to think Dominic Cummings has to go?

[RoosterPie]

Dominic Cummings apparently travelled to his parents house while meant to be self isolating due to covid symptoms.

Given what happened with Neil Ferguson and Catherine Calderwood, AIBU to think his position ought to be untenable?

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/22/dominic-cummings-durham-trip-coronavirus-lockdown

As it currently stands I don't think he did anything wrong.

Apart from leaving his house when someone in his house had symptoms.

I'd have done the same in that position, and it can be regarded as essential travel.

You’d have also broken the rules then. If someone in the house has symptoms you must not leave your house for any reason.

rinkidin
That’s so interesting that as you have read more you have felt it was more reasonable.

My first reaction was well let’s see exactly what happened.

Now I know that one parent was not that unwell, I’m furious!!!!

I’m interested that you think he’s the one that drove up. I assumed it was her and that he was on death’s door in the back of the car.

But if it was before he got ill, that’s even worse!! One mildly ill parent. Give me a break!!!!

Even if, in some way, Cummings could justify it in a legal sense (which I certainly don't think he can), there is no way it is justifiable morally. Who would do that???? There's not much that shocks me with this government these days, but this is astounding.

The way the cabinet have defended him is disgusting! How can any of them really honestly think that is morally right to do so. They have just lost the support of millions of people by bending the rules for one of their own. Their sheer arrogance and contempt for the rest of of us is just unbelievable and I actually was on their side till now. Thinking what a shit job but we ALL need to get through this together. Now it seems the plebs need to obey the rules and if we get sick stay at home not see family for months. Many of us isolated alone and with children. While “they” can do what the fuck they like.

"The way the cabinet have defended him is disgusting!"

They were only obeying orders.

Matt Hancock has tweeted his support!
That's ok then isn't it?
😬

They were only obeying orders

Didn’t they say that about the guards in Belsen and Auschwitz?

He broke his own rules but people defend him? Words fail me!

The thing that makes me so so angry about this is that i am a very single parent of two children under the age of 6. Both have additional needs.

I was told time and time again that I was essentially going to kill my parents if they were to help me and just to suck it up. If I were to catch it to just get on with it (like every other tummy bug/tonsiltis/whatever I've powered on through over the past few years) as no one can come near any of us with covid in our family. My parents are both under 60 and healthy. They live 5 minutes away, not 5 hours.

I got abuse for taking my child to a supermarket because I was told I couldn't ask my mum to sit with them.

Now their fucking justification is essentially if you cared for your family you would have broke the rules too.

The first person to come down with symptons in a household is NOT necessarily the first person in the household to contract Covid19. Cummings knows this.

So Cummings knew that:

• he had been in frequent close contact with a confirmed case for several days before that person tested positive. (As soon as this contact tested positive, Cummings was seen running towards an underground station.)
• His wife developed coronavirus symptoms and they were pretty certain that it was coronavirus.

He may not have had symptoms at that time, but it seems very likely that he was carrying it and was probably the one who passed it on to his wife. It should be assumed that the whole household was infectious (including his son) whether they had developed symptoms at that point or not.

So he KNEW he was infectious. Yet he travelled across the country on a journey where he would have needed to stop at least once on the way. Despite having a very comfortable residence in London and plenty of contacts to drop shopping off for them.

That anyone can defend that behaviour is astounding.

If they thought it wasn’t a problem, why didn’t they mention it at the time? The whole thing’s weird, his wife writing an article saying he rushed home to look after her and then just 24 hours later he collapsed and
‘Day in, day out for ten days he lay doggo with a high fever and spasms that made the muscles lump and twitch in his legs. He could breathe, but only in a limited, shallow way.’

So presumably they drove down as soon as he got home, he had no symptoms at that point so why did he need child care? How come he was spotted in the garden at his parents on 5th April if he was lying in bed for 10 days barely able to breathe? Why does she write about emerging into lockdown London when they were in Durham?

What a bunch of liars.

I would have thought it was obvious that people would need to find alternative arrangements for their children if it was obvious they were getting sick and may not be able to care for them. It makes sense that they would need to be closer to family in case they needed to collect child in an emergency. If I was in that position with a property I could isolate in near to family I would have done the same.

It was entirely right for Dom Cummings to find childcare for his toddler, when both he and his wife were getting ill. How is a child who was born in 2016 a toddler?

We need to riot. In a socially distanced way if course.

We need to riot. In a socially distanced way if course. Very British, stiff upper lip and all that. Pip pip.

I wonder if his wife will lose her job for telling lies?

his wife writing an article saying he rushed home to look after her and then just 24 hours later he collapsed and
‘Day in, day out for ten days he lay doggo with a high fever and spasms that made the muscles lump and twitch in his legs. He could breathe, but only in a limited, shallow way.’

So presumably they drove down as soon as he got home, he had no symptoms at that point so why did he need child care? How come he was spotted in the garden at his parents on 5th April if he was lying in bed for 10 days barely able to breathe? Why does she write about emerging into lockdown London when they were in Durham? What a bunch of liars.

How could they be too ill to look after the child and be well enough to drive over 260 miles? They drove for childcare and then didn't use that childcare and remained in the town. They brought the virus with them and had at least some contact with his parents.

I am so shocked that anyone is defending this. Among all the confusion and mixed messages a few things have been crystal clear - do not go out of you or your family have symptoms, Do not visit relatives, do not visit alternative/second homes. Others have lost their jobs for doing less.

If I was in that position with a property I could isolate in near to family I would have done the same

The thing is, if it’s a reasonable thing to do in that situation then the guidance should be clear on that so that all of us can do the same. However the guidance said not to leave home for any reason if having to self isolate.

It’s no good now saying the guidance was wrong when we have been expected to follow it for the past 2 months.

The guidance doesn’t specifically cover what to do if you are both sick and have young kids. In fact there was a mumsnet thread asking what the options were a few weeks back.

flamegame Are people so unintelligent that they need every possible scenario spelled out to them. It is obvious to the vast majority of people that DC made a bad call when he did this and it was fairly easy to look at the guidelines on those with conronvirus and see what the right thing to do was. He was entitled and irresponsible, it's as simple as that.

Just it case you see this as an anti Conservative post, I have voted for the Tories in the past (I've also voted for other parties when I thought they were better) and voted for them in the last election. The only reason I did it the last time was that I thought the Labour party was worse. I still think that JC would have been awful, but quite frankly the quality of politicians on all sides is terrible these days.

Surprised there's no petition yet

Loads of parents live away from other family members.
Many of us have had to self isolate after developing symptoms.

Like fuck were we allowed to travel across the family when symptomatic!

We had to rely on local support (and Cummings had access to a lot more support than we do) and yes, it was a worry thinking about how to take care of kids when sick.

It is hardly like his was a unique situation. It was only unique in that the rules are considered different for him. Whether travel is "Essential" or not depends on who you are apparently.

Matt Hancock either is unable to read and interpret information or is comfortably with spreading disinformation.

The Cumming's boy is a child, not a toddler.

Let’s everyone with covid 19 jump in a car and drive across the country to their elderly relatives, since it’s clearly absolutely fine to do this. Let’s all stop along the way for petrol etc. No worries. Come to think of it, why not stop off at a few beaches etc.

A riot would end up being broken up as we ' are breaking the rules' .. oh hang on ., what was I thinking? ..