[News] The UK’s “Three Stage” Exit Strategy To Ease The Coronavirus Lockdown

[cheshunt seagull]

Yes, carefully calculating risks will definitely come into play at some point for me too. Good luck!

Good luck to you as well!

 

[marlowe]

Michael Gove has denied any such three stage exit plan has yet been formulated.

 

[giveusfalmerplease]

i think that any large corporation that has managed to keep their staff working full time from home without any significant business impact to continue - im thinking office workers, computer programmers, telesales, call centres etc. Thats a LOT of people not clogging up the tube/trains again.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Michael Gove has denied any such three stage exit plan has yet been formulated.

So it’s happening then

 

[portslade seagull]

Can we start up a petition for the hairdressers/ barbers to be opened asap .. please ... pretty please

 

[Papa Lazarou]

i think that any large corporation that has managed to keep their staff working full time from home without any significant business impact to continue - im thinking office workers, computer programmers, telesales, call centres etc. Thats a LOT of people not clogging up the tube/trains again.

I work for a large German bank, in London, and at least for our part of that Org, we had a webcast with our senior MD on Thursday and he said that productivity in our division had increased since lockdown. I'd hope that many companies, where remote working is possible / feasible will have been seeing the same; and maybe we'll see a change in how we work after all of this.

 

[darkwolf666]

Yes, carefully calculating risks will definitely come into play at some point for me too. Good luck!

My wife and I had this very discussion ourselves, at about 3am this morning, when neither of us could sleep.
She said, at some point she would venture out as she can't be trapped for 18 months, what sort of life is that... Hopefully things will change and she can take that calculated risk...!

Can I ask those here that are shielding, are all your direct household joining you, or are you following the ridiculous government advice re shared households and shielding...?

 

[BLOCK F]

Czech Rep has been on lockdown for quite a bit before the UK (since March 16th), and people in the UK seem to be getting itchy already. This thing will take time to recover from. Even though they have one of the best records containing it, there is no time soon when normal life is going to be resumed. The latest here is

April 20th: Farmers’ markets, skilled craft workshops, car dealerships [corrected], professional training areas and weddings with up to ten people will be allowed.
April 27th: Small shops up to 200 square meters will be allowed to open (except those in shopping centers above over 5,000 square meters).
May 11th: Shops up to 1,000 square meters will be allowed to open, as well as driving schools, fitness centers, and gyms.
May 25th: Restaurants, pubs, and cafés will be allowed to open, with service from windows or in gardens. In addition, hairdressers, beauty services, museums, zoos, and galleries will be allowed to open.
June 8th: Shopping centers over 5,000 square meters will be allowed to open, along with tattoo parlours, theaters, castles, chateaux, and any other public business or service. Restaurants will be able to open without restriction, and weddings will no longer be subject to attendance limits, though other public events will be limited to 50 people. Sporting events can take place after this date, but without spectators.

So, well into June before it starts too begin to look a bit normal again.

Hi Dave, are there any age related restrictions to be applied?

 

[BLOCK F]

I shall be 72 in July and the thought of being in lockdown for the next 12 to 18 months fills me with absolute horror, probably a feeling shared by plenty of others.
I am the only one in our family in this category and I just cannot imagine that this scenario is feasible. I haven't been beyond the garden gate since a week before the lockdown and could cope with the 12 weeks that was envisaged for us old gits, but 12 months or more? I'd go mad!
Don't even mention missing my little 19 month old grandson.

 

[daveinplzen]

Hi Dave, are there any age related restrictions to be applied?

No, none im aware of. Over 60s have the 1st couple of hours in stores before general public. Thats the only age related thing I know of.

 

[GT49er]

My wife and I had this very discussion ourselves, at about 3am this morning, when neither of us could sleep.
She said, at some point she would venture out as she can't be trapped for 18 months, what sort of life is that... Hopefully things will change and she can take that calculated risk...!

Can I ask those here that are shielding, are all your direct household joining you, or are you following the ridiculous government advice re shared households and shielding...?

Shielding here. Live alone so it's quite simple. Nearest relative lives 10 miles away, and as she works in a care home where many of the residents are tactile, volatile, and lack the mental capacity to understand the concept of social distancing - when they want a hug, they don't take rejection well, and as for carers wearing masks, that would probably freak them out altogether - so I won't be seeing my youngest daughter at all for three months!
Other relatives live further away - and friends even further - haven't had any visitors - or been out - for four weeks now. My only aberration has been to drive my car round the block a couple of times (with windows and vents shut, so self-isolating there, I reckon) - I realise just leaving it standing on the drive for three months or more would do it a power of no good.

I shall be 72 in July and the thought of being in lockdown for the next 12 to 18 months fills me with absolute horror, probably a feeling shared by plenty of others.
I am the only one in our family in this category and I just cannot imagine that this scenario is feasible. I haven't been beyond the garden gate since a week before the lockdown and could cope with the 12 weeks that was envisaged for us old gits, but 12 months or more? I'd go mad!
Don't even mention missing my little 19 month old grandson.

Snap!

.....and cordial greetings to all fellow shielders!

 

[jonnyrovers]

Was speaking with a colleague who has a masters degree in epidemiology. She reckons for at least the next 12 months we'll be switching between varying versions of shielding, isolating, distancing, reduced restrictions. This will be guided by the number of cases and deaths in regions and countries. It will be a dynamic situation right up until, and months beyond the arrival of a vaccine.

Whether she's right or not I think we all need to open our minds to the potential for very long periods of uncertainty and disruption. We're not even started yet...

 

[Machiavelli]

I shall be 72 in July and the thought of being in lockdown for the next 12 to 18 months fills me with absolute horror, probably a feeling shared by plenty of others.
I am the only one in our family in this category and I just cannot imagine that this scenario is feasible. I haven't been beyond the garden gate since a week before the lockdown and could cope with the 12 weeks that was envisaged for us old gits, but 12 months or more? I'd go mad!
Don't even mention missing my little 19 month old grandson.

Top man for doing what you've done and, no, I can't imagine what it'd be like for a year. You're wise enough to make the right decisions for your own situation. Good luck.

 

[Machiavelli]

Shielding here. Live alone so it's quite simple. Nearest relative lives 10 miles away, and as she works in a care home where many of the residents are tactile, volatile, and lack the mental capacity to understand the concept of social distancing - when they want a hug, they don't take rejection well, and as for carers wearing masks, that would probably freak them out altogether - so I won't be seeing my youngest daughter at all for three months!
Other relatives live further away - and friends even further - haven't had any visitors - or been out - for four weeks now. My only aberration has been to drive my car round the block a couple of times (with windows and vents shut, so self-isolating there, I reckon) - I realise just leaving it standing on the drive for three months or more would do it a power of no good.


Snap!

.....and cordial greetings to all fellow shielders!

Sounds really difficult. I'm torn about what to do with my 88yo father, who lives alone (but fortunately in a retirement home), and is bored and frustrated. Best of luck.

 

[dsr-burnley]

I shall be 72 in July and the thought of being in lockdown for the next 12 to 18 months fills me with absolute horror, probably a feeling shared by plenty of others.
I am the only one in our family in this category and I just cannot imagine that this scenario is feasible. I haven't been beyond the garden gate since a week before the lockdown and could cope with the 12 weeks that was envisaged for us old gits, but 12 months or more? I'd go mad!
Don't even mention missing my little 19 month old grandson.

This is the reason why 12-18 months lockdown won't work.

There's also a more powerful reason why it is nonsense. Look at 80+ year olds. There are about 3.25m of them in the UK, and in the next 18 months, half a million of them (under normal circumstances) would die. The highest remotely credible estimate of corona deaths is, coincidentally, half a million - and that's with no precautions at all.

So what are we going to tell 85 year olds? If we let you out, you might die of coronavirus; but by keeping you locked up staring at the walls, with no family visits and no human interaction, you might still die but it will be of something else. There's no benefit to making the last year or two of so many lives into a misery, when they are going to die anyway.

And that's before other deaths and illnesses are taken into account. How many extra deaths for cancer not being caught or heart disease not being treated? How many extra deaths, and lives ruined, from people forced to go into nursing homes because they can't cope alone without help? How people with mild or incipient dementia who find that sitting indoors with no-one to talk to is not the best way of keeping the mind active?

18 months lockdown is worse than rampant coronavirus. It can't happen. Assuming the NHS isn't utterly swamped, they need to relax the rules for the elderly to let them take their chances if they want to. Maybe family visits only; but they must have visits and excursions.

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

Out of interest, which specific app is that as there seems to be a few on the google store!

C-19 seems to be supported by King's College London

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

what is this COVID-19 App?

There's about 2.5m people on it reporting how they are, whether they've been tested and adding profiles for others they are with to see what's happening on the ground. It's called C-19

 

[Notters]

There's about 2.5m people on it reporting how they are, whether they've been tested and adding profiles for others they are with to see what's happening on the ground. It's called C-19

It's called COVID Symptom Tracker.

But you can't find it on Google Play store by searching for covid, you have to search for symptom tracker.