THREAD - Look, I can’t be saying this every time so please pay close attention -

1. You can’t compare life in lockdown to life pre-COVID. Whether we lock down or not COVID will still be here & still hugely disruptive to everyone’s lives;

2. Pupils would still have massive...

...educational disruption because schools haven’t been given proper resource to test, track & trace - teachers are off sick and ‘bubbles’ are often 2 year groups (300 people);

3. Mental health would still be affected because family sickness & bereavement are just as ...

... powerful components of mh as loneliness and isolation.

4. See also - If you ever want to be able to get an appointment in NHS for anything else, including MH issues, we need to control COVID because atm all their resources are diverted to dealing with it;...

5. Long COVID affects 1 in 10 people. Impact not yet known but at least 12 weeks of pain, difficulty breathing & extreme fatigue. It’s not all about ‘death rates’;

6. If we’d locked down sooner & properly like other countries we wouldn’t still be having to do this now...

...This situation is necessary but it wasn’t inevitable.

7. Our only real chance to address poverty and MH/educational issues is to get rid of the virus ASAP and that must be achieved in part by limiting contact with others. Otherwise we merely prolong our own agony...

8. Young ppl still v unlikely to die but are more vulnerable to the new strain of COVID *and* 8 x more likely to asymptomatically spread to family & teachers.

9. Lastly and most importantly - believe NHS workers and teachers when they tell you things. Unlike tabloid hacks...

... and tv personalities their only motivation is doing what’s best & safest for everyone.

#COVID #lockdown #CovidVaccine #nhs #Teachers #SchoolsAreNotSafe #schools