Damned if you do.......

[Mice!]

56 minutes ago, timps said:

The trouble is living in Greater Manchester I have been in a lock down tighter than tier two from around August and it hasn’t worked. Bolton went into a tier 3 type lockdown and that didn’t work, I live on the Bolton Bury border and it was a joke, all it did was hurt Bolton’s local economy.

I have not legally been able to see my family or friends outside or inside since this was imposed, then on Wednesday when we were put in Tier 2 I could actually meet family and friends for the first time in over two months outside under the rule of six. Now they are saying nope we are going to stop you again.

Obviously, when we already haven’t been able to socialise or see family at all, outside or inside even under the rule of six for over two months and this hasn’t worked, the appetite for more restrictions without some form of scientific evidence that what they are proposing this time will work is waning.

Having lived in a local lockdown for near enough three months already I have zero faith in them. We were told over two months ago these further restrictions would work and they blatantly haven’t so the feeling is this new tier 3 wont work either.

What Boris is proposing by moving us in to tier 3 means I will not have been able to see my son or family or any friends for an extra month making it 4 months, add that to the original lockdown and you can see why compliance is going to be an issue on the vast majority of law abiding people without some hard-fast scientific facts that it will work.

We don’t have the answers of what to do up here either, we just know what hasn’t worked so far and we were told the original restrictions would work. What Boris is proposing is more of the same hence why the conservative MP I voted for doesn’t back the local lockdown either and he knows it is alienating local businesses and voters that usually vote conservative in a marginal seat.

Ironically, I have just come back from the local pub where I was talking to a local conservative party worker who was involved with the video meeting with the government and my MP about the lockdown. I cannot repeat his views on the meeting due to the swear filter but enough to say that all parties were unanimously against it and were furious with it. I have no time for the mayor of Manchester but when my own conservative MP is more scathing than Andy Burnham about the government there are issues.

I'm sure these kind of lockdowns are doing more harm than good, I have family and friends who come under the Manc area so we haven't seen them, but Blackpool was rammed last week,  the Trafford centre was busy, kids are at school, people are going the pubs and we're being told don't socialise or meet family while it's fine to be out around strangers? I'd rather see family than be in a pub or shopping centre full of strangers.

These bits of lockdown are obviously not working,  the scientists said a few weeks ago to have the 'circuit breaker' and that might not work,  but given the way things are rising in the Northwest something has to happen. 

[oscarsdad]

For me the most utterly farcical thing is what can be done under restrictions...so tier 3 - you can’t meet other households outside,  but you can go for a “substantial” meal in a pub!!! Clearly, if you only have a bag of crisps and a pint then Covid will get you but if you have a three course meal it’ll leave you alone?!?!? 

[JohnfromUK]

9 minutes ago, oscarsdad said:

Clearly, if you only have a bag of crisps and a pint then Covid will get you but if you have a three course meal it’ll leave you alone

It does seem clear that close contact in social/drinking/dining is a major spreader; https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/09/close-case-contact-dining-out-tied-covid-19-spread

Certainly the only people I know who caught it did so in a pub restaurant.  Fortunately both (though not young and not in the best of health) have tecovered.