Tough decisions to be taken over the road out of lockdown

I need to smarten up and am conscious my hair – which was getting ever thinner pre-pandemic – is now getting thicker and longer every day. You cannot have everything and as we yearn for an easing of lockdown, reality sinks in. Without a vaccine and a treatment in sight, easing of the lockdown brings risks of further spread and deaths. A new and worrying development regarding a strain affecting children has to be factored now in albeit small in number, but so was coronavirus when it started. The pressure to let business recover and survive is great and understandable. However, any easing prematurely carries risks of another spike in cases, before testing and contact tracing become more embedded. It is suggested schools could be opened on a phased and social distancing basis and pubs also, the latter being restricted to a few pints. Do we really think that is realistic given current trends ? Whatever happens, the main casualties will be the elderly/vulnerable. It is inevitable that easing of current restrictions will come given pressure from growing numbers. I do not envy those making that decision as the price of more freedom to one section of the community may sadly be at the price of more deaths. Hopefully as lockdown is eased, we have learned from experience of other countries ahead of us and that the measures of protection and mitigation keep further deaths to a minimum. However, it seems unrealistic to not expect more and everyone a tragedy . Shielding for my generation will I suspect become a way of life for the foreseeable future. From my personal point of view if it protects younger members of my family and the lives of frontline workers, it is a price I am willing to pay. As regards wider society , we have to be careful what we wish for. There is always unintended consequences of any decision, but one has to be made. Mine is to get ready for my meeting. Others have more serio us decisions to make.