Lockdown 2020

LizG · March 25

It was a strange time - working as a receptionist in an opticians we became aware of something not being right quite early and were taking precautions long before any lock down rules came into force. I used to hate it when patients leaned over the counter and I note the perspex screen is still in place! I was trying to finish off some NHS submissions on the Monday and my colleague was searching on the internet about loss of taste as he had had no taste over the weekend - he went home immediately! He had just come back from Cheltenham! Other colleagues were off sick - ill with coughs and some had been ill several weeks before. In the August a lot of them had blood tests to see whether they had antibodies - a 1/3rd of the workforce did, some didn't know they had had Covid, others almost certainly did have it but no antibodies. I was furloughed and quite liked not having to work, I spent most days walking my local paths recording butterflies - thankfully it was so sunny and dry unlike this spring!

A friend's mother died just before lock down but by the time of the funeral there were she and her husband attending. A good friend died in April and there were just 10 of us at the funeral. A neighbour (we live in a cul-de-sac of 14 houses) who's husband was in a care home died of Covid. Our immediate neighbours ignored the rules and then they went abroad (for work) whilst leaving the house to have major very noisy building works completed!

Then just before her birthday, my middle daughter (who lived nearby) was diagnosed as having leukemia and was rushed into hospital in London! She started chemo within 36 hours of the blood test. On her birthday, we drove up to London to take a birthday cake and a load of things for her. We left them with a nurse at the hospital doors and then looked up to the 13th floor - we could see her through binoculars and waved. That was so painful. Thankfully she made a full recovery, she was one of the lucky ones.

Sarah would come to live with us between treatments, so we had to isolate for 2 weeks before she was due home, we couldn't catch anything! So although the majority of my colleagues were back at work, I didn't go back to mid October. I lasted until May when I retired - it was so hard, with all the restrictions and rules and cleaning, it was never the same! They say that a lot of people lost their sight during lock down because they wouldn't call an optician - we provided an emergency service throughout, the practice was open (doors physically locked) even during the highest restrictions!

What else - it was a contributory factor in both my other daughters' marriage break ups, contributory not cause!

grendel · March 25

1 hour ago, JawsOrca said:

Me and a team 3d printed over 25k+ face masks for the NHS, care homes and other key workers and only stopped because the government threated us with persecution for providing uncertified items to the NHS (And disciplinary action for NHS staff taking the items) .. Strange how we went from police hand delivering masks, radio interviews and MP's thanking us then being threatened with legal action.

I managed to print a few hundred, mine ended up going to my daughters workplace- a NHS training centre, as staff still had to be trained, mostly in covid related practices at that time, so though the NHS staff had PPE, the trainers etc were struggling to get hold of it. they were so busy that none were furloughed, but a lot of them did work from home for the duration.