Thread by @lottieflying

Thread 🧵

We are repeatedly being told that we have to ‘learn to live with covid’. And at some level, yes, I guess we do. BUT & there is a big but coming … (1)

Those who shout this the loudest seem to mean that we must rip off our masks, forget all social distancing, no longer self isolate & return to life as it was pre pandemic regardless of the consequences of this & that we are somehow ‘living in fear’ if we don’t agree. (2)

However, this so called ‘freedom’ condemns many to very restricted lives & especially those who are CV/CEV (3)

Unfortunately, I think the bottom line is that we’ll ultimately have no choice but to find ways of living with covid for the foreseeable future. However, unlike those shouting it loudly, I do NOT mean live with it with regardless of the consequences. Absolutely not. (4)

What I mean is that we need to find ways of living with covid as safely as is possible & in ways that are least restrictive. If we want to ensure that EVERYONE is able to live as freely & safely as possible, we cannot return to life as it was pre pandemic – we need to adapt. (5)

We need to get creative & start looking for solutions to the situation we find ourselves in rather than taking the government’s approach of adopting the path of least resistance. (6)

Take wearing masks. They’ve either been mandated everywhere or nowhere. As with many things during this pandemic it’s been presented as a dichotomy. But is there another way? A way to cater to those who want/need them to stay & those who are so very opposed to them? (7)

Would it be too much of a stretch for trains to have compartments set aside for those who wish to use a mask? After all we used to have non-smoking & smoking compartments. Couldn’t cinemas have sessions when masks must be worn & social distancing observed? (8)

During the pandemic many supermarkets offered dedicated times for people who are vulnerable. Is there any reason they couldn’t continue to do so with these sessions being ones in which people *have* to wear a mask? (9)

I appreciate that covid remains in the air for several hours & that there would need to be some way of ensuring as ‘clean’ air as possible before these masked sessions, whether through ventilation or some form of air filtration. (10)

And I’d argue - if we’re to live with covid as sustainably as poss - masks should return when rates are excessively high. I think the problem with a permanent mask mandate is many may flout it & there might be a better response if people knew the mandate was time limited. (11)

What if all public indoor spaces had to conform to a minimum standard of ventilation/air quality? Given cafes, restaurants etc already have to display hygiene ratings why not air quality ratings? Whilst ventilation isn’t a cure all we know it can dramatically ⬇️ transmission (12)

Would be even more amazing to see cafes, restaurants etc taking a leaf out of pub local to me re: creative solutions. The pub invested in 3 outdoor wooden ‘huts’ along with heaters & lights; a way those for whom mixing indoors could pose too great a risk to enjoy going out (13)

Many of us would concur that there ARE ways to make schools safer - from CO2 monitors to assess ventilation to ensuring windows/doors can be opened to using HEPA filters when natural ventilation is inadequate in addition to allowing children who want to wear masks to do so. (14)

What about the use of robots for children who are very vulnerable when rates are high alongside outdoor lessons such as PE? I get this may be difficult for schools but if covid is here to stay & some children remain at risk, we MUST find ways to make school work for them. (15)

bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-n… (16)

There are ways we could begin to live with covid … BUT ... it means we have to adapt to a new normal. Maybe far from perfect but there is a way.

***AND before anyone says it - I know that I am being an absolute idealist***

But ... (17)

... it breaks me to know the current situation/narrative about ‘getting back to normal’ by which people seem to mean back to pre pandemic living will mean many people incl. children who are more vulnerable to covid feeling they’ve no choice but to restrict their lives. (18)

My idealism aside, I will be continuing to wear a mask, to keep my distance when needed & to do whatever I can, however small that is, to protect those around me & especially those who are vulnerable

#EveryoneMatters (19, End)