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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think people who flew back early to avoid quarantine should be feeling some responsibility for the rapid spread of the new COVID variant

11 replies

Jewelencrustedhatstand · 18/05/2021 11:57

First and foremost, primary responsibility rests with this shitshow that we have as a government. Apart from the vaccine rollout, Boris has fumbled every single hard pass from this virus.

But back in April there were reports of people paying a fortune to fly to the U.K. early to avoid the red list, or via countries not on the red list to avoid quarantine other than at home.

Now just a couple of weeks later, I’m looking at the news of the new variant spreading rapidly, in no small part because some people insisted on travelling around the world in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic and it’s making me feel 😡.

I think I’m just feeling hopeless and very isolated because I haven’t seen my family or many of my friends or colleagues or been anywhere in over a year, I’ve missed funerals of close family friends (two from covid), and now just as it seemed we were reaching a stage where it could be managed, there’s another curveball variant.

AIBU to think that if you travelled and came home in a way by which you deliberately tried to avoid enforced quarantine, you should look at the stats and feel very guilty indeed?

Or is home quarantining as efficient, or should the government be doing more, eg covering the costs of quarantine just to ensure that people actually do it?

Looking forward to hearing what others think!

OP posts:
justanotherneighinparadise · 18/05/2021 11:59

First of all those people won’t feel guilty, they’re more likely to feel defensive. Second of all where will anyone’s guilt get you? How will it help? It’s not like guilt has the power of unicorn tears and can magic away pandemics 🥴

sparemonitor · 18/05/2021 12:00

No it's our idiot govt who didn't put the restrictions in place immediately and still aren't properly enforcing quarantine. If only we were an island and could have controlled our borders.....hang on.....

MiddleParking · 18/05/2021 12:03

Yes, YABU and tedious.

looptheloopinahulahoop · 18/05/2021 12:05

Only if they went out and about and didn't abide by the home quarantine.

ThatIsMyPotato · 18/05/2021 12:09

If they came home and quarantined at home as instructed then whats the issue?

Jewelencrustedhatstand · 18/05/2021 12:23

So loneliness, isolation and the resultant reduced mental health is “tedious” to you, @MiddleParking? Wow!

OP posts:
MiddleParking · 18/05/2021 12:26

@Jewelencrustedhatstand

So loneliness, isolation and the resultant reduced mental health is “tedious” to you, *@MiddleParking*? Wow!
People who lack critical thinking looking in entirely the wrong direction for someone to blame for this shit show is what’s tedious.
Jewelencrustedhatstand · 18/05/2021 12:29

This is the sort of article that has upset me, as I really am feeling panicky about going back into lockdown:

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/health/coronavirus/20000-passengers-could-have-spread-indian-covid-variant-in-uk-after-travel-to-india-3238508%3famp

“Public Health England has said almost half of the cases are due to travel or contact with a traveller”.

If people have been quarantining as they should, or if the rules are right about how long quarantine should be take, how could that be the case? Sad It just seems that international travel is an avoidable risk factor.

OP posts:
Dentistlakes · 18/05/2021 12:32

Well it had to get here somehow. It’s possible it had been here for a while though. There’s no way of knowing how and when. Unless we completely close our borders like other countries have done then we won’t stop it. People will always bend/break the rules to suit themselves.

tentosix · 18/05/2021 14:12

At the time the indian variant was not listed as a variant of concern

lurker101 · 18/05/2021 14:16

@Jewelencrustedhatstand

This is the sort of article that has upset me, as I really am feeling panicky about going back into lockdown:

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/health/coronavirus/20000-passengers-could-have-spread-indian-covid-variant-in-uk-after-travel-to-india-3238508%3famp

“Public Health England has said almost half of the cases are due to travel or contact with a traveller”.

If people have been quarantining as they should, or if the rules are right about how long quarantine should be take, how could that be the case? Sad It just seems that international travel is an avoidable risk factor.

If someone returned to U.K. from India pre-red listing, and quarantined at home (per guidelines at the time) and passed the virus to their spouse/child who was sharing facilities with them that would be considered a case transmitted from a traveller who was following the rules. I suspect that this is where a lot of initial cases occurred.

The Govt. home quarantine rules are ridiculous - the traveller has to isolate but the rest of the household are free to move unless someone tests positive/is symptomatic.

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