Thread by @firefoxx66

1/ Has the UK ended up with the worst possible #SARSCoV2 #COVID19 combination?
- /Everyone/ is upset & confused
- Personal life greatly restricted
- Trust in strategy at a low
- Still possibly not applying restrictions consistently enough to make a decisive difference

2/ The local-lockdown strategy seems to have contained outbreaks over the summer - I was encouraged by this.

Convinced that was the end of it, however, the govt seems to have turned attention totally to businesses instead of the possibility that a 2nd wave could come in autumn.

3/ I do not believe a strict lockdown, as in spring, is necessary to stop #SARSCoV2. But the idea that people can totally isolate themselves in personal life, yet continue to patronise bars & restaurants & go work in offices like normal - & this stops transmission - is farcical.

4/ And, though economically less ideal, I believe strict personal restrictions are harder for the public to bear than limitations on how pubs & restaurants operate. Personal restrictions are invasive, isolating, & confining - and punch hard at mental wellness.

5/ We can save businesses (if we so wish) with financial schemes - but it's not so easy to keep the public healthy, happy, & continuing to make good decisions to minimise transmissions by following guidelines.

Of course, some personal restrictions are likely needed.

6/ But these should be carefully made, to accommodate families, children, & differences in types & places of meeting (meeting outdoors & keeping distance is likely quite safe). Other higher risk settings should be regulated to minimise need for personal restrictions when possible

7/ Communication & public perception *matter* when you're trying to get an entire country on-side to give things up for a greater goal!

When messages are confusing & restrictions seem contradictory or unfair, you lose engagement & trust and deplete willpower.

8/ Statements like this (presumably trying to save the govt face): "Testing & tracing has very little or nothing to do with the spread or the transmission of the disease"

Scramble messages about what's important. (Why get tested if it doesn't matter?)

https://twitter.com/SamCoatesSky/status/1308393881793429506

9/ The first step to fixing a problem is admitting you have one - something the UK govt seems loath to do with regard to Test & Trace.

My heart aches to see the UK in the position it's in right now. It didn't need to be this way... & doesn't need to continue this way.

10/ It's not going to be easy to turn things around now, but I believe it's possible. However, it will take investment, planning, balanced restrictions - and much, much better communication.

A lot of work needs to be done to get the public back on-board. I hope it starts soon.

11/ The takeaway here is balance. #SARSCoV2 transmission likely isn't just happening at home /or/ at businesses/pubs/etc, but both. We need strategies that minimise risk in both settings, while allowing both to proceed as normally as is possible, based on case-trajectories.

12/ And clear, effective, balanced guidelines aid good communication & build back trust. 'Fair' restrictions that are 'worth it' are easier for people to tolerate. We may have multiple 'upswings' this winter that require action - we need the public to buy-in /every time/.