by Oliver Jarvis
LONDON, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Four days before Marcus Hird, a 27 year-old postgraduate, was set to move house in west London, he was told to self-isolate due to coming into contact with someone who had tested positive for coronavirus.
It meant Hird couldn't move on the scheduled day, although he later tested negative for COVID-19.
On the rescheduled day of moving into the new home, London went into Tier Three restrictions, which meant his plans would have to be put on hold again.
But the biggest uncertainty hangs not over his house moving, but on his career. This year should have been a crucial one as Hird aspires to become a teacher.
DISRUPTION IN CRUCIAL YEAR
At the beginning of 2019, Hird came to London to pursue a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) , one of the most popular ways to get qualified as a teacher in Britain.
He always wanted to become a teacher because he wanted to help other people and to give something back, but in one of his most crucial years in terms of his career, Hird found his plans disrupted by the pandemic.
"At the start of the pandemic back in March, I was working in a school as a teacher aide, so trying to gain some experience before starting my PGCE in September," he told Xinhua. "Unfortunately, I was placed on furlough. So from March to August, I was on furlough. So that wasn't ideal. So I missed out on maybe half a year of gaining some experience."
Part of the requirements of a PGCE course is to have a number of placements at different schools to build up a range of experience in multiple teaching environments -- this is crucial to be able to pass the qualification.
With no work or studying, Hird found himself having to build a routine at home, until schools finally started in September.
For the first three to four weeks, Hird found himself in lectures and practical sessions, but when restrictions were once again imposed in England, all his courses were taken online.
Due to coronavirus, some of the course guidelines did change. No longer was there an emphasis on multiple schools, but for the students to focus on one school as to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.
Hird found a placement in a school in West London as a teacher aid, where he would look after disadvantaged children and develop his experience.
But after just a few months into his placement, the school had to close.
"There'd been a lot of cases in the local area. So in our school, each group is in their own little yearly bubble. So you know, staggered starts, staggered lunch times. So these year groups keep to themselves. And obviously, there's been cases that have come into the school, unfortunately, which has meant certain year groups have had to self isolate for a few weeks," he said. "And more recently, the schools had to close to all year groups to go home because of the rising cases among students and staff."
It meant that Hird's placement was unable to continue in full, and now uncertainty hangs over when he will be able to complete what is required for his course or if the guidelines will change again.
"For me the biggest thing is obviously the unknown. No one knows how long it's going to last," he said.
CHRISTMAS DILEMMA
As many use the Christmas break in London to relax from stressful work schedules and to meet up with family and friends or to return to the countryside at their family home, Hird is aware that due to the Tier Three restrictions, a lot of his plans will not be able to happen.
"There are friends I haven't seen for a few months, so obviously, you know, you'd like to see them. And so normally in normal times, you would get to meet up for a drink somewhere or a dinner somewhere. And obviously, you know, Tier Three, which is going to prevent some of that happening."
"Mentally or socially, it will have an effect as you're not seeing people as often as you would have previously," he said.
Hird has been using what he learned in the first nationwide lockdown to get through the isolation of Tier Three.
He's making an effort to virtually socialize with people, and is making himself available should the school reopen or need him to help with those children who have to remain in school despite the closure (due to being the children of key workers or from disadvantaged backgrounds).
But another concern for Hird is whether he will be able to see his family at all this Christmas.
"My dad is over 60. So there's a concern there with me going out and about in London, the risk of me possibly bringing something back to the family house in Somerset is obviously an issue."
He is also concerned that people are not following restriction rules seriously, which will give rise to infections.
"So on public transport, you get the occasional person who's not wearing the correct PPE," he said, adding that people should always abide by the rule and try and limit their interaction with others on transport and moving around.
On Wednesday, London and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire were move into Tier Three. Around 68 percent of England's population, about 38 million people, started to live in Tier Three from Saturday.
Despite a surge in coronavirus cases, the British government has maintained its previous decision to relax restriction rules for Christmas, between Dec. 23 to 27, allowing up to three households to get together in homes and places of worship in England.
To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.
But there's no guessing as to when life can go back to normality in Britain. For people like Hird, such a dilemma will have to continue for some time. Enditem