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Post by iandychesterfc on Sept 15, 2021 8:25:17 GMT
Might be too big an ask this, but im hoping the thread can have a discussion without the need to mention Labour/Tories or anything that should have been done previously in glorious hindsight.
So, you are a member of the cabinet or lets say PM. You are faced with the current stage of the pandemic in the UK, obviously a majority of adults have been double-vaxxed and the country is facing the big question as to how they approach the autumn winter.
Are you in favour of further lockdowns and all the issues coming with that, not just financially and mentally but also potentially with the mass protests which may follow. Is this how you see the world now, having to lockdown every winter?
Do you think you would implement a policy aimed at the vulnerable only, allowing the economy to continue but creating a sub-class of people who will of course be deeply problematic
Do you think all lockdowns should be finished given the vaccination rates and you prefer to rely on boosters for the vulnerable and the rest continue.
Then theres issues of schools, masks, isolating (again lets not have another thread bemoaning things like T&T)
Of course, the situation is ever-changing but this is a chance to avoid calls of 'hindsight' as no-one knows what is coming in the next few months and it will be interesting to see how people would approach this winter.
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Post by luke90 on Sept 15, 2021 10:19:18 GMT
Certainly think we should have the rule of masks being mandatory again - and should be stricter on who is 'exempt'
Social distancing, though hard to police with Christmas shopping
Little things, like work from home if you can etc, though not forcing people as i certainly suffered mentally from over a year at home.
We have to stay open though IMO, no more lockdowns, i don't think it would be adhered to this time around with everyone being vaccinated.
Ideally, I'd say ensure everyone is vaccinated unless medically, they cannot have one of the jabs. All these ethical objections or rubbish about people not trusting it etc should be ignored in the face of public health.
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Post by Frank Owen’s Paintbrush on Sept 15, 2021 10:29:29 GMT
No formal “lockdown” but certainly mandatory masks in public indoor spaces (except eating and drinking at your table - table service only etc) and on public transport, with safe social distancing and working from home where possible.
I’ve said it before but so-called “freedom day” was more of an extreme lockdown day for the millions of vulnerable and compromised people in this country. Yes there should be some level of opening but not a free Willy-Nilly do what you want and don’t worry about the consequences to a COPD patient with no support network making their weekly shopping trip for essentials.
And then it’s about ensuring a fit for purpose track and trace system (as per Wales) and making sure the public isolate when they need to, and/or weekly testing in workplaces (we do LAMP tests weekly here at my workplace) etc.
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Post by iandychesterfc on Sept 15, 2021 12:30:26 GMT
so i follow, If you were in charge your view is mandatory masks and workplace testing (presumably lateral flow?) is this daily or weekly? presumably with sanctions for failure?
Then ignoring the middle which is talking about previous so off topic, your view is that the current system (in wales if you wish) of contact tracing and isolating to continue for those not necessarily testing positive but coming into contact with a person who was? Again i'm not interested in your views on how you feel a system is working (or clearly, not) just how you would want it to run
Please don't read these as criticisms, i'm just trying to abstract how you would proceed if you were in charge.
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Post by Frank Owen’s Paintbrush on Sept 15, 2021 13:11:55 GMT
Mandatory masks yes, workplace testing should be at the discretion of the employer/organisation but I assume most employers aren’t keen on the spread of a virus through their workforce and the impact that would have on their operations. We just do LAMP tests weekly if asymptomatic (I’d say the majority of the population are carriers without symptoms so good to have this form of testing) and then follow government guidelines on testing and isolation if symptomatic.
Didn’t opine on how any system is or isn’t working, I merely included a “fit for purpose track and trace system” as being something I’d like to be in place going forward - of course it should be fit for purpose, no point having one if it doesn’t do what it’s meant to do! Not sure why you’d take issue with that.
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Post by Lobster on Sept 17, 2021 15:30:02 GMT
Agree with Luke that it would be good to see some clearer and perhaps stricter guidance on masks. The guidance at the moment is basically "wear one if you want" and most public places are asking you nicely to as they would rather be cautious. You feel like you're looked at as a bit of a dork if you wear one. I get the train regularly and I'd say more than half of passangers aren't wearing one, including someone who was coughing his lungs up the other day. Public transport has always been a breeding ground for illness so I would say masks should remain mandatory on trains and buses.
Work from home should be encouraged. It's ridiculous that people clog up the roads and trains at rush hour every day just so they can go somewhere to sit in front of a computer. We've even had meetings while we're all in the office on Teams, so what's the point in us being there? Everyone should have reliable internet in their homes and everyone should be shown the basics of how to use it.
Covid has highlighted that many of our behaviours are silly and inefficient anyway. I'm looking at schools in particular. Why does it take a pandemic to have such an outbreak of common sense as to send young kids in wearing their PE kit, rather than ask parents to have two sets of clothes ready and waste 20-30 minutes either side of PE while the kids get changed? My daughters school has gone back to the bedlam of releasing all the kids at once at home time - last year's method of staggering it seemed more sensible to me with or without Covid.
I don't agree with vaccine passports. If you try to isolate or insult anti-vaxxers, they just dig their heels in and become even more defiant. Instead, encourage them to go to a vaccination centre and have a chat about their concerns with a medic. Many of these people are very impressionable and have just seen something on Facebook or YouTube. If someone in a lab coat told them the opposite, that might be enough for them.
If people don't want the vaccine, that's up to them, but they shouldn't expect us to make concessions for their benefit. I hear that most people in hospital with the disease are unvaccinated, usually by choice, and while I don't wish anyone any harm, it does make me think we're all having to compromise our lives further because of other people's poor decision making. I do appreciate there are people who can't have the vaccine though, and that must be a very frightening situation. It's easy for me to say we need to get on with things when, beer belly aside, I'm in reasonably good health.
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