Two Week bursts of new normal.

Given the virus will need to go through the whole population before we can move on to the new normal and given the fact that we are isolating to support the NHS services and staff, I suggest we lift isolation in short bursts. Example starting on a Monday and finishing on a Sunday for two weeks let everyone go to work. Then isolate for two weeks. Anyone exposed to the virus in that time should come down with it as it is currently thought to only have an incubation time of 2-14 days. If the R number and hospital admissions stay relatively low......repeat. All the while isolate the vulnerable and over 70s. In this way a hopefully more healthy and robust population will get exposed to the virus more quickly, enabling us to return to full time work quicker. Perhaps leave restaurants and bars closed for the first few rounds. To support compliance of self distancing publish the numbers everywhere i.e. % population the government thinks has been infected by the virus so far, so that employers know how much longer the stop start working programme will continue. Television updates in short broadcasts? Support home working as much as possible and any other self distancing measures. If a vaccine becomes available during this transition time great. Otherwise continue with this programme of work and isolation until 70% of the population have been exposed.

I think it will take some time before an effective vaccine becomes available and is administered to all and antibody tests too are not likely to improve in sensitivity and reliability for some time ( as the virus is too related to other viruses that infect us regularly). We therefore need a strong plan B. The virus is now moving through the population much slower than before but only a small percentage of the population have been infected by the virus from what I read. I think it is important that we come out of the complete lockdown situation as soon as possible to enable the population to work and maintain good mental health. Enabling a safe passage of the virus through our "healthy population" and protecting the vulnerable is in my mind the best way to move forward.