ABSOLUTELY CRAZY!

Brazil has recorded more 100,000 deaths linked to Covid-19, the world's second-highest figure, as the outbreak in the country shows no sign of easing.

The virus killed 50,000 people in three months, but that number doubled in just 50 days. There have been more than three million confirmed cases so far.

The pandemic is yet to peak but shops and restaurants have already reopened.

President Jair Bolsonaro has downplayed the impact of the virus and opposed measures that could hit the economy.

The far-right leader, who caught the disease himself and recovered, fought restrictions imposed by state governors to curb Covid-19, and has frequently joined crowds of supporters, at times without a face mask.

Experts have complained of a lack of a co-ordinated plan by the Bolsonaro government as local authorities now focus on restarting the economy, which is likely to boost the spread of the virus.

The federal government's response is being led by an army general who has no experience in public health. Two earlier health ministers, both physicians, left the job after disagreeing with the president over social distancing measures and the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment, though studies say it is not effective.

President Bolsonaro - who has called Covid-19 a "little flu" and has been criticised at home and abroad for his response to the outbreak - said he recovered from his own infection thanks to the anti-malarial drug.
Media captionBrazil's former health minister speaks out

Brazil has had 100,477 virus-related deaths and 3,012,412 cases, according to the health ministry, though the numbers are believed to be much higher because of insufficient testing. Only the United States has higher figures.

"We should be living in despair, because this is a tragedy like a world war. But Brazil is under collective anaesthesia," Dr José Davi Urbaez, a senior member of the Infectious Diseases Society, told Reuters news agency.

"The government's message today is: 'Catch your coronavirus and if it's serious, there is intensive care.' That sums up our policy today."
President Bolsonaro greeted supporters in his first trip after recovering from Covid-19 last month

There are fears the disease is spreading faster in deprived neighbourhoods and remote areas, such as indigenous communities, where access to adequate health care is difficult.

In a tribute to victims on Saturday, the non-governmental group Rio de Paz placed crosses on the sand on Rio de Janeiro's famed Copacabana beach and released 1,000 red balloons into the sky.

Senate Speaker Davi Alcolumbre announced four days of mourning in Congress but President Bolsonaro has not yet commented. Earlier this week he said he was sorry for all the deaths but suggested "we should carry on with [our] lives".

45% less deaths than the uk per capita.... absolutely crazy doesnt begin to describe it..

I wish people would just stop stating huge numbers of deaths without posting the complete picture. Brazil has a population of 212,718,936 which equates to 473 deaths per 1 million of population.
Thats considerably less than the Spain, the UK and Italy and guess what? They haven't locked down their Economy just like Sweden with 570 deaths per million of population, again less than Spain, UK and Italy.

Everyone please just start looking at the facts before posting doom and gloom stats, it all there in plain English to see and compare at https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

We are now over 5 months in, honestly hand on heart ask yourself has this warranted the huge amounts of fear and anxiety most have suffered over that time.

I would guess there are a couple of thousand on this board alone, how many of us actually know anyone without serious existing health problems or very old who has died of this?

This is out there, it can definitely be nasty for a small percentage of people but is what almost all of the World has done and Locked down correct? I am seriously starting to wonder.

The constant scaremongering with stats and slating of the UK's and other Countries handling of this is really starting to grate and get boring

I wish people would just stop stating huge numbers of deaths without posting the complete picture. Brazil has a population of 212,718,936 which equates to 473 deaths per 1 million of population.
Thats considerably less than the Spain, the UK and Italy and guess what? They haven't locked down their Economy just like Sweden with 570 deaths per million of population, again less than Spain, UK and Italy.

Everyone please just start looking at the facts before posting doom and gloom stats, it all there in plain English to see and compare at https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

We are now over 5 months in, honestly hand on heart ask yourself has this warranted the huge amounts of fear and anxiety most have suffered over that time.

I would guess there are a couple of thousand on this board alone, how many of us actually know anyone without serious existing health problems or very old who has died of this?

This is out there, it can definitely be nasty for a small percentage of people but is what almost all of the World has done and Locked down correct? I am seriously starting to wonder.

The constant scaremongering with stats and slating of the UK's and other Countries handling of this is really starting to grate and get boring

as i posted mate a death rate of 45% lower than ourselves....maybe they need one of those lock down things to catch up... if their daily deaths continues as it is today 124 and ours remains zero.. they will equal us sometime in November 2021...

the TV reports on Brazil are just flat out scaremongering again

Make your mind up, is it 50,000 deaths with COVID l-19 in them, or were they 50,000 deaths caused by COVID-19? You can’t say one sentence that they had COVID 19 and not confirm that it was the main cause of death, then immediately in the next sentence claim “COVID 19 killed 50,000 in 3 months”

I wish people would just stop stating huge numbers of deaths without posting the complete picture. Brazil has a population of 212,718,936 which equates to 473 deaths per 1 million of population.
Thats considerably less than the Spain, the UK and Italy and guess what? They haven't locked down their Economy just like Sweden with 570 deaths per million of population, again less than Spain, UK and Italy.

Everyone please just start looking at the facts before posting doom and gloom stats, it all there in plain English to see and compare at https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

We are now over 5 months in, honestly hand on heart ask yourself has this warranted the huge amounts of fear and anxiety most have suffered over that time.

I would guess there are a couple of thousand on this board alone, how many of us actually know anyone without serious existing health problems or very old who has died of this?

This is out there, it can definitely be nasty for a small percentage of people but is what almost all of the World has done and Locked down correct? I am seriously starting to wonder.

The constant scaremongering with stats and slating of the UK's and other Countries handling of this is really starting to grate and get boring

as i posted mate a death rate of 45% lower than ourselves....maybe they need one of those lock down things to catch up... if their daily deaths continues as it is today 124 and ours remains zero.. they will equal us sometime in November 2021...

the TV reports on Brazil are just flat out scaremongering again

Exactly the same as what we were shown was happening in Italy, something just doesn't sit right with the whole thing.

Personally i don't know 1 single person who has had this bad and you hear the same thing whoever you ask.

Weeks ago thousands flocked to beaches and parks and were labelled as killers and scum by media and members on this board. Have death rates gone up? No the opposite.

Weeks ago thousands protested in the streets for BLM, strangely this seemed to be perfectly acceptable by most and not condemned by the media but what was the outcome, did death rates rise? No still going down.

People also need to stop panicking when the media constantly peddles positive test cases rising all over the country as all this shows is that more tests are carried out. The one and only thing that counts are death rates increasing. More positives cases without any increases in death only shows that this is not seriously effecting anywhere near as many people as we are being led to believe - More people testing positive but unaffected is good not bad.

If in the next couple of weeks death rates (not positive tests) don't significantly increase, personally i am done with it and for me normal service will resume

all the figures around the world are false and can't be compared as different countries count deaths different, its just a political tool to bash what ever agenda is going on in each country ,we won't know the truth figures for years

Make your mind up, is it 50,000 deaths with COVID l-19 in them, or were they 50,000 deaths caused by COVID-19? You can’t say one sentence that they had COVID 19 and not confirm that it was the main cause of death, then immediately in the next sentence claim “COVID 19 killed 50,000 in 3 months”

had covid
killed by covid
and now LINKED to covid ////the later meaning the huge number killed who would not have died without the killdowns that now are being justified by using words like second waves and spikes..
try to keep everyone confused..

all the figures around the world are false and can't be compared as different countries count deaths different, its just a political tool to bash what ever agenda is going on in each country ,we won't know the truth figures for years

we will never know the truth. or at least wont be told it officially... crystal clear what the truth is but youll still be getting the scaremongering.. next up is people with flu being called covid ...

In work yesterday and a lady coughed near me then proceeded to apologise and felt obliged to tell me it was a fly in her throat and not covid related

In work yesterday and a lady coughed near me then proceeded to apologise and felt obliged to tell me it was a fly in her throat and not covid related

coughing is punishable by death mate... well not quite but it could lead to 14 days indoors which is where most have died...
fresh air = good for you bad for virus... locked up = great for virus, possible death for you...lets have a lockdowns because...well china and italy had them

I think in general, clearly, this virus doesn't cause the damage that a lot of reports would claim.

However, what is undeniable is that those with existing health conditions, and/or are elderly, face a very real prospect of death. So all those of you saying "bring it on" would you do so if you had elderly parents, relatives at risk, etc. that you could pass it on to ?

You might well be right that if you got it it's just like a dose of flu. I've had a 24 year old family member get it and he was fine within about 10 days. I also lost a very close friend who was just 55.

I only say this as people are tending to be fed up with the restrictions (I know I am and have posted previously of my frustrations !) but they are there for a reason; to protect those that are in the risk categories, for those people it really is life or death.

We can afford to loosen restrictions at the moment because of the low rate of infection currently in the community, but if it rises again we need to act a lot more quickly than the UK government did in March !!

Also people need to take into account that come the winter when deaths will once again inevitably rise that all respitory tract deaths and that includes flue and pneumonia you can bet your life that all will be labelled as covid-19 fatalities.

So when the media again start peddling rises of 10,20,30 thousand plus deaths in winter ask yourself why for the first time ever no one will be dying of flu and pneumonia?

I think in general, clearly, this virus doesn't cause the damage that a lot of reports would claim.

However, what is undeniable is that those with existing health conditions, and/or are elderly, face a very real prospect of death. So all those of you saying "bring it on" would you do so if you had elderly parents, relatives at risk, etc. that you could pass it on to ?

You might well be right that if you got it it's just like a dose of flu. I've had a 24 year old family member get it and he was fine within about 10 days. I also lost a very close friend who was just 55.

I only say this as people are tending to be fed up with the restrictions (I know I am and have posted previously of my frustrations !) but they are there for a reason; to protect those that are in the risk categories, for those people it really is life or death.

We can afford to loosen restrictions at the moment because of the low rate of infection currently in the community, but if it rises again we need to act a lot more quickly than the UK government did in March !!

I fully take on board what you are saying and respect your opinion but just to clarify that my personal views are not based on the boredom of lockdown and more to do with the real life figures and facts which are now available after 5 months of Covid-19.
From a personal perspective i was placed on the shielding list at the very start due to health issues and also have a special needs child so believe me when i say at the start i was not taking this likely, in-fact the exact opposite and at one point i was actually preparing my goodbyes and sorting out all my finances just in case the worst happened.

Now in hindsight with 3 teenage children who i cannot praise enough, who have all also confined themselves to the house like myself and forfeited the last 5 months of there lives to keep me and there sister safe all while their friends have carried on as normal has now left me feeling like we have definitely tackled this all wrong, not intentionally and i do not lay blame, like i say in hindsight.

I realise this has killed people, there is no doubt, i also understand more than most that this could really hit people bad even now but its all about perspective.

450 people die each day in the UK of Cancer and over 2500 people over 65, its tragic and terrible but we do not see these people dropping dead in the streets, do you know anyone today that has died of anything not just Covid?

I think in general, clearly, this virus doesn't cause the damage that a lot of reports would claim.

However, what is undeniable is that those with existing health conditions, and/or are elderly, face a very real prospect of death. So all those of you saying "bring it on" would you do so if you had elderly parents, relatives at risk, etc. that you could pass it on to ?

You might well be right that if you got it it's just like a dose of flu. I've had a 24 year old family member get it and he was fine within about 10 days. I also lost a very close friend who was just 55.

I only say this as people are tending to be fed up with the restrictions (I know I am and have posted previously of my frustrations !) but they are there for a reason; to protect those that are in the risk categories, for those people it really is life or death.

We can afford to loosen restrictions at the moment because of the low rate of infection currently in the community, but if it rises again we need to act a lot more quickly than the UK government did in March !!

I fully take on board what you are saying and respect your opinion but just to clarify that my personal views are not based on the boredom of lockdown and more to do with the real life figures and facts which are now available after 5 months of Covid-19.
From a personal perspective i was placed on the shielding list at the very start due to health issues and also have a special needs child so believe me when i say at the start i was not taking this likely, in-fact the exact opposite and at one point i was actually preparing my goodbyes and sorting out all my finances just in case the worst happened.

Now in hindsight with 3 teenage children who i cannot praise enough, who have all also confined themselves to the house like myself and forfeited the last 5 months of there lives to keep me and there sister safe all while their friends have carried on as normal has now left me feeling like we have definitely tackled this all wrong, not intentionally and i do not lay blame, like i say in hindsight.

I realise this has killed people, there is no doubt, i also understand more than most that this could really hit people bad even now but its all about perspective.

450 people die each day in the UK of Cancer and over 2500 people over 65, its tragic and terrible but we do not see these people dropping dead in the streets, do you know anyone today that has died of anything not just Covid?

I certainly agree with you on the perspective point.

The only issue I would take is that I don't think you can compare this with deaths from cancer. Unfortunately a large amount of cancer deaths are unavoidable, unlike COVID-19 where if you take all the necessary precautions you can decrease your chances of contracting it and, if not, can certainly avoid spreading it.

It is a balancing act and, as you can see from Australia, we're not out of the woods yet.

Proportionality and common sense are what we will need moving forward. We also need to be ready for local restrictions should things escalate and to enforce that.

I think in general, clearly, this virus doesn't cause the damage that a lot of reports would claim.

However, what is undeniable is that those with existing health conditions, and/or are elderly, face a very real prospect of death. So all those of you saying "bring it on" would you do so if you had elderly parents, relatives at risk, etc. that you could pass it on to ?

You might well be right that if you got it it's just like a dose of flu. I've had a 24 year old family member get it and he was fine within about 10 days. I also lost a very close friend who was just 55.

I only say this as people are tending to be fed up with the restrictions (I know I am and have posted previously of my frustrations !) but they are there for a reason; to protect those that are in the risk categories, for those people it really is life or death.

We can afford to loosen restrictions at the moment because of the low rate of infection currently in the community, but if it rises again we need to act a lot more quickly than the UK government did in March !!

its not so much..bring it on..as have some perspective... yes it effects the old with existing illnesses more.. but the old and weak are also harder hit by things like the common cold than fit 30 odd year olds..its life..
life or death gets used way to much... as things stand its killed roughly 1 person in 1500 in the uk... so in a small village of 1500 where you would normally expect 14/15 deaths this year.. maybe covid has increased it by ONE.... i say maybe because there is a very good chance that the one might have been one of the 14/15 who would have died a bit later in the year anyway...

I think in general, clearly, this virus doesn't cause the damage that a lot of reports would claim.

However, what is undeniable is that those with existing health conditions, and/or are elderly, face a very real prospect of death. So all those of you saying "bring it on" would you do so if you had elderly parents, relatives at risk, etc. that you could pass it on to ?

You might well be right that if you got it it's just like a dose of flu. I've had a 24 year old family member get it and he was fine within about 10 days. I also lost a very close friend who was just 55.

I only say this as people are tending to be fed up with the restrictions (I know I am and have posted previously of my frustrations !) but they are there for a reason; to protect those that are in the risk categories, for those people it really is life or death.

We can afford to loosen restrictions at the moment because of the low rate of infection currently in the community, but if it rises again we need to act a lot more quickly than the UK government did in March !!

its not so much..bring it on..as have some perspective... yes it effects the old with existing illnesses more.. but the old and weak are also harder hit by things like the common cold than fit 30 odd year olds..its life..
life or death gets used way to much... as things stand its killed roughly 1 person in 1500 in the uk... so in a small village of 1500 where you would normally expect 14/15 deaths this year.. maybe covid has increased it by ONE.... i say maybe because there is a very good chance that the one might have been one of the 14/15 who would have died a bit later in the year anyway...

I don't disagree with any of those facts or comparisons. However, if that one person was a close relative/friend and their death could have ben avoided if people had fully complied with restrictions I think you would feel differently whether they were going to die shortly in any event or not.

Just my perspective. If death can be avoided why wouldn't you !!?? Not least because you can't even say goodbye under COVID-19 restrictions.

I think in general, clearly, this virus doesn't cause the damage that a lot of reports would claim.

However, what is undeniable is that those with existing health conditions, and/or are elderly, face a very real prospect of death. So all those of you saying "bring it on" would you do so if you had elderly parents, relatives at risk, etc. that you could pass it on to ?

You might well be right that if you got it it's just like a dose of flu. I've had a 24 year old family member get it and he was fine within about 10 days. I also lost a very close friend who was just 55.

I only say this as people are tending to be fed up with the restrictions (I know I am and have posted previously of my frustrations !) but they are there for a reason; to protect those that are in the risk categories, for those people it really is life or death.

We can afford to loosen restrictions at the moment because of the low rate of infection currently in the community, but if it rises again we need to act a lot more quickly than the UK government did in March !!

its not so much..bring it on..as have some perspective... yes it effects the old with existing illnesses more.. but the old and weak are also harder hit by things like the common cold than fit 30 odd year olds..its life..
life or death gets used way to much... as things stand its killed roughly 1 person in 1500 in the uk... so in a small village of 1500 where you would normally expect 14/15 deaths this year.. maybe covid has increased it by ONE.... i say maybe because there is a very good chance that the one might have been one of the 14/15 who would have died a bit later in the year anyway...

I don't disagree with any of those facts or comparisons. However, if that one person was a close relative/friend and their death could have ben avoided if people had fully complied with restrictions I think you would feel differently whether they were going to die shortly in any event or not.

Just my perspective. If death can be avoided why wouldn't you !!?? Not least because you can't even say goodbye under COVID-19 restrictions.

But what about the thousands of deaths caused due to restrictions?

I fully understand your view point, i should because it has been mine for many months but this can also easily be flipped.

How would you feel if a family member or friend took their own life due to the coronavirus restrictions after losing their home, job, income etc, the only difference being this would much more likely be a younger adult who pre-covid had everything to live for and i feel that as this unfolds further this will be causing far more misery for families around the world than covid ever could.

I have spend 5 months watching this unfold, weighed up the stats, pros and cons and i am edging on giving my family their lives back as the alternative to me is starting to flag up as being far far worse.

I think in general, clearly, this virus doesn't cause the damage that a lot of reports would claim.

However, what is undeniable is that those with existing health conditions, and/or are elderly, face a very real prospect of death. So all those of you saying "bring it on" would you do so if you had elderly parents, relatives at risk, etc. that you could pass it on to ?

You might well be right that if you got it it's just like a dose of flu. I've had a 24 year old family member get it and he was fine within about 10 days. I also lost a very close friend who was just 55.

I only say this as people are tending to be fed up with the restrictions (I know I am and have posted previously of my frustrations !) but they are there for a reason; to protect those that are in the risk categories, for those people it really is life or death.

We can afford to loosen restrictions at the moment because of the low rate of infection currently in the community, but if it rises again we need to act a lot more quickly than the UK government did in March !!

its not so much..bring it on..as have some perspective... yes it effects the old with existing illnesses more.. but the old and weak are also harder hit by things like the common cold than fit 30 odd year olds..its life..
life or death gets used way to much... as things stand its killed roughly 1 person in 1500 in the uk... so in a small village of 1500 where you would normally expect 14/15 deaths this year.. maybe covid has increased it by ONE.... i say maybe because there is a very good chance that the one might have been one of the 14/15 who would have died a bit later in the year anyway...

I don't disagree with any of those facts or comparisons. However, if that one person was a close relative/friend and their death could have ben avoided if people had fully complied with restrictions I think you would feel differently whether they were going to die shortly in any event or not.

Just my perspective. If death can be avoided why wouldn't you !!?? Not least because you can't even say goodbye under COVID-19 restrictions.

But what about the thousands of deaths caused due to restrictions?

I fully understand your view point, i should because it has been mine for many months but this can also easily be flipped.

How would you feel if a family member or friend took their own life due to the coronavirus restrictions after losing their home, job, income etc, the only difference being this would much more likely be a younger adult who pre-covid had everything to live for and i feel that as this unfolds further this will be causing far more misery for families around the world than covid ever could.

I have spend 5 months watching this unfold, weighed up the stats, pros and cons and i am edging on giving my family their lives back as the alternative to me is starting to flag up as being far far worse.

Yep, this thread just demonstrates how difficult this situation is.

We've all outlined our positions based on our own experience of COVID-19 which is absolutely understandable.

I would probably have been in full agreement with you until my mate died and nobody could visit or even attend his funeral. It will be a long time before his family and friends (me included) come to terms with that and something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

I think in general, clearly, this virus doesn't cause the damage that a lot of reports would claim.

However, what is undeniable is that those with existing health conditions, and/or are elderly, face a very real prospect of death. So all those of you saying "bring it on" would you do so if you had elderly parents, relatives at risk, etc. that you could pass it on to ?

You might well be right that if you got it it's just like a dose of flu. I've had a 24 year old family member get it and he was fine within about 10 days. I also lost a very close friend who was just 55.

I only say this as people are tending to be fed up with the restrictions (I know I am and have posted previously of my frustrations !) but they are there for a reason; to protect those that are in the risk categories, for those people it really is life or death.

We can afford to loosen restrictions at the moment because of the low rate of infection currently in the community, but if it rises again we need to act a lot more quickly than the UK government did in March !!

its not so much..bring it on..as have some perspective... yes it effects the old with existing illnesses more.. but the old and weak are also harder hit by things like the common cold than fit 30 odd year olds..its life..
life or death gets used way to much... as things stand its killed roughly 1 person in 1500 in the uk... so in a small village of 1500 where you would normally expect 14/15 deaths this year.. maybe covid has increased it by ONE.... i say maybe because there is a very good chance that the one might have been one of the 14/15 who would have died a bit later in the year anyway...

I don't disagree with any of those facts or comparisons. However, if that one person was a close relative/friend and their death could have ben avoided if people had fully complied with restrictions I think you would feel differently whether they were going to die shortly in any event or not.

Just my perspective. If death can be avoided why wouldn't you !!?? Not least because you can't even say goodbye under COVID-19 restrictions.

im sorry but i just do not agree with this what if the one person . thing.. its where context is lost along with reason... more worldwide will die in road traffic accidents this year by a huge margin... avoidable ? yes ban cars and close roads... is it RTA deaths are of less importance or it would be a ridiculous over reaction ? nobody but nobody thinks but what if the next RTA death is a relative ..so best stop driving..
and we will never ever know if everyone complying with restrictions even works.

I think in general, clearly, this virus doesn't cause the damage that a lot of reports would claim.

However, what is undeniable is that those with existing health conditions, and/or are elderly, face a very real prospect of death. So all those of you saying "bring it on" would you do so if you had elderly parents, relatives at risk, etc. that you could pass it on to ?

You might well be right that if you got it it's just like a dose of flu. I've had a 24 year old family member get it and he was fine within about 10 days. I also lost a very close friend who was just 55.

I only say this as people are tending to be fed up with the restrictions (I know I am and have posted previously of my frustrations !) but they are there for a reason; to protect those that are in the risk categories, for those people it really is life or death.

We can afford to loosen restrictions at the moment because of the low rate of infection currently in the community, but if it rises again we need to act a lot more quickly than the UK government did in March !!

its not so much..bring it on..as have some perspective... yes it effects the old with existing illnesses more.. but the old and weak are also harder hit by things like the common cold than fit 30 odd year olds..its life..
life or death gets used way to much... as things stand its killed roughly 1 person in 1500 in the uk... so in a small village of 1500 where you would normally expect 14/15 deaths this year.. maybe covid has increased it by ONE.... i say maybe because there is a very good chance that the one might have been one of the 14/15 who would have died a bit later in the year anyway...

I don't disagree with any of those facts or comparisons. However, if that one person was a close relative/friend and their death could have ben avoided if people had fully complied with restrictions I think you would feel differently whether they were going to die shortly in any event or not.

Just my perspective. If death can be avoided why wouldn't you !!?? Not least because you can't even say goodbye under COVID-19 restrictions.

But what about the thousands of deaths caused due to restrictions?

I fully understand your view point, i should because it has been mine for many months but this can also easily be flipped.

How would you feel if a family member or friend took their own life due to the coronavirus restrictions after losing their home, job, income etc, the only difference being this would much more likely be a younger adult who pre-covid had everything to live for and i feel that as this unfolds further this will be causing far more misery for families around the world than covid ever could.

I have spend 5 months watching this unfold, weighed up the stats, pros and cons and i am edging on giving my family their lives back as the alternative to me is starting to flag up as being far far worse.

Yep, this thread just demonstrates how difficult this situation is.

We've all outlined our positions based on our own experience of COVID-19 which is absolutely understandable.

I would probably have been in full agreement with you until my mate died and nobody could visit or even attend his funeral. It will be a long time before his family and friends (me included) come to terms with that and something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

This i totally agree with and without doubt is by far my biggest fear, not for myself but to happen to someone i love. To have a family member, friend or God forbid a child go into hospital and not be able to be there with them is just unthinkable and beyond cruel.

My for your friend, i can totally see how this would alter anyone's perspective.

I think in general, clearly, this virus doesn't cause the damage that a lot of reports would claim.

However, what is undeniable is that those with existing health conditions, and/or are elderly, face a very real prospect of death. So all those of you saying "bring it on" would you do so if you had elderly parents, relatives at risk, etc. that you could pass it on to ?

You might well be right that if you got it it's just like a dose of flu. I've had a 24 year old family member get it and he was fine within about 10 days. I also lost a very close friend who was just 55.

I only say this as people are tending to be fed up with the restrictions (I know I am and have posted previously of my frustrations !) but they are there for a reason; to protect those that are in the risk categories, for those people it really is life or death.

We can afford to loosen restrictions at the moment because of the low rate of infection currently in the community, but if it rises again we need to act a lot more quickly than the UK government did in March !!

its not so much..bring it on..as have some perspective... yes it effects the old with existing illnesses more.. but the old and weak are also harder hit by things like the common cold than fit 30 odd year olds..its life..
life or death gets used way to much... as things stand its killed roughly 1 person in 1500 in the uk... so in a small village of 1500 where you would normally expect 14/15 deaths this year.. maybe covid has increased it by ONE.... i say maybe because there is a very good chance that the one might have been one of the 14/15 who would have died a bit later in the year anyway...

I don't disagree with any of those facts or comparisons. However, if that one person was a close relative/friend and their death could have ben avoided if people had fully complied with restrictions I think you would feel differently whether they were going to die shortly in any event or not.

Just my perspective. If death can be avoided why wouldn't you !!?? Not least because you can't even say goodbye under COVID-19 restrictions.

But what about the thousands of deaths caused due to restrictions?

I fully understand your view point, i should because it has been mine for many months but this can also easily be flipped.

How would you feel if a family member or friend took their own life due to the coronavirus restrictions after losing their home, job, income etc, the only difference being this would much more likely be a younger adult who pre-covid had everything to live for and i feel that as this unfolds further this will be causing far more misery for families around the world than covid ever could.

I have spend 5 months watching this unfold, weighed up the stats, pros and cons and i am edging on giving my family their lives back as the alternative to me is starting to flag up as being far far worse.

Yep, this thread just demonstrates how difficult this situation is.

We've all outlined our positions based on our own experience of COVID-19 which is absolutely understandable.

I would probably have been in full agreement with you until my mate died and nobody could visit or even attend his funeral. It will be a long time before his family and friends (me included) come to terms with that and something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

This i totally agree with and without doubt is by far my biggest fear, not for myself but to happen to someone i love. To have a family member, friend or God forbid a child go into hospital and not be able to be there with them is just unthinkable and beyond cruel.

My condolences for your friend, i can totally see how this would alter anyone's perspective.

I think in general, clearly, this virus doesn't cause the damage that a lot of reports would claim.

However, what is undeniable is that those with existing health conditions, and/or are elderly, face a very real prospect of death. So all those of you saying "bring it on" would you do so if you had elderly parents, relatives at risk, etc. that you could pass it on to ?

You might well be right that if you got it it's just like a dose of flu. I've had a 24 year old family member get it and he was fine within about 10 days. I also lost a very close friend who was just 55.

I only say this as people are tending to be fed up with the restrictions (I know I am and have posted previously of my frustrations !) but they are there for a reason; to protect those that are in the risk categories, for those people it really is life or death.

We can afford to loosen restrictions at the moment because of the low rate of infection currently in the community, but if it rises again we need to act a lot more quickly than the UK government did in March !!

its not so much..bring it on..as have some perspective... yes it effects the old with existing illnesses more.. but the old and weak are also harder hit by things like the common cold than fit 30 odd year olds..its life..
life or death gets used way to much... as things stand its killed roughly 1 person in 1500 in the uk... so in a small village of 1500 where you would normally expect 14/15 deaths this year.. maybe covid has increased it by ONE.... i say maybe because there is a very good chance that the one might have been one of the 14/15 who would have died a bit later in the year anyway...

I don't disagree with any of those facts or comparisons. However, if that one person was a close relative/friend and their death could have ben avoided if people had fully complied with restrictions I think you would feel differently whether they were going to die shortly in any event or not.

Just my perspective. If death can be avoided why wouldn't you !!?? Not least because you can't even say goodbye under COVID-19 restrictions.

But what about the thousands of deaths caused due to restrictions?

I fully understand your view point, i should because it has been mine for many months but this can also easily be flipped.

How would you feel if a family member or friend took their own life due to the coronavirus restrictions after losing their home, job, income etc, the only difference being this would much more likely be a younger adult who pre-covid had everything to live for and i feel that as this unfolds further this will be causing far more misery for families around the world than covid ever could.

I have spend 5 months watching this unfold, weighed up the stats, pros and cons and i am edging on giving my family their lives back as the alternative to me is starting to flag up as being far far worse.

Yep, this thread just demonstrates how difficult this situation is.

We've all outlined our positions based on our own experience of COVID-19 which is absolutely understandable.

I would probably have been in full agreement with you until my mate died and nobody could visit or even attend his funeral. It will be a long time before his family and friends (me included) come to terms with that and something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

This i totally agree with and without doubt is by far my biggest fear, not for myself but to happen to someone i love. To have a family member, friend or God forbid a child go into hospital and not be able to be there with them is just unthinkable and beyond cruel.

My condolences for your friend, i can understand how this would alter anyone's perspective.

I think in general, clearly, this virus doesn't cause the damage that a lot of reports would claim.

However, what is undeniable is that those with existing health conditions, and/or are elderly, face a very real prospect of death. So all those of you saying "bring it on" would you do so if you had elderly parents, relatives at risk, etc. that you could pass it on to ?

You might well be right that if you got it it's just like a dose of flu. I've had a 24 year old family member get it and he was fine within about 10 days. I also lost a very close friend who was just 55.

I only say this as people are tending to be fed up with the restrictions (I know I am and have posted previously of my frustrations !) but they are there for a reason; to protect those that are in the risk categories, for those people it really is life or death.

We can afford to loosen restrictions at the moment because of the low rate of infection currently in the community, but if it rises again we need to act a lot more quickly than the UK government did in March !!

its not so much..bring it on..as have some perspective... yes it effects the old with existing illnesses more.. but the old and weak are also harder hit by things like the common cold than fit 30 odd year olds..its life..
life or death gets used way to much... as things stand its killed roughly 1 person in 1500 in the uk... so in a small village of 1500 where you would normally expect 14/15 deaths this year.. maybe covid has increased it by ONE.... i say maybe because there is a very good chance that the one might have been one of the 14/15 who would have died a bit later in the year anyway...

I don't disagree with any of those facts or comparisons. However, if that one person was a close relative/friend and their death could have ben avoided if people had fully complied with restrictions I think you would feel differently whether they were going to die shortly in any event or not.

Just my perspective. If death can be avoided why wouldn't you !!?? Not least because you can't even say goodbye under COVID-19 restrictions.

But what about the thousands of deaths caused due to restrictions?

I fully understand your view point, i should because it has been mine for many months but this can also easily be flipped.

How would you feel if a family member or friend took their own life due to the coronavirus restrictions after losing their home, job, income etc, the only difference being this would much more likely be a younger adult who pre-covid had everything to live for and i feel that as this unfolds further this will be causing far more misery for families around the world than covid ever could.

I have spend 5 months watching this unfold, weighed up the stats, pros and cons and i am edging on giving my family their lives back as the alternative to me is starting to flag up as being far far worse.

Yep, this thread just demonstrates how difficult this situation is.

We've all outlined our positions based on our own experience of COVID-19 which is absolutely understandable.

I would probably have been in full agreement with you until my mate died and nobody could visit or even attend his funeral. It will be a long time before his family and friends (me included) come to terms with that and something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

This i totally agree with and without doubt is by far my biggest fear, not for myself but to happen to someone i love. To have a family member, friend or God forbid a child go into hospital and not be able to be there with them is just unthinkable and beyond cruel.

My condolences for your friend, i can understand how this would alter anyone's perspective.