Coronavirus precautions: Has the world gone mad?

[route101]

Was speaking a young person today. He said hes not likely to go out till next year ,he dosent think its safe. Blimey.

 

[Huntergreed]

Was speaking a young person today. He said hes not likely to go out till next year ,he dosent think its safe. Blimey.

I know a lot of people like this.

Some people on my university course, completely young and healthy, have not left their home once throughout this lockdown and have stated they don’t feel safe doing so until 0 cases or a vaccine. I know some people in my neighbourhood who fully intend to quit their job because the government are “sacrificing their family”. There’s many people I know who are going to buy cars and never would have even considered doing so before this. The messaging was, and continues to be, far too aggressive and driven by fear and it’s going to prove very difficult to try and convince the population that they’re not all going to die as we try and reopen the country again.

 

[Journeyman]

I know a lot of people like this.

Some people on my university course, completely young and healthy, have not left their home once throughout this lockdown and have stated they don’t feel safe doing so until 0 cases or a vaccine. I know some people in my neighbourhood who fully intend to quit their job because the government are “sacrificing their family”. There’s many people I know who are going to buy cars and never would have even considered doing so before this. The messaging was, and continues to be, far too aggressive and driven by fear and it’s going to prove very difficult to try and convince the population that they’re not all going to die as we try and reopen the country again.

I'll take any job anyone doesn't want, seeing as mine seems to have disappeared.

 

[MikeWM]

Unfortunately it is a lot harder to do so in Scotland, but I would strongly recommend getting out and about where possible. It is mostly reassuring (except for the occasional strange person, like the corner-jumping woman in Ely today...). Most people are just getting on with stuff. Norwich today looked like a normal Saturday, very few masks, no-one at all following the one-way system in the market. Someone had even
spray-painted a sheep next to a ‘keep apart’ sign on the pavement

 

[DB]

I know a lot of people like this.

Some people on my university course, completely young and healthy, have not left their home once throughout this lockdown and have stated they don’t feel safe doing so until 0 cases or a vaccine. I know some people in my neighbourhood who fully intend to quit their job because the government are “sacrificing their family”. There’s many people I know who are going to buy cars and never would have even considered doing so before this. The messaging was, and continues to be, far too aggressive and driven by fear and it’s going to prove very difficult to try and convince the population that they’re not all going to die as we try and reopen the country again.

Wonder what the people planning on giving up their job intend to do when the job centres reopen and they are told they have to go in and sign on if they want any money? Surely they would regard the job centre as being as dangerous as most workplaces? That's if they are eligible at all, of course, given that they have intentionally made themselves jobless. Or do they thnk the government will just continue to dish out furlough payments indefinitely?

The cars thing I can understand - I'm in the same position myself - but that's because of the hostile attitude from public transport providers in my case (and doubtless that of many others too).

The 'masks on public transport' thing is obviously intended to be seen to be doing something to try to placate the phobics. I wonder whether it will backfire though - will the phobics decide it's still too dangerous and not use it, and those who are not phobic also decide not to use it because of the masks requirement and general hostility / jobsworthery?

 

[scotrail158713]

Was speaking a young person today. He said hes not likely to go out till next year ,he dosent think its safe. Blimey.

Some people on my university course, completely young and healthy, have not left their home once throughout this lockdown and have stated they don’t feel safe doing so until 0 cases or a vaccine.

I just can’t understand this at all. Surely they’re going stir-crazy? Ultimately for no reason at all. Yes, I have the odd day I don’t leave the house at all, but that’s my own laziness more than fear of the virus.

 

[route101]

Unfortunately it is a lot harder to do so in Scotland, but I would strongly recommend getting out and about where possible. It is mostly reassuring (except for the occasional strange person, like the corner-jumping woman in Ely today...). Most people are just getting on with stuff. Norwich today looked like a normal Saturday, very few masks, no-one at all following the one-way system in the market. Someone had even
spray-painted a sheep next to a ‘keep apart’ sign on the pavement

Ive started going out once or twice a week , good for the mind and something to lookforward to.

 

[route101]

I just can’t understand this at all. Surely they’re going stir-crazy? Ultimately for no reason at all. Yes, I have the odd day I don’t leave the house at all, but that’s my own laziness more than fear of the virus.

Yeah, i couldnt do it! I think its an atitude of ' i give up'

 

[route101]

I know a lot of people like this.

Some people on my university course, completely young and healthy, have not left their home once throughout this lockdown and have stated they don’t feel safe doing so until 0 cases or a vaccine. I know some people in my neighbourhood who fully intend to quit their job because the government are “sacrificing their family”. There’s many people I know who are going to buy cars and never would have even considered doing so before this. The messaging was, and continues to be, far too aggressive and driven by fear and it’s going to prove very difficult to try and convince the population that they’re not all going to die as we try and reopen the country again.

Yeah , strange , the scaremongering has worked! I didnt reason with him.

 

[island]

I also wonder what is so uniquely dangerous about the Apple store that they were *requiring* people to wear masks to go in, which no-one else was. Should I be particularly wary of my iPad from now on?

Disney Store and jewellers were the same in Westfield White City today.

 

[Gadget88]

Im trying to rearrange a birthday party which is a pain as I have no idea how it can happen. I guess people who have small weddings planned have the same issue?

 

[Bletchleyite]

This is a line used by people who are beginning to lose the argument.

Could be worse, he could have invoked Godwin...though that of course would have meant he lost the argument

 

[Bletchleyite]

I know a lot of people like this.

Some people on my university course, completely young and healthy, have not left their home once throughout this lockdown and have stated they don’t feel safe doing so until 0 cases or a vaccine. I know some people in my neighbourhood who fully intend to quit their job because the government are “sacrificing their family”. There’s many people I know who are going to buy cars and never would have even considered doing so before this. The messaging was, and continues to be, far too aggressive and driven by fear and it’s going to prove very difficult to try and convince the population that they’re not all going to die as we try and reopen the country again.

I do find that quite bizarre, particularly in young people who are near enough certainly not going to die of it. Personally I've left the house in some form pretty much every day since it started for some form of exercise or to go to the shop. This is actually more often than I normally do in winter, it's not totally unusual for me to not leave the house at all for a couple of days if it's grim - there's something about having the feeling things might be tightened further to make you make use of something you can do.

 

[MDB1images]

Maybe one of the MODS can tidy this up but hopefully you'll see the kit the Qatar Airways crew are wearing in this tweet!

https://mobile.twitter.com/AirlineFlyer/status/1274145379773222913/photo/1

 

[43066]

I do find that quite bizarre, particularly in young people who are near enough certainly not going to die of it. Personally I've left the house in some form pretty much every day since it started for some form of exercise or to go to the shop. This is actually more often than I normally do in winter, it's not totally unusual for me to not leave the house at all for a couple of days if it's grim - there's something about having the feeling things might be tightened further to make you make use of something you can do.

In extreme cases like that, you can’t rule out mental health/anxiety issues. A family member of mine suffers from severe health related anxiety. Unfortunately he also has mild asthma, so is classified as high risk. The alarmist messaging over the last few months have been an absolute nightmare for him.

 

[Huntergreed]

In extreme cases like that, you can’t rule out mental health/anxiety issues. A family member of mine suffers from severe health related anxiety. Unfortunately he also has mild asthma, so is classified as high risk. The alarmist messaging over the last few months have been an absolute nightmare for him.

I suffer from anxiety myself, and I must admit I did find the very alarmist and fear driven messaging extremely intimidating to begin with, but as things progressed I was able to consider the bigger picture and realised that the risks associated with this virus for me are minimal.
I know for a fact that a lot of the people I know who are scared of the virus are not suffering from any mental health issue (and I’m not just making an assumption, I know this for a fact). I can only imagine how badly someone with severe anxiety has been affected by the messaging used, which I do honestly think was unacceptably alarmist looking back. I honestly don’t know how the government can convince everyone that they’re not going to die as we try and move back to normal. It’s not going to be easy.

 

[LAX54]

Not sure what S.D was laike in Clacton today, but the A133/A120 at 1100 had at least a 4 mile queue of traffic jammed up !

 

[LAX54]

I suffer from anxiety myself, and I must admit I did find the very alarmist and fear driven messaging extremely intimidating to begin with, but as things progressed I was able to consider the bigger picture and realised that the risks associated with this virus for me are minimal.
I know for a fact that a lot of the people I know who are scared of the virus are not suffering from any mental health issue (and I’m not just making an assumption, I know this for a fact). I can only imagine how badly someone with severe anxiety has been affected by the messaging used, which I do honestly think was unacceptably alarmist looking back. I honestly don’t know how the government can convince everyone that they’re not going to die as we try and move back to normal. It’s not going to be easy.

I think every Country in the World has backed themselves into a corner, that it is hard to get out of, they instilled the fear factor so much, that even the level headed began to wonder !
When you think the WORLD POP is 8 BILLION of which 8 MILLION caught the virus and WORLDWIDE 460,000 have died from it, 460,000 is a lot, but taken in context....
and the UK 305,000 caught it out of 65 MILLION...not got a clue what that works out in % terms

 

[Huntergreed]

I think every Country in the World has backed themselves into a corner, that it is hard to get out of, they instilled the fear factor so much, that even the level headed began to wonder !
When you think the WORLD POP is 8 BILLION of which 8 MILLION caught the virus and WORLDWIDE 460,000 have died from it, 460,000 is a lot, but taken in context....
and the UK 305,000 caught it out of 65 MILLION...not got a clue what that works out in % terms

I agree entirely, the fear factor was pushed far too much and we’re now seeing the negative consequences of this.
The statistics you have provided suggest:

0.1% of the global population have had the virus.

0.00575% of the global population have died from it.

0.47% of the UK population have had the virus.

 

[LAX54]

I agree entirely, the fear factor was pushed far too much and we’re now seeing the negative consequences of this.
The statistics you have provided suggest:

0.1% of the global population have had the virus.

0.00575% of the global population have died from it.

0.47% of the UK population have had the virus.

Thankyou for the breakdown, makes you think a bit ! Not that I would want to go awayon holiday abroad yet, mainly as other countries are in the same mess we are !
I see Spain says we can go there from Sunday, but of course the FCO say 'No' so no travel insurance, and of course another 2 weeks isloated when you get home

 

[DB]

0.1% of the global population have had the virus.

It could well be way more than that, given that in many countries (including the UK) a fairly low proportion have been actually tested. Many people will have had it with no symptoms and not even realised, or with minor symptoms and not reported it to anyone. Unless there is systematic testing of a statistically-significant number of people for antibodies, the true numbers will quite likely be significantly under-estimated.

 

[185143]

The governments of both the UK and the devolved administrations (less so N. Ireland) are all suffering from this. The government seem to want to stay in lockdown as they have control over the population, they can be seen to be 'doing a good job' if the death rate falls, and they seem to be insisting on continuing with these endlessly restrictive measures to the point where everything I enjoy in life has either been forbidden completely or altered to a point where it is no longer enjoyable. A society this closed-minded and unable to accept any form of risk to the point where all enjoyment of life is taken away is not one I want to live in and I think this game of 'who can pander to the lockdown enthusiasts most' must stop. It was, in my opinion, completely unacceptable for the government, after allowing cases to climb high when initially pursuing natural herd immunity (which in my opinion was the correct approach) to impose is into an extensive period of statutory house arrest because they are pandering to the public who, with all due respect, do not understand anything about epidemiology, medicine, or economics, and should not be trusted to make decisions on this sort of issue.

What has happened in this country is quite disgusting. Our children and young adults have been robbed of their entitlement to quality education, many business owners and honest, hard workers have lost their jobs, and anything that made life even remotely enjoyable or worth living has been removed and is being threatened to return with restrictions that take the enjoyable aspects away. This is not a society I want to live in, and it's all made worse by the fact that it seems nobody in the cabinet seems to have a clue what they're actually doing and are just taking part in a glorified high school popularity contest with the vocal extremists of the pro-lockdown campaign. It's a national disgrace (I'm not one to say things like that lightly), and we need to get a grip and come down from cloud 9 and face the reality that we are now dealing with. The only way to exit this pandemic now that the elimination strategy is impossible (cases are too high) is to eventually reach herd immunity through either a vaccine or natural immunity, and as there's no sign of a vaccine anytime soon, I'm sure it doesn't take a PhD in Epidemiology to figure out what we're likely going to have to do to prevent economic collapse, which we're facing head-on unless we start changing our approach.

I completely agree with every single word you just said.

I could understand caution from someone highly vulnerable or related to someone who is. But the rest of society need to get on with life again or, at the very least lock themselves away while the rest of us function as humans.

An end to the Furlough scheme for all except workers who's businesses have been told CANNOT open should sharpen the minds too.

As others have said upthread, I have no intention whatsoever of spending any time/money anywhere that will require people to be muzzled. No Rugby League, no pubs and compulsory muzzles on public transport. What a time to be alive!

 

[BJames]

Maybe one of the MODS can tidy this up but hopefully you'll see the kit the Qatar Airways crew are wearing in this tweet!

https://mobile.twitter.com/AirlineFlyer/status/1274145379773222913/photo/1

Now this is something out of a movie. I shall be staying away from international travel until this type of kit is dropped. It would feel rather like being in a hospital isolation ward for anything from 7-12 hours+.

I'm struggling to come to a balanced point on this one. I see why staff need protection of course but is this not over the top? Anyway let's not give the government any ideas

 

[Scrotnig]

I know some people in my neighbourhood who fully intend to quit their job because the government are “sacrificing their family”.

This of course is their right, as long as they can finance it themselves and don't expect everyone to pay for their silly rock-hiding shenangians.

Again I suspect much of this is borne of people not realising that being on benefits isn't quite the easy ride the press often make it out to be.

 

[BJames]

Population aren't scared enough.

We need to stop going outside, people are dying.

We need to bring back police authority to start getting some discipline in society. Life today is far too 'namby-pamby', if you do wrong then you need to deal with it and be held acountble, and this would do that.

Incorrect. Check your facts and come back to us.

Edit: In case this genuinely needs explaining in basic terms.
Today, 1295 new cases of covid-19 were recorded in the UK. That's 0.0019% of the population. Stop trying to scaremonger people. If you step outside your front door it won't kill you.



**Edit 2: The original post I was referring to has gone and was apparently a joke, fortunately.

 

[Journeyman]

Population aren't scared enough.

We need to stop going outside, people are dying.

We need to bring back police authority to start getting some discipline in society. Life today is far too 'namby-pamby', if you do wrong then you need to deal with it and be held acountble, and this would do that.

Edit: I'm not actually being serious!! I'm merely throwing in the main public opinion to prove just how easy it is to disprove it. The public really have no clue!

Do you have an independent income?

 

[Scrotnig]

Population aren't scared enough.

We need to stop going outside, people are dying.

We need to bring back police authority to start getting some discipline in society. Life today is far too 'namby-pamby', if you do wrong then you need to deal with it and be held acountble, and this would do that.

Edit: I'm not actually being serious!! I'm merely throwing in the main public opinion to prove just how easy it is to disprove it. The public really have no clue!

Phew! You had me going for a minute there. I was already mentally preparing a rant until I saw the last line....

 

[BJames]

Phew! You had me going for a minute there. I was already mentally preparing a rant until i saw the last line....

Same! I had to delete the start of a response once I saw that it was not serious... thankfully

 

[DB]

It is telling though, isn't it, that the situation has become so extreme that it's difficult to differentiate between a parody and genuinely-held views!

 

[Bletchleyite]

In extreme cases like that, you can’t rule out mental health/anxiety issues. A family member of mine suffers from severe health related anxiety. Unfortunately he also has mild asthma, so is classified as high risk. The alarmist messaging over the last few months have been an absolute nightmare for him.

I believe asthma has been demoted a bit in the scheme of vulnerability now it's understood that the disease is more of a blood vessel (in the lungs) than a respiratory disease. Indeed, it's quite possibly the case that asthma preventer inhalers, as they are a corticosteroid, actually reduce the risk a bit, whereas at the start the big concern was the slight (and it is very slight at mild-asthma type doses) immune suppressant effect they have on the side.

Also a blue inhaler can be quite useful if you do have breathing problems!