The latest COVID idea is that people may gather in sixes; not fives or sevens, but sixes.
But what if one lot of six should encounter another lot of six in the park, and make twelve? Are they still two lots of six, or one lot of twelve? And what if a group of 20 claim to be together for 'educational' purposes? With hefty fines on offer, Brits need to know.
If you intend to attend a church service, you can be over 30 in the congregation, as long as you abide by certain mask/distancing rules. However this does not apply if the service is to be held outdoors, when organised by a business or charity; when you are allowed more.
I could go on, but just try to make sense of that for a start! There seems to be no logic in any of these knee-jerk rulings and numbers. Many Pubs are now to close at 10 pm, obviously the virus is less contagious until then.
One gets the impression that there is one HUGE Tug-of-War going on. On one side there are the realists with their nanny-state protective position; on the other there are the Piers Corbyn and Kate Shemirani loonies, who see the spread of the virus as a badge of honour (not that the virus even exists for them).
Of course, over here in France they have different ideas. No more than 10 people can legally gather in a public place, and masks must be worn by everyone over the age of 11. Strange, as there was a well attended, organised, walk (about 30 people) that passed behind our house a couple of days ago. Not one of them was wearing a mask, and all were huddled, and nattering, together.
In my illustration above you will see that 'Large families and support bubbles will be exempt'; this is exactly why some of the larger Asian communities in the north are now again in lockdown. Is there any surprise that cases of COVID are rising rapidly!
There is no question that the second wave has arrived. The UK, France, and Spain are all suffering badly (I'm sure other countries are too), and it'll get worse as nations set their economies against spreading virus.
Wear your mask, wash your hands, and try to keep away from crowds; only that way will we avoid the illness. Mostly, use your common sense.
Christmas for two in this house!
We here in Melbourne are slowly making our way out of our second wave. Our ‘rules & regulations’ were similar but not the same in many ways - harsh to some but very necessary.
ReplyDeleteDon’t think common sense made an appearance too often though.
Yes, wash your hands and steer clear all the time wearing a mask outdoors. We might just might get to see a few of the family at Christmas....in ones and twos that is.
Stay safe Cro.....it’s a sneaky one, you never know where it’s hiding
I hear this morning that supermarket shelves are already suffering back in the UK. Time to buy far too many loo rolls, pasta, and whatever else people find essential. Luckily we have a veg' garden full of edibles.
DeleteI wish I had your view. The more people you test the more positive results will occur.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe this is a pandemic, hospitals are not under any pressure, of course folk will die it's part and parcel of living, like birth. Some will die of corvid and some with it.
I suspect road traffic kills at least as many as flu.
There is another agenda but for the life of me I can't determine what it is.
Certain things just have to run their course until we build immunity.
I put the main reason for the increase down to folk being Idle and not standing outside banging pots and pans. Pot and pan rattling seemed most efficacious, that and the nurse's TikTok dances.
There are, of course, many people who hold your view, and they must be allowed to do so. But don't then blame the government, or their advisors, when the second wave claims many more lives than the first one. This is a virulent disease, and if it follows the course of the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic, we could see a similar world death rate (40 Million?). It's best to be cautious.
DeleteI never suggested that I would blame the government for flu. I do think they are responsible for gross curtailment of liberty and financial incompetence. This only applies to the populace and never to them.
DeleteI wasn't suggesting that YOU would blame the government; just people in general. The buck always stops with the government, of no matter which country.
DeleteThose who believe in the necessity for the build up of herd immunity to beat this will not blame the government for spikes, first, second or thirds.
DeleteOur second wave has begun and the Athens area is the worst affected but but cases aren't that many, yet. We are included in the greater Athens area. The measures are similar to those mentioned above. Masks to be worn in outdoor areas where there are numbers of people, bus stops for instance.
ReplyDeleteWe are keeping to ourselves, mainly, washing hands and wearing masks where we think necessary.
Life goes on
Just avoid sweaty nightclubs and football stadiums, and drink plenty of Ouzo; you'll be OK.
DeleteHospitals are not under pressure because the ordinary business has been suspended or slowed.
ReplyDeleteYes, two families with a brace of kids can't meet in the park in England..but ok in Scotland if they are younger.
Oh and if you are going to a shoot.....no restrictions. One rule for the rich....
Guns are usually quite far apart, maybe it's that; I don't know. It's all very confusing.
DeleteAs far as I can see (from far away in NZ),generally there are under 2,000 road deaths in the UK annually, flu-related deaths vary widely but the highest number in recent years was 28,000 (2014/15) and in six months COVID-19 has killed more than 40,000 people. The most recent death in NZ was a man aged 54. He probably had other risk factors, but no-one is suggesting they were likely to kill him now.
ReplyDeleteNZ has done very well. There was a slight hint of a second wave recently, but I've heard no more about it. People in Europe are more impetuous, and town/cities more crowded; not a good combination.
DeleteCrossing fingers, we are almost out of the second wave (confined to Auckland). Two new cases today, family members of the new case yesterday (developed symptoms AFTER he left quarantine.
Delete...). We've had three deaths this time round, for a national total of 25. The PM is still ringing each family to express her condolences. So hopefully we will continue to improve, and Auckland will move back to level one tomorrow. The economic forecast is very grim; but it would have been whether we had locked down hard or not.
Our church is having a Harvest Festival service coming up shortly, the pews have all been re jigged, looks like a maze to pick your way around them. I see the pheasants are being fattened up for the toffs who will wander across the fields to blast them out of the air. Our little crafty group continues, we each have our own table and have re classified ourselves as Educational. We teach each other the skills of hand crafting. There are eight of us.
ReplyDeleteI see that Rachel (below) has made the same observation, but shooting isn't just for 'toffs'; it's a country pursuit that is open to all. It's another urban myth.
DeleteMany ordinary people are members of shoots here. The guns are at least 10 metres apart and always have been, nothing to do with social distancing.
ReplyDeleteSee above. It's one of those myths (like with hunting) that people rely on to make a political point.
DeleteAnd Christmas for one in this - with lots of good reading matter.
ReplyDeleteAnd a very small Turkey?
DeleteI am wondering about Christmas. A family of 5 will have to decide who comes to them for the holiday - Grandma or Grandpa?
ReplyDeleteOh dear. We would have been by ourselves anyway, unless a miracle happens.
DeleteI don’t think people are getting it at all. It is not about comparing the fact that only six people can meet in the home but more can be in a pub ..... it’s about reducing the risk but trying to open up the
ReplyDeleteeconomy at the same time. Wash your hands, wear a mask and keep your distance .... is it really that difficult to understand ? .... and is it really that terrible that some can’t go on holiday for a year or two ? This pandemic has shown me just how selfish some people are !!! XXXX
It's the balance between economy and health that is the most tricky, especially when one half of the population is on one side, and the other half on the other.
DeleteIf they had competent people in charge with real experience of health issues wouldn't they say something like: there are five (or whatever) levels of restriction and the rules for each of these levels are .... Birmingham is now level 3. Newcastle is level 4. West Yorkshire can go down from 3 to 2. etc. Instead of the confusing hodgepodge we have at the moment.
ReplyDeleteIt is all very confusing, other than for those who simply ignore it all.
DeleteAs uncomfortable as they are in warmer weather, masks really seem to work. It has taken a couple of months but we in my state have managed to reduce infections from over 700 to 14 today. I fear for your country of residence and your old country.
ReplyDeleteYes, we're making a bit of a mess of it. People should be more conscientious, and think of the greater good. Follow certain rules; that's all.
DeleteWe've had an update in our province this past week so some rollbacks were implemented Friday at midnight. It mostly affects large social gatherings - it seems that family BBQ's for 50, Frat parties for 200 of your closest friends and strip clubs have been the worst culprits with those under 40 making up about 70% of the new cases - Idiots! If you host one of these gathering sit's a $10,000 fine and each individual in attendance is fined $750. Some universities are thinking of expelling students under the "code of Conduct" rule if they are caught at one of these types of gatherings. Businesses seem to be doing their best to follow the rules so why should they be penalized. For the rest of us, wear your mask, wash your hands and stay out of crowds!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your final sentence; if we all stuck to those 3 simple rules, I'm sure we'd be far better off.
DeleteIf you have got time in your busy schedule, would you mind taking over from that odious little runt who is currently Britain's health minister? What do they call him? Tony Hancock or something. I think you would do a much better job.
ReplyDeleteYet another minister who has no background in his subject. I believe he worked at The Bank of England before becoming an MP.
DeleteClearly people hold different views. The spectrum is pretty broad. At one end we have people who deny the existence of COVID, stating it is all a conspiracy, then there are people who don’t think it is that bad, the flu kills more, then we have those who think it is a problem and are mask wearing, and at the other end people who are completely self isolating, even though they aren’t in the high risk groups.
ReplyDeleteI suppose one should say that one should respect everyone’s views, but I am sorry I cannot respect those who hold the conspiracy theory and the vaccine is going to inject people with something that will monitor brain waves. I also do not respect those who “feel” they know better than these experts and are, therefore, justified, in their eyes, to break the law.
If people don’t want to have the vaccine and they contract COVID they should have to pay for any medical care they need, impractical I know.
Also group of six is now the law. I don’t see people thinking hmm 30 mph speed limit, well I think 45 seems safe.
I now hear, on overnight radio, that the problem is getting far worse again, and there'll be a statement later today. It really doesn't bode well.
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