What's your attitude to COVID and risk now?

[Cloo]

No judgement, just interested where people are in what they feel comfortable doing right now and maybe what affects that - and I guess I'm talking about in your own time rather than work, although work may affect how you feel about what you do in your spare time.

First off, neither I nor anyone in household is CEV I have no anxiety about actually having it, but I don't want to be giving it to other people who might be. Husband and I both work from home. Right now I'm OK with once a week going to a cinema, theatre or art gallery, somewhere people are likely to be wearing masks; I'm wearing a FFP mask every time I do go somewhere like that. I might go to a restaurant as part of a trip, but I wouldn't go to one or a pub right now just for the hell of it. Basically, none of these things are as high risk as my kids being in school all week, which is by far the likeliest way it'll make it into the household, so I feel I might as well. Especially with the 'risk' of having to isolate being lower, and we might as well take some advantage from level of vaccination (husband and I both boosted now) - basically being able to do stuff is a 1000% improvement on this time last year, and I want to support cultural institutions that have been fucked for the last nearly 2 years.

I'd prefer to keep taking LFTs when meeting my parents or in-laws while cases are high - they're not super vulnerable, but all over 70.

Gigs and clubs, not that I go to them much anyway, I think will wait until cases are lower and/or I've recently recovered from COVID.

Sure my poll will miss lots of things out, but hey.

 

[dessiato]

I’m very careful where I go and stay away from people as much as possible. I know too many at risk people to want to gamble with the possibility of giving them the virus.

 

[Flavour]

I don't ever really (knowingly) see vulnerable people except in public places where I'm always masked up. I see my friends indoors all the time, no issue with that anymore, we're all vaccinated.

 

[weepiper]

Still very careful. Me working in a customer facing job and my two boys being at school feels like a lot of risk as it is. I don't go into crowded places as a rule. Supermarket, but everyone is masked round here. I don't go in pubs, cinemas, cafes, that kind of thing at all.

 

[platinumsage]

I'm not worried about catching it personally, and I'm not in contact with any vulnerable people, so it's back to normal for me. I'll take whatever precautions those I'm with deem appropriate, or which I consider socially normal i.e. go with the flow and do whatever masks/distancing/sanitizer I'm asked or expected to.

 

[danny la rouge]

I’m sticking to carefulness. I mean we haven’t seen anyone since before Christmas, and even then it was outdoors. Since the 31st we’ve had Covid in the house, me now since yesterday, so I’ll still be isolating anyway.

I want it all to be over, but just wanting it doesn’t make it so. There are still excess deaths and long Covid. That’s not something we should be blasé about.

 

[Doctor Carrot]

I mask up at work with an ffp2 and when I go shopping. Don't really fancy a gig or any event like it if mask wearing is required so I don't bother. Saw some friends last night round someone's house, no masks but that's a rarity.

 

[Dead Cat Bounce]

Getting my boster jab on Friday but still trying to avoid large gatherings. Seems like no one else cares in north London, went to the local supermarket today and hardly any one was wearing a mask. Empolyees had a mask but they didn't wear it correctly. I think people have just given up

 

[Edie]

I’m in the licking strangers category

 

[danny la rouge]

I think people have just given up

From my observations, most people round these parts are still doing their best. I work in an FE college and even the students try to follow the rules, although they don’t really understand distancing and they keep trying to close windows. We haven’t been back on campus. It was distance learning last week. And will be this coming week too (although I’ll be off with Covid anyway).

But I was never a big fan of people touching each other anyway. It came as a big shock to my system when social hugging took off. I was hoping Covid would put a stop to all that silliness.

 

[weepiper]

I mask up at work with an ffp2 and when I go shopping. Don't really fancy a gig or any event like it if mask wearing is required so I don't bother. Saw some friends last night round someone's house, no masks but that's a rarity.

Oh yeah you've reminded me that I just bought a pack of 20 ffp2 masks for work. Been wearing a cloth or a surgical mask every day since March 2020 but it doesn't feel like enough just now.

 

[existentialist]

I'm being sort of ultra-cautious...but it's being largely driven by a certain amount of, er, habitual isolationism that nearly 2 years of lockdowns seems to have engendered in me. On pretty much any occasion when someone says "coming out for a pint?", or the question of going to visit someone arises, I have to fight really hard against a desire to just stay in. It's beginning to get rather annoying.

 

[shifting gears]

Finally succumbed to the virus (as in catching it, not dying ) before Xmas and now start the new year triplejabbed and hopefully with a decent amount of immunity

I will of course continue to wear a mask in public and otherwise be cautious and respectful of others, cos I’m not a cunt, basically

But there doesn’t seem there’s gonna be a better time to hit the disco because it’s been too long, and I need to do some dancin… and I mean really dancin

So that’s on my to do list

 

[Miss-Shelf]

I've been back f2f at work for a while and I wear ffp2 masks
Since Christmas(ie when threat to older relatives wasnt an issue)I've done indoor things with ffp2 mask: went to the panto and have been to a football match. Not doing indoor events without a mask. Had some freezing outdoor pub meets recently brr

I use public transport in London/to other cities because I don't have a car, mainly using ffp2 masks

I don't have the risk of school age people in the house

My bf is CEV and its him who booked the recent indoor events because he has a limited lifespan and doesn't want to put off doing things. At other moments in the pandemic I've avoided things due to him being CEV

I dont know what I'll do about indoors with friends. Guess I'll make individual choices to visit or host people who will take lat flow tests

 

[mango5]

Careful. No restaurants or pubs unless there's outdoor seating. Will do buses for journeys ideally up to half an hour. Will go to workplaces where there is good ventilation. Mask wearing indoors and on transport. LFT before going to workplaces or visiting my mum, so 2-3 times a week.
I agree with supporting Arts and cultural orgs where possible so I have tickets for a couple of things later this year but might decide at the last minute not to go.

Most of the risk is not in my control in any case.

 

[bemused]

I go out and about, but won't let people in my house or visit theirs if they aren't vaccinated.

 

[Cloo]

I also have choir each week, where we sit distanced and have to lft beforehand - they're mostly older people and some vulnerable and keep masks on the whole time. I wouldn't go to that, or probably anything else, if anyone else in the house were to have COVID even though I'm not legally obliged to isolate, but seeing as we work from home and I can isolate I plan to do so until the risk of being infected is likely to have passed.

 

[Sprocket.]

Still isolating, only attending hospital appointments and avoiding everything and everyone.
Received a text to go for my second booster this week, this will be my fourth jab.
My immune system is still practically non existent and I am being very cautious.

 

[oryx]

I was quite happily doing pubs, restaurants, public transport and non-essential shopping right up until Omicron came into the country.

I'm now back to going out only when essential, e.g. to the post office or shop for essential items.

My view of Covid itself is torn between thinking we're all going to get it sooner or later, and really not wanting to get it due to the risk of unknown side-effects (long Covid, etc.).

 

[Sue]

Still wfh, generally not doing anything inside. (Have been to the cinema a couple of times but only when it's been super quiet.)

Once I get my booster (hopefully this week) and that's had time to kick in, may feel differently but who knows. (I do really want to go back to the gym but not sure that feels like such a good idea right now. )

 

[weltweit]

CEV?

 

[ouirdeaux]

clinically extremely vulnerable

 

[LDC]

I'm between the licking strangers and sticking to places etc. categories. Nearer the second than the first really though. It's hard to know what's normal now after so long tbh and there's been other changes in my life than make tracking that even harder, but am going out to eat or have a drink sometimes, been to the cinema once (which is about all I'd go anyway), going to the gym, having some people round the house, and getting the train and buses as well. Going on holiday in March to France and London for a few days before that. Still wear a mask on trains and in shops, althogh increasingly feels pointless as so many other people don't. Gave up all that gelling my hands a year or so ago, maybe longer.

Start work in ED in a month so expect that I'll get covid very soon after that, and then when (if?) recovered I'll be even slacker.

 

[weltweit]

I am being quite careful, I still don't want to risk getting it nor passing it on to anyone either.

Everyone at work is now wearing masks again.

I have just started WFH again 3 days a week.

I have cut my social life out almost completely.

 

[Poot]

I have Covid now and can tell you that the LFT was negative right up until I'd been unable to get out of bed for two days, and I think the government knows this full well but won't admit it.

So yeah, you're all right to be cautious. I'm fairly sure I either caught it in Aldi or M&S because both were heaving and felt very covid unsafe (even though I was wearing a mask).

I've been pretty cautious. I go to the gym, which is the size of an aircraft hangar, at 6am when it's empty and we visited one household on NYE. There were 8 for Xmas but that was a one off. I was quite lax in the autumn, but things are different with Omicron.

Incidentally, if your voice changes and you are suddenly very tired, this is a MUCH better indicator than a LFT in my opinion.

 

[Plumdaff]

I'm going to places, not least because I have a school age child who needs to live a reasonably normal life, but I also wear a mask and remain as diligent as possible with distancing and hand sanitiser. I don't go out to pubs much at the best of times, but I've been to football matches, gigs, restaurants, the gym, that I know other people might not attend.

I was extremely careful in the run up to Christmas because I wanted to see older relatives and tend to do that whenever there's an important date coming up.

 

[rubbershoes]

Still cautious. I've skipped the pub quiz since the beginning of December. Still wfh and not going to the cinema etc.

Triple jabbed so I'm less worried about death than before, but none of my family have had it and we're all still being cautious. I'm quite surprised that my three secondary school children haven't brought it home.

 

[Dr. Furface]

Upped my game to wearing an FFP2 mask on public transport - bonus is that at this time of year they help keep you warm. Deffo won’t still be wearing one after March though, but expect the Omicron wave to be pretty much over by then anyway.

Going to pubs and cinemas but not if they’re really busy - but I usually don’t anyway so not much difference there.

Haven’t been to a gig for ages but I have one booked in a couple of weeks and I’ll probably go.

 

[Cloo]

Incidentally, if your voice changes and you are suddenly very tired, this is a MUCH better indicator than a LFT in my opinion.

This is a thing I've never understood the whole time - they always said look out for temperature, cough, aches with COVID, but only about 30% report cough and I think maybe a bit more ache and temperature.... but IIRC about 70% of sufferers report fatigue. So why has that never been reported anywhere as the top indicator of COVID?! For me, often the difference between a normal cold and a really bad virus is that kind of 'viral tiredness' you get with the latter (which is quite distinctive from normal levels of being run-down or underslept).

 

[Cloo]

Triple jabbed so I'm less worried about death than before, but none of my family have had it and we're all still being cautious. I'm quite surprised that my three secondary school children haven't brought it home.

Neither of ours appeared to have had it, despite son having several cases in his class in autumn (5 or 6 at one time) and oldest having a friend she was literally sitting next to in a double lesson having it that same term. I can't believe our luck will hold this half term - if it was perhaps the case that one or both has had it asymptomatically, that won't help with omicron.