As usual a load of opposition consisting of the same narrow minded stuff as of months past. The fact is that the new strain is causing hospitalisation rates to soar, at a time of year where demand for NHS services peaks, and there is no sign of it slowing down, never mind easing. The fact is that in some areas the NHS is reaching or approaching its limit. The fact is that the virus spreads through close contact via aerosols, so minimising close contact is likely the best (only) way to slow it down before a widespread vaccination can take effect. It has been seen that tier 3 and 4 measures are insufficient to ease the virus propagation, and logic states that easing restrictions and encouraging people to mingle won't do any better, so the only logical alternative is to impose harder restrictions to further restrict people mixing, for a period of time until the pressure on the hospitals eases and the vaccine can take hold.
You can whinge all you like about the effect on the economy, but ultimately if the NHS collapses, we'll all have more to worry about than money, so it is in all our best interests to avoid that happening. This is an unprecedented national emergency which requires major severe measures to get through it, and denying reality doesn't change reality, deal with it. The UK is one of the worst countries in the world affected by COVID, probably thanks to fannying about this time last year when cases were first reported, instead of making a strong leadership decision, shutting the borders and locking down immediately like they did in New Zealand. Sometimes making sacrifices now is necessary to avoid an even worse fate in the future. We dithered around the first time and tried to avoid making the sacrifices, we are paying the price for it now. The best thing to do is not repeat the mistakes of the past and the consequence of the past, but act now to avoid a worse fate down the line. I'm glad the government has had the courage to implement the lockdown when the evidence strongly suggests it is needed. It is not going to last forever.
There is absolutely nothing narrow minded about expressing very real concern about the state of the economy after this, and the rapidly worsening state of people's mental health.
Considering and weighing up the pros and cons of locking down, versus the pros and cons of worsening mental health & a rapidly declining economy is exactly the opposite of being narrow minded.
It's clear something needs to be done, but it also seems clear that what is being done isn't, doesn't, and won't work. Compliance is plummeting. From a selfish perspective, the only perk of the last lockdown was walking around Birmingham with zero traffic on the road, and zero people around! It was blissfully peaceful. If I see scenes like I saw last March again, I'll be amazed.
People have lost all respect for the government at this point, and rightly so. Boris said on national television yesterday that schools were safe for kids to go back to, yet today is closing them.
How is stopping me from going for a picnic, or a sit in the park to enjoy some fresh air, going to do me, or anybody else - or the NHS - any harm whatsoever? It isn't. On the other hand, how is sitting in my university four walls, with an online education that doesn't come anywhere close to the standards of in person (socially distanced) teaching, and inability to see my family or friends or get some fresh air going to do my mental health any good? It isn't.
I really, really worry for people's mental health through all of this. And I really worry for the economy, too. Destroyed economy = no NHS funding, no jobs, increased poverty, more people on the streets (worsening the current crisis), more mental health problems, more misery for everyone.
I don't envy the government at all - but I don't sympathise with them anymore. They had their chance to do their best and have my sympathy for just being unlucky to be in government at this point - they lost their chance when they handled all of this so poorly.
