Diary > Summary - Week ending 25th July 2021

[Roobarb]

As I write it's almost the 19th July, it will be so called 'Freedom Day ' by the time many of you read this. Many of us are anticipating this as something to be anxious about rather than something to look forward to, I count myself in the anxious group.

It's some time since this date was flagged up as being the date when all restrictions should be lifted but things have changed since then. The Delta variant is now responsible for the majority of new Covid cases and spreads more easily than others.. A sterling job has been done by so many dedicated people in carrying out the vaccination programme. Will much of that go to waste when people who have been double jabbed catch Covid as I have done? I hope that doesn't prove to be the case. I  have no strong political leanings or axe to grind but it does seem like caution is being thrown to the wind. If it can continue to be made mandatory for face coverings on London Transport, why not for the rest of the country? Or don't we matter?

It will be interesting to see how the week goes on, what Rootschatters' personal views and experiences are and of course to hear the personal news of contributors. I sincerely hope our anxiety proves to be unfounded. Have a safe and happy week everyone.

[jo1962]

Good to see you posting Roobarb. In my humble experience I don't expect 'freedom day' to last more than a couple of weeks. The way cases are rising I suspect another lockdown is looming. Frankly I feel more depressed with the situation than I did 6 months ago. There just doesn't seem to be an end in sight. Take care of yourself x

[Caw1]

Jo I agree entirely with your sentiments and have just posted my thoughts on ‘Freedom Day’ in the previous thread ….. much of the same if not worse I fear…

Good to see you still posting Roobarb and I live in hope that your symptoms will soon recede having had both vaccinations….

Personally I shan’t be doing anything different to before particularly with my O.H still trying to fight off this mystery virus he has… now coming into week five! Thank goodness we live in a fairly rural community.

I think more lockdowns loom… if not over the summer assuming places will be functioning unless everyone is self isolating… by autumn I can see us being restricted… my goodness who would have thought that retirement could have been so dreadful…. First Brexit and now this….

Take everyone and keep on posting to help keep us all sane!

Caroline

[River Tyne Lass]

Well, here we are, so called 'Freedom' day has arrived.  To me, it feels more like day 1 of a social experiment on how to deal (or how to not deal) with a pandemic.  The eyes of the world will be on us in Great Britain, watching to see if we are going to sink or swim, over the next few weeks..
My feeling is that with the rising infections, we should be taking a more gradual and cautious approach now, than this. 
It is a difficult one as I know we have to look after the economy but I fear for the casualties ahead .. God help us all now is all I can say ..

On my bus journey home from nightshift this morning, I see that the tape has been moved from certain seats so now people can sit anywhere they like.  On the second bus I see that the distancing line, marking space from the driver, has also been removed.  Thankfully, though people are still sitting apart and wearing masks .. just as well really as there is one man a couple of rows in front of me who has been sneezing several times.

Take care and keep safe everyone, the experiment has begun.😒

[trystan]

Herd immunity, here we come?

I'm sure many new infections will result (helped of course by the footy the other week). Let's just hope that a new mutation doesn't result, but I expect that it "helps" (if that's the right word) that people get infected in a short space of time.

Ask an economist what we should do. Ask an epidemiologist what we should do. We would get two very different answers. Ask a pub landlord what we should do. Ask a bus driver what we should do. Different answers again. Possibly.

The thing is, we can choose to smoke or drink heavily, it's legal but it's not the best thing to do. We're told it can kill us. People make their choices.

We can eat too much and exercise too little. We are told that it will lead to a shorter life and long term health conditions. And yet, the majority of the nation ignore this and carry on regardless.

Every adult in this nation has been offered the vaccine. Two doses on the vaccine does a good job to keep people from dying from the virus. The group of people that were most likely to die from the virus has now largely been vaccinated.

The livelihoods of people have been wiped out.

It's a difficult balance, isn't it?

So we can choose not to be vaccinated, and go to nightclubs and mingle and party like it's 2021 if we want. In the same way, we can smoke, drink like a fish. We could even walk down the middle of the main road as we stagger home with our kebab at the end of the night.

We can also get double vaccinated, wait the requisite time for the vaccine to kick-in. We can go to the shops when it's a bit quiter, wear a mask if we want to. We can visit our friends, and be a bit sensible about it. We can go for a drive and avoid people staggering down the middle of the road with their kebabs. We will also be safe knowing that if we do catch covid, we are unlikely to die from it.

So I wouldn't call it an experiment. I would call it life.

It's down to us now.

Trystan

[Gibel]

I hope you’ll feel better soon Roobarb.

I shall continue wearing a mask indoors or crowded outdoor situations (not that I go anywhere particularly crowded!) as I’ve done when I was allowed out after long bouts of shielding. I see many shops are asking people to continue to wear masks. I can’t see our so called “freedom” lasting long.

I’m at the hospital this afternoon I’m expecting them to still be insisting on masks being worn. I’ll be wearing mine. I was going to walk there but as it’s so hot I might drive to the garden centre nearby and walk from there!

Candleflame I hope your husband gets an emergency dental appointment and gets sorted out quickly, toothache is horrible.

[Mowsehowse]

I too feel very pessimistic about this new phase the Uk is entering.... or I should say England, because I believe the other Home Nations are being rather more sensible/cautious.
I made an early bread raid this morning, and learned that the bakery cafe has replaced all original table spacing. Theatres and cinemas will also be allowed capacity seating. Most folk in the supermarket at 08:15 were wearing masks, but the beach, (which I can observe from my balcony,) gets more crowded by the moment.  All of this I can make choices about if I shall join in or not, BUT, if I am forced to get to work, or the Doctor on public transport, then surely I should have a right to protection mitigations, and in my opinion that means everyone should still be wearing face coverings. 
BTW, the rest of the country certainly DOES matter. The Mayor of London apparently has the ruling vote over London Transport, and he insisted on the continued use of face coverings.  Don't know who would have control of systems on Tyneside or Liverpool for example??

[chrissiecruiser]

Hello to you all from South Australia.
We have been extremely lucky here in that fast lockdowns have kept covid at bay.
  However, it has now hit nearly every state, and after our first case surfaced here we will be in shutdown of non essential businesses from midnight tonight (3 hours time).
I am in the bush so can isolate pretty well.

The immunisation here has been very slow, and I am loathe to get AZ due to health problems.

Even my doc said to try to wait for Pfizer

After being fully immunised one can get covid, but can you still be infectious to others?

Roobarb, I hope all goes well with you, I too would be in the anxious lot!
Best wishes to you all.

Chris

😉

[River Tyne Lass]

Yes, this going to be a balancing act.  Infections are likely going to keep rising but we are also having to think of the economy.
It is heartbreaking that some businesses have gone to the wall and that people have lost livelihoods. 
Even before this 'Freedom' day the affect of the rising infections has been felt in my area.  Some people are having to pull together to work longer and harder and some services are having to be withdrawn already.
For example, where I live some bus services are having to be withdrawn on a daily basis as they haven't got the full complement of drivers.  I am leaving for work earlier just in case problems arise.  My DiL, who is a nurse, is having to pick up extra shifts.
The other day a man (I won't mention where he works, but he wasn't a bus driver) said that he was supposed to work a one to eleven shift but was having to work a six to eleven shift.
Yes, the big positive is that we have the vaccine and so many have been vaccinated and this will save countless lives.
An anti-vaccination person said to me the other day, that we should just open everything up and live lives as normal and let nature take its course.  Yes, there will be so many different opinions out there.  It is one of th e great things about our nation that we do have freedom of speech.
I think we have to be careful though still, so services don't end up overwhelmed and infections are kept under control.
Yes, I agree that it is down to us all now to play our part.  Unfortunately, as we have seen some people won't.
I plan to keep wearing a mask, distancing and sanitising.  I feel it is far too soon to dispense with this. 
The eyes of the world will be upon us.  Goodness knows how things will turn over the next few weeks.  I just hope enough of us will be willing to step up and play our part so it will be more an outcome of swimming than sinking.  Another potential lockdown situation almost doesn't bear thinking about.