What will Boris say??

[Suff]

It is worth repeating that Sweden never locked down. If you were to listen to their press and opposition, the hospitals would be flooded and hundreds of thousands were going to die?

Those of us who never believed the lockdown mantra in the first place are hardly surprised.

To throttle the cases and avoid triage at the NHS as happened in Italy, it was prudent to take a pause.

Now I'm struggling to see the rationale. We have less daily deaths than well into the lockdown. The NHS is underutilised right now rather than over.

I'm struggling to understand the knee jerk reaction apart from as a stick to beat people who refuse to take a vaccine. i.e. get the vaccine or stay in lockdown forever.

[Workingman]

The figures given by Whitty and Valance yeaterday open the door for any action the government wants to take. One problem is that many do not believe that they are based in reality. Another, driven by the first, is that people have already decoupled.

Take a trip round a few comments pages in the media and there is probably a small majority in the "Shield the vulnerable, but let the rest of us get on with life" camp. Whether that is reflected across society as a whole is a moot point, but TPTB should take it on board.

I do not particularly like this version of government, but I do accept that whatever is done is a fine balancing act. It is vital that the support of the public is not lost, but I do suspect that support is ebbing away fast.

If you are bemused by the Whitty-Valance figures this is an interesting read.

As for pubs. In theory they could, pre-covid, open for 24 hrs a day, but most locals stll closed at 11 to 11:30 pm though they did do "all day" opening. The rule was that they could reopen to their 'normal' opening hous as operated before the lockdown, but with restrictions. Closing them at 10 pm has no basis in science. Same with the 'rule of six'. there is no scientific evidence that six is safe and seven is deadly.

Nightclubs were never allowed to reopen, that's why there were probably so many illegal raves, and there still are.

BTW Sweden is not the UK - apples and Ostrich eggs.

[cromwell]

It is vital that the support of the public is not lost, but I do suspect that support is ebbing away fast.

I don't know about fast but yes, there is definitely a lot of exasperation now. There is no appetite for any more lockdowns and I think the government have to get that well into their head.

[Kaz]

I think Suff makes a good point, in that we are probably just going to have to live with this virus until (if) they get a vaccine. The country really cannot afford any more total lockdowns, either financially or general health-wise

[saundra]

To me it's no different really
Can't see how pubs shutting at 10will make much difference to be hone st
Even with a vaccine some people' might refuse to have it we don't all think the same

[Workingman]

Well, the government has said that some of the restrictions could last for six months, and that is a fair estimate. The onus is now on all of us to help them only be in place for that long, and that was made clear.

Also, in fairness, there was something in there for everyone to either take heed of or to bitch about, and that was always going to be the case.

[Suff]

It was interesting when #1 son came over to visit in the summer. They're both Police and were totally invested in the whole Nicola Sturgeon scottish show.

Until they saw how we were living, looked at the infection rates and did a quick sanity check.

Here, without masks in markets, with masks only in shops, with multiple thousands of cases per day in the country, they were at less chance of getting the virus than on their high mountaintop in Scotland.

They went away a lot less uptight than they arrived. It was an interesting process to watch.

[miasmum]

No nightclubs were never allowed to reopen Workingman, sorry you are right. But pubs could open as late as they liked, so add drink, youngsters and music into the mix and you might as well have opened the night clubs, which at least had the space

[Workingman]

Sorry, Shell, but pubs were restricted to what had been their 'normal' opening hours. If they previously shut at 11 pm then that is what they had to continue to do. They couldn't suddenly open up as all-nighters with DJs and dance floors - there were prosecutions for some who tried. And they had to comply. as best they could, with SD and registration.

Things could have been managed better, no doubt about that, but it was not open house all hours.

[JoM]

The place we have locally calls itself a boutique but it’s a night club (dancefloors, DJs, two different rooms, admission charge) and they’ve been opening from 9.30pm until 3.30am on Fridays and Saturdays, their normal opening times.

There’s also a live music venue in the town centre which has been opening as a bar, they’ve actually restarted live performances though now.