The Last Briefing

This is a shady spot in my garden on a hot day (and next to my tent). I’m having afternoon tea, doing some crochet and watching the Daily Coronavirus Briefing. They say this is the last one as today they announced some pretty big changes in the loosening up of restrictions. Technically from July 4th (our ‘Independence Day’) we will be officially out of Lockdown.

There are still plenty of restrictions remaining, however, so it’s still not back to normal. We all know that will take a lot longer, maybe never ‘normal’ as we once thought of it. There is still the need for social distancing - sometimes 2 metres, sometimes 1metre +, meaning that there would need to be extra mitigation in place if at less than 2 metres - face coverings, screens, sitting back to back. No singing (church, weddings, concerts), no gyms or swimming pools. There are complicated ‘rules’ (guidance?) for visiting friends and family. We can now be indoors and stay overnight but only 2 households at a time and still with social distance. Outdoors can be more than 2 households but maximum of 6 people.

This is far more complicated than our first lockdown rules and I think most of us will never be totally sure whether we’re following the rules/guidance or not. It was obvious that the two scientists standing by the Prime Minister and answering some of the questions were extremely cautious about this step. Besides the plea to not treat this stage as total freedom, I think the strongest message I took away was the absolute necessity to isolate and report and get tested if one became symptomatic. Without that, this will escalate once again. And the problem of course is the likelihood that one could still carry and spread the virus before displaying symptoms. THAT’S why masks and social distance are still so important.

I look forward to the new freedoms but I will be extremely cautious still. We have a LONG way to go!