Disconnect with the data.

I don't think that mandatory wearing of masks in public enclosed spaces, strong advice on social distancing, government investment in ensuring that schools and FE establishments are properly ventilated to protect our young people, and support for people who are isolating because of contact with covid victims are unreasonable mitigations to ask for from the government.

These are in no way at all equivalent to a lockdown and, let's be honest, how many people are observing lockdown even now, before restrictions are lifted?

Covid attacks internal organs and causes brain damage. This has been recognised for a very long time now. It can do this even after a 'mild' attack of the illness. How can we be justifying risking the long term future of our younger generations?

I understand that 'long covid' is also serving to draw attention to the condition of ME sufferers and is spurring more research in this area. Which can only be a good thing.

So can those 7 million operations take place if the hospitals have to cope with a rise in covid hospitalisations? Anyone that is concerned about that would surely do everything possible to prevent the infection rate from rising. Awful for your husband it may be but what about those people with eg blood cancers that will have to completely shield indefinitely if people don’t wear masks.

Firstly, we are not doing it "all at once". This is step four of
a gradual easing. Secondly, and more importantly, we now
have 7 million people waiting for operations and hospital
visits which is just ludicrous. Thirdly, speaking personally, I have been greatly saddened to see my normally confident husband who is still working and running his own business, gradually become more and more reluctant to leave the house because he is deaf and so embarrassed at having to constantly ask people to repeat what they have said. It's impossible for him to hear shop assistants etc., when they are wearing a mask, usually behind a screen too, and of course with their lips hidden there is no help from lip reading. Let's start living as we are meant to!!

The only way to beat this is mandatory vaccination, for everyone including children then wait out the four weeks after the double jab and you’ve got herd immunity. This virus feeds on people so we have to cut its food supply by total vaccination. Nothing else will work long term. New Zealand have said they think the dropping of masks etc. is reckless and they are considering putting U.K. on their black list.

Oh dear. I’ve been listening to the debate from Australia. It almost seems as though it’s an abandonment of any coherent management response to the situation. More or less “I don’t know what to do - sort yourselves out and take responsibility for the consequences”. After everything that the UK has been through I can only imagine that you are all pretty weary, bewildered and ‘punch drunk’ having been pulled hither and yon by the impacts that COVID has had and the inconsistent Governmental response. I was alarmed yesterday when I heard a woman (don’t know who it was…) in Parliament suggesting that daily reporting of infections should stop and that only hospitalisations and deaths should be reported. Given what I’ve been reading about the effects of long COVID it seems as though that is more about political ‘face saving’, isn’t keeping the public properly informed and thereby unable to take an informed decision. I’m so sorry ….
I would add that Morrison has been a disaster too. Infection rates in Australia are low largely because we are an isolated country - not because of any robust planning on the Federal Governments part. The botched vaccine roll out has become farcical - well done to the NHS on that front - it’s been fantastically well organised, information has been clear and messaging about getting the vaccine has been consistent.

Looking at all the football celebrations tonight after our win over Denmark, it seems that a large majority of the country no longer care about wearing masks indoors or social distancing anywhere. One can only worry about how many new cases there will be in 2+ weeks time. Cases are certainly not going to decrease after all the multi-National sporting events all over Europe atm.

After all our sacrifices over the last 16 months, it seems a tragedy that everything could go wrong due to so many nations descending on sporting venues both in the UK (including London and Glasgow) and in other countries, not to mention the up-coming Olympics in Japan, where I believe Covid is still rife! ?

I think that we must get used to living with covid the vaccines will improve and it will be treated the same as flu fingers crossed

Robert Dingwall is a scientist I respect, so I was interested in his ten points about releasing restrictions.

'As a member of government advisory bodies, I have always felt it would be incompatible with that status not to wear a face covering where legally required to. However, I shall cease to do so from 19 July when these requirements lapse.

I shall do this as an act of solidarity with all the people who have been exempt because of respiratory and neurodiverse conditions.

I shall do this as an act of solidarity with all the people who have been exempt because of trauma induced by previous assaults or abuse

Both of these groups have often had a hard time over the last 15 months from police officers, street marshalls, security guards, door staff and self-appointed busybodies

I shall do this as an act of solidarity with all the people with communication difficulties, whether auditory and unable to lip-read, or visual and unable to use sound for reliable interaction and navigation

I shall do this as an act of solidarity with all the small children whose education has been disrupted by the lack of visual clues, especially in language development

I shall do this because, as SAGE, ECDC, WHO, CDC, CEBM, etc have pointed out, the evidence of benefit in interrupting transmission from face covering is weak and ambiguous, allowing any partisan to cherry pick studies that suit their case

I shall do this because, as the highly charged responses to the UK government's announcement have shown, the main reasons for covering faces are now about fear and anxiety which will not be eased by clinging any longer to these comfort blankets

I shall do this because I, too, am a moral person who cares about those with disabilities who are potential victims of discrimination, about small children whose development is disrupted, and about respect for scientific evidence

If others take a different view, that is their prerogative. However, I will not allow them to suggest that I am less moral or caring and I will expect them to respect my choices as I respect theirs

effalump

Let's be honest. If you could go on TV, frighten the life out of an entire nation and get paid millions for it without actually having to do anything. Why wouldn't you? If they bothered to debate with REAL scientists, REAL epidemiologists and REAL doctors they would find out that when viruses mutate, they mutate downwards in other words they get weaker. Each mutation is weaker than the previous. Unless it's been engineered from Day 1. Listen to Dr Mike Yeadon who, for many years, was top of the tree for Pfizer. Do some research instead of listening to the British Bulls**t Corporation.

But the Kent variant is more transmissible and the Delta variant even more so. And the Delta variant only appears to be weaker because of the vaccination programme. I don’t think there’s any evidence to show that the virus is getting weaker. And surely it would be dangerous to assume that it will.

I think we need to start opening up, but they should have kept advice about face covering and social distancing in place, at least for now until rates start falling and everyone is immunised. I think we should be immunising children too.
As it is, it is just going to cause more division.

I will use a mask in crowded places and for as long as it makes me feel safe I am double vaccinated but not letting my guard down We lived and coped well wearing masks for a long time surely we can cope longer for everyone’s sake.

Let's be honest. If you could go on TV, frighten the life out of an entire nation and get paid millions for it without actually having to do anything. Why wouldn't you? If they bothered to debate with REAL scientists, REAL epidemiologists and REAL doctors they would find out that when viruses mutate, they mutate downwards in other words they get weaker. Each mutation is weaker than the previous. Unless it's been engineered from Day 1. Listen to Dr Mike Yeadon who, for many years, was top of the tree for Pfizer. Do some research instead of listening to the British Bulls**t Corporation.

If or when I use public transport, I have every intention of wearing a mask. However I rarely use public transport.

rocketstop

As some of you will have heard before, my husband works on public transport, at the beginning of the pandemic we both got covid and then long covid, it's been a hard fight back taking over a year and still not right. He will be working in a city that has a really high infection rate, although we are both 'Double jabbed' I don't think we could withstand another bad infection. Surely it's not too much to ask that legally people be still required to wear masks and distance a little bit .You may only go on a bus once or twice, so your risk is low, the driver, train guard, tram conductor, whatever have to be on it all day every day, is it too much to protect them and thus thew whole transport ststem that gets people to work but also to hospital appointments etc. I wish they would tske this into consideration.

I take your point and I will wear my mask on public transport.

apologies for typos in the last couple of sentences !

As some of you will have heard before, my husband works on public transport, at the beginning of the pandemic we both got covid and then long covid, it's been a hard fight back taking over a year and still not right. He will be working in a city that has a really high infection rate, although we are both 'Double jabbed' I don't think we could withstand another bad infection. Surely it's not too much to ask that legally people be still required to wear masks and distance a little bit .You may only go on a bus once or twice, so your risk is low, the driver, train guard, tram conductor, whatever have to be on it all day every day, is it too much to protect them and thus thew whole transport ststem that gets people to work but also to hospital appointments etc. I wish they would tske this into consideration.

I say again. Just because you can does not mean you have to. I know loads of people who will continue to wear a mask. Just because you don't have to does not mean you have to stop wearing one. You are adults. Take responsibility....

With a vaccination programme as successful as the one in the UK, I find it difficult to take anyone seriously who claims the government have given up trying to control Covid.
Subi perhaps you could give us the benefit of your superior knowledge on how to control the virus, given that over 60% of the population are now double jabbed, and over 80% have received their first vaccine. How long do you want us to continue to be locked down for? And have you considered that further lockdown will result in hundreds of thousands being made redundant over the next few months? Perhaps they’re not important!

Yes Subi you are of course right. But have you forgotten that this appalling government is led by an expert in getting away with everything and anything?

The government appears to have given up all responsibility for trying to control COVID! This will be perfect breeding ground for vaccine resistant variation! Reckless and irresponsible action, with rates shooting up nationwide!

Legs55

I will continue wearing my mask in shops/supermarkets & practice social distancing. However I want my life back. I have had a severe infection due to Cellulitis since January, I spent 11 days in Hospital, 2 weeks of self isolation because 2 people on the same ward tested positive for Covid, we were tested twice a week. I had District Nurses coming in every day over those 2 weeks, I was not required to wear a mask as I was in my own home (I did ask). Since then I have attended my GP Surgery for first daily & now every other day for dressing changes.

In March I was told to shield for last 3 weeks until shielding restrictions were lifted, initially I didn't have to shield but the rules changed.

I have always said we will have to learn to live with Covid, vaccination is the route to conquer it as we have overcome many other diseases in the past, Smallpox, Polio to name two.

Individual responsibility is all we can hope for, there have been lots of people breaking the rules even during lockdown

No-one has mentioned the rise in Mental Health problems associated with Covid & isolation/loss of job/breakdown in relationships/loss of a business. We do have to try to get back to some sort of normal life.

I despair that even the Scientists can't agree. Don't forget Boris doesn't make these decisions on his own

I agree with you. (I think it’s quite common for scientists not to agree, though.)

MayBee70

I don’t think it’s ME as the people I knew with it suffered from extreme tiredness, not the heart and lung problems that long covid seems to cause. Maybe the brain fog is similar. I do think ME should have had more research/understanding over the years.

Extreme tiredness is the top symptom of long Covid on the NHS website.
www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/long-term-effects-of-coronavirus-long-covid/

There does seem to be a fair bit of overlap between that list and the list of ME symptoms.
www.nhs.uk/conditions/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-cfs/

They might or might not be the same thing, I guess.

Either way, I think that to say whether coronaviruses are more likely to lead to long-term effects than other viruses or not, proper scientific studies would need to be done.

I will continue wearing my mask in shops/supermarkets & practice social distancing. However I want my life back. I have had a severe infection due to Cellulitis since January, I spent 11 days in Hospital, 2 weeks of self isolation because 2 people on the same ward tested positive for Covid, we were tested twice a week. I had District Nurses coming in every day over those 2 weeks, I was not required to wear a mask as I was in my own home (I did ask). Since then I have attended my GP Surgery for first daily & now every other day for dressing changes.

In March I was told to shield for last 3 weeks until shielding restrictions were lifted, initially I didn't have to shield but the rules changed.

I have always said we will have to learn to live with Covid, vaccination is the route to conquer it as we have overcome many other diseases in the past, Smallpox, Polio to name two.

Individual responsibility is all we can hope for, there have been lots of people breaking the rules even during lockdown

No-one has mentioned the rise in Mental Health problems associated with Covid & isolation/loss of job/breakdown in relationships/loss of a business. We do have to try to get back to some sort of normal life.

I despair that even the Scientists can't agree. Don't forget Boris doesn't make these decisions on his own

Over a year ago I posted a request to GNers to warn their GCs about long Covid. I'd read an interview in the Guardian with a young man (in his 20s) who had it. He had been used to running 5kms 3 times per week, and had been very fit. After covid he had difficulty walking upstairs and with breathing. I forget the rest.

The response from most GNers was that I shouldn't be telling people what to do. I think that they didn't believe me (perhaps because I was quoting the Graun). However, we now know that long Covid is with us and it is serious and should not be taken lightly.

A herd a report yesterday from a medic working in a hospital where all the ICU beds were taken up with Covid sufferers.

Just because we've had two jabs doesn't mean that we can't catch this virus so we still need to take precautions.

The govt is not doing enough to advise people on safety at work. An MP was on the Daily Politics reporting on how he was trying to find out the best way to ensure that his offices were suitable for people to go back to work. He'd not been able to get any advice from the govt.

varian

If the Great British Public has a lot of common sense, how come Boris Johnson is PM?

Because the alternatives offered seemed dire perhaps?

It must be so frustrating for all the superior people looking down their noses at the inferior peasants who are allowed to vote!