Well, it might be a few weeks early and timed around other things going on (ahem), but it looks like restrictions are ending with cross party support. Plan B restrictions (masks, work from home orders) to end next week, and self-isolation measures by March 24.
The WHO has also said Britain is nearing the end of the pandemic. It does look like, by April we will have moved back to a fully functional society (albeit one with endemic Covid-19). Just over two years since we started to find out about something called āCovid-19ā emerging in China, and personally I couldnāt be more glad that we have an end in sight.
This decision is political, not scientific. Covid is not over, the NHS is still under pressure - but hey, spinning out some āgood newsā might buy the Big Dog () some more time, eh?
Iāll still be masking up for the foreseeable. Thereās still a long way to go with vaccinating the world to stave of the threat of future variants. Omicron seems to be going away, but thereās no telling what Pi will be like, or Rho, or Sigma, or Tau. Any one of them could develop a nastier mutation that catches us out.
This shows the desperate lengths they will go to just to distract from the current criticism. Something simple like retaining masks on public transport or in workplaces could do so much to protect the vulnerable. But let the bodies pile high eh.
People can complain about the removal of these restrictions - but itās small fry compared to the Govtās resistance to IP rights being shared (as well as no willingness to allow Covax a chance of securing orders).
The buttresses of this stance (the UK, EU and Switzerland) - are opposed even to the position of the US Federal Governmentā¦
If weāre concerned about variants - then all our efforts should be placed on opposing these policiesā¦
Which is evident by the final two sentences of Borisās statement earlier, where he made reference to their still being 16k in hospital and stating āthe pandemic is not overā. Which I felt undid everything heād just said about being able to remove restrictions.
So, the requirement to self isolate if you have covid is going to be removed on 24th march.
(Gaurdian article above, 2nd paragraph)
Given this, then I would assume that any need for testing would become obsolete too?
If you test positive, no need to isolate, if you test negative, no need to isolate, if you donāt test at all, no need to isolate.
If you feel too ill to go to work, school, or even out at all, then Iād hope that folk would stay at home anyway.
I suppose it could be a way of phasing out the free test kits, which have been rumoured to be ending soon.
Basic human decency is a very good reason to test still. Although there is no legal requirement to self isolate you should still aim to limit contact with others and not just brush it off like people did with the cold
Of course if people acted as you say, they stayed at home when feeling unwell, there would indeed be no need for tests
Can understand where youāre coming from, but I do think weāll see asymptomatic testing drop off a cliff.
Whether thatās a good or bad thing, I suppose weāll just have to wait and see.
I just hope that this eradicates the whole āitās better to go in with a coldā mentality generally rather than specifically with covid. Employers are often to blame for this, focusing on short term staff levels over health/the medium term risks.
Even during the height of the pandemic I didnāt hear much of this going. People still went into work with other ailments, or even knowingly with covid symptoms prior to or instead of testing under the assumption it was something more mild.
As much as Iād like to see us adopt this mentality, or at least something better (look at Japan!) than the current selfish way we do things as a society, i highly doubt we will, because we didnāt adopt much of it in the face of the pandemic.
This is a paradigm shift that needs to happen at a level well beyond just the actions of an individual. Most people probably wouldnāt be able to afford to do the courteous thing. It would require support from government and corporations alike to note the benefits.
I think it would be better to adopt a system that would afford people that opportunity though, one person off work is much better than allowing something to gradually spread among your workforce, potentially ailing them for longer. I know when I would catch a cold it would cripple me for a good fortnight, and my work would suffer for it.
Viral infections can be so disruptive, to deadlines in particular, I have to compute the probability and frequency of potentially contracting one into every risk assessment.
davidwalton
(Award Winning Hot Coral Analyst)
5926
By the way, what do you mean Japan? Japan is well noted for having the the longest hours and lowest sickness rates in the world. Is this what you are hoping for, or did you mean something else?
I was speaking more to their culture and how they approach such ailments. I donāt know about the lowest sickness rates, but I trust your claim, and if true, I think thereās a very clear reason for that!
If we adopted some of their traditions as part of our society, like keeping mask wearing around, make it fashionable, weāll see our sickness rates lower too, and thatās an outcome I hope (though am pessimistic) that weāll see.
Exactly this, easier to walk in ill and be sent home then say you were ill and them not believing you anyway.
Unfortunately as well SSP doesnāt pay the bills for a lot of people but with isolation ending and lateral flow tests rumoured to be going paid no one will be testing anyway.
Speaking from personal experience, SSP is less than 25% of my normal (weekly) wage.
OK, Iām lucky enough to have a bit of money stashed and could manage, but I know a lot of my colleagues would really struggle.
) some more time, eh?