I can only believe there would have been a lot more deaths without precautions. Could put that down to our already creaking NHS.
But no-one is talking about there being "no precautions", are they?
It is the sort of thing that we cannot redo differently to see what the difference is. We can compare to other countries but then have to take into account how good their health system is, age/health demographic and how people worked/lived (I recall it being said that in Sweden more people live alone).
Sweden isn't that different a place to us! Don't believe the people who claim that what they did couldn't be replicated here. If you have some statistic that you think would have an impact, feel free to cite it.
I remember France sending people to Germany for intensive care (or was it the other way around).
In early 2020 Northern Italy got hit bad early on and the UK governments attitude was that it won't happen to us. Then around mid March we woke up !. I don't recall the rest of Italy being in the headlines. But where I worked we had a lot of lorries running between Northern Italy and us so we were very "interested" in what was happening in Northern Italy.
Did any of that happen in Sweden?
I would also say that working and commuting as normal but with extra tasks I was warm to the idea of a bit more lockdown !. I certainly liked there being more space on public transport. I think that is something many still want ? - a lasting effect. Other side of the coin is those who were working from home and isolated.
I think some people did want the parts of lockdown that suited them (i.e. the restrictions on others); not everyone is prepared to admit to thinking that way, so at least credit to anyone who admits it and, yes as you say those who had a very different experience; not everyone who called for lockdowns was able to appreciate the impact on others.
The worse thing apart from the mental health aspects of lockdown and restrictions was that overnight it turned many people into pontificating little Hitlers (or Karen's as they've become known). Even in the last week on social media, I seen a photo get posted on one of the groups and within 10 minutes, someone commented "we were in lockdown, why were you out taking photo's of trains?". I'm like seriously
Indeed; as long as people left the house for the purpose of exercise, there was nothing wrong with taking photos (of anything). There was also no requirement for the exercise to be continuous in nature with no breaks. The rules were ridiculous and those who supported/called for them have very much been proven to be very wrong indeed.
Around the same time a local primary school near me cancels Christmas nativity plans 'due to covid'
Perfectly legal for the parents to take their kids to the local theatre to see the panto.
Another one that someone needs to explain...
Indeed none of it made sense; as you will know (probably better than me!) but for the benefit of others reading this, schools were very scared of repercussions and very keen to be doing as the local council health officers advised.
In the case of York, we had the truly awful Sharon Stoltz who appeared to delight in imposing ridiculously onerous restrictions. 'Guidance' is treated by schools as if it is a sin not to follow it to the letter.
Schools in York couldn't even do after school clubs, not even outdoor activities, such as football, until after Easter 2021. Even then some chose not to until the Summer. And even then each year group had to be in its own "bubble".
Imagine telling kids that they couldn't mix year groups on an outdoor pitch at 4:15pm however just an hour or so later when the same pitch was used by 'the public' there was an organised session in which not only year groups could mix, but schools could mix. Same place, same activity, just barely more than an hour later. And of course, at a local park, anything was fine.
This individual referred to schools as "Covid-secure" settings, which was a term that only someone who lacks
real-world intelligence would use.
yorkmix.com
Schools are classed as Covid-secure settings and use test and trace to control outbreaks, Ms Stoltz said.
But she said she understands parents’ frustrations: “It seems counter intuitive to not have children mix outside school but that they can mix in school.”
That's the thing about intelligence: someone can have a degree and be clever on
theoretical stuff, but when it comes to real-world logic, compassion for others, and an understanding of the bigger picture, some of these people are
very lacking in intelligence.
So many of the people who called for and implemented restrictions lacked real world intelligence; I don't care what degrees they have, they're lacking in intelligence where it counts, i.e. common sense!