That is the problem - media pressure and more.
They daren't not listen to the doom mongers for fear of further embarrassment but at the same time these current restrictions are causing a lot of - understandable - angst in certain industries.
A lockdown will cause as much uproar one way or the other so they might as well tell us to be sensible and carry on.
Trouble is that you have the likes of Sadiq Khan playing politics with Covid - London is in a far better place today than say 11 months ago and yet he can't stop himself declaring a "major emergency"!
Sage saying - there could be between 600 and 6000 deaths - I think - per day.
That is one heck of a spread!!!
Imagine your builder telling you that your job would cost between £600 and £6000.
These "experts" just make things up and every time I hear the name Neil Ferguson then I know that absolute garbage is being spoken!

It’s easier and politically safer to copy the other governments on this, and as Dubai said, once France or Germany introduce tougher restrictions then it’s only a matter of hours before Johnson does.

I spoke to someone yesterday who’s in an industry the government have some say in and there’s an instruction on the 28th that was given before the other lockdowns so we’ll see. I expect everything except work and essential shopping. Everything except essential key work will cost too much but when you’re in so much debt and the age groups that do vote call for it…

COYP

That other countries don't have the NHS does mean they aren't protecting their own health services in much the same way as we are! There's nothing "emotional" about it. It's simple logic.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

They just don't "pluck figures out of the air" or "want to get on TV". Neither is remotely true. You have posted a lot of common sense recently, but I don't think this is.

The science is based on sophisticated computer modelling, done by various independent groups. When their results all point in the same direction, and groups in other countries are reaching similar conclusions, then they need to be taken seriously.

We need to trust experts and not our "gut instincts".

You wouldn't have a family picnic in the middle of the M25 just because there was no traffic to be seen. The experts, looking at their screens, would know it was a temporary hold up and, as soon as it cleared, there would be a surge of vehicles bearing down on you.

That some of our scientists have been trained in media skills doesn't mean they want to be on TV, only that they need to be. Most shun the limelight.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

State run organisations efficient! You do make me laugh Wisbelch.

Or when it's not your money you don't care about efficiency from Senior managers on down. The wastage in the NHS is horrendous.

One more point

Personally I think this is actually more likely than you think. If he goes further than that he dies, politically. So in fact it would take more balls to enforce a lockdown than what is now option 1, according to the telegraph.

Option 2 is back to enforced social distancing and reduced mixing. It's going to be 1 or 2, probably 1.

My hunch now is that the real issue is not going to be hospitalisations, it's going to be the knock on of mass isolation across various industries and sectors. So something is coming, albeit temporarily, either way.

Did you know? 98.0000001% of people are morons.

Wisbech - if scientific modelling produces a range of between 600 and 6000 deaths per day then something is wrong.
I accept those are best/worst case scenarios but the truth is that they do not yet have enough info on Omicron except that in theory it is not as bad as Delta and with the vaccination level being high then hospitalisations/deaths should stay relatively low.
New cases shouldn't mean further restrictions if they are not resulting in the NHS being put under pressure.
Until they have enough info to comment seriously then they should spouting forth about it.

I think it also depends on what you're being fed by the media. The trash rags such as the mail and below will always go for the higher or highest end projections, because clicks

How many wild projections is irrelevant. What is more interesting, and relevant, is to know what scenarios were presented and chosen by those making the decisions as the most likely out of the range, as these would be the ones that led to those decisions being taken.

Did you know? 98.0000001% of people are morons.

Yeah, one expert on the radio said they are asked to give an opinion about something and are told what the opinion is-and hey presto-you got the job!