Up to the 2nd December.

Whenever we come out after a few weeks it ll shoot up
Until they get a workable track and trace nothing will make any difference or until they stop overseas travel This is now termed the ‘Spanish wave’ as it all came about from European travel, both ways
I m very annoyed as I m in a low risk area and we could easily have kept going

And that is the problem Nanawind, there is never any real certainty. I guess that is the nature of the virus.
We have been given an actual date, December 2nd. On 30th November all the universities need to have been emptied of their students and have sent them home for the Christmas break. Otherwise they will all come out and see it as a reason to party before Christmas, and then will go back to their families and spread it to their older members.

I feel sorry for the govt. They can't win. They have one group of scientists saying they must lockdown and another saying no just isolate the vulnerable and get back to life. One school lobby saying schools must close but another saying its vital they stay open. Unis should close vs unis must stay open etc. Meanwhile, somehow the economy must be considered. Absolutely no easy answers. No matter what they do a whole lot of people will be furious and the arm hair experts will continue their online heckling! It's a sair fecht.

I totally agree with the second set of scientists lock down the vulnerable and carry on carrying on

I wouldn't be surprised if it was extended as I think it was put in place to late. Johnson sounded almost panicked about how bad things could get.
Apparently the situation is as difficult as March. I live in a coastal town in the South and infections have rocketed.
I cant help but feel more gloomy as feel we are not only appearing to not have learned lessons but we are in a worse situation than March.
NHS/Care staff have barely recovered and they know what is to come,hopefully PPE available.
Theres less of a sense of unity than in March.
People may have had more of a financial cushion in March which has now disappeared.
I wonder how many were made redundant last week as employers thought furlough scheme was ending? For those still covered by it the anxiety must be terrible. Other countries extended it until Spring. At least recipients would have some financial security. In UK people will have the added stress of not knowing month to month if can pay their bills.
Those that were shielded or high risk have been thrown to the wolves with a caution to be careful. No official support if they are working, survival of fittest.
I must admit I'm glad schools are staying open for the sake of the childeren. It does raise questions about those staff and childeren that are clinically at risk though.
I do wonder if it can be called a lockdown really. Hospitality is shut and what's left of non essential shops. Households can not mix,even if in back garden., but vulnerable grandparents can provide childcare.
I think Universities could have been online for a year. Unfortunately due to lack of fees etc many would probably have gone bankrupt.
I can visualise Johnson stamping his feet and agreeing to a lockdown but petulantly giving as little support as he could get away with.
Its depressing and I fear the worst is yet to come.

I can visualise Boris resignedly doing what the 'science' says.
Also, us Brits are an independent minded lot. We won't mindlessly agree to isolate ourselves. I'm sure we all know what we should do but I bet we also all know people who think that, somehow it's OK for them to go out and about as normal and who think that those of us who adhere to guidelines are just paranoid. People eh?!

BlueBelle

I totally agree with the second set of scientists lock down the vulnerable and carry on carrying on

Between 20 and 30 million people in the UK are considered to be clinically at high risk. Shielding them all would involve locking up between a third and almost half of the population.

Also, us Brits are an independent minded lot

Carefully worded. I’m sure we could all think of more apt expressions but I doubt GN would allow it.

BlueBelle

Whenever we come out after a few weeks it ll shoot up
Until they get a workable track and trace nothing will make any difference or until they stop overseas travel This is now termed the ‘Spanish wave’ as it all came about from European travel, both ways
I m very annoyed as I m in a low risk area and we could easily have kept going

Nowhere in England or Wales in now considered to be low risk. Even places such as Cornwall and parts of Devon have incidence rates above the threshold considered to be critical by international definition.

I would have thought a partial school lockdown would work. It would need a lot of organisation, but if schools were closed for 2 or 3 weeks, that time could be used for the preparation.

Rotas of small groups would need to be organised (bubbles). The students could go in, receive their instructions, ask questions and receive prepared work packs (teachers could plan them, admin staff could do the copying/putting together). Teachers would be timetabled to move around, while the students stayed in one room. Students go away for the rest of the week and do the work. Online support could be available at specific times for the students who need help.

I am no manager but the above sounds doable to me. The few staff that need to sheild could be the ones doing the online support.

This way, we could limit the contact students have with each other but they could also get some face to face teaching AND have online support. The work packs would get around the problem of students with poor IT not being able to access online lessons.

Excellent comments above. Yes the school / university situation could be worked much more safely but the government just seem unwilling to show commitment to it. They throw out guidelines and make massive (and often false) assumptions about Covid safe environments and then just retreat with their fingers in their ears.

AFAIK most universities aren't doing face-to-face teaching. My son was told before he returned that there would be three seminars a week, but has now been told that all teaching will be online until Christmas at least.

The social mixing is happening in halls of residence and student flats, where it's almost unavoidable.

We are now in lockdown until the 16th of December the Belgian government announced it on Friday night.
Schools on holiday this coming week and that has been extended for a further 10 days.
DD will be working longer hours SIL the same as usual, so it will be busy for Grandma.
Track and trace seems to work ok, DGS was tested last week and we isolated together for a week, great fun.!!!!!
We can go for walks thank goodness and some shops are open, and you can still get appointments with Opticians, Dentists etc. I had a haircut last week, nice timing.
St Nicolas comes on the 5th/6th of December luckily DGS Belgian Godparents take care of that, it's fine getting things online but as DGS is here during the week he is always very interested in any packages arriving.
Luckily I get deliveries for a friend here so I just put them away.
We are allowed one visitor if you live alone, a young woman I know had to self-isolate after returning from abroad, the Police came to her house everyday at different times to check she was there.
I hope this time it works.

BlueBelle

I totally agree with the second set of scientists lock down the vulnerable and carry on carrying on

And when do you see lockdown for the vulnerable ending? Because if everyone else just goes about their normal business, the virus will have free reign over all of them. The 'non vulnerable' will think they are inviolable and all pretence at taking care will end - no masks, no social distancing, no sanitising.

Would any vulnerable people want to step out of their prison into that seething virus soup? I know I wouldn't.

Thought Boris looked strain and drawn with his speech yesterday and no wonder. What an awful job he has and I honestly believe he is doing his best for us all.

mrsgreenfingers56

Thought Boris looked strain and drawn with his speech yesterday and no wonder. What an awful job he has and I honestly believe he is doing his best for us all.

Ditto.

I’ve just been reading the papers. It seems there is very little evidence that schools are contributing to the current severe rise in cases. It’s a different scenario in the universities of course. Yes there have been some infections in schools, nearly always among the adults and, certainly in my area they seem to be dealt with quickly and efficiently. It’s yet another burden on our shaky economy if working parents have to homeschool and care for their children during the school day. I’ve also seen first hand how damaging this can be for the mental health of both children and parents.

I totally agree kids are the worse for carrying back germs i know my two grandchildren are like walking bottle of germs when thay get anything thay belive in shearing i can't see the point of lock down when u still have children coming home and a chance thay could of picked sinething up and affect the whole house hold

Why should the vulnerable be made to stay in again when the younger ones are out in big groups , partying and generally going against all advice. And I don't just mean teenagers and students.

Read Professor Gupta. This is awful, abysmal news. Hate it, all the pathetic of our land rejoicing, it will be a millstone for a century. We have a high death rate because of the NHS being too successful, people are living that should not be. Many of our fittest have to work long shifts because of wimps that have decided their previous illness precludes them coming in duty, others that have to work have have have to do their duty. Many nurses, midwives, teachers, transport workers are having to carry all the slope shoulders.

I feel desperately sorry for the politicians and I don't think anything's certain about this situation. I certainly wouldn't like to be making these decisions myself.

However I live in a low-covid area (as indeed it has been all the way through this year); it seems very unfair on people and businesses locally to force an unnecessary national lockdown upon them. And I do like to go to a pub once or twice a week!

Meanwhile the waiting time for my knee replacement, already 18 months, extends ever longer. At this rate I'll be in a wheelchair before they get round to operating. Sigh.

It's pointless second-guessing what's likely to happen. It just gets people more worried.

I have GC at 6th form colleges and the are only part time and have been since September. There have been infections but have been controlled. This is currently lockdown extremely light. Schools open, work places open. Hospitality and leisure are closed, obviously with knock on effects. All the adults in this family will continue at work under these rules, as far as I can see. Of course there's an impact on job security, crystal ball would be useful.

agree Jane, government are damned if they do and damned if they dont, everyone has an opinion different to everyone elses, but , really, none of us know the right way to go, its not a good place to be, young ones say they feel stifled as they cant go partying which is what young people do, us oldies are slowing losing touch with our grandchildren etc, I dont like the video calls , dont really know why, I do keep getting upset and depressed, having a husband with chronic health conditions does not help, he is depressed too, so both ends of the spectrum suffer as well as all in between, one thing I do know. I would hate to be prime minister , what a stressful job, whatever he says or does will be wrong , you just cant do right for doing wrong