Coronavirus

[rob666]

Amusingly, I sent my wife to the local mini Tesco, under the influence, to buy more beer yesterday afternoon, knowing there would be "fun".
There was.
Quite busy...about half not wearing masks.
She challenged four for not wearing masks, she has a lung condition but wears a mask, they were putting her health at risk.
One apologised and put a mask on.
One said "I forgot" and pulled a mask from her pocket.
A third ignored her completely.
The final one, a young man, was rude to her..."What's it got to do with you you old cow?"

Not one said they had legitimate reasons to avoid mask wearing.
And all this in a high covid area of Blackburn.
Tesco are not enforcing the law, full stop.
Thick idiots are pushing us quickly into a full lockdown.

...and people who talk of face nappies are the ones talking sh!t, so really need to wear them.

 

[BigT]

....of course they are, very much so

>Mixed messages
>Don't lead themselves by following the rules
>All went to pot after Dominick Cummings fiasco

That’s rubbish and you know that, don’t let political ideology get in the way of the truth.

I’m not exactly brain of Britain and I’ve never been confused, the message has always been clear just people are reading it to suit there own selfish needs so as it affects them the least.
How is the government responsible for people not wearing a face mask in Tesco when there is a huge sign on the way in? It’s thick people making excuses like blaming Dominic Cummings.

 

[Rob]

There isn’t any dispute that it’s getting weaker, look at the cases in Europe right now, huge daily cases and hardly anyone in hospital with it.

Not true in Marseille, which is one of the worst hit areas in France. Case levels are still way below what they were at the peak, both here and across Europe, which is why hospital admissions are still generally lower. But we know that uncontrolled community transmission of Coivd-19 puts a lot of people in hospital and we really don't want to be back where we were in March/April with that.

That’s rubbish and you know that, don’t let political ideology get in the way of the truth.

I’m not exactly brain of Britain and I’ve never been confused, the message has always been clear just people are reading it to suit there own selfish needs so as it affects them the least.
How is the government responsible for people not wearing a face mask in Tesco when there is a huge sign on the way in? It’s thick people making excuses like blaming Dominic Cummings.

I do agree with you here, it is very easy to just use politics to blame the wider population for failings. There have been mixed messages, but to me the overall guidance has been pretty clear. Wear a mask indoors, don't meet in large groups, when you do meet people from outside of your household then stay socially distant. I've been doing all of those things, and have not been confused about whether I should be doing so or not.

I saw a good point made last week actually. Most people seem to think that if they get Covid they will get in from someone they do not know, whereas most people who do get it catch it from someone they absolutely do know. It is easy to think that because you know your friends that they can't possibly have it so you are safe, but all it takes is for one of them to be asymptomatic or incubating the virus and they've passed it on to the others.

The next few weeks are going to be interesting. The government are going to have to take some action unless we want a truly miserable winter.

 

[D4n]

That’s rubbish and you know that, don’t let political ideology get in the way of the truth.

I’m not exactly brain of Britain and I’ve never been confused, the message has always been clear just people are reading it to suit there own selfish needs so as it affects them the least.
How is the government responsible for people not wearing a face mask in Tesco when there is a huge sign on the way in? It’s thick people making excuses like blaming Dominic Cummings.

Nonsense, the rules arent confusing? Explain the current rules for meeting up with others outside your household right now without looking them up. They change every week so good luck knowing them without looking them up, and I absolutely guarantee you haven't followed them exactly to the letter.

It is confusing for people to be allowed to be squeezed into pubs like sardines (for the government backed eat out to help out scheme no less) with no masks required, then during that exact same period for masks to be made compulsory in all other indoor settings.

It feels like they're making it up as they go along and so the purpose is lost on some of the public. Government figures like Cummings flouting the rules only exacerbate this when they should be leading by example.

I'm actually not defending the individuals still choosing to not wear masks, but anyone suggesting that the current government is not partly to blame is having a laugh and don't let your political bias trick you into thinking otherwise. It has been a shambles from day one, responding to everything too late and prioritising all the wrong things. Some people have just given up, and that sucks because it will cost lives but, honestly, I can see why they have.

If we had introduced face coverings from the start, as in most European countries, and not had that dum eat out scheme, we would be in a much, much better position with regards to the virus right now.

 

[Rob]

Nonsense, the rules arent confusing? Explain the current rules for meeting up with others outside your household right now without looking them up. They change every week so good luck knowing them without looking them up, and I absolutely guarantee you haven't followed them exactly to the letter.

Unless you are in an area of tightened local restrictions (and yes I know that is a lot of areas now) then you can meet up to five other people from outside of your household (indoors or outdoors) so long as you maintain social distancing. What's confusing about that?

 

[rob666]

Big T...go to the Tesco at Roe Lee in Blackburn and look at the door signs for yourself before quoting "Facts".
The sign is small, the doors are often open.
There is no management of numbers in the store any more, despite legal limits.
I have a degree, a teaching qualification, and further professional qualifications at a higher education level.
I still blame Cummings, as do many other educated people of all political persuasions.

 

[Mr Pearse]

I only just found out that if you go to a takeaway for food then you need to wear a mask, now I honestly never knew that last time I checked you was told not to wear one. This is 2020 in a nutshell I honestly can’t keep up on what going on it’s so baffling at this moment in time.

 

[GaryH]

I have a simple rule...

If I go in to any sort of building , be it a pub, shop, bar, etc then I wear a mask. When I'm outside, I take it off. I don't eat or drink inside.

 

[jon81uk]

The masses are complying, it is a minority of idiots who are not following the rules, rich and poor, young and old, black and white.
Testing was always going to be an issue after the summer holidays, and going back to school.
The fact that those in power didn't plan for it properly is no surprise.
Boris didn't even go to the first few COBRA meetings.

Yep I think it is a minority of idiots who have done the most damage.
For example https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-54205353
One man didn't quarantine after going on holiday, then went on a pub crawl which has led to a local lockdown.

It's all going to be alright, Sunak will just go and borrow another half a trillion on our behalf for his next set of initiatives. Eat out to help out worked well didn't it? Gave away a load of money to people to go and squeeze into their local Maccies and other places spreading Covid which has ultimately contributed to the rise in cases. Queues outside the local KFC every Mon, Tue, Wed when the offer was on and now it's very very quiet in there on the same days now that the offer has finished. Thought the scheme was going to get everyone in the habit of frequenting these places? Plonker.

The Eat Out to Help Out scheme I don't think will have directly caused any infection spikes. A majority of people did go out with members of their own household, or met one other household in line with advice for a sit down, socially distanced meal. Also every time I have visited KFC there has still been a queue, but then its always busier at the weekend anyway.

It sounds like a lot of the increase in cases has come from people going to pubs and house parties for drinking only. Once again, the majority are going to venues and sitting down at socially distanced tables but a minority are not staying seated and are going to the bar and talking to multiple people outside of the six (or previously two households) they should be meeting.

 

[jon81uk]

Nonsense, the rules arent confusing? Explain the current rules for meeting up with others outside your household right now without looking them up. They change every week so good luck knowing them without looking them up, and I absolutely guarantee you haven't followed them exactly to the letter.

Unless you have a local lockdown the advice has only changed once since July.

For socialising, it was you can meet up to six outdoors or one other household indoors. What is so confusing? To make it less confusing it changed to you can meet up to six (including yourself) anywhere last week. Again what is so confusing.

Everyone who tries to claim it is confusing and changing every week is clutching at straws to blame others for their own failings. Common sense should kick in that inviting 20 friends round for a house party is a bad idea. Or when all the tables in the pub are set out for six, surely you should realise there must be a reason there are so many perspex screens dividing the place up.

 

[jon81uk]

I only just found out that if you go to a takeaway for food then you need to wear a mask, now I honestly never knew that last time I checked you was told not to wear one. This is 2020 in a nutshell I honestly can’t keep up on what going on it’s so baffling at this moment in time.

The rule in June was if you go into a shop, wear a mask. A lot of people assumed then that a shop included Pret or a chip shop and did wear masks, but the government clarified it to say you wear the mask unless sat down eating. I don't see why anyone would think going into Pret and taking a sandwich to take out is different to going into Tesco and getting a sandwich, so you shouldn't have needed to know things had been clarified.

A good general rule is if you are indoors wear a mask, unless you are sat down eating or drinking at a socially distanced table (with up to five others).

 

[Alsty]

In Germany you had to wear a mask when you went indoors at any venue and could only remove it at your table to eat or drink. If you got up to go to toilet then you put the mask back on. Compliance was high and it was heavily enforced.

I believe in this country it doesn't apply to pubs or restaurants and possibly other indoor settings. For example, I don't believe it was required when walking around the Alton Towers hotel. I personally do wear a mask indoors now and believe that should be the law but I don't think it's actually that strict in this country. It is also not enforced at all (even in places where it is already the law) and compliance is patchy.

I also think the fact the rules are different in the four parts of the country just helps to muddle things up. People might question why it's max of 6 people in England but in Scotland, kids aren't counted, for example. If people are looking for excuses then it all helps to justify it to themselves.

 

[D4n]

Unless you are in an area of tightened local restrictions (and yes I know that is a lot of areas now) then you can meet up to five other people from outside of your household (indoors or outdoors) so long as you maintain social distancing. What's confusing about that?

Except that there is a long list of exceptions (organised sport is one).

It was actively promoted that you could go to the pub (again as part of 'eat out to help out') with friends and family... it is literally not possible to social distance whilst sharing a table at a pub, there was very confused messaging for a very long time about whether the group that you were meeting up with could social distance or not.

At one point were groups of 30 not allowed to meet up outdoors? How on earth was that ever going to be socially distanced?

I'm sorry but I simply refuse to accept that more than maybe 5% of people have managed to fully obey the rules. Anybody who has met up with somebody at the pub (or at a theme park??) from outside their household will simply not have been able to socially distance, yet some of these activities were being actively encouraged until very recently because we "needed to stimulate the economy". Even now, as we are told that we can't meet up in groups of more than six (and socially distanced), crowds are allowed back into football stadiums.

The message needs to be clear. Either we are preventing the spread of the virus OR we are stimulating the economy. Not the former one week and the latter the next back and forth.

 

[jon81uk]

In Germany you had to wear a mask when you went indoors at any venue and could only remove it at your table to eat or drink. If you got up to go to toilet then you put the mask back on. Compliance was high and it was heavily enforced.

I believe in this country it doesn't apply to pubs or restaurants and possibly other indoor settings. For example, I don't believe it was required when walking around the Alton Towers hotel. I personally do wear a mask indoors now and believe that should be the law but I don't think it's actually that strict in this country. It is also not enforced at all (even in places where it is already the law) and compliance is patchy.

I also think the fact the rules are different in the four parts of the country just helps to muddle things up. People might question why it's max of 6 people in England but in Scotland, kids aren't counted, for example. If people are looking for excuses then it all helps to justify it to themselves.

Face coverings were advised to be worn when hotels re-opened in July. In August the government added public areas of hotels to the list where masks must be worn (unless excempt) so they went from advisory to required.

The current list was updated 27 August https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...to-make-your-own#when-to-wear-a-face-covering

This part is quite relevant too

Face coverings are not required in restaurants with table service, bars and pubs. If other indoor premises have a café or seating area for you to eat and drink, then you can remove your face covering in this area only. You must put a face covering back on once you leave your seating area. If removing your face covering to eat or drink in an indoor premises with a café or designated seating area, then you can remove your face covering in this area only.

I agree though that the fact Wales and Scotland are doing things differently but the TV news reports all nations does make it confusing.

But it is generaly sensible to wear a mask indoors at all times, unless sat down eating or drinking.

 

[Rob]

Except that there is a long list of exceptions (organised sport is one).

Yes, but it should be obvious that meeting up with a load of mates down the pub or holding a house party are not exemptions. The basic rule is simple and easy to understand.

 

[jon81uk]

Except that there is a long list of exceptions (organised sport is one).

It was actively promoted that you could go to the pub (again as part of 'eat out to help out') with friends and family... it is literally not possible to social distance whilst sharing a table at a pub, there was very confused messaging for a very long time about whether the group that you were meeting up with could social distance or not.

At one point were groups of 30 not allowed to meet up outdoors? How on earth was that ever going to be socially distanced?

I'm sorry but I simply refuse to accept that more than maybe 5% of people have managed to fully obey the rules. Anybody who has met up with somebody at the pub (or at a theme park??) from outside their household will simply not have been able to socially distance, yet some of these activities were being actively encouraged until very recently because we "needed to stimulate the economy". Even now, as we are told that we can't meet up in groups of more than six (and socially distanced), crowds are allowed back into football stadiums.

The message needs to be clear. Either we are preventing the spread of the virus OR we are stimulating the economy. Not the former one week and the latter the next back and forth.

Yes its not possible to distance when sat drinking with your five other friends, but I think meeting in a group of up to six and sitting down with distancing or perspex screens separating from other groups of six is a sensible risk.

Tell people they can't go out at all and they are more likely to break the rules and meet up anyway. Encouraging sensible meals out in small groups is a risk, but it minimises the risk while allowing socialising to take place.

Also with the change in weather going into Autumn this is exactly why the rules have changed and the larger groups outdoors are no longer allowed, its easier to give one simple rule for indoors and out.

But some people can't sit down sensibly with their friends, they try to get round it and meet bigger groups and those people and venues need to get fined.

 

[jon81uk]

Yes, but it should be obvious that meeting up with a load of mates down the pub or holding a house party are not exemptions. The basic rule is simple and easy to understand.

This. ^

I really don't think anyone is thinking, I can play football outdoors with 21 other people so why can't we all sit indoors and get drunk together.

 

[Craig]

The new "rule of six" is easier to understand, the problem was the previous ones where there were separate rules for indoors and outdoors, not to mention law changing to guidance etc. That's where the confusion came in I think.

But, that's where the problem comes in I think. There's been a lot of changes back and forth, and a lot of public support for the restrictions has wasted away as a result.

 

[imanautie]

The new "rule of six" is easier to understand, the issue was the previous ones where there were separate rules for indoors and outdoors, not to mention law changing to guidance etc. That's where the confusion came in I think.

But, that's where the problem comes in I think. There's been a lot of changes back and forth, and a lot of public support for the restrictions has wasted away as a result.

To quite a tweet about the recent live stream "do they know what they are doing?"
I see that solely as a result of rapid and constant change, it might be minor but it's the frequency of change that people are getting fed up with.

 

[Jonathan]

To quite a tweet about the recent live stream "do they know what they are doing?"
I see that solely as a result of rapid and constant change, it might be minor but it's the frequency of change that people are getting fed up with.

Not to mention it’s an absolute nightmare for those like us who are on the autism spectrum!