There is something afoot otherwise we would still be riddled with it. In those areas where there was virtually no notice taken of lock down which were both hardest and earliest hit such as London and the Midlands it seems it is still falling away.
Those Italian doctors saying the virus still present over there is nothing like the virus that was present a couple of months back.
Logically combining the half arsed lock down, the from start to finish clusterfuck this country has made of it we should now be into 1000s a day dying, but we are not.
The reasons will all come later but for now I am just grateful that it hasnt been anywhere as bad as many feared, scant consolation for those who have suffered or lost loved ones, but as one who as yet has been pretty much untouched by this albeit having to postpone a couple of trips and a season of airshows.
There is I suspect much much more to come out in the wash regarding covid and I wonder if the consequences of the pandemic will actually be worse than the pandemic itself.
I think the world will come out of it much more divided and certainly our country will be.
While yes, it is possible that the virus could have changed or whatever, I think it's quite easy to underestimate just how much things have changed in this country. It doesn't feel like much, does it? I think that's because we adapt to change so quickly. But I was saying this to a friend and he raised some really good points about how pretty much everyone's behaviour has changed, be it via lockdown force, or by habit, and he was right. Think of all the following factors:
- vast majority of people aren't in offices, or even indoors. I can't remember the last time I saw someone indoors that i cared about that I didn't live with, and I reckon that's the same for 90%+ of the country.
- people are washing their hands more (likely even the dickheads)
- people aren't in clubs or at gigs, others aren't at pubs - both superspreader events
- people aren't meeting in their tens of thousands every single weekend for sports events
- people aren't hanging round coffee shops, no restaurants, no cinema, no theatres
- no hairdressers, nail salons etc
- most supermarkets have social distancing measures - some have great ones, some may only have a few, but its still enough to warrant a change.
- people don't spend ages trying on shops in clothes that others have tried on anymore and largely don't spend any time on the high street at all
- vast majority of people are keeping their distance
- when we go back to work, and many have, most work places will change to eliminate some risk factors
- most people aren't seeing loved ones or friends, and if they are, its from a distance outdoors
- deliveries have changed from places such as royal mail, dpd, deliveroo etc
- people aren't really using public transport anymore
- some people are now wearing masks, not many, but when added with all that ^^^ it makes a difference
- people aren't going to churches etc.
These are just the things off the top of my head. There's no doubt countless more micro-changes that are adding to the overall effect. I know it doesn't feel like life is much different, but it really, really is. Even the dickheads are living life differently, even if its not by choice - i.e, they can't go out and get hammered with hundreds of people every night. All those things have drastically reduced transmission and changed how we live. A few dickheads having a street party outside may slightly slow these things, yes, but they pale in insignificance when up against the weight of all those changes. While I pray and hope things have started to get better because the virus has changed, I think its also worth remaining cautious and presume that the actions we've been taking actually have slowed down it down. 'Stay alert' etc ha.
As a side note, I think the chance of a second wave as big as the first is very, very small, as a lot of people and businesses are very different now and will be for some time. Add in the fact that this virus has already hit a lot of people too, so there's less people for it to spread into, and I think we should be able to manage it quite well...hopefully.