Over eighteen months into the pandemic living here in the UK (or otherwise known as "viral island")

Apparently the UK has been dubbed "viral island" by some of those living further afield in places with low covid cases (eg in Australia or even closer to home in parts of Europe).  Since the supposed freedom day here on the 19th July, I haven't even wanted to write about the situation. How could I begin to describe my overwhelming emotions as the Prime Minister announced "freedom" from all restrictions, despite an alarming surge of the Delta variant.  I just wanted to bang my head against a brick wall and rant about the lack of common-sense involved in this decision. I also sensed than no one wants to talk about the pandemic anymore.  I hear surprising and confusing phrases about how we are supposedly "post-covid" or "post-pandemic" now (oh I wish).  If I have tried to talk about my concerns, I am not often met with the reply "oh well, we have to learn to live with the virus."  I've even worried that I'll be labelled "negative" because I'm supposed to be throwing caution to the wind, hugging people, having indoor gatherings and just having lots of fun.

For the last three months, I have grappled with the idea of "living alongside covid" and I can honestly say that these few months in some ways have been the most difficult so far for me.  Why?  Because it feels rather like watching a forest fire slowly grow and become out of control, starting to send toxic smoke across our towns while being told "don't worry, just get back to normal".  It remains tiring to keep making choices about what to do or not with high covid cases around.  Especially when it seems entirely possible to reduce this down to a few thousand a day by some extra simple measures, mandatory face-masks, working from home, better ventilation, continuing some kind of track/trace/isolate system.  If our European friends can manage to do this successfully while also opening up their society, then so can we.  And for those reading this from outside of the UK... if it appears that we are all enjoying our personal freedom here in England while simultaneously drowning in covid cases, be assured that we are some of us are not. 

A huge divide has been created in England by asking people to make a "choice" about wearing a face-mask or social-distancing.  This same divide has not been created across the other nations of the UK who still have some mandatory mitigation measures in place.  A good proportion of the "great British public" in England have decided to not continue with mask wearing or any social-distance.  Recently, I tried to pop to a local supermarket on our high street for the first time in ages.  I was shocked to be surrounded by half the shoppers not wearing a face-mask with one such shopper reaching across me in the fruit section.  I found myself wanting to stop and yell at everyone saying "why on earth aren't you all wearing a face-mask, there is still a pandemic going on, we have the second highest cases in the world...."  At which point I left the store, without any shouting I hasten to add, and went home to do a click and collect order as per normal.  

Of course I am only seeing the situation with the eyes of someone who is cautious about getting sick with covid.  I was very hesitant about having the vaccine due to an underlying mild health condition   I've only been "double jabbed" for five weeks and my relief after the second Pfizer jab, quickly turned to concern while experiencing more side-effects than I ever expected.  It took ten days to feel nearer my normal health, followed by on-going ups and downs since, including further days of being in bed with severe nausea and fatigue.  Through these last weeks, I feel empathically connected to those who have struggled to recover from the vaccine or are unable to have the vaccine, those who are dealing with long covid symptoms and all those with underlying health conditions who remain more vulnerable.  While half the population are acting as if there is no pandemic going on anymore here in England, many of us are hugely impacted by this.   

While struggling with these striking divisions between people's approaches to living with the pandemic, my frustration and anger are not emotions that I want to stew in all day.  I allow myself about ten minutes each day to have a moan or sigh about the case numbers or the lack of guidance.  And then I try to regain some kind of balance and make my decisions that feel safe and comfortable while living in this viral soup.  I also gained some clarity about the problem.  We were promised a kind of freedom of life returning back to normal after July if we just all get vaccinated.  Yet it was never going to completely work.  And everyone by now is tired, depleted, fed up with covid and we all wish that life was really back to normal.  But just as the environmental crisis won't go away just by sheer will, denial or hope, nor will the pandemic.  We have to take collective action and then, maybe more of us can begin to get a taste of "freedom" that has so far been elusive.  Added to this, by getting our covid cases under control, we reduce the risk of another variant emerging out of the UK and potentially setting off another covid wave around the world.  Surely that is worth putting a face mask on for?