JM14 this is my point - with news of the vaccine we should be in the "end game" with a clear, communicated exit strategy. "We may need to lockdown again between X and Y but in line with vaccine deployment, we'll open up A and B etc". Same with the tiers - to date, there is no concrete commitment as to how an area can get out of a Tier. It really is stunning how compliant the population has been in my opinion.
Its feasible that future 'flu strains' or other coronaviruses will 'need to be nipped in the bud very quickly' in future. Its really not beyond the realms of possibility that the tier system becomes a permanent fixture in our lives, even if we get in and out of tier 0 on regular occasions. 77% of flu sufferers are asymptomatic, no one cared about it before but how can people ignore it now? The media certainly won't, and some people love to regurgitate what's in the media.
I agree, its a ticking timebomb though.
I wonder if the NI lockdown is partly just to stop them rioting over the possible outcomes of Brexit. Too easy to make these kind of decisions now.
Yeah but what about 2022's novel 'panda flu' strain that starts sweeping the globe.
We have never locked down for a flu previously so why would we start now?
We have only had the vaccine a week though so no one really knows how quickly it can be rolled out, I’m sure in a few months time when the most vulnerable have been vaccinated we will start to see a quick relaxation of the rules
You've answered your first question with the second question you asked. My point is, this could now be 'the norm'. Is it a bad thing? Well, quite possibly, yeah. There are certainly a LOT of drawbacks.
Mask wearing when you're unwell is much different from saying lockdowns could be a possibility in flu season.
Why only when you have flu? 77% of flu sufferers are asymptomatic. See what I'm getting at now? The world's perspective is changing. We don't just ask Covid sufferers to wear masks. We don't just ask Covid sufferers to stay at home. The only difference is the rate of infection but wait until there's a new flu strain that appears slightly more harmful or slightly more infectious, and see how the world panics.
Its not about 'who benefits', its simply a case of changing perspectives. What is it 20,000 people that die every year of flu? Will we comfortably let them die in future when we know we can potentially stop it? If we get a slightly worse flu strain in future, will the media let it go unnoticed? I doubt it.
Indeed, but these things come at a cost. We *could* see future lockdowns, for other problems. The virus we've seen this year is not just covid, its the media/panic virus as well.
Agree with this, I've always hated seeing people drag themselves into work, coughing and sneezing all over the place. It's surely the end of that culture now.
Interestingly I was due to fly back yesterday, but jacked it off. I had filled the immigration form in online (and annoyingly ordered a test) Got a call today from the government on my mobile, asking if I was isolating at home. I said no I hadn’t travelled in the end. He said no problem, I’ll cross you off the list so you don’t get bothered again.
