The covid situation in the UK is pretty dire right now with close to 60,000 cases per day. It’s worse than it was back in March at the height of the first peak. I read that hospitals in London are now cancelling vital cancer surgery. This is the reason covid is so deadly. It may be a mild illness for the majority of the population but if enough people get sick and need hospital treatment then our hospital system becomes overwhelmed. This could, hypothetically-speaking, mean cancelling life-saving cancer surgery for a 35-year-old woman with breast cancer because the hospital is filled with elderly covid patients.
Scotland has been in Tier 4 since Boxing Day which means all shops closed except for essential services. You can only go out for exercise or to get groceries and/or medicine. Yet for some reason there’s still so much traffic. It’s not like it was back in March when the streets were quiet. I don’t understand where everyone is going since we’re not allowed to leave the city and everything is shut.
Nicola Sturgeon today announced Scotland will go into a full lockdown tonight. We were already in Tier 4 so all that changes is the stay at home message is now legally enforceable and you can only meet one other person outside for exercise when before it was groups of 6 (not counting children under 12). I think the announcement is more to make the gravity of the situation clear since it seems like many people are carrying on as though nothing unusual is happening.
Daniel and Elizabeth both went back to school today because they’ve been going to an online school since April last year. I told them last night how lucky they are because they’re the only children in Scotland going back to school today. They both rolled their eyes at me.
I do think state schools need to adopt an online model until the vaccine starts to take effect since it’s clear lockdown with schools open is not working. At the very least they should do online learning for high schools since high school children don’t need someone at home to babysit.
The only glimmer of hope on the horizon is the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine which has made it into people’s arms for the first time today. They’re aiming for 2 million jabs per week but I really think we need 2 millions jabs per day. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that none of the variants can circumvent the vaccines or we’re back at square one.
Here’s a photo I took of Duthie Park yesterday morning when I went running. Note the discarded face mask on the ground.
rachel.blog 
How depressing – another full-on lockdown. I guess if people won’t take this virus seriously and cooperate, then authorities have no choice. Cases of the new UK variant have been caught at the border, here, too. How long is this lockdown for?
I’m not sure how long this will be for. At least until the end of this month but I suspect it’ll last longer than that. I think we’ll start to see the effects of the vaccine in about two months provided it’s effective against all the variants and we can maintain a high vaccination rate.
Hi Rachel, Had a strange dream about WCEU, so I wanted to ping you and ask how you are coping. We’re also in lockdown for at least another week, possibly 3 more weeks if they can’t get the number of new infections down any other way. My hubby and I have been self-isolating since last March. It’s not been easy, but hopefully these vaccines will do their job so we all can once again enjoy our families and celebrations if not quite yet dream of travelling to distant places. Keep well!
Hi Jen, thanks for reaching out. How long has your lockdown been going on for? 3 more weeks isn’t too far off! Isolating since March is a long time. I’m looking forward to seeing family who live in far-flung places again one day.
Rachel, you made me chuckle with your opening sentence. 😀 This is our third lockdown during the pandemic. They’ve all been between 2-4 weeks long. It’s exhausting, but we’re doing our bit!
It’s technically our third lockdown too although the second one was short and not really a full lockdown.
Oh, no! I am sorry to hear that Rachel. Hope the situation will be in control again for you all in the UK.
Thanks, Chait!
I’m glad you and your family are all safe at home, but do continue to be careful. Here in California we’re also supposed to be under lockdown, but to see the streets and shops here, you’d think life was going on as normal. I suspect that people think because a vaccine for COVID is now available, it’s okay to party and walk about with no masks on. I don’t think they realize a vaccination isn’t a cure for the virus, it’s a preventative measure for those who haven’t been infected yet. (A pox on the sorry state of science education in my state and in the US!)
Scotland is still a beautiful country, in spite of what humans are doing now. I hope I can someday travel there, if I ever get to travel again.
Yes, I’ve always been careful but have been extra cautious since this new more transmissible virus came to my attention. Thankfully I’m able to get supermarket delivery slots so I can avoid going to the supermarket unlike the last lockdown when they were all booked.
I’m sure this will come to an end eventually and you’ll be able to travel again. It’s just hard to know when.
Well. Third national lockdown for England as well and Covid-19 doesn’t go away! Thank you for the post…
I don’t think it will ever go away. We just have to hope the vaccine will help us control it better than we’ve been doing. Keep safe!
Yes. It might not but the vaccine will give some hope.
Sad and scary times. I miss Scotland so much and long for the day when I can return.
Scotland is beautiful and a great place to live. The pandemic will end eventually and then you’ll be able to travel again.