TBH the motives for the move are irrelevant, an extension of restrictions wouldn't pass a vote in the HOC.
I think the bar and restaurants could have opened using Corona check, limited hours, table service and distancing. Ventilation also an important factor in schools, cinemas, museums and other venues.
That's in your opinion. Of course the motives are important. As I said a gradual reduction in restrictions is the way forward.
I’ll still wear a mask on public transport, as that will be mandatory in London. But the effects of the Omicron variant are clearly very mild, especially in a vaccinated population. I know dozens of people who have tested positive recently, not one has been seriously ill. I don’t see the point of further crippling the economy and causing incalculable damage to the nation’s mental health, to protect people from what is now a mild illness.
The BMJ, the NHS Confederation and science beg to differ from your very mild assessment. Why this all or nothing approach? We're told UK has the fastest growing economy and the " incalculable damage to the nation’s mental health" is way over the top. How about the health, physical and mental, of those in the front line?
I’m with both/all three of you (Tom, Archers & Jab). relax the restrictions, get in with it, BUT why not make masks mandatory? A small thing? It is not only the protection they offer, but a gentle reminder to all to maybe not get so close, wash your hands etc.
Having lived with it and not finding much of an inconvenience I'd include the use of Corona check for entry to venues, restricted numbers in bars and restaurants to give distancing plus a big effort on ventilation particularly in schools, cinemas, museums and exhibitions. A note of caution. The Omicron variant is milder than the Delta which in turn was more virulent than the Beta. The high transmission rate of Omiron means more infection so the small percentage of complications is still a big enough number to put immense pressure on under resourced NHS and care services. The high number of infections increases the likelihood of mutations that may or may not be more dangerous. I'm expecting regular vaccinations similar to the flu and pneumonia jabs I already get as new vaccines are developed to combat new variations.
As of tomorrow Ireland are getting rid of the majority of restrictions bar mask wearing...Cant believe it, absolutely delighted!!!
Update from the care home where my wife works: famous anti-vax TV person refuses to wear mask while visiting her father; succeeds in infecting her father, other residents and a nurse; father now in hospital very ill with Covid. I am not in favour of authoritarian government but there are occasions when a return of the stocks would be in order…
I’ll look into it, but my sympathies are with the poor father at the moment, he didn’t deserve any of this situation.
So sad and so unnecessary. Hopefully her father will pull through and hopefully, if he doesn’t, she doesn’t use his death to illicit sympathy from her supporters. Luckily the government has ring fenced care homes to keep them safe.
Update on the care home situation (see above). The man whose daughter infected him with Covid is now dying in hospital.
So sad and unnecessary. For what it’s worth, on the day in December, that Johnson announced moving to Plan B Covid restrictions, there were 161 deaths and 51,342 new cases. On the day he announced lifting the restrictions, the daily death toll was 359 and new cases 108,069.
And Jacinda Ardern has put New Zealand back in lockdown, even to the extent of cancelling her own wedding, as Omicron causes the largest infection rate so far.
