Ultimately the lockdown in the UK will have to be for a longer time period than other places as it started too late and the virus had already spread far too much for any kind of control of it to be in place soon, and the lockdown isn't particularly strict anyway. New Zealand have now said they've eliminated the virus, infection rates are close to zero and they know where new infections are coming from. Reading their lifting of lockdown restrictions, what they're moving to sounds a lot like what the UK has, and it's difficult to see much easing in the UK anytime soon.

 

For me the last couple of weeks have gone a lot quicker since I stopped trying to focus too much on it and reading as much news. There's nothing about the situation that I can control, so there's no point letting myself get annoyed or frustrated about it and to focus on what I can, and there's such a vast amount of ways to entertain and educate. It certainly helps that I am still working from home, not sure I'd find it as easy living alone if I'd been furloughed

 

 

Ultimately the lockdown in the UK will have to be for a longer time period than other places as it started too late and the virus had already spread far too much for any kind of control of it to be in place soon, and the lockdown isn't particularly strict anyway. New Zealand have now said they've eliminated the virus, infection rates are close to zero and they know where new infections are coming from. Reading their lifting of lockdown restrictions, what they're moving to sounds a lot like what the UK has, and it's difficult to see much easing in the UK anytime soon.

 

For me the last couple of weeks have gone a lot quicker since I stopped trying to focus too much on it and reading as much news. There's nothing about the situation that I can control, so there's no point letting myself get annoyed or frustrated about it and to focus on what I can, and there's such a vast amount of ways to entertain and educate. It certainly helps that I am still working from home, not sure I'd find it as easy living alone if I'd been furloughed

 

I think the constant comments I read that the lockdown isn’t strict are wrong. It is not strict in comparison to countries like China where they were boarded up in their homes, however, what I am living with personally is strict and I refuse to let anyone tell me otherwise. I do not understand how people can say being confined to your home day in day out is not strict.

 

I am not sure a comparison with New Zealand is the best as the UK are not going to ease lockdown when infection rates are zero otherwise we would be in this current form until 2021.

 

I personally think we locked down only one week late the error in judgement was still allowing mass gatherings to go ahead with what was happening in Italy.

Also regarding your New Zealand point they are opening restaurants and schools on a smaller scale from Wednesday so they are really not moving to what we are now they have eased restrictions more.

The lack of a ban on mass gatherings was extraordinarily negligent. Thankfully, many organisations took matters into their own hands and suspended activities anyway. I hate to think how bad things would be if professional football hadn't been suspended for a full two weekends before the government did anything.

The UK lockdown is not strict, but you have extremes of it- some people taking it very seriously and others not at all, so it sort of balances it all out. I'm pretty sure we are on a very similar trajectory to Italy, I think a lot will ultimately come down to what the Government model they decide to follow. My best guess is we are in lockdown pretty much until end of May and then we see a gradual staggering. But before then we need to tracing app and probably some anti-body testing annoucement I would imagine.

 

It's impossible to compare ourselves to New Zealand as well. Take it from someone who was there when the world closed! They went from no measures to lockdown within the space of 5 days. While they don't have the same loss of life that other countries have, tourism is the biggest driver of their economy and they are going to close their borders to pretty much everyone unless you want to self isolate in quarantine for 2 weeks when entering the country. So it creates a whole different raft of other problems socially .

I’m not sure how only being able to leave your house for essential shopping and one walk a day is not regarded as ‘strict’ in the context of other countries it is not strict but in the impact of life and health it is.

 

I think it was announced today for New Zealand they would look to ease travel restrictions with Australia only in the near future but their main airline carrier seems to be suspended until April 2021 which would mean their next summer season a write off.

The lack of a ban on mass gatherings was extraordinarily negligent. Thankfully, many organisations took matters into their own hands and suspended activities anyway. I hate to think how bad things would be if professional football hadn't been suspended for a full two weekends before the government did anything.

 

Cheltenham, Crufts, Lewis Capaldi and Stereophonics tours being the key issues. I think these were more of a problem than the lockdown being delayed pretty much all major companies in London were working from home from 12th March. Canary Wharf was a ghost town from early March so people had started to take notice and apply their own rules I am not sure how much impact an extra week of lockdown would have had if a mass gathering ban was in place.

The lack of a ban on mass gatherings was extraordinarily negligent. Thankfully, many organisations took matters into their own hands and suspended activities anyway. I hate to think how bad things would be if professional football hadn't been suspended for a full two weekends before the government did anything.

 

Yes, the government's hand was essentially forced into closing stuff on the basis that other organisations had started to. Sport had cancelled everything en masse, local government was shutting services, public events were being cancelled, they didn't really have an option for life to continue as normal.

 

The UK lockdown is not strict, but you have extremes of it- some people taking it very seriously and others not at all, so it sort of balances it all out. I'm pretty sure we are on a very similar trajectory to Italy, I think a lot will ultimately come down to what the Government model they decide to follow. My best guess is we are in lockdown pretty much until end of May and then we see a gradual staggering. But before then we need to tracing app and probably some anti-body testing annoucement I would imagine.

 

It's impossible to compare ourselves to New Zealand as well. Take it from someone who was there when the world closed! They went from no measures to lockdown within the space of 5 days. While they don't have the same loss of life that other countries have, tourism is the biggest driver of their economy and they are going to close their borders to pretty much everyone unless you want to self isolate in quarantine for 2 weeks when entering the country. So it creates a whole different raft of other problems socially .

 

Taking the measures that New Zealand did have helped preserve the health of their own citizens and limited Covid related deaths to a tiny amount. They're now able to re-start parts of their economy internally. Whatever actions were taken, there was always going to be major economic in social problems anywhere. It's hard to imagine there won't be those problems in the UK, but we have done an awful job at preserving the health of our citizens and lost a huge amount of lives too.

That is another frustrating point it is being extended longer than the three weeks each time due to how long it takes them to do the review. Why they can’t just give a clear proposed end date like all other countries is beyond me.

 

I have historically voted Tories but they have lost my vote for good after this and their lack of transparency.

 

Thinking we have another 5 weeks minimum of this is really hard to deal with.

They can't give an end date because you are still in your deaths peak. It's not slowing down as of yet.

Belgium had their deathpeak roughly around 10th of april and are only losening the first restrictions on may 4th. The UK is gonna have to stay in a lil' longer

In other non-UK news, The Netherlands has only reported 65 new hospitalisations in the past 24 hours :cheeseblock:

They can't give an end date because you are still in your deaths peak. It's not slowing down as of yet.

Belgium had their deathpeak roughly around 10th of april and are only losening the first restrictions on may 4th. The UK is gonna have to stay in a lil' longer

 

I am pretty sure the peak was earlier this month when we had 3 days of 900+ over the course of four days. We have not hit 900 since April 11th and actual deaths per day excluding backlog are showing a downwards trend.

I am pretty sure the peak was earlier this month when we had 3 days of 900+ over the course of four days. We have not hit 900 since April 11th and actual deaths per day excluding backlog are showing a downwards trend.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/

 

And you're still very much above 750 a lot of the time. You seem to be platteauing now, which is good. The decline will be slower tho.

 

First your ICU's need to empty a bit as well. I have no numbers for those so can't judge based on that

Taking the measures that New Zealand did have helped preserve the health of their own citizens and limited Covid related deaths to a tiny amount. They're now able to re-start parts of their economy internally. Whatever actions were taken, there was always going to be major economic in social problems anywhere. It's hard to imagine there won't be those problems in the UK, but we have done an awful job at preserving the health of our citizens and lost a huge amount of lives too.

 

While I agree to some extent, New Zealand were one of the very few countries 'Westernised' countries that went as strict as they did in such a short impact. The models showed their healthcare system would basically be overwhelmed. But it's also a much smaller country, made up of two islands and extremely rural in its makeup. I'm fairly sure Taiwan have also managed to effectively curb the virus as well.

 

The bigger problem for New Zealand is their country relies mainly on international tourism. So they can restart their economy but the tourism sector will be majorly damaged. So it's a poisioned chalice really.

In other non-UK news, The Netherlands has only reported 65 new hospitalisations in the past 24 hours :cheeseblock:

 

Spain’s new cases have shot up to 9,000 today I sometimes question the timing and accuracy of the numbers on Worldometer.

I’m not sure how only being able to leave your house for essential shopping and one walk a day is not regarded as ‘strict’ in the context of other countries it is not strict but in the impact of life and health it is.

 

I think it was announced today for New Zealand they would look to ease travel restrictions with Australia only in the near future but their main airline carrier seems to be suspended until April 2021 which would mean their next summer season a write off.

 

You have just listed two ways you are allowed to leave your house in one day and you consider that strict? What do you actually think a non strict lockdown would look like?

 

Also what are you doing to help your own mental health right now? Because there are plenty of things you can do that, although it won’t be as great as it was before, will help you.

 

I am locked down on my own. But I am in touch with family, friends and colleague through FaceTime, phone and the internet. No, it’s not as good as seeing them in person but it’s the best I can get and I’ll take that! Twenty years ago this wouldn’t have been possible. I cannot go for my morning swim anymore. Big instead, I’m running up and down my garden. It’s not as fun but it’s something I can do. Don’t have a garden? You can jog on your one daily exercise. Or you can even follow some online fitness routines from the likes of Joe Wicks. I am still working from home and even having to go into work on occasion but for when I’m not working, I am reading books, watching films and binging tv shows, gaming, completing jobs around the house, general housework and working in the garden.

 

No, this lockdown is not great and we are all suffering to a degree. Things are not going to go back to normal quickly. What we need to remember is that although this sucks right now, hundreds of people are still dying every day because of this illness. We have to do our part to keep ourselves and everyone else safe. Restrictions will ease eventually but my biggest fear right now is that the government will ease things too quickly because of pressure from people who are getting itchy feet and then things will get worse again. I don’t trust this government at all but what other options have we?

Spain’s new cases have shot up to 9,000 today I sometimes question the timing and accuracy of the numbers on Worldometer.

Spain has started testinf their resting houses deaths as well I think so a lot of these are backlog data. Looking at cases is kinda useless though as depends on how many tests one does. It is only usefull if you're actively testing a la South Korea or at the start of a new wave.

 

Deaths, hospitalisations and ICU patients are a much better indication

You have just listed two ways you are allowed to leave your house in one day and you consider that strict? What do you actually think a non strict lockdown would look like?

 

Also what are you doing to help your own mental health right now? Because there are plenty of things you can do that, although it won’t be as great as it was before, will help you.

 

I am locked down on my own. But I am in touch with family, friends and colleague through FaceTime, phone and the internet. No, it’s not as good as seeing them in person but it’s the best I can get and I’ll take that! Twenty years ago this wouldn’t have been possible. I cannot go for my morning swim anymore. Big instead, I’m running up and down my garden. It’s not as fun but it’s something I can do. Don’t have a garden? You can jog on your one daily exercise. Or you can even follow some online fitness routines from the likes of Joe Wicks. I am still working from home and even having to go into work on occasion but for when I’m not working, I am reading books, watching films and binging tv shows, gaming, completing jobs around the house, general housework and working in the garden.

 

No, this lockdown is not great and we are all suffering to a degree. Things are not going to go back to normal quickly. What we need to remember is that although this sucks right now, hundreds of people are still dying every day because of this illness. We have to do our part to keep ourselves and everyone else safe. Restrictions will ease eventually but my biggest fear right now is that the government will ease things too quickly because of pressure from people who are getting itchy feet and then things will get worse again. I don’t trust this government at all but what other options have we?

 

The answer to your strict question depends on what we are regarding as strict I have already stated that our lockdown measures are not strict in comparison to other countries but this way of life is strict and is not easy.

 

I live in a central London flat with no garden. All of the options you have suggested are things that I have been doing but as I stated earlier in this post I have been doing this since 12th March so all of your suggestions can be done but this is obviously going to impact people eventually as it is a prison sentence with no release date. I don’t think the mental health of people should be questioned and advised there are other things people could be doing when they are obviously doing everything they can.

 

I do appreciate your suggestions though.

Edited April 27, 20205 yr by Alex P

Spain has started testinf their resting houses deaths as well I think so a lot of these are backlog data. Looking at cases is kinda useless though as depends on how many tests one does. It is only usefull if you're actively testing a la South Korea or at the start of a new wave.

 

Deaths, hospitalisations and ICU patients are a much better indication

 

It has been revised downwards to 2,700 so must have been an error.

The answer to your strict question depends on what we are regarding as strict I have already stated that our lockdown measures are not strict in comparison to other countries but this way of life is strict and is not easy.

 

I live in a central London flat with no garden. All of the options you have suggested are things that I have been doing but as I stated earlier in this post I have been doing this since 12th March so all of your suggestions can be done but this is obviously going to impact people eventually as it is a prison sentence with no release date. I don’t think the mental health of people should be questioned and advised there are other things people could be doing when they are obviously doing everything they can.

 

I do appreciate your suggestions though.

 

Yes, and I’ve already stated that this is shit for everyone. I’ve had bad days myself, most recently this weekend where I have felt my mental health suffering, so please do not act like I have no idea.

 

You haven’t stated what it is you think you should be able to do right now that you can’t. Forgive me, but it’s coming off a lot like you’re not bothered that hundreds of people are dying.