Harry. I read it right through and it is chilling. 
 

i think the risk of spreading through surfaces still exists but is much less significant than aerosol transmission. The biggest problem is who to trust with information as so much of the media has its own agenda. Reuters seems very objective, the BBC is good although sometimes reluctant in recent times to criticise the UK government sufficiently and the Guardian certainly has some excellent and regularly updated information with no fear of criticising what needs to criticised. 
 

I don’t know why Ireland went the way it did, whether there was a political influence on the decision to open up for Christmas. I don’t keep up with Irish politics but the previous prime minister was Leo Varadkar who is a former GP and I assume that the initially very cautious approach would have had a strong element of scientific wisdom feeding into the decision-making. There is now a coalition government there and it is precariously perched so perhaps the decision to open was a crowd-pleaser. I have heard it argued that people would have met up anyway with the strong Irish national tendency to break rules but I think human nature is such that it would be better to keep the rules in place as that would minimise the rule breaking. Anyway the result was devastating. 

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47 minutes ago, Phil Robinson said:

I have been using public transport, occasionally, and until recently it has been the safest place to be, with a train carriage or whole bus to myself - even tube trains if you avoid peak times. My last time on a train, last week, was very different. Far busier and a lot harder to avoid people.


Yes and no doubt it will get much worse next week and thereafter. It will become much more risky for those who have to travel to work by public transport if people use it for unnecessary journeys. 

Edited by MDM
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2 hours ago, meanderingemu said:

 

also even if all people in your activity are vaccinated, there is issue of increasing interactions from non-vaccinated to support the activity, and therefore more chance of variants developing, and having to start all over depending how effective vaccines are to said variants. 

 

Yes we will be able to increase our activities, but i still am worried when I see some of the expectations of return to same as before once developed world has been 70% vaccinated....  

 

I don’t see normality as we have known it returning. We are heading into the permanent new normal. I think this will be a watershed moment with huge societal changes, from office-based working going home-based , remote education and the ultimate demise of what they call the high street in Britain down to basic behaviour such as hand-shaking and cheek-kissing. 

Edited by MDM
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1 hour ago, MDM said:

 

I don’t see normality as we have known it returning. We are heading into the permanent new normal. I think this will be a watershed moment with huge societal changes, from office-based working going home-based , remote education and the ultimate demise of what they call the high street in Britain down to basic behaviour such as hand-shaking and cheek-kissing. 

 

 

i agree.  But and the other side I see plenty of people who think nothing will need to change, or at least they will not change- same as environment to be honest. 

 

The next 5-10 years will be interesting.  

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4 hours ago, meanderingemu said:

 

also even if all people in your activity are vaccinated, there is issue of increasing interactions from non-vaccinated to support the activity, and therefore more chance of variants developing, and having to start all over depending how effective vaccines are to said variants. 

 

Yes we will be able to increase our activities, but i still am worried when I see some of the expectations of return to same as before once developed world has been 70% vaccinated....  

 

Fact is that there are many unknowns about how well -- and for how long -- the vaccines will actually work. New variants seem to pop up out of nowhere, and it's unclear how effective the current vaccines are against them. There is a worrying spike of this particularly nasty one in BC.

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3 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Fact is that there are many unknowns about how well -- and for how long -- the vaccines will actually work. New variants seem to pop up out of nowhere, and it's unclear how effective the current vaccines are against them. There is a worrying spike of this particularly nasty one in BC.

 

 

saw the reports this morning of the variant in BC this is scary, and made worse as we are way behind on variants testing in Ontario.  They are repossessing a bunch of old samples in Ottawa...

 

stay safe 

Edited by meanderingemu
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18 minutes ago, meanderingemu said:

 

 

saw the reports this morning of the variant in BC this is scary, and made worse as we are way behind on variants testing in Ontario.  They are repossessing a bunch of old samples in Ottawa...

 

stay safe 

 

Toi aussi. As usual, the media is all over this latest news like the proverbial cheap suit. Still, it suggests that things are far from normal.

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2 hours ago, MDM said:

 

I don’t see normality as we have known it returning. We are heading into the permanent new normal. I think this will be a watershed moment with huge societal changes, from office-based working going home-based , remote education and the ultimate demise of what they call the high street in Britain down to basic behaviour such as hand-shaking and cheek-kissing. 

 

Ironically, a lot of these changes may prove to be beneficial for society and the environment, which is a weird thing to say given the tragic consequences that the pandemic has had on people's lives. The planet does seem to be in a "reset" mode of some kind.

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5 hours ago, MDM said:

 


Apologies if I misinterpreted you. I think the majority if not the vast majority of people think that vaccination means that the recipients are no longer infectious which is why I posted that link. I do not doubt your intelligence. 
 

The vaccines appear to give high levels of protection against severe Covid (hospitalisation level) but there is a huge range beyond that. When I talk about how long Covid has affected my life, it is simply to provide a first hand perspective, as Covid can appear very remote if one has never been directly affected by it. That is really the reason I am so cautious now and trying to caution others. 
 

As I said previously, I agree with you on the need to work so no worries there. I am as keen to move on and get back towards normality as anyone. 

 

I do look to you for guidance. I know you know what you are talking about.

 

Paulette

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1 hour ago, NYCat said:

 

I do look to you for guidance. I know you know what you are talking about.

 

Paulette

 

Some compliment Paulette. Thank you. I am not an expert. I am mainly just reading from the media but I try to be discerning. My own experience with long Covid makes me want to let people know how awful this disease can be in the longer term way beyond anything to do with death as there are a lot of deniers still around. Because I can speak from direct experience I feel I have the authority to speak my mind in relation to that. I don't want to see these lockdown cycles continue which is why I advise caution in lifting restrictions. It is that simple.

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Hop on a train (off peak) and travel up to Birmingham. Always seem to earn enough in stock sales that pays (eventually) the train fare and have a nice pint or 3 in an old pub somewhere.

 

By the way, does the taking of zinc instead of a vaccine prevent covid ?  ....still some in the town where I live think it's down to 5G phone masts and is a blood disorder.. 🥴

 

 

 

 

 

 

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39 minutes ago, AlbertSnapper said:

 

By the way, does the taking of zinc instead of a vaccine prevent covid ?  ....still some in the town where I live think it's down to 5G phone masts and is a blood disorder.. 🥴

 

 

 

 

I don’t know about zinc but I hear arsenic works wonders. You never have to worry about anything again. 

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1 hour ago, AlbertSnapper said:

Hop on a train (off peak) and travel up to Birmingham. Always seem to earn enough in stock sales that pays (eventually) the train fare and have a nice pint or 3 in an old pub somewhere.

 

By the way, does the taking of zinc instead of a vaccine prevent covid ?  ....still some in the town where I live think it's down to 5G phone masts and is a blood disorder.. 🥴

 

 

 

 

 

 

A day in Oxford does the same for me. Bit wary of the park and ride at the moment.

 

Stay safe.

 

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1 hour ago, AlbertSnapper said:

....still some in the town where I live think it's down to 5G phone masts...

 

 

next time anyone says that to you ask them, if that's so, why is covid rampant in Brazil - which doesn't have 5G.

 

Don't expect a rational answer though.

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4 hours ago, Mr Standfast said:

A day in Oxford does the same for me. Bit wary of the park and ride at the moment.

 

Stay safe.

 

 

I haven't used any of the Oxford park and rides for over a year. Now I usually park in a side street some way out from the city centre and walk in along the Cowley Road. It's an interesting walk. Still have to avoid people though.

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As for myself I am waiting till my second jab in the middle of April (if there is any vaccine left that is) and allowing it time to take effect before even thinking of relaxing a little. I will still be masking up and "social distancing" when I do start going out of my local area again though.

 

Allan

 

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A few of my neighbours have had their second jab and I shall certainly hot-foot-it along to the health centre as soon as I get the call. But even after it has had a chance to seep in, I won't be "ripping the ass out of it" A trip to the beach with a cold beer and a sandwich with a bit of warm sun would be really nice! We're getting the table & chairs out for the patio so we can invite a few over for a drink and nibble soon. That's what normal looks like here. An extra hour at the end of the day is always very welcome, that's my idea of coming out of lock-down. Canada changed their clocks a couple of weeks ago, has that always been the case? I think I've found all the clocks, but there is often one I miss. My mobile has to be done manually and I always have to hunt it down

Edited by Robert M Estall
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16 hours ago, AlbertSnapper said:

Hop on a train (off peak) and travel up to Birmingham.

It may change, slowly but right now you hardly need to wait for off-peak, price permitting of course.

This was a peak-time Inter-City from Euston (1902) arriving at Lime Street last month.

2ET6C0N.jpg

I count about 15 and there may be a few more round the curve. The train holds (held) 480.

Edited by spacecadet
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1 hour ago, spacecadet said:

It may change, slowly but right now you hardly need to wait for off-peak, price permitting of course.

This was a peak-time Inter-City from Euston (1902) arriving at Lime Street last month.

2ET6C0N.jpg

I count about 15 and there may be a few more round the curve. The train holds (held) 480.

 

I've had to use the trains a handful of times this last year, for work reasons.

 

Back in April 2020 I found it quite eerie being the only person on a three coach train (apart from the guard and driver) travelling from Gloucestershire to Bristol with my pushbike on a weekday morning. Strange indeed when all this was new to us.

 

I just hope the drop in numbers doesn't become an excuse for excessive government cuts.

 

 

 

 

Edited by AlbertSnapper
grammer !
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