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Covid

Two wrongs don't make a right. Don't be a twat, stay home, save lives.

116 replies

effingterrified · 25/05/2020 11:19

Just that.

Just because one arsehole might choose to recklessly endanger others, that is not a good excuse for you to do the same.

Stay home, socially distance when out, save lives. Wear a mask.

The sooner we all stick to this, the sooner we can get rid of this virus and move on.

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Kcnana · 25/05/2020 11:36

So tired of people using language like 'get rid of the virus' it's so unrealistic. It's here to stay and we can't stop living while we wait for a vaccine or treatments which may never be found.

The sooner people are able to make their own risk assessments as they have always done, the better.

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Aria20 · 25/05/2020 11:38

Lol good new slogan instead of "stay alert"

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effingterrified · 25/05/2020 11:39

Well, tell that to the other countries that have successfully managed to get rid of the virus, eg New Zealand.

Hmm

We don't have to live with it forever, we have to take steps to bring down numbers drastically through effective use of testing and track and trace.

Plus it's highly likely that there will be a treatment and/or vaccine within 18 months tops, probably much less.

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Lordfrontpaw · 25/05/2020 11:40

When I was a kid had a little fuzzy gonk with google eyes and a ribbon that said ‘be alert - we need more lerts’. It amused me at the time.

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IcedPurple · 25/05/2020 11:43

Well, tell that to the other countries that have successfully managed to get rid of the virus, eg New Zealand.

By all means fly me to New Zealand so that I may tell it to them.

NZ is an island in the middle of the South Pacific, with half of the population of London in a country the size of England. To compare it to a major, very densely populated European country which is home to one of the world's major trasnport hubs is nonsensical.

In any case, you don't get to tell others what to do. Lockdown cannot go on indefinitely and mindless repeating slogans isn't really helpful.

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effingterrified · 25/05/2020 11:44

And the UK is an island, too. Or had you nor noticed? Hmm

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TheAdventuresoftheWishingChair · 25/05/2020 11:47

Can I ask, are you being a twat if your mental health has seriously crumbled thanks to lockdown and you take the decision to go out having weighed up the risks and judged them to be low to you and whoever else you're seeing?

Many people are at breaking point right now. It's not for you to call them twats. In fact that's really quite rude. People have made a huge sacrifice for the last few weeks and in some cases that's been at huge personal cost to them. There's only so long some can keep that up. It really isn't your business if they are at a point where they need to mix with other humans. The virus isn't the only thing that does significant harm.

I have huge confidence in there being a vaccine but we still don't know if it'll even be that effective. It might not save everyone. Life involves risk. Many want to now take that risk and get back to business.

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IcedPurple · 25/05/2020 11:48

And the UK is an island, too. Or had you nor noticed?

There's a bit of difference between a very densely populated island off the coast of Europe, home to one of the world's busiest airports and one of the world's major cities and on the other hand an island with under 5 million people 4 thousand km from its nearest major neighbour.

If you think NZ is a viable model for major European countries to follow, why have none of them been able to do so?

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IcedPurple · 25/05/2020 11:48

Oh, and your post is also inaccurate. GB is an island. The UK is not.

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duckme · 25/05/2020 11:52

I can't live like this for the off chance we MAY get a vaccine within 18 months. I just can't.

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effingterrified · 25/05/2020 11:53

cedPurple - Ah, that makes all the difference. Grin

South Korea has population density that is over twice the rate of the UK, so that's not an excuse either.

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Kcnana · 25/05/2020 11:57

They may have squashed it for now but it will enevitably resurface.

If you're happy to stay at home for the foreseeable then by all means, you do just that but accept that others simply have to move forward.

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Kcnana · 25/05/2020 11:57

*inevitably

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Dollywilde · 25/05/2020 12:02

Agree with PPs. If you’d rather stay at home that’s absolutely fine. I’m comfortable that the measures I’m taking make my chance of contracting covid absolutely tiny compared to the significant other risks to my life that would result from staying indoors until ‘we get a vaccine*’


  • which may well be ‘never’
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effingterrified · 25/05/2020 12:03

I don't agree that risking others' lives should be your choice.

It doesn't take 18 months to get the virus under control so that lockdown can be reduced - other countries have managed it in a couple of months.

The UK has not managed to get figures low enough to lift the lockdown without immediately causing a second wave - because our leaders chose to lock down too late, chose not to protect care homes, chose not to source adequate PPE to protect HCPs and the sick, chose not to ramp up testing or act on it.

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IcedPurple · 25/05/2020 12:03

Ah, that makes all the difference

Grin all you like, but yes, being a very sparsely populated island 4 thousand km away from any other population centre makes a huge difference. Which isn't to say they haven't done very well - for now - but you simply cannot compare it to a major European nation with a much denser population.

South Korea has population density that is over twice the rate of the UK, so that's not an excuse either.

SK has been exemplary, helped by the fact that they had experience with the SARS outbreak in 2003.

But I'm not sure what your point is here. If you're saying Britain's response has been shambolic then I agree, but don't see the point in rehasing it again and again. I thought your post was about chastising those of us who don't see the point in locking ourselves up indefinitely? As others have said, if you want to do so - obviously at your own expense once furlough ends - great. But you don't get to impose your personal wishes on others.

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effingterrified · 25/05/2020 12:04

In other words, don't be a twat.

It's not OK to say 'my chance of getting it is low so fuck you' to everyone in the population who is vulnerable.

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effingterrified · 25/05/2020 12:06

No-one is talking about 'locking ourselves up indefinitely' - read my posts.

I am talking up staying home and social distancing to bring the figures right down, and then any remaining cases can be dealt with by a test and trace system.

Which our government has not yet got even started yet.

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Inoneminute · 25/05/2020 12:08

No, you're misjudging things as badly as they have. It's not that people are having a tantrum and saying "if he can I can", it's that many don't believe the rules are important anymore.

Before, most people believed that following the rules was uncomfortable but absolutely necessary for the greater good. Lots of people don't believe that now the man who wrote them has demonstrated they're not important.

It's possible that's what they were aiming for, a deliberate act designed to bring people out, as the British public had been a bit too reluctant to get back to work.

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hfrdgftcsdg · 25/05/2020 12:10

Get lost telling me to wear a mask. You have no authority over me.

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Drivingdownthe101 · 25/05/2020 12:11

Well as I am permitted unlimited exercise, and local parks are reopening, and picnics are allowed... then no, I won’t ‘stay home’. I will take reasonable precautions not to catch or transmit the virus. I will maintain social distancing as much as possible. But no, I won’t ‘stay home’.
Community transmission is very very low. We have gone over and above the aim of lockdown. We have to start functioning outside of our homes again.

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Inoneminute · 25/05/2020 12:12

As you mention it, Is it widely known that the company appointed to run the track and trace app is run by DC's sister?

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TorkTorkBam · 25/05/2020 12:12

I am talking up staying home and social distancing to bring the figures right down, and then any remaining cases can be dealt with by a test and trace system.

Which our government has not yet got even started yet.

Everyone stays home until a massive government IT project is delivered and works perfectly across the whole country? Yeah, that's not feeling sensible to me.

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Russellbrandshair · 25/05/2020 12:13

Well as I am permitted unlimited exercise, and local parks are reopening, and picnics are allowed... then no, I won’t ‘stay home’

Exactly this. It’s no longer stay home OP - so don’t lecture us to do something even the bloody government arent even advising! Good grief 🙄

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IcedPurple · 25/05/2020 12:13

It's not OK to say 'my chance of getting it is low so fuck you' to everyone in the population who is vulnerable

The only person being aggressive towards strangers here is you.

Life is full of risks. Every society has to make risk assessments all the time. Despite what you read from the MN curtain twitchers, most people have been complying with the guidelines these past 10 weeks. Since the NHS has not been overwhelmed and numbers are in definite decline, it's not unreasonable to expect some cautious relaxation of those guidelines. That doesn't make someone a 'twat'. By all means shut yourself up at home as much as you like. Nobody is obliged to do what you want.

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