I think the next full review is the 15th of February, which is possibly what the 'prediction' is based on. It'll be done bit by bit, so they impact of each relaxation can be gauged. It's a tricky balance for the government from around now onwards, as the figures are liable to improve, which will make the continuation of the lockdown less acceptable in some eyes, but relaxing too much too soon could be worse in the long term. That and the balance with the other non-covid impacts of the lockdown leaves me glad it's not my decision to make.
That's just capitalism though. They had enough capital to risk investments even when stocks were crashing and have benefitted when the markets rebounded. The average person doesn't have billions saved away to make risky investments, they either have to work, lost their jobs or be on furlough and worry about if they'll have enough to cover bills, rent, mortgages and put food on the table.
They're definitely not closed. My mum's in every day. In the first lockdown they were on rotas but now all staff are in 5 days a week.
I work from home two days and in the building three days. We’ve got probably 50% of staff in each day and maybe 30% of kids.
With the data improving, the pressure is only going to mount. No matter what decisions are made over the next three months regarding relaxations, there are going to be people unhappy.
I'm due back at work a week today, after a Covid outbreak at our place, but just got word this morning that another one of my workmates is now on the Covid ward at Hull Royal. That's five of just twenty that work or who regularly attend the shop floor (the office staff have worked from home for the last few months, just goes to show who the important ones are doesn't it). The thing is though, business needs to keep going obviously. The economy needs to keep going. When all of this is over, how much will we be taxed to catch up to where we were? This will affect generations to come. Sorry to be so downbeat, but that's the only way I can see things going.
Stats about which groups of workers get and higher death rates in males Also somewhere on SKY news about the average age on a Covid ward being 59! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55795608
You can pretty much guarantee that you'll see a raise in inheritance tax, capitol gains tax, BIK tax, corporation tax and most probably things like insurance premium tax, self employed NIC, fuel tax amongst others. I don't think we will see an Increase in income tax or VAT
Yes, I feel sorry for my kids and grandkids. Though it is possible that things will bounce back with bright young people bringing about fresh ideas as happened in the past. Will be tough though.
We've got all staff in fulltime and the list of what constitutes a key worker is now five times longer than it was last lockdown, so we've also got more children. I started in January with 9 kids, I've now got 15. One is vulnerable and frequently requires holding because of behaviour issues so despite us having a zero tolerance behaviour policy, we can't send him home (not that I'd want to under normal circumstances, he's a great kid). It doesn't feel like this has been taken as seriously as last time, though I acknowledge that we know more about the virus now. If we go back in the next two weeks, while the pandemic is at a worse point than it was before and teaching staff still aren't vaccinated, I think I'll be considering whether or not to continue in the current climate. I have a pregnant wife at home who is vulnerable, it just doesn't feel worth it.
The expansion of the key worker category and vulnerable category is almost laughable. Some of them are so vague that you can basically put any child under the category to be allowed a place in school. In our phase, we have 14. It was 3 in the first lockdown. We virtually teach whilst in school (we’ve chosen to do live lessons) and then do the other jobs like welfare, phone calls, make resources etc, when we’re not. We have two teachers per year group so there’s always somebody teaching and somebody doing the other bits. Works really well.
We have three teachers in our year group, myself and another teach while the other does online learning. It works, but we keep getting given new things to do, like updating call sheets, logging work handed in and commenting on work. We've been told we now have to respond to every individual piece of work that goes in with in depth feedback, which is upwards of sixty pieces a day. Ordinarily I'd be happy to do that, but it's difficult when you've also got to teach during the day, I'm not leaving work until 6.30pm some nights of the week. But, all of that being said, if it means getting rid of this frigging virus, I'll happily stay like this until Easter and beyond. While the school can only go off the guidelines, I won't blame them. But the rising number of people putting pressure on the PM to reopen at the moment is alarming, really alarming. I've spoken about my feelings of how our economic system works and I stand by that now more than ever; any system which forces leadership to make a decision between the health of its citizens and the economic prosperity of the nation isn't a system worth living under, not morally anyway. I've got 15 kids in my bubble, the other Year 2 bubble has 13. Last lockdown we had a total of four Year 2 children altogether and I highly doubt 22 families became key workers under the old rules in the last year. What feels more galling is that these kids are the children of key workers, so they are the children of hospital workers, social workers, teachers and carers, all jobs that bring those people into direct contact with Covid. Yet, we're nowhere to be seen on the list of priorities for vaccinations and they want us to open in a couple of weeks? It's insanity.