Uncertainties in an already uncertain world

To lockdown again or not to lockdown again? That is the question

Cases of COVID-19 in England are doubling about every 7/8 days and this is not wholly unexpected. As autumn and winter come in we are to expect and uptick in all types of viruses and there is no reason that this should be any different.

There are lessons to learn from the southern hemisphere though. They are just emerging from their winter and there have been far less cases of flu and the common cold as people have locked down and improved hygiene standard to get COVID-19 under control.

As things stand they are not looking good and the Chief Medical Officer has suggested that the country go into a new two week total lockdown to get the numbers under control here. There have not been a high number of deaths recently, but this is because a lot of the new cases have been in young people who are statistically more likely to survive if they don't have an underlying health issue. The problems begin when they take the virus home to an elderly or vulnerable person and a lockdown could prevent this from happening.

Of course it is easier to blame the public when your 'world beating' test and trace system is, quite frankly, a piece of crap. The testing system is totally broken. People are being told to travel hundreds of miles for a test with no guarantee they can have one when they get there. There is no test and trace app available, despite us being told we could have one in the summer. Without an effective system in place we cannot get this virus under control. A two week lockdown is just a sticking plaster holding together a chasm.

Secondary issues with another lockdown

Mental health issues have increased in the population a lot this year. People have been scared to leave their houses or have felt isolated as they have been forced away from family and friends. We are a social animal and we need other people. 

Yesterday I wrote about returning to work. A huge part of my job is spontaneously talking to other people. It saves having meetings and allows s to work on issues as they arise and before they get too big. It was the case yesterday as, within five minutes of a colleague arriving at our socially distanced office, I had solved an issue that had been plaguing them for weeks. 

Just being in communication with other people and being in their physical presence made a huge impact on me and made me feel so much better for the first time in months. Being at work helped me to separate work and home. I think a lot of people feel this way.

There will be people who thoroughly enjoy working from home and never want to go back to the office, but a lot of people need that separation. Just as we are starting to get used to going back to work in our offices we might be locked down again. Just as people like me are getting their hopes up we are going to told to work from home again and we are not going to be allowed to see all the people we work with and need to be with. That is going to have a huge impact on people's mental health.

I get the importance of another lockdown if we need to have one, but if we are to have one we need to have an end date in sight. Last time it just seemed never ending, but this time we need a guarantee that it will be two or three weeks so we can plan ahead and have something to look forward to.

Personally, for purely selfish reasons, I want them to lock us down from next week for two weeks. That way I haven't had to get too used to being back at work and I can deal with the lockdown better. On top of that it is my parent's ruby wedding anniversary in the same week as my fourth wedding anniversary and at the end of October it is my dad's birthday. I would like to celebrate all of these things somehow and not be separated from my family during that time.

However this is to be handled, it has to be done sensitively.