Will we keep society locked down indefinitely?

[Daedius]

And if a different outbreak happens repeat it all over again?

Governments had better be drafting up protocols for this to prevent it from happening again...

9/11 and other terrorist incidences changed how Airports run. Perhaps this will be another grounds of revamping how Airports deal with sicknesses. Will current restrictions at airports be the norm now?

[caractacus]

I understood these cases are pretty rare though, aren't they?

That's my understanding too, I looked at the links and just reading the first one from the CDC it says "most persons with COVID-19 recover and return to normal health"

[Fencers]

I hate to admit it but I found the lockdown, staying at home, working completely from home, and pick up totally cool. The amount of quiet and cleanness of the world outside made going for a walk great.

Quiet isn't really a factor for me- our neighborhood was always pretty tranquil and clean. It's more the fact that I actually like hanging out with my family. It's fun.

Before I had kids I was just a housewife for a while. And it was pretty chill. This quarantine kinda is that all over again but now I have kids. So it's a lot more fun.

I realized pretty early on in the lockdown that I may not have had such a sustained amount of time with my kids had this pandemic not happened. Because I went back to work after I had kids- they are expensive, natch.

This is kinda cool.

[Forogil]

That's my understanding too, I looked at the links and just reading the first one from the CDC it says "most persons with COVID-19 recover and return to normal health"

Yes, that's what I've also understood from persons I know who have had it.

[Biglog]

It's very common knowledge that the vaccine is being rolled out and has been since January. Millions of shots have been given out. For weeks more people per day have been vaccinated than new cases. The vaccine works and works against the mutations. The vaccine would and should have been accessible sooner, but we lost a lot of time with misinformation and mishandling in 2020 by the former administration. Increasingly over the next few months as the threshold widens to younger and lower-risk people more and more will be vaccinated.

So what has given the OP or anyone the false impression that it would be indefinite? Are that many people not aware of the vaccine or just not checking news?
My work is already discussing return to the office in a couple months. I have relatives who already have both shots. It's very likely everyone that wants the vaccine will have it by late summer.

For the fringe folks that fear the the vaccine and 5G or whatever they saw on a YT conspiracy video...best of luck. Ironically, they are the only people that will be indefinitely vulnerable.

[The Butt Witch]

That was for masks. He’s expecting a mostly normal resumption of life by the end of the year at the latest.

The Chinese were wearing masks even 17 years after the SARS outbreak in 2003. All the footage from China had people with masks walking in the streets.

[Edge-]

The Chinese were wearing masks even 17 years after the SARS outbreak in 2003. All the footage from China had people with masks walking in the streets.

Because wearing masks when you have a cold/symptoms in public is commonplace in general in many Asian countries. It's a cultural thing, and it's also helped them keep case loads down throughout most of the pandemic compared to countries like the US that have large populations actively rejecting mask wearing.

And it's something I hope we adopt out in the west when you're sick/have symptoms in general. It's pretty considerate to try to keep the germs to yourself if you have to go out, and not share them with every person you encounter.

[Slant]

Because wearing masks when you have a cold/symptoms in public is commonplace in general in many Asian countries. It's a cultural thing, and it's also helped them keep case loads down throughout most of the pandemic compared to countries like the US that have large populations actively rejecting mask wearing.

And it's something I hope we adopt out in the west when you're sick/have symptoms in general. It's pretty considerate to try to keep the germs to yourself if you have to go out, and not share them with every person you encounter.

Staying home would probably solve the problem. Of course that requires some sort of half-working healthcare system where the insurance comes up for the missing salary.

[Edge-]

Staying home would probably solve the problem. Of course that requires some sort of half-working healthcare system where the insurance comes up for the missing salary.

Plus, jobs with actual sick-leave policies so folks aren't worried about losing out on pay/getting fired for being sick.

But even then, if you're sick and out in public (going to the store to pick up some soup stuff etc.) I don't see why we shouldn't adopt mask wearing. It's an extremely minimal ask (for most of us) and while it's hardly perfect, offers greater protection to those around you. It's like, the considerate thing to do.

[Slant]

Plus, jobs with actual sick-leave policies so folks aren't worried about losing out on pay/getting fired for being sick.

But even then, if you're sick and out in public (going to the store to pick up some soup stuff etc.) I don't see why we shouldn't adopt mask wearing. It's an extremely minimal ask (for most of us) and while it's hardly perfect, offers greater protection to those around you. It's like, the considerate thing to do.

There's only two initial thoughts I have:

1. Most people don't like to advertise that they're sick to random people on the street. That'll be an argument to be made against it. BUT,
2. It might catch on, most people I know weren't familiar with these masks. Now they seem to be easy to get, every supermarket has them in the hygiene section and they might just be more used due to the better availability (ie. not going to the pharmacy just to get a stockpile of masks).

So, I think you might actually get your wish. And it probably wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if people can overcome their "I'm sick" shame.

[Spectral]

Some places were, though, weren't they? You tend to do many things on a state level. Especially given the stance of the last federal administration...

I wouldn't really call what we had "lockdown" in a meaningful sense. Instead, we had pointless, petty restrictions while not bothering much with important vectors of transmission. I'm never going to forget being on a bike ride about 25 miles out from a city at a rural park and seeing the drinking fountains closed while the bars in the city were open. We're pretty fucking stupid.

[Witchblade77]

I understood these cases are pretty rare though, aren't they?

depends on what you define as rare.

they are still compiling data on both the percentage of people with lingering side effects (which is NOT helped by the whole insurance situation in US, so people are more likely to NOT report, due to associated costs of going to the doctor), and are still tracking just how long those side effects last.

percentages I saw for now, is about 20% of those that recovered from Covid, are still having lingering issues months after recovery, despite showing negative viral load.

[Felya]

The Chinese were wearing masks even 17 years after the SARS outbreak in 2003. All the footage from China had people with masks walking in the streets.

Even before that:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_subway_sarin_attack

[Lane]

As a member of the "anti lockdown group" I would have to admit that we have lost this fight and so to answer the ops question I would say we will carry on as long as the pro lockdown side keep winning and putting pressure on.

This saddens me personally because I believe we have sacrificed short term gains for long term losses, many of which remain to be seen. It will only be in many years to come that we will be able to evaluate which "side" was right and the damage or benefit the length of the restrictions has had.

Agreed. When Dr. Redfield, Director of the CDC, came out and said more youth were dying to suicide than covid I thought that would at least start making a difference and I was wrong.

As far as "winning", it depends entirely on your representatives. I mean, if you're anti-lockdown in California or pro-lockdown in Florida, good luck. I do believe 2020-2022 have cultivated a mental health crisis though and we're just at the beginning of it with suicides and substance abuse. I don't see how it wouldn't between the isolation, people treating each other like plague bearers, everything is unclean and unsafe, etc.

I am deeply concerned about the precedent this has set for the government too who now know they can infringe on people's rights with little resistance and seemingly indefinitely. This past year has felt like the beginnings of a dystopian novel.

[s_bushido]

I am deeply concerned about the precedent this has set for the government too who now know they can infringe on people's rights with little resistance and seemingly indefinitely. This past year has felt like the beginnings of a dystopian novel.

There aren't enough "" in the world for this ridiculous mentality. Look, I get it, there's a certain segment of the population for whom the freedom to not have to wear a piece of cloth on their face is more important than the freedom of half a million people to...you know...stay alive. But I find it particularly amusing/infuriating that you're pushing this bullshit while also pretending to care about the lives of people who commit suicide. Sorry. You don't get to have it both ways.

You know what would have really helped people's peace of mind during all this? A government that was willing to say: "Look, stay at home and don't worry about your livelihood. You just focus on staying healthy, I got this!" But no. Instead we get months of arguments over sending people checks that will evaporate in a matter of weeks.

[Slant]

I wouldn't really call what we had "lockdown" in a meaningful sense. Instead, we had pointless, petty restrictions while not bothering much with important vectors of transmission. I'm never going to forget being on a bike ride about 25 miles out from a city at a rural park and seeing the drinking fountains closed while the bars in the city were open. We're pretty fucking stupid.

Is it one of those American fountains where the water shoots up at an angle and whoever is drinking doesn't even have to touch anything?

[NED funded]

Nah LMAO I am throwing my mask and doing whatever I want the moment I get vaccinated

[Machismo]

Nah LMAO I am throwing my mask and doing whatever I want the moment I get vaccinated

You Trumpsters sure don't have much concern for others, do you?

[Felya]

Nah LMAO I am throwing my mask and doing whatever I want the moment I get vaccinated

I don’t get this... as soon as I realized that other humans spittle is ending up in my mouth... am masking 4 life... I’ve seen where humans have been...

[TEHPALLYTANK]

Because wearing masks when you have a cold/symptoms in public is commonplace in general in many Asian countries. It's a cultural thing, and it's also helped them keep case loads down throughout most of the pandemic compared to countries like the US that have large populations actively rejecting mask wearing.

And it's something I hope we adopt out in the west when you're sick/have symptoms in general. It's pretty considerate to try to keep the germs to yourself if you have to go out, and not share them with every person you encounter.

Yeah, I'm hoping masks become a normal part of Western cultures too as a consequence of COVID19. Reducing the transmission rate of diseases in general is a good thing; I haven't looked at any of the data but I wouldn't be surprised if our Flu season in 2020 showed a significant decline in cases compared to prior years.