Coronavirus & stuff

Return_of_the_STAR wrote:

No:1 Final Fantasy Fan wrote:I haven't been back to my flat in London since before Christmas and stayed in Liverpool instead. But my flatmate in London is planning on letting her boyfriend visit her this weekend from Newcastle. Im not sure what to do? Remind her of the lockdown rules and that her bf shouldn't be driving hundreds of miles from Newcastle to London?

What should I do?

As you are not living at the flat and I’m assuming you haven’t done so for at least ten days then she is entitled to form a support bubble with another household as I assume she lives alone. Assuming she hasn’t done so already then she could form it with her boyfriend again assuming he or anyone he lives with also hasn’t formed one elsewhere. Despite media reports there are no legal restrictions on how far you can travel to see someone in a support bubble.

Thanks I didn't realise that. Makes me feel a lot better about it now. However when I go back to London I guess she will not be able to let her bf visit unless he stays at a nearby hotel and they meet outdoors.

Still I could be returning to London at any moment as I haven't told her my plans so really she should have asked me first. Annoyed that she didn't.

Purely anecdotal, but on my way to the shop yesterday I noticed an incredible number of people out and about. The green space near my house was really busy with all kinds of people out walking. The supermarket was absolutely rammed too, I used to work there when I was at college, and it was like a normal Monday in terms of how busy it was.

I think we are hitting the point of diminishing returns now. People don't seem to be complying or as afraid as they were a few weeks ago. I did have one woman last week leap into the road with her hand over her mouth instead of just being sensible on the pavement. Kids seem to be out playing with their friends too.

I've also noticed I can hear the traffic again from the main road near my house. It feels almost like we are in some kind of permanent bank holiday, or at least that's how people seem to be treating it.

Buffalo wrote:This is going to be a weird question and will probably get nothing but no, but has anyone else seen these outdoor man cave/secret pub/socialising sheds that people seem to think is a way of meeting in secret? On my estate, 2 have gone up, with the lighting and the decking and all that, inviting all their mates round to socialise in what they think is a more stealthy way.

Mental! The worst I've seen are people parked up next to each other in a car park and chatting with the windows down.

Rocsteady wrote:

No:1 Final Fantasy Fan wrote:

Rocsteady wrote:

No:1 Final Fantasy Fan wrote:

Victor Mildew wrote:

Zilnad wrote:Literally just witnessed one of our neighbours stopping and chatting face to face with three different groups of people, one after another. Not even a quick hello, full on conversations.

Clearly this is all over to some people.

Well done Boris! He got normal done!

Multiple neighbours have had numerous visitors on a daily basis, someone I can see now has got people round. Hardly anyone gives a strawberry float any more.

Just call the police end off, sick of people breaking the rules!

...you were going to go to France for a haircut

When it was legal

K so fine to endanger folk when legal, but not fine when illegal. Bit pathetic to phone the police when you're also willing to put others at risk, no?

But isn't that like saying it's not okay to travel even out of lockdown? Technically it is still against the spirit and endangering people of you decide to go out and socialise in June when the government deem it "legal" and cases will likely just sky rocket again putting further strain on the NHS because people can't live without a drink and seeing a big group of mates.

I just did a quick search and you were planning to go in May 2020. That - hopefully - won't be at all comparable to June 2021.

Either way it's mad hypocritical that because a rule changed slightly you think it's fine for you to call police on people chatting, but fine to travel hundreds of miles for a haircut.

No:1 Final Fantasy Fan wrote:

Rocsteady wrote:

No:1 Final Fantasy Fan wrote:

Rocsteady wrote:

No:1 Final Fantasy Fan wrote:

Victor Mildew wrote:

Zilnad wrote:Literally just witnessed one of our neighbours stopping and chatting face to face with three different groups of people, one after another. Not even a quick hello, full on conversations.

Clearly this is all over to some people.

Well done Boris! He got normal done!

Multiple neighbours have had numerous visitors on a daily basis, someone I can see now has got people round. Hardly anyone gives a strawberry float any more.

Just call the police end off, sick of people breaking the rules!

...you were going to go to France for a haircut

When it was legal

K so fine to endanger folk when legal, but not fine when illegal. Bit pathetic to phone the police when you're also willing to put others at risk, no?

But isn't that like saying it's not okay to travel even out of lockdown? Technically it is still against the spirit and endangering people of you decide to go out and socialise in June when the government deem it "legal" and cases will likely just sky rocket again putting further strain on the NHS because people can't live without a drink and seeing a big group of mates.

It's nothing like that.

The government saying "all the vulnerable are vaccinated and so no social distancing restrictions and the pubs/clubs are open!" is a lot different to travelling to France for a haircut at the height of a pandemic because barbers are closed here.

REOPEN THE BARBERS!

Still can't believe you considered travelling to France for a haircut

If the vaccine isn't as effective as we'd like (if the current evidence is wrong), or if we get a vaccine resistant strain, what on earth are our options then? I can't imagine we would be able to afford to go into another long period of lockdown?

It should be fairly quick to make a better vaccine now we have some.

Lex-Man wrote:It should be fairly quick to make a better vaccine now we have some.

Yes but wouldn't we be back to the position we were in back in Nov, where the vaccine supply was only just beginning? They can develop a new vaccine, but then we have to have it mass manufactured and administered all over again.

We don't yet know if the vaccines will provide long lasting protection either so even if we don't get a new strain coming along we're probably going to need an annual vaccination program that will need to cover more than the 15m people who get the flu jab each year

captain red dog wrote:if we get a vaccine resistant strain, what on earth are our options then?

It was always perfectly possible to "beat" Covid-19 without a vaccine or a permanent lockdown. We're an island nation, right? Big lockdown until there's no virus left here, then travel quarantines. Get everyone wearing masks (everyone all the time, not some people occasionally) to speed up that big lockdown too. Could have been over and done with by September 2020. New Zealand have had 26 deaths.

But if we're accepting that's impossible (despite many other countries achieving it) then what we need is to rapidly deploy updated vaccines probably on an annual basis as new immune evasive variants are identified. (As part of my job I'm a small part of this effort for what it's worth!)

No:1 Final Fantasy Fan wrote:

Return_of_the_STAR wrote:

No:1 Final Fantasy Fan wrote:I haven't been back to my flat in London since before Christmas and stayed in Liverpool instead. But my flatmate in London is planning on letting her boyfriend visit her this weekend from Newcastle. Im not sure what to do? Remind her of the lockdown rules and that her bf shouldn't be driving hundreds of miles from Newcastle to London?

What should I do?

As you are not living at the flat and I’m assuming you haven’t done so for at least ten days then she is entitled to form a support bubble with another household as I assume she lives alone. Assuming she hasn’t done so already then she could form it with her boyfriend again assuming he or anyone he lives with also hasn’t formed one elsewhere. Despite media reports there are no legal restrictions on how far you can travel to see someone in a support bubble.

Thanks I didn't realise that. Makes me feel a lot better about it now. However when I go back to London I guess she will not be able to let her bf visit unless he stays at a nearby hotel and they meet outdoors.

Still I could be returning to London at any moment as I haven't told her my plans so really she should have asked me first. Annoyed that she didn't.

Yeah totally, she should check with you as it impacts on you. If her boyfriend lives alone then he could still bubble with your flatmate and you, however if not then yes they would need to meet outdoors and he likely wouldn’t have a responsible excuse to visit however by that point the restrictions and guidelines will probably have changed.

My mum is getting her first vaccine jag on Thursday

Jab

Mafro wrote:My mum is getting her first vaccine jag on Thursday

Blimey a new car for each dose is going to get expensive!

Errkal wrote:

Mafro wrote:My mum is getting her first vaccine jag on Thursday

Blimey a new car for each dose is going to get expensive!

That's the benefits of Scottish devolution. Probably at the expense of good old English taxpayers.

Sturgeon is a clown. Cases very low in Scotland and she's locking everyone up until last week of April then going to the nonsense Tier 3 for everyone.

blackoutHERO wrote:Sturgeon is a clown. Cases very low in Scotland and she's locking everyone up until last week of April then going to the nonsense Tier 3 for everyone.

Educate yourself.

This is largely for England but presumably very similar modelling:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... dApp_Other