If the government turned round and said we are cancelling Christmas get togethers do you believe people would abide by it ?
The rules are arbitrary... Same here... Example: I had a hospital appointment yesterday that involved a 40km journey. As it was the first opportunity we had had we decided, after my appointment to go to our favourite seafood/fish restaurant in Porto Recanati a seaside resort/fishing port for lunch. and only a 15 minute drive from the Hospital. This was to belatedly celebrate our 38th wedding anniversary (was in October) and whilst there are lots of good inexpensive restaurants trattorias and pizzerias around this restaurant is high end fine dining and quite expensive (by regional standards anyway). The tables were rearranged and can accommodate 40 covers (normally only 48 anyway) . There was lots of space between them, everything was sterilised (menus on cleanable cards) and all the precautions /protocols in place. In fact, being a Wednesday lunchtime, just before Christmas and zero tourists, we were the only two diners. It is a miracle the place can continue although, apparently, they get fully booked for the weekend lunches borne out by the fact that our 'underworked' waitress took over a dozen calls for reservations in the two hours we were there. Compare that to the number of people in the supermarkets. They are not as crowded as UK ones an d many have traffic lights at the entrance restricting how many are in at any given time. Nevertheless the hotspots... Fish, meat, Deli areas are crowded. people do try to respect distancing but you cannot avoid being quite close at times. Plus all the contact you make with surfaces, trolley handles, checkout with every item being handled by someone scanning them etc. I know in my mind which presents the greatest risk and it isn't well run restaurants.
Aviation and Hospitality. Sacrificial lambs from an out of depth Government putting their focus on closure in the wrong areas.
Colleges and universities should have started video conferencing and gone online. That way this second wave could have been avoided. Both waves have been caused by the government not being harsh enough and trying to be seen as liberal. If they compensated holiday makers and made use of the embassies when it first started and closed non essential learning establishments and gone online at the start of the cold and flu season and gone back in the new year. They delayed exams and results and used mock results. What suddenly changed? Supermarkets have had an unfair monopoly and the hospitality industry has suffered. The measure's the government have put in place haven't saved the NHS either. There will be a surge of cancer deaths as a result of Covid. There will be more beds taken up in future with backlog of patients needing care. It's a shambles.
Horrific numbers already never mind if it gets worse. And still no answer from any elected member of government and what the criteria are for giving us our freedom back.
July 2021. You are in your local park with your family stood on some dog **** addled mud sharing a picnic. Cant go for a walk round the park and a sit down cuppa and cake in the cafe cos its shut. Cant go to the pub for lunch cos its shut. Cant have a lazy wander around town as barring a few chain stores Its shut. Cant get steady work as no one is hiring outside of agency shifts ( its mostly whats on offer in Barnsley at the min). Your family is fed up. Kids are depressed cos they cant go out and meet their mates after school. They have been ill all winter due to "class room ventilation". Schools closed on and off for random isolated cases decimating their education. Your other half has been told that their job is at risk due to absences caused by isolationg/childcare and unable to homeschool/work at the same time. Cant spend time with your friends or family. Cos of guidance. Your mental health has gone. Your house is at risk from repossession. Worth it.
The official number is 330,000 but those are jobs that have definitely gone. Furlough will take care of another 300,000 and then you've got the businesses that won't survive Christmas.
But don't worry even though we have to shut pubs and restaurants that can run perfectly "safely" we still have live sport. We can't go and watch though but its essential it continues, presumably to cheer up the folk who have businesses destroyed.
Fact is we live in a Nanny state. Even under Blue leadership. In hindsight couldn't the government have put restrictions in place such as social distancing and mask wearing. Stopped travel between certain nations and said anybody who doesn't follow the guidelines tough ****?
Sage have been that good in using fear to coerce people into following the guidelines that people are now as terrified of being non compliant as they are of catching Covid. They have destroyed peoples ability to be rational about risks and use of common sense. At the moment, they are allowing a mostly harmless virus to dictate their lives. Look at is like this, you dont want flu, cancer, piles etc but you dont live your live in fear of them.
I am still of the opinion that if London is suffering then so is the rest of us. Barnsley and Leeds have seen a huge drop in cases way below the national average and met the various criteria needed to make a case to come down to tier 2. But let's kill loads of folk during Christmas cos we can.