Why aren’t the press asking about family contact?

Even if we get to see our grandchildren it won’t involve hugs will it?

Yes they don’t seem to ask the questions we want answered. This is my top one. When can I drive the 100 miles to see my lovely family? My 2 year old grand babies only understand so much on FaceTime and I long to hold them.

Stay strong Julie64

I fear we may not be able to physically hug our GCs till there's a vaccine. Mine too are around 100 miles away, which normally means an overnight stay. Also not possible in the foreseeable future. Thinking about it, even if we could visit (though there and back in a day is tiring at our age) we wouldn't be able to hug them as social distancing would presumably still be in force.

Doesn't sound hopeful in the short to medium term, does it?

My grandchildren live in the US, it could be months or even years before I see them again as overseas travel in a plane will be curtailed for ages.

Hi Julie64, I did hear a question regarding this issue on one of the afternoon catch ups on TV

Matt Hancock dodged the question somewhat

I suppose he just doesn't know. This was the question posed.

She wrote: “I'm missing my grandchildren so much. Please can you let me know if, after the five criteria are met, is being able to hug our closest family one of the first steps out of lockdown?"

MH dodged the question because the short answer is probably 'No', which wont be popular by a long shot. At least the questionner raised this important issue.

I would expect that someone in the back office will be taking notes on both Qs and As so they can get a sensible answer eventually.

Unless they really are stumbling from one balls up to another...

Teacheranne - snap!

Teacheranne and Alishka same here!

I too am longing to be able to hug my family, but with all due respect, I don't understand why people are waiting for permission to do this. Are we not able to form our own judgement? If permission were granted tomorrow, I for one would still be keeping my distance.

More than 600 deaths were reported yesterday. Covid-19 is alive and well and infecting people near you.

What a weak lot we have become. During the VE celebrations yesterday it brought home to me how hard it was in those days when parents had to send their children off as evacuees and didn't know when they would see them again, and fathers didn't see their children until they were sometimes 2 or 3 years old. How much easier we have it by comparison.
Thank goodness for What's App, Skype etc so we can still have interactive contact with our loved ones although no hugging at the moment. I think they just don't know when it will be safe for us to interact fully with our grandchildren. More research is needed in to how the virus spreads and whether children can carry it or not. I see some children have been seriously ill and a few have died from a disease which seems to be related. Again so much we don't know.
We've only had lockdown a few weeks compared with WW2 so let's try to be patient and tolerant as the scientist work to come up with an answer.

I can't imagine there are many grandparents who aren't feeling the loss of physical hugs and cuddles from their own adult children and grandchildren.
Its clear from the images of street celebrations yesterday, that given a chance, children are up close to each other and to neighbours, friends. Its a balance of risk for those of us over 70, more so if we're classed as shielding. We are a very demonstrative family but I can't think I'll be cuddling my loved ones any day soon

Even if we could , which I doubt , how would I choose which Dd and family to visit. We have 3. Also how would they choose which parents/ grandparents they would visit ?
It really is a physical ache isn’t it.

I find it strange that with all this talk of the easing of restrictions and how business etc can get back to work I haven’t heard one question asked about the easing of restrictions on visiting family!

The very first question to be asked from the public at the daily news briefing concerned access to grandchildren.
In the scale of protecting life, which is what these restrictions are all about, I think people's need to cuddle their grandchildren comes, quite rightly, very low on the list of priorities. Starting work again is far more important; people need to earn money to support themselves, as is broadcast every day, something else the poster seems to have missed.

Yes we do need some courage at this difficult time and do we want to see the virus start to spread again ?

We would be better to think of another year of social distancing including family rather than wishes for something that’s not going to happen.

I see my neighbours daughter turning up every week with her baby and everyone sits together in the garden talking and which really makes me sad as I can’t see my GC. I’m waiting for us to hear the R rate is up next week as so many are now letting the social distancing slip and have begun going out shopping etc daily.

I think the lock down was delayed because our government didn’t want to come down heavy handed the way some European governments have and they expected The People to have a bit of common sense and intelligence and use the guidelines in a way appropriate to their personal circumstances. They obviously overestimated!

Incredibly the R rate is coming down - but probably a lot slower than if everyone had got common sense and intelligence. There’s too many people who agree with the guidelines but think it only apply to other people.

I agree with Bathsheba, I won’t be going by government guidelines ( certainly not Boris’s guidelines), but I’m not chancing contracting the virus when living alone. It’s not worth the risk.

Yes, my arms ache to hold mine!

I did see the question from a member of the public about when can we hug our grandchildren. I was talking about the last few days since all the speculation about what Boris is going to say on Sunday evening. Sorry I didn’t make that clear. I too have seen neighbours breaking the rules and having visitors and I’ve felt very sad and mad that I am sticking to the rules whilst others flout them!
Thank you for your comments, I know so many of us are longing to see our families.
I do wonder though at the cost this is having on everyone. Some of the rules seem arbitrary , how is it ok to stand in a queue outside a supermarket for an hour chatting to the person in front of you, yet we can’t talk to a member of our family from the garden gate? Taking into consideration that you don’t have to travel miles to do that!
If people can go to work and maintain the 2 meter distance then why can’t we sit with friends in the park as long as we keep the distance. I find it very confusing and unfair.
I have kept to the rules, I’ve done everything required of me, but I admit that if this goes on much longer then I am not willing to abide by rules that don’t make sense to me.
I would isolate for 2 weeks and not go anywhere and my daughter and family would do the same, then I would be there in a heartbeat with my grandchildren in my arms.
As long as we lived like that for the duration then I can’t see us being any more danger to other people than I already am going out for walks and going to the supermarket where people do not keep to 2 meter distance at all!
I know some may jump on me and call me selfish, but tell me how this is any worse than going to work and mixing with many people not in your’ household’?

That's nothing wrong with talking at the garden gate or in a park, keeping a suitable distance.

Unless they really are stumbling from one balls up to another...

Surely not!

Blinko
MH dodged the question because the short answer is probably 'No', which wont be popular by a long shot

I don't think he dodged the question. He was sympathetic but the short answer is no one actually knows when that time will come and it depends on many factors, including the degree of vulnerability of other family members.

Until such time as an effective vaccine is in just (and that could be a very long time), the ONLY way of anyone avoiding contracting this virus is to keep themselves totally isolated.So, if you are willing to do that for anything upto the next five years or so, then any other way of living means that many people will contract this virus.
However, that is NOT a death sentence. For the over-whelming majority it would nothing more than a week or so feeling unwell, for a few it might mean hospitilisation, for a very small number, unfortunately, they will die.
Tens of thousands of people die every year in this country from the result of seasonal flu, heart attacks and cancer. The first of these is highly infectious - how many of you isolate yourself every winter to try to prevent yourselves from getting it?
The Stay Home, was in order that the NHS system was not over-whelmed. So this has been pretty successful.
Do people really think that teh whole country should stay at ?home forever.

I think that those of us who are missing our children and grandchildren should just count ourselves lucky that we have families to miss.
Let us save our sympathy for those who have nobody, instead of just feeling sorry for ourselves.
Also, remember that although children rarely get the virus, some children have died. Imagine if you were a non symptomatic carrier and infected your grandchildren with your hugging.

I have not been out of the house except for a daily walk and click and collect for the past 7 weeks and neither have my daughter and her son. We double up on the food orders and I drop her part of the order off at her house. Last Saturday we both decided, individually, that we were not a risk to each other now, any more than we would have been if we had all locked down in one house so now Saturday mornings we sit out in my garden together. We don't hug just chat at 6 feet apart. Should he go back to school then we will stop immediately but I think we do have to work out the risks for ourselves a bit more.