And from Jan 21st it became illegal to leave the country without a valid excuse.
That was the toughest ever restriction put into law.
3 Likes
I donāt know if the link will work but I think this refers to some of the data @Jeff_AZ posted about. It is a recent NY Times daily briefing:
I know how bleak this can be. I have not traveled, I get tested weekly to see my mom for two hours, and yesterday was the first time I saw my only child since December.
In Britain, the daily number of new Covid cases has fallen by more than 90 percent since peaking in early January. The decline is larger than in virtually any other country. (In the U.S., new cases have fallen 79 percent since January.) Given that the contagious B.1.1.7 variant was first discovered in Britain and is now the countryās dominant virus form, āBritainās free-fall in cases is all the more impressive,ā Wachter told me. āClearly their vaccination strategy has been highly effective.ā
British deaths have also plummeted in recent weeks:
Image
Britainās approach not only brings immediate benefits, in terms of lives saved; it also reduces the chances of future outbreaks: The fewer people who have Covid, the fewer who can infect somebody else. Thatās especially important when more contagious variants are circulating. Worldwide, the number of confirmed new cases has risen 21 percent over the past month.
3 Likes
Itās fire walled.
I could read it. The fear here is that if people go abroad they will bring variants back from countries that probably donāt have as many people vaccinated as us and have more cases, meaning more likelihood that variants will develop. As well as of course the variants we already know about. We are particularly worried about the South Africa variant.
4 Likes
Iām grateful to everyone whoās posted. Iām feeling a little better today.
I found the exchanges between @missoverexcited, @Nicky_S and @PrincipalTinker particularly comforting because I could tell that my British friends are feeling how Iām feeling. And also they share, I think, that same frustration that I have that other people donāt get how bad it is here.
I know that the US is large and federal and that different people have had different experiences, but I have the impression that in general your freedoms have not been crushed the way that ours have and that they have not been crushed for as long as ours have.
Everything non-essential has been shut since Christmas. Some things are scheduled to re-open in mid April, and even that hasnāt been confirmed. Thatās four months. And thatās on the back of a year that weāve been banned from travelling to the US. Our flights have been cancelled and our trips postponed over and over again. Meanwhile a US friend of mine just took a trip to Texas to visit one of her friends just to hang out for a few days. And no-one stopped her, or quarantined her on her return, or threatened her with ten years ā Iām not making this up ā ten years in jail for breaking the rules.
Hereās a crazy story that made the local news. A family drove 60 miles from their home to visit Harrogate and go to McDonaldās. They were in their own car the whole time. And they used the drive-through. And they got fined for it. They broke the law. That trip was illegal. Just think about that. You cannot go for a drive with your family to McDonaldās.
A lot of people online were critical of the family, saying they were idiots. I donāt think they were idiots, I think they were desperate.
We have this crushing weight of uncertainty on top of us. As recently as this morning our Defence Secretary was on the TV telling us that we shouldnāt book summer holidays abroad yet. Itās too early. A year ago I hadnāt even accepted that my June 2020 trip was definitely going to be cancelled. When I finally did, I felt pretty confident that my October 2020 trip would go ahead ā I mean, that was (at the time) six months away. Things would be sorted by then.
And now Iām thinking about whether my August 2021 trip is going to go ahead. And itās killing me. My one little ray of hope right now is my sad little one-night trip to a couple of theme parks in (yet another) monthās time. Meanwhile my US friend leaves in just over a week for her fourth trip to WDW this year.
As for @Jeff_AZās data, Iām worried Iām becoming one of those crazy anti-lockdown people but I have to admit, I donāt understand whatās going on any more.
Hereās some data:
The people COVID kills have been vaccinated. Within a few weeks, everyone over 50 who wants it (and overwhelmingly they do) will have been vaccinated. Why the hell are we still locked down. Our Treasury Secretary announced an extension to furlough this month until October. That means it will have been going on for a year and a half. People sitting at home being paid 80% of their salaries for a year and a half!
Havenāt you American types noticed how weird it is the there are no foreigners in your country? That everyone at WDW is American? And thatās been true for a year.
Iāve never attended a protest march in my life. There was one in London yesterday against the lockdown. Mostly crazies. Or so I thought when I watched it on the news. But, honestly, I wonder how long itās going to be before Iām joining them.
I was looking at the photos on a friends Facebook page yesterday. In the end I looked at all of them ā about three hundred. Dāyou know what they mostly were? Days out, meals out, holidays. From happier times. But now: banned, banned, banned.
I donāt know whatās going on any more. I donāt what the point of any of it is. I just know that this is one of the very worst periods of my life (top three, for the record) and no-one can tell me when it will end. Even people in jail are told the lengths of their sentences.
12 Likes
Iām glad you found it comforting because I was a bit worried it would make you feel worse.
5 Likes
What are the rules for getting together with people outside your household? Even like a next door neighbor or one close friend who you adopt into your bubble?
2 Likes
A single person can be in a bubble with one household. Thatās it.
2 Likes
Thank you for sharing with us. The forum is such a supporting group of people who are here for you. I do like the Loungefly and have been eyeing a few myself. Now I think I will just stick to my fannypack since @DumboRunner suggested the leather is rather irritating in the heat. I hope the use of the word fannypack makes you smile on the other end of the screen. 
Are you aloud to walk around your neighborhood or is a straight out lockdown you must remain inside? I would imagine the lack of natural Vitamin D does not help. Hang in there. Sending internet hugs, since we canāt hug in person over here either!
4 Likes
No! You seemed mad. I was relieved!
7 Likes
Well said! Letās just hope that the government is currently overreacting and in a future crises event, it is not as easy for them to control the citizens every move.
2 Likes
No. Because Iāve been in my house for a year and not at Disney, even though Iām āallowedā. I personally donāt agree with them being open while people are still being asked to isolate anywhere. So I donāt go.
Itās things like this.
That lead to things like this
That allow us a voice so we can maintain our freedoms to do things like this
Without the fear of this
Us crazy self centered Americanās may be bats*^t crazy, but we arenāt afraid to stand up, be heard, and fight for our freedoms. So we never have to feel like this
Iām sorry about the restrictions. I really, really am.
3 Likes
Well, UK politics is complicated. If you think the Electoral College is messed up, you should see what weāve got going on.
In 2019, Boris Johnsonās Conservative party won 44% of the votes, which gave him 56% of the seats.
The Labour Party won 32% of the votes and 40% of the seats.
The Scottish Nationalist party won 4% of the vote and 7% of the seats.
The Liberal Democrats won 12% of the votes (so triple the Scottish Nationalists) and 3% of the seats (so under a half of the Scottish Nationalists).
And the Green Party won 3% of the votes and 0.2% of the seats.
Makes sense?
Thatās for the House of Commons. The other half of our legislature ā the House of Lords ā comprises people who have a seat there by birthright and people who are appointed there ā for life ā by the prime minister of the day. For example, Boris Johnsonās own brother. Who Boris Johnson appointed. For life. To the legislature. Cannot be removed. Ever.
So many people wonder what protests would actually achieve. Historically they have achieved nothing. Unless ā and this is true ā they have been violent (Poll tax riots, IRA).
But also this has been a pretty liberal country. We havenāt needed to protest for our rights. And weāve had the ultimate recourse of appeal to the European Union.
But weāre no longer in the European Union, and Boris Johnsonās government has taken a huge lurch to the right that would make even Donald Trump blush. They are currently passing legislation to ban protests that are āloudā or ādisruptiveā. Oh, and youāll get more jail time for attacking a statue than you will for attacking a person.
6 Likes
Oh, I forgot to mention.
Our prime minister is head of the Executive. And the Legislature. Heās Biden and Pelosi and Schumer. Oh, and the Cabinet donāt need to be confirmed by anybody. And heās currently passing legislation to hobble the Judiciary, because they currently have the power to stop him doing things which are unlawful and he doesnāt like that.
Rule Britannia.
4 Likes
Yikes.
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
If I ever get a guest house, particularly in a cottage Iām eyeing at Golden Oak, I formally invite you to stay to get your Disney fix. Your 4 legged companion is also welcome. Donāt tell my DH about the companion, silly cat person. It might be a year or two, but Iām working on it, and by then they might let you off the island! (I have inappropriate humor timing when I try to cheer people up, feel free to laugh at my awkwardness)
7 Likes
This is my very worst fear.
We as a nation, owe every one of our freedoms to the checks and balances of our system.
In the Federalist Papers, James Madison wrote of the necessity of the separation of powers to the new nationās democratic government: āThe accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elected, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.ā
Once again, you give great perspective. Just when I think as a country we are failing, Iām given insight I otherwise wouldnāt have noticed.
3 Likes
Funnily enough, I never realised how bad it was till I just wrote it all down.
7 Likes
@sanstitre_has_left_the_building , I was also worried we were detracting from your heartfelt post. Glad you didnāt see it like that.
7 Likes
I am sorry to hear you are struggling, though if I were in your shoes I would be in the same boat. It is completely unfair what is happening to you. The story of being fined for going to McDās is just insane. Anyone would be feeling how you are, you are not alone. I have been vocal about my unhappiness with my Governor (Washington State) for imposing too stringent of rules throughout this thing, but we have never been forced to stay in our homes, in our counties, or even our states. I have been to WDW 3 times and Oahu, with no issues. I am headed to California next week. I have not enjoyed the limits on my freedom (like not being able to sit in the stands to watch my kid play football, or eat inside a restaurant in my state for the short period between November and February), but what I have lost is minimal in comparison to what your country is expecting of you. Not having an end date to this madness, is just madness. Iām sorry Matt.
10 Likes
Yes, this. It always surprises me that other countries donāt fight back against their governments like Americans do.
2 Likes