The new laws will not have a great impact on me personally as we have had very little contact with anyone else throughout this awful pandemic. Our household is just my better half & I (+ 2 cats); I have been shielded and he has had limited contact with others and was wearing a face mask and gloves to do shopping and fill up with petrol as soon as we became aware of the possibility of Coronavirus coming to Britain - long before the government started giving advice or issuing guidelines. My better half and his business partner did not work from about end of February/beginning of March until about the start of August; this almost bankrupted the business they have worked bloody hard on for more than a decade. Even now they are back working it is just the 2 of them, outdoors, not taking any jobs that involve going through people's houses or accepting food or drink from anyone. Discussions with customers take place online or from a 2-metre+ distance and payments are all online - they are being as careful as possible and his business partner is the only other person who has been in our home this year (he was isolated with just his parents in their home for the previous 4 months or so).
We have no plans to gather in larger groups or to go anywhere like pubs or restaurants. We have no school-age children. We shall continue to observe all the precautions we've been taking like lots of hand-washing (they have hand sanitisers/gels, masks & gloves while at work or when shopping - sometimes have access to outside taps and keep a 2-litre container of water in the truck for emergencies). We are still setting shopping down in a pre-wiped spot, wiping everything down or 'de-camping' products into tupperware boxes, bowls, containers or glass jars etc then wiping sides down, wiping bags used and the spot on the floor they were set on - we have a bowl of hot water with a few drops of disinfectant and wash hands several times before, during and after the unpacking process. We realise risk cannot be completely eliminated (this was highlighted even more after seeing a couple of programmes where they sent scientists to test for germs/possible sources of CV19 after very pristine households had cleaned and shopped - they found loads of sources and our house is nowhere near as clean and tidy as those properties were!) We just do what we can to reduce risk factors e.g. I've taken to going round with bleach and disinfectant to wipe down things like light switches, plug sockets, door handles, front door hardware like keyholes and the letterbox (don't want to put postman as risk as he has delivered mail as normal throughout), catflap, light-pulls and as well as cleaning the loo regularly I frequently bleach around the flush button and all taps. We change towels, tea-towels, flannels and cleaning cloths at least daily and if we need to use a clean tea-towel or cloth to dry washed fruit/veg etc it goes straight in the wash afterwards - the extra washing hasn't made a great deal of difference overall. My health problems mean I can't do much, but if I can manage to do extra bits I'll clean the fridge or something. I have difficulty breathing but managed OK with a face mask the one and only time I've been in a shop this year (luckily there were only a couple of other customers and they and the staff also wore masks and kept a respectful distance - in fact everyone was very polite, courteous, careful - it was nice to see social responsibility in action after reading about so many horror stories and seeing all the twats on TV!)
I am a little worried about restrictions getting tighter but more for people like my better half who could lose their businesses if unable to work, for families already on the brink of survival, for those finding it increasingly difficult to manage financially, or with physical health or mental health problems. I have deferred several hospital appointments as I am fearful of going anywhere or having needless risk factors - unless my breathing is so bad it becomes life-threatening again I will not be calling paramedics or going to hospital. I also have a loose tooth and a bit of discomfort but won't ring the dentist unless I absolutely have to. I read so many sad stories that I do wonder how many of us will come out of this pandemic, and how many of those that make it will be unscathed, as such - it seems nearly everyone is affected in one way or another and some families have been hit harder than others. One of our neighbours who has also been shielding is currently aware of 5 friends or family lost to Coronavirus. My beloved aunt died at the end of May and we couldn't even attend her funeral; at least a few of her closer family were there - I know many in Britain and other parts of the world had no service at all, no mourners, nothing but maybe an urn of ashes to collect at a later date. It is hard to be thankful in these times, hard not to see that some people seem to have it a lot easier than others e.g are rich enough not to have to work or worry about mortgages, purchases etc, that have 'land' or big gardens, family around them, whereas others live alone, have no money or access to safe gardens, or are stuck in flats with children or relatives with special needs, health problems, are carers for their loved ones or nursing those with chronic or terminal illnesses. (My better half has said how tough he finds it trying to look after me while keeping me as protected as he can, juggling his conscience with every job request as he weighs up risk factors, not seeing his vulnerable parents for the best part of a year - he also has a terminally ill friend that he is unable to help with anything but a bit of online moral support whereas under normal circumstances he would visit and do what he could to help while there)
Another worry I have with tightening restrictions is for out local animal rescue (and similar charities, wildlife parks, zoos etc) - they have been operating without the army of volunteers that normally assist them and with everybody having to tighten the reins on personal budgets the rescue has had fewer donations - therefore less more to care for the same amount of animals and knowing the chances of being asked to rescue more animals increase as people struggle more. I've been giving a small donation as often as I can and just hope others do the same - it must be horrible to have that sort of responsibility let alone trying to finance it in the current climate.
