Non - Pandemic

A slow return could take many forms, a mix of working from home and from the office, on different days, flexible working times to avoid a peak rush on public transport for example.

Its not a free choice if all of a sudden like flicking a switch employers demand Mon-Fri 9am till 5pm packed buses, trains and tubes and no masks all to appease those get back to normal types who have no thought for other people’s mental well-being.
A huge number of people have already embarked upon the going back to work routine, some full time some part time, traffic numbers on roads, trains and buses have also greatly increased so it's not a sudden flick of a switch for many people. The roads around here are pretty much as busy as they were pre COVID. As for mask wearing no one is going to stop anyone wearing a mask if they want to - and I suspect many will continue after lockdown has finished.
There are millions in this country who have worked all or a great part of this last 16 months and I don't just mean NHS staff; supermarket workers, delivery drivers, train and bus drivers, armed forces, some teachers, construction workers and tradesmen, essential shop workers. Lets help people get back to normal, delaying further will only make it worse.
 
Just having a visit from my stepson, who works for a well known Dorset based brewery chain. He says their latest team briefing suggests they are confident of at least a partial reopening on the 21st, which will include being served at the bar, no one way systems, masks being optional, that kind of thing.
I think that is the least they should be doing.
 
A huge number of people have already embarked upon the going back to work routine, some full time some part time, traffic numbers on roads, trains and buses have also greatly increased so it's not a sudden flick of a switch for many people. The roads around here are pretty much as busy as they were pre COVID. As for mask wearing no one is going to stop anyone wearing a mask if they want to - and I suspect many will continue after lockdown has finished.
There are millions in this country who have worked all or a great part of this last 16 months and I don't just mean NHS staff; supermarket workers, delivery drivers, train and bus drivers, armed forces, some teachers, construction workers and tradesmen, essential shop workers. Lets help people get back to normal, delaying further will only make it worse.

And a huge amount of people have been working from home throughout and have been staying at home.

Why shouldn’t that be phased just because others have been either working throughout or have already been doing a mixture?

The answer to lifting the restrictions is numerous shades of grey (maybe not quite as many as 50...), it’s certainty not as black and white as some suggest.
 
I don't think there is any doubts things will be moved back or certainly some restrictions staying for a while like masks inside supermarkets etc
 
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Yes it was promised as data not dates but it was also made perfectly clear by BJ at the time that the dates given in the roadmap were the earliest possible. Everyone seems to have forgotten that.

Human nature, people remember what suits them.

Did we have the Indian variant then?
 
Yes it was promised as data not dates but it was also made perfectly clear by BJ at the time that the dates given in the roadmap were the earliest possible. Everyone seems to have forgotten that.

They also mentioned as long as there wasn’t any concern over new variants, something also forgotten.

Personally, I think some lifting of restrictions can be made, but not a full “freedoms day” of things back to February 2020...
 
Yes it was promised as data not dates but it was also made perfectly clear by BJ at the time that the dates given in the roadmap were the earliest possible. Everyone seems to have forgotten that.
I think a lot of people have also forgotten that "number of cases" wasn't mentioned in the list of factors to consider. Hospitalisations and deaths was the relevant factors. It wasn't, at that time, considered to be a major issue if large numbers of people were carrying the virus but few were suffering from it.
 
They also mentioned as long as there wasn’t any concern over new variants, something also forgotten.

Personally, I think some lifting of restrictions can be made, but not a full “freedoms day” of things back to February 2020...
We shouldn't be talking about "lifting of restrictions". The right to hold a public meeting is not something that should be at the easy discretion of the government. The default position should be that all restrictions are lifted at midnight on 20th June and reintroduced at 12.01 am on 21st June if and only if the government can produce compelling reasons to introduce them.
 
For me it's still a balancing act. Going back to a tighter lockdown is the last thing anyone wants, so an extra week or two to make sure seems like a sensible option of figures still suggest an increase in cases by Monday.

If infection figures are not increasing at that point I fully agree with opening up more.

Although it's been a dirty word since Maggie's time, millions of people have still been working in manufacturing since the start, despite the difficulties in getting stuff in and out of the country this year...
 
We have already been told a third wave was either not happening or very unlikely. That's the thing - the media or Hancock will come out with things that have already been shown to not be a worry.

I think this shows that the NHS isn't fit for its one role in society, due to a variety of reasons [ successive Govts, bad planning by the NHS bosses ]. We can't keep the country like this because of it forever.

I also feel - saying politely! - its too easy for some to suggest a small delay won't really matter. To those not really affected by restrictions, it probably feels like that. We are still miles away from a properly normal way of life and as you mention, hospitality is just one industry [ I think that is the fifth biggest in the UK ] that is suffering massively. Entertainment another. Weddings etc. Just a couple more weeks to them is HUGE. And to the millions suffering mentally, it would feel like a hammer blow, not just something to shrug off. And all when we can see levels are so low, it doesn't make sense.

I was trying to be as sensitive as possible to those industries. Its an individual thing really as to how 'normal' your life is at the moment I suppose.
 

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