Lockdown

What I want to know is this, after its all apparently over, surely unlocking will just allow people in from abroad and it will all start again. The only way to go is to kind of control things so people still get it but the number who die can be controlled by not overwhelming the health services as it happens. Otherwise you could find yourself in a bit of a problem as New Zealand will have, no cases, but no way to open the border since there was no vaccine yet. Brian

Where do you get that?

"The culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, has said no decision on lockdown measures will be made at the Cobra meeting today, with the announcement instead coming next week" on the Guardian just now.

Quite clearly lockdown is continuing in Wales - Drakeford said so in no uncertain terms. Though minimum diration has yet to be announced.

Just who was the idiot who thought a review on Easter Monday made sense?

Drakeford, rightly in my view, wanted to make an announcement to clarify that Wales is still locked down and people should not go on jollies. And to do so before Easter weekend.

In my view, Westminster must make the decision and hold the absolutely promised review regardless who is ill.

Extended is misleading.

Did anyone sensible expect it to last only a month?

The media have been twisting, exaggerating, and distorting things from day one- this extending nonsense is just another example.

Anyone can see that the severe lockdown in Wuhan lasted over 70 days before COVID-19 cases fell to zero. If the virus is to be defeated, that's the sort of measures that are needed.

Instead, they are talking this morning of relaxing restrictions for the

Instead of going for the herd immunity in one go, and bumping off the wrinklies that way, they are doing the same thing but in dribs and drabs. For those over 60 and those with underlying health issues (especially those who have both risk factors) who want to avoid the virus, this is going to run and run and will mean a very long period of isolation.

The virus is in the general population, even with the borders sealed it'll sneak back in from abroad. The borders can't be effectively sealed anyway, with truckers coming and going, or if not the actual human truckers the trucks.

Yep, relax one or two of the most restrictive rules and watch the new cases rate very closely, if it looks to begin taking off again, bang the restrictions back on. It will be interesting to see what happens in Wuhan over the next two weeks. Have they stayed in lockdown for two weeks with no new (reported....) cases for that entire two weeks? They still have the "import problem" though.

Once the new cases rate is very low more test 'n track and enforced isolation might work to contain it (as it sort of did early on) but with the virus so widely spread in the global population it'll sneak back in from outside.

Anybody who thinks things will be back to normal, ie pubs, restraunts etc open, and large gatherings allowed, in much less than five months doesn't understand the problem.

I really don't think anyone is going to be crossing borders anytime soon unless they can show they can self isolate for 2 weeks. Not just for this pandemic. But the next.

Even if governments won't do it, I can see pitchfork-toting locals chasing "furriners" out of town out of fear.

So nothing new there then? :-)

Wuhan has done it in just 3. It remains to be seen how that works out.

For a change I pretty much agree with you.

What a bloody good idea!

Wuhan still has not opened non-essential shops and services and the population are still being advised to stay at home as much as possible.

SteveW

What seems to have been lost is that the lockdown will not decrease the number of cases. It is simply there to save the NHS from melt down by spreading the cases over time. Personally I think the eye watering cost to the economy would have been better spent pouring money into the NHS.

It actually may.

No. It is more than that. There is evidence it will reduce the

Wouldn't have made much difference. The NHS is a bottomless pit of waste.

Fraid not :-(

The drip-feed of infection vectors by relaxing/re-imposing lockdown measures ensures it's the vulnerable who would be wise to pay the long game...

No matter how much money, they couldn't have purchased enough equipment and medications and hired enough staff fast enough to ensure that a larger, sooner peak would not have had thousands dying untreated in hospital corridors. Everyone would then be blaming the government for failing to stop that.

SteveW

You missed my point. I live alone these days, and see on the average day no one at all.

I rather like it.

They're probably lying anyway.

The virus is at different stages of its progression in the UK. Same as in other countries. With London being some weeks ahead of others.

Chances are they'll ease restrictions on a regional basis. Anything else would be silly.