It's been 10 days here since the U.K. had it's "Freedom Day" where all Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, and have been replaced with the governments new strategy called "Living with Covid"
So what does this mean? Well, even if you test positive for Coronavirus, you are no longer legally obliged to isolate. You no longer need to wear a mask or even to continue using lateral flow tests. So does this mean that new cases are continuing to decline? Actually, no...and this is what worries me, and millions more in the U.K. who are long term disabled, vulnerable or undergoing treatment for cancer (and other conditions)
As it stands today, the number of new cases in the U.K. have been on a steady increase since the 1st of March, and although we are a long way away from the numbers we were seeing at the beginning of the year, it's still a frightening prospect to see the numbers going up again.
Whilst I do think that another lockdown would cripple the hospitality industry and many other parts of the economy, it seems that there still needs to be a set of common sense measures staying in place to protect those who are vulnerable and continue to be.
I am disabled and high risk, and for me the danger of Coronavirus has been increased due to the fact that I have not been able to tolerate the third vaccine jab as I had very nasty reactions to the first two. So this leaves me in an almost unvaccinated position whilst also being high risk of suffering severely if I do test positive for Covid-19.
These points are scary - for me and for so many others. It also limits and constrains my husband, as he cannot just go out and about in case he catches it and passes it on to me. So essentially, we are right back where we started, with absolutely no protection from others if and when we leave the house. Going to a shop or attending an appointment? Unless it's at a hospital, I've not seen many people wearing masks or using hand sanitiser.
Luckily, the hospitals are all running things with much tighter measures. All staff are masked up, gloved up and the use of hand sanitiser is liberal. Thing is, the things I do for work and life don't run in a hospital, so I'm going to have to stay vigilant, and carry on being very careful.
It does feel that the vulnerable and disabled are being overlooked. To many of us, keeping certain measures in place - isolation when testing positive, and the wearing of masks in public places - seems a small price to pay to keep the most vulnerable members of our community safe.
So I ask this. Would you be willing to keep wearing a mask on public transport and in shops and other places to help keep people safe? Do you know others who are vulnerable and/or high risk, and do they feel safe going out?
Thank you, all.
Annabelle 😷