New lockdown in England, including school closures, announced by Johnson, 4/1/21

[Yew]

The problem with hoping that this will happen is that the real masterminds behind the whole thing (Whitty and Valance) don't appear anywhere near as fatigued by it as the politicians do. They'll stay even if the government changes, and will continue to pull the strings.

Indeed, they've been waiting their whole lives for this...

 

[6862]

Trust me, they won't for long. SAGE can hide behind their podiums all they like, when people's money starts to run out they will turn & Whitty & Co had better start finding better places to hide.

No, this won't happen. The population are subjugated and there won't be a mass rebellion against the rules or against the people that did it to us. They've won.

Indeed, they've been waiting their whole lives for this...

And now they've got it they won't let go.

 

[Bantamzen]

No, this won't happen. The population are subjugated and there won't be a mass rebellion against the rules or against the people that did it to us. They've won.

They really haven't.

 

[DB]

They really haven't.

Indeed. Despite the weather and pubs, most shops, etc being closed there are now loads of people out and about. Easy to see what will happen when it gets warmer.

And there is the furlough scheme - all these draconian restrictions are only possible because of that, and for financial reasons it cannot carry on indefinitely.

 

[brad465]

No, this won't happen. The population are subjugated and there won't be a mass rebellion against the rules or against the people that did it to us. They've won.



And now they've got it they won't let go.

Well if reports like this are anything to go by, the furlough scheme certainly isn't enough and debt problems will catch-up to the point of a complete strategy breakdown:

Covid: Nine million people forced to borrow more to cope

There is a "widening financial gap" between households because of the pandemic, says the ONS.

www.bbc.co.uk

Nearly nine million people had to borrow more money last year because of the impact of coronavirus, government figures show.

Since June last year, the proportion of workers borrowing £1,000 or more had increased from 35% to 45%, said the Office for National Statistics.

Self-employed people were more likely than employees to borrow money.

There was also a large increase in the proportion of disabled people borrowing similar sums, the ONS added.

 

[Class 33]

Whilst I'm not very optimistic about Johnson having any plans to currently scrap this dreaded and damaging social distancing nonsense as part of his lockdown easing plan, I do think that as the hospital numbers and deaths become VERY low within just the next 2 months now, that there will be start to be growing rebellion from MP's and pressure from thousands of business leaders to scrap social distancing so that their businesses can get back to normal, and the people of this country can get back to normal. Hopefully all this rebellion and pressure will finally get this nonsense scrapped, along with the equally ridiculous face mask wearing laws! We can't carry on this nonsense for too much longer now!

Some people seem to think it's easy peasy to put up with social distancing for the rest of the year. There is a hell of a lot more to social distancing than just making sure you're at least 2 metres from others when passing them or queuing up! It's absolutely wrecking thousands of businesses, as it's just completely financially unviable for them to run their businesses with these ridiculous social distancing/Covid-secure measures, such as theatres, cinemas, restaurants, festivals, the wedding industry, etc. As it stands, it looks like the festival and events industry is going to be very unfairly wiped out again this summer. For most festivals, it's either a case of no social distancing atall or the festival just won't be able to go ahead. The government ought to be working to get these sectors/industries back up and running properly this year, not ignoring them and keeping these ridiculous restrictions still dragging on!

There is also the effects social distancing is having on the mental health of the nation. Many people just can't take all this for too much longer now.

 

[Кряква]

Social distancing is not merely "wrecking business". It _has_ wrecked business.

Social distancing is not merely "causing mental health issues". It _has_ caused mental health issues.

I have been saying this since May last year. I will keep saying it. It is as if people are on some sort of "holiday abroad", not realising that even if we released all restrictions tomorrow, the country we return to will be a shell of its' former self.

 

[initiation]

Let's face it, we can already tell they're not going anywhere - we don't have to wait until August to see it. We will never again have freedom like we had before March 2020, unless we can pluck up the courage to break the law (for example to see family and friends).

Indeed. I deeply fear you are right but hope you are wrong.

And there is the furlough scheme - all these draconian restrictions are only possible because of that, and for financial reasons it cannot carry on indefinitely.

There is a strong chance in my view that urlough will be morphed into a UBI.

 

[Crossover]

Indeed. Despite the weather and pubs, most shops, etc being closed there are now loads of people out and about. Easy to see what will happen when it gets warmer.

And there is the furlough scheme - all these draconian restrictions are only possible because of that, and for financial reasons it cannot carry on indefinitely.

The roads round by us are getting progressively busier in spite of lockdown. Many people may say they're all for the restrictions etc but folk are almost certainly voting with their feet/wheels and heading out and about, probably almost unconsciously. I have almost forgotten we're supposedly in a national lockdown again as it feels so much different to last March/April. With the numbers going the way they are, coupled with the huge number of vaccinations going on on a continual basis, the compliance is likely to largely go one way (excluding the completely paranoid)

 

[DB]

There is a strong chance in my view that urlough will be morphed into a UBI.

Even if it does, that's likely to be a flat amount at around the minimum wage and would be a lot less than many people currently on furlough would need to be able to live on, taking into account mortgages, etc. The furlough scheme is only keeping a lid on things because it's 80% of normal pay, which once commuting costs, etc, are taken into account will mean that many on it aren't much worse off (plus some employers topped it up top 100% for a lot of last year).

 

[Кряква]

I'm honestly past caring about the whole UBI nonsense at this point.

I used to care. I used to feel a sense of urgency, like I want to warn people - this is going to entrench poverty - you'll be renting forever.

Now I'm just positioning myself. You want to spend your life watching Netflix indoors from the district housing, you crack on, I'll be over here with the sane individuals building society.

 

[yorkie]

This article is of the BBC's usual low standards

Covid: 'Optimistic' PM plots 'cautious' lockdown easing

Boris Johnson says "huge progress" has been made, but scientists warn against lifting restrictions too soon.

www.bbc.co.uk

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is "optimistic" ahead of announcing his lockdown-easing road map for England on 22 February.
It comes as scientists warn against lifting lockdown restrictions too quickly, even if the vaccination programme remains on target.
The government is hoping to have offered vaccinations to 15 million people by Monday.
So far, 14 million people in the UK have had at least one dose.
Mr Johnson said "we have to be cautious" and said his top priority was to be able to reopen schools in England on 8 March.
After schools, the government would look to open non-essential retail and then the hospitality sector, Mr Johnson added, during a visit to the Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies plant in Billingham, Teesside.

As usual the BBC suggest "scientists" (as if it's all of them and as if there is one "science"!) want lockdown measures to last a lot longer than they will do, with the usual BBC doom and gloom

People like Steven Riley need to get real and the BBC should stop trotting out these Imperial weirdos from who live in bubbles of academia far removed from ordinary people.

 

[duncanp]

This article is of the BBC's usual low standards

Covid: 'Optimistic' PM plots 'cautious' lockdown easing

Boris Johnson says "huge progress" has been made, but scientists warn against lifting restrictions too soon.

www.bbc.co.uk

As usual the BBC suggest "scientists" (as if it's all of them and as if there is one "science"!) want lockdown measures to last a lot longer than they will do, with the usual BBC doom and gloom

People like Steven Riley need to get real and the BBC should stop trotting out these Imperial weirdos from who live in bubbles of academia far removed from ordinary people.

But the Telegraph are reporting the same visit without the last scaremongering paragraph from "scientists". (Note how the Biased Broadcasting Corporation doesn't actually care to name any of them)

Boris Johnson has said he is "optimistic" that he will be able to unveil a roadmap to exit lockdown on February 22, with schools still on track to reopen first.

Speaking during a visit to the Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies plant in Teesside - where the new Novavax vaccine will be manufactured the Prime Minister said said the Government will adopt a "cautious" approach as they do not want to be "forced into any kind of retreat or reverse ferret".

But he added: "I'm optimistic, I won't hide it from you... I will be trying to set out as much as I possibly can in as much detail as I can, always understanding that we have to be wary of the pattern of disease."

Mr Johnson reiterated that children's education would be prioritised in plans to lift restrictions. He hinted that non-essential retail could be the next to reopen, followed by hospitality.

The Prime Minister also said he agreed with comments made by Matt Hancock, who said during a Telegraph interview that Covid-19 could become a "manageable disease" like seasonal flu.

"The miracles of science are already making a huge difference, not just through vaccinations but therapies as well... which are enabling us to reduce mortality, improve our treatments of the disease," Mr Johnson said.

"I do think that in due time it will become something that we simply live with. Some people will be more vulnerable than others - that's inevitable."

So it would appear that lockdown easing is going to happen in three stages with education, non essential retail and hospitality, in that order. I would hope that the announcement on the 22nd also includes something about the unwinding of social distancing with a view to scrapping it altogether by early June, by which time the majority of the adult population will have had at least one dose of the vaccine, and there will be a reasonable level of immunity.

And they are also reporting that development work has started on a universal vaccine, that would work against all variants and mutations.

So I think there is a lot to be optimistic about, and people should really ignore all these anonymous scientists, who probably are just a figment of the BBC's imagination.

A universal vaccine that would work on all Covid-19 variants by targeting the core of the virus instead of just the spike protein could be available in as little as a year, researchers say.

British scientists at the University of Nottingham are developing a "universal” Covid-19 vaccine which, if successful, would end the need to keep tweaking existing jabs as the virus mutates.

Existing vaccines like the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs target the spike protein of the virus, but their efficacy is expected to wane as this element of the virus mutates.

Already there is evidence they do not protect as well against variants containing the “E484K” mutation, such as those circulating widely in southern Africa and Brazil.

The new universal vaccines will also target proteins found in the core of the virus which are far less likely to mutate, meaning they would protect against all current variants and would theoretically have greater longevity.


Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust who sits on Sage, the Government advisory committee, was among a number of influential scientists this week to suggest Governments' strategies should switch to more universal vaccines.

Backing an article in the influential Nature journal titled Variant-proof vaccines: invest now for the next pandemic, he tweeted: "We agree - and being acted upon by CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) and others."

UK company Scancell, which specialises in developing cancer vaccines, and several other firms from Europe and the US are already working on variant proof jabs and hope to prove shortly they can produce an effective immune response.

Alongside scientists from the University of Nottingham, Scancell is targeting a protein in the core of the virus called the nucleocapsid or “N” protein, alongside the spike protein. Human trials of their vaccine will begin in the second half of this year, after positive results from testing the jab on mice.

The DNA-based product seems to stimulate a good antibody and T-cell response. Scancell chief medical officer Dr Gillies O’Bryan-Tear, told The Telegraph: “We don’t necessarily claim it will be a pan-coronavirus vaccine, but it has got the potential to be so simply because of where it is targeted.”

A number of other biotechs are working on similar jabs, including myNEO in Belgium, and Osivax in France. The latter has just completed a phase II clinical trial of a universal flu vaccine that also targets the N protein.

MyNeo, meanwhile, has used modelling to suggest which parts of the virus might remain stable longest, allowing them to maximise vaccine longevity.

Other researchers in the US suggest using a previously-developed Sars vaccine, or a vaccine with several different coronaviruses programmed in, could stimulate broader protection.

These products could not only protect against all variants of the pandemic Sars-CoV-2 virus, but other coronaviruses, like Sars and Mers, and future coronaviruses. However, universal Covid vaccines face significant hurdles. Experts note that scientists have been working for decades without success on a universal flu vaccine, for example.

Professor Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College, said: “It’s not science fiction, but it’s not trivial.” Scancell has had some funding from Innovate UK, but needs a big pharmaceutical partner in order to progress its new vaccine through clinical trials, and new investment of several hundred million pounds.

"But with this in place, and positive results from phase I/II trials, its vaccine could be developed within a year, it said

"There is no reason why, if we get a partner, we shouldn't be able to do it as quickly as the others have done it," said Dr O'Bryan-Tear, noting that the first coronavirus vaccines emerged less than a year after the pandemic began.

However, scientists also stressed that at the moment there may not be a need for new vaccines.

 

[yorkie]

So I think there is a lot to be optimistic about, and people should really ignore all these anonymous scientists, who probably are just a figment of the BBC's imagination.

They're very real, they are generally misfits who live in a bubble of academia. They wouldn't be able to cut it in most ordinary jobs and although intelligent at doing their jobs these people tend to lack common sense and understanding of the bigger picture beyond their narrow fields. In other words, the perfect people for BBC scaremongering purposes.

I am concerned that the reopening of gyms and leisure centres could be delayed; there really is no excuse not to open these (at least for outdoor sports) from the 8th of March. A few weeks ago I even heard rumours that grassroots sports could return before schools but clearly that isn't going to happen.

 

[duncanp]

They're very real, they are generally misfits who live in a bubble of academia. They wouldn't be able to cut it in most ordinary jobs and although intelligent at doing their jobs these people tend to lack common sense and understanding of the bigger picture beyond their narrow fields. In other words, the perfect people for BBC scaremongering purposes.

I am concerned that the reopening of gyms and leisure centres could be delayed; there really is no excuse not to open these (at least for outdoor sports) from the 8th of March. A few weeks ago I even heard rumours that grassroots sports could return before schools but clearly that isn't going to happen.

I have often found that academics in all subjects have only a tenuous connection with the real world. They are brilliant in their subject, but as you say they lack the ability to see the bigger picture.

Hence the likes of Devi Sridhar who advocate a zero COVID approach. Whilst zero COVID would be desirable, it cannot be achieved without measures that would make the cure far worse than the disease.

As for reopenings, it may be that outdoor sports and pubs with beer gardens open before indoor sports and indoor pubs, but we shall just have to wait and see. Expect a lot of speculation and scaremongering over the next 10 days.

I wonder what is going to be selectively leaked to the Sunday papers tomorrow?

 

[Ianno87]

They're very real, they are generally misfits who live in a bubble of academia. They wouldn't be able to cut it in most ordinary jobs and although intelligent at doing their jobs these people tend to lack common sense and understanding of the bigger picture beyond their narrow fields. In other words, the perfect people for BBC scaremongering purposes.

Half the problem is the BBC et al basically using these peoples' (valid) work as basically 24 hour news filler material.

There's nothing wrong with what they do...if it is set in the right context and balanced out with everything else...which it isn't when it is just shoved out into the public domain.

 

[brad465]

The long range weather forecast is currently predicting 15-16C temperatures in the south-east next weekend, and mild/warm generally across the country. If this materialises, compliance will certainly be worth watching; we already know many are getting out and about, watch what happens when those temperatures are contrasted with the freezing weather at the moment (of course the risk outdoors of spreading any virus is much lower but won't stop the complaints).

 

[Planesandtrain]

This popped up on my Twitter feed today. Staying at home to protect the NHS but if you have a condition under this wide wide umbrella and you happen to get covid badly you don't get the same chance of survival as people that don't due to this terrible terrible policy. Truly 'saving lives' Be interested to know all your views on this.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2..._medium&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1613225875

Mencap said it had received reports in January from people with learning disabilities that they had been told they would not be resuscitated if they were taken ill with Covid-19.
DNACPRs are usually made for people who are too frail to benefit from CPR, but Mencap said some seem to have been issued for people simply because they had a learning disability. The CQC is due to publish a report on the practice within weeks.

 

[PHILIPE]

There seem to have been more and more "experts" and SAGE members coming forward with all sorts of varying (nearly always messages of Doom and Gloom) opinions and suggestions as to what should be and shouldn't be done which, I think, is not helping one bit into plotting a way out of Lockdown. The decision ultimately rests with the Government but so who of this band of mainly "Lockdowners" should they listen to when trying to come to a decision. The fact that SAGE can't speak with one voice, only as individuals, does not help the situation.

 

[Wychwood93]

This popped up on my Twitter feed today. Staying at home to protect the NHS but if you have a condition under this wide wide umbrella and you happen to get covid badly you don't get the same chance of survival as people that don't due to this terrible terrible policy. Truly 'saving lives' Be interested to know all your views on this.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2..._medium&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1613225875

This rang a bell - I checked with household authorities - and the grandchild of a friend of hers has had a DNR put against her. The mother of the child, who is under 10, was told by the doctors dealing with her child. She was, understandably, not happy, but was informed that there was little she could do in the event of the child requiring CPR. The child, thankfully, is still with us! Perhaps as ICU cases are drifting off some 'leniency' will be shown with regards to 'pulling the plug'. I do not know exactly what 'issues' the child has.

 

[Mag_seven]

The long range weather forecast is currently predicting 15-16C temperatures in the south-east next weekend, and mild/warm generally across the country. If this materialises, compliance will certainly be worth watching; we already know many are getting out and about, watch what happens when those temperatures are contrasted with the freezing weather at the moment (of course the risk outdoors of spreading any virus is much lower but won't stop the complaints).

Expect the tabloid photographers with their zoom lenses to be out in force in the usual places such as London parks, Brighton/Bournemouth beaches etc.

 

[RomeoCharlie71]

Picnics and coffee in the park as lockdown to lift from March 8, Government confirms

First official confirmation that national lockdown in England will ease next month

www.telegraph.co.uk

Picnics and coffee in the park as lockdown to lift from March 8, Government confirms

Meeting a friend for a coffee on a park bench and outdoor picnics will be the first activities to get the green light on March 8, The Telegraph can reveal, with golf and tennis following shortly after.

Boris Johnson said on Saturday he "very much hoped" also to reopen schools at the same time, although ministers are discussing a proposal that will see primaries return first with secondaries a further week or two later.

On Saturday night a senior Government source confirmed that from March 8, people in England will be allowed to drink coffee on a park bench or have a picnic with anyone from their own household, or with another person on a one-to-one basis.

Households, however, will not be allowed to mix inside or outside with anyone else. The changes are the first official confirmation that the national lockdown in England will ease on March 8.

Ministers are privately also saying they expect pubs to be allowed to reopen – with outdoor dining as minimum – as soon as the first weekend in April, so households can have Easter lunch together.

As part of a “carrot and stick” approach, ministers are also working on an Australia-style approach that will see local areas locked down if there were a massive outbreak of the virus, or an outbreak of a new strain that could affect the efficacy of vaccines.

The Prime Minister will this week meet with his Cabinet and scientific advisers to begin drawing up his roadmap out of lockdown, and will address the nation on Feb 22.

The Telegraph understands the Government successfully hit its target of offering vaccines to Britain's 14.9 million most vulnerable adults by Saturday, a day ahead of the plans.

One minister said: “The PM does not want any celebration, very much business as usual, I will not rest until the whole country is vaccinated.”

Mr Johnson was nevertheless bullish about releasing lockdown measures. On a visit to the North East of England, he said: "Our children's education is the number one priority.

“Then working forwards to getting non-essential retail open as well, then in due course, when we can cautiously and prudently do so, of course we want to be opening hospitality as well.

"We don't want to be forced into any kind of retreat or reverse ferret. I'm optimistic, I won't hide it from you, but we have to be cautious."

Clinically vulnerable people in England are being invited to book their Covid-19 jab as the vaccination programme moves into a new phase on Monday.

People aged 65 to 69 are also among more than one million people who have been invited to book their vaccine, NHS England said.

Almost 1.2 million letters were due to have landed on doorsteps by Saturday asking people to log on to the national booking service, with a further 1.2 million due to arrive this week.

Number 10 sources also confirmed recreational outside sports like golf and tennis will start to be allowed from next month, probably with just one other person. One senior source said that “outdoor sports … is quite likely to relax in March”.

Ministers are privately expecting pubs to be open for Easter Sunday lunch on April 4 although this was dismissed as speculation by 10 Downing Street.

Non-essential shops are also likely to be allowed to open sooner because they have historically not affected the virus’s reproductive rate.

One source said: “It is still being debated over the Feb 22 roadmap but the idea is to get hospitality up and running for Easter. That is the plan.”

Primary schools are planned to open on March 8 with secondary schools a week later, although there are said to be a number of options on the table.

One source said: “It will be a national reopening – none of this geographical tiering stuff.”

Any planned reopening will go alongside plans – described as “draconian” by ministers – to hit outbreaks very hard with a surge in testing, tracing and isolating anyone with the virus.

The new surge testing and local lockdowns will be based on surge testing to track the South African variant of coronavirus in Surrey last week.

Ministers want to mimic the tough lockdowns in Australia where thousands of people have been kept indoors after just a handful of cases. On Monday, the first of thousands of new arrivals into the UK will be forced ten days in airport hotels before they can be released.

Council staff and approved volunteers went door-to-door in the designated areas of Woking, Egham and Thorpe to deliver the kits to those aged 18 or over.

Downing Street will be hoping that the first official confirmation that the lockdown will finally lift from March 8 will quell growing unrest among Conservative MPs who want Mr Johnson to release the lockdown restrictions more quickly.

In a letter to Mr Johnson, seen by The Telegraph, 63 Conservative MPs who are members of the Coronavirus Recovery Group, said as a "national priority” the “reopening all schools to all pupils must be achieved by March 8".

They added that given the pace of the vaccine rollout “pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues can open for Easter," which falls on Sunday April 4.

The letter – signed by Mark Harper and Steve Baker MP, the chairman and vice chairman of the group – said: “We all have concerns about outside sport and swimming pools, gyms, personal care businesses, care home visits, hotels, events industry businesses, and allowing couples to get married.

“All restrictions remaining after March 8 should be proportionate to the ever-increasing number of people we have protected.

“The burden is on ministers to demonstrate the evidence of effectiveness and proportionality with a cost-benefit analysis for each restriction, and a roadmap for when they will be removed.”

They added: “The vaccine gives us immunity from Covid but it must also give us permanent immunity from Covid-related lockdowns and restrictions.

“This should be a moment of unity – for our country and our Party – as we look ahead with confidence, hope and optimism for a much brighter future, as we reclaim our lives once and for all.”

Separately writing for The Telegraph, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Conservative MP for the Cotswolds and an officer of the 1922 Committee, said that rural parts of England should not be held back from relaxed restrictions by towns and cities.

He said: “Just as we lead the world in the vaccination programme we must lead the world in the recovery. We should revert back to the tier system; it is nonsense that the unlocking sequence in rural areas should be the same as inner cities.”

He added: “The Government needs to ensure that all schools fully reopen in England by March 8 at the latest, and as cases and hospital admissions fall, we need a route map for the whole economy.

“Everyone understands that lifting regulations too quickly could mean a surge in hospital cases, but equally dangerous is if we are too cautious, the effect on people’s livelihoods and mental health could be devastating.”

 

[initiation]

I noticed a sentence in that article:

Non-essential shops are also likely to be allowed to open sooner because they have historically not affected the virus’s reproductive rate.

Then why the f*** did we have a lockdown and close them in the first place?

 

[yorksrob]

Picnics and coffee in the park as lockdown to lift from March 8, Government confirms

First official confirmation that national lockdown in England will ease next month

www.telegraph.co.uk

“The burden is on ministers to demonstrate the evidence of effectiveness and proportionality with a cost-benefit analysis for each restriction, and a roadmap for when they will be removed.”

Well, that's good if true, because it'll be the first time throughout this whole crisis.

So on the 8th March, the same people who are allowed out to exercise can now stop and have a coffee. I suppose that is the end of "stay at home" in a way.

I suppose we should rejoice that change is on its way, so long as SAGE don't throw their toys out of the pram.

 

[DB]

I noticed a sentence in that article:



Then why the f*** did we have a lockdown and close them in the first place?

Ideology.

Being seen to be taking action is far more important than whether the action actually has any observable beneficial impact.

See also masks, one way systems, etc.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Feb 2021 ==

So on the 8th March, the same people who are allowed out to exercise can now stop and have a coffee. I suppose that is the end of "stay at home" in a way.

Like many are doing already, in reality!

I've seen loads of desperate criminals committing this horrendous crime on the benches in front of the local town hall!

 

[yorksrob]

Like many are doing already, in reality!

I've seen loads of desperate criminals committing this horrendous crime on the benches in front of the local town hall!

Outside of the town hall ! How brazen !

 

[philosopher]

“The burden is on ministers to demonstrate the evidence of effectiveness and proportionality with a cost-benefit analysis for each restriction, and a roadmap for when they will be removed.”

Well, that's good if true, because it'll be the first time throughout this whole crisis.

So on the 8th March, the same people who are allowed out to exercise can now stop and have a coffee. I suppose that is the end of "stay at home" in a way.

I am not sure what to think of this. I was hoping for the rule of six outdoors in public to be reintroduced on the 8th March, however if this is correct that will not occur. That said it is considerably better than what I was fearing in which on the 8th March schools would reopen and that would be it.

 

[yorksrob]

I am not sure what to think of this. I was hoping for the rule of six outdoors in public to be reintroduced on the 8th March, however if this is correct that will not occur. That said it is considerably better than what I was fearing in which on the 8th March schools would reopen and that would be it.

Indeed. Was hoping for better, but feared worse.

 

[317 forever]

Once they re-open businesses and particularly non-essential shops, then logically* they cannot retain the stay at home message.


*Yes, yes, I know - we're talking about Boris Johnson...

Mind you, if we're unlucky, we could again have the situation of a few weeks before 17/7/20 in which non-essential retail has reopened, as have pubs and hotels, but non-essential travel to such venues is still being advised against.

 

[Richard Scott]

Like many are doing already, in reality!

I've seen loads of desperate criminals committing this horrendous crime on the benches in front of the local town hall!

Should be locked up for 10 years, surely?!!