Roadmap out of Lockdown - Feb 22nd

[Neville's Breakfast]

Emm, seems quite cautious and dare I say sensible. Still like to see tighter borders to keep new variants out.

Overall, I expect the Tory right to have a meltdown over this

Thank goodness Keir Starmer and Labour are onboard. The Government can get this through without needing any of the ‘all that matters is the economy’ brigade.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

So let's keep the schools shut. I don't see why it is deemed acceptable to place teachers at unnecessary risk when they can just as easily not reopen the schools.

The past few weeks the broadcast media has been full of pieces about children’s mental health and virtually nothing about the risks to teachers or families. The other day I saw a 5 year old on Sky TV discussing mental health and I realized the way things were going.

 

[Chicken Run]

My wife and are in our early 50s with two kids at secondary school. Neither of us have been vaccinated, she has a chronic medical condition and there are now mutant strains of the virus that weren't around several months ago.

One year on from the start of all of this I feel this is the riskiest point for my me and my wife.

I get where your coming from and we all see things differently, since March 25 2020 I’ve on a daily basis come within 1.5 meters of over 3200 different people of all age groups in a confined inside space earning 50% less than before Covid, I’ve been lucky not to catch Covid in this time and today I feel less at risk than I did six months ago.

 

[JC Footy Genius]

I just cannot fathom why Johnson is so continually refusing to vaccinate teachers. Now that the priority groups are done it wouldn't be a major indentation in the figures to do them. Has he just backed himself into too much of a corner to come out of it?

He gets criticised for not taking expert advice then criticised for taking expert advice ...

England's Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Jonathan Van Tam told a coronavirus briefing: "Is there a clear signal in the data of a markedly increased rate of infection or mortality in teachers? No."

Teachers in England and Wales were not at significantly higher risk of death from coronavirus than the working age population, ONS figures covering March-December 2020 suggest.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/55841748

 

[Guinness Boy]

The priority groups are not done.

We have 9 priority categories for a reason and category 9 is due to be complete by mid April. Let's not have any queue jumpers until then.


I'm pretty hacked off that priority groups 7-9 are pretty much forgotten in this lockdown lifting saga.

So let's keep the schools shut. I don't see why it is deemed acceptable to place teachers at unnecessary risk when they can just as easily not reopen the schools.

I'm not sure why "shut schools" is better than "vaccinate teachers". The latter would be a better outcome IMO. One of the directors of an Academy group was on Radio 4 this morning with a suggestion that teachers should get a 20 year "age premium" so that a 40 year old teacher is vaccinated as a 60 year old non teacher would be. Seems sensible, doable and would address both the fears of you and HKFC re teachers on the frontline and the complex needs of kids struggling to keep up and parents trying to work and home school potentially many different age groups.

Every day the schools open back up is a chance for those most at risk to catch back up.

 

[Napper]

looks fair enough. Glad i didnt listen to the doom mongers writing off the year.

Get march out the way and once into april it will be game on for some good times with outdoor pubs and friends / bbqs.

Free for all for peak summer. Everyone will be letting hair down for the euros.

Start of the season good to go

Game on

 

[RossyG]

The prime minister hopes that step four, from 21 June, would see the end of all legal limits on social contact

So 30,000 at the Amex in August? Is that right? Suits me if so.

May for cinemas and pubs is ridiculous though. I think the big cinema chains (Odeon, Picturehouse, Cineworld) will be in big trouble. (That said, consumer confidence might be a problem regardless what the government do).

 

[beorhthelm]

So let's keep the schools shut. I don't see why it is deemed acceptable to place teachers at unnecessary risk when they can just as easily not reopen the schools.

so lets keep the shops shut. etc. there is a weighing here of children's education, their future and a low measure of risk for teachers. when would you like the schools to reopen, mid April? May? September?

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

What happened next was a second wave much much later WITHOUT A VACCINE..three weekly seems in my joe public opinion more reasonable

What happened next was schools were re-opened....
Scientists have explained the risk to the vaccination programme posed by mutations of the virus. As to the 3 weeks or 5 weeks that is a decision for scientists. I don’t have an opinion and I am not sure why anyone in Joe Public would have one.

 

[sparkie]

I'm not sure why "shut schools" is better than "vaccinate teachers". The latter would be a better outcome IMO. One of the directors of an Academy group was on Radio 4 this morning with a suggestion that teachers should get a 20 year "age premium" so that a 40 year old teacher is vaccinated as a 60 year old non teacher would be. Seems sensible, doable and would address both the fears of you and HKFC re teachers on the frontline and the complex needs of kids struggling to keep up and parents trying to work and home school potentially many different age groups.

Every day the schools open back up is a chance for those most at risk to catch back up.

Why should category 9 parents - already deemed a priority - be shoved out of the queue just so younger cohorts can jump in ?


Pretty much most weeks we hear of people championing different groups of queue jumpers. Just get categories 1 - 9 done first.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

View attachment 134113

How do you have 30 at a funeral, only 6 at a wake, but no mixing indoors?
A couple of drinks in the car park?

 

[pb21]

So what is the logic behind (high risk) schools reopening, while numerous other low risk activities are put further on hold?

Disappointed and baffled by this myself.

It's not just risk but benefit too.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Its a ****ing disgrace, and its about time the teaching unions man the **** up.

I think the unions are in a difficult place. A government that could well turn out to be the least union-friendly in history, some very unfriendly sections of the media, scientific data being GROSSLY misused to claim that teachers aren't at additional risk and a general public that are increasingly desperate to get kids back in the classroom, it would appear.

 

[dsr-burnley]

It's all about the key workers. Medical staff, and supermarket staff, and delivery drivers, and food producers, and so on, are all key workers and just had to (and chose to) get on with it because they knew their jobs were essential. Teachers are not key workers and their jobs aren't essential so they are willing to wait as long as it takes.

 

[Hugo Rune]

Will Euro 2021 be pushed back a week or so to after the 21st June?

 

[dazzer6666]

How do you have 30 at a funeral, only 6 at a wake, but no mixing indoors?
A couple of drinks in the car park?

I went to one a couple of weeks ago - the church had been made 'covid secure' with marked seats, distancing etc all in place and carefully managed. I believe allowing 6 at a wake was a minor concession given the circumstances (and if there was no concession far more would take liberties I suspect, so a calculated risk)

 

[Napper]

So 30,000 at the Amex in August? Is that right? Suits me if so.

May for cinemas and pubs is ridiculous though. I think the big cinema chains (Odeon, Picturehouse, Cineworld) will be in big trouble. (That said, consumer confidence might be a problem regardless what the government do).

12th april pubs outside. weather should be better , good enough

 

[Napper]

Will Euro 2021 be pushed back a week or so to after the 21st June?

I imagine the cup final and play offs will be pilot events and the numbers will be putting big pressure on a total lifting by then so reckon will be fine

 

[Mellotron]

Family holiday in UK in June - 3 households - 9 people. Likely be fine, right? Says in the PDF that there will be relaxing of social contacts in stage 3 and more emphasis on personal responsibility.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I went to one a couple of weeks ago - the church had been made 'covid secure' with marked seats, distancing etc all in place and carefully managed. I believe allowing 6 at a wake was a minor concession given the circumstances (and if there was no concession far more would take liberties I suspect, so a calculated risk)

I understand the spacing although the crematorium I went to in December was small so therefore it was limited to 25.
There was no concession on a wake, but the rule for March says wake 6 but no mixing indoors!