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Original poster

Escaping London ‘Lockdown’ before ‘too late’ ?

261 replies

Stircrazyschoolmum · 16/03/2020 19:00

Since the announcement at 17.00, I’ve been pinged by 3 different mum friends/associates telling me they are escaping SW London to Norfolk / West Country whilst they still can. (There seems to be an opinion that London will lockdown imminently although that wasn’t how I read the press conference.)

To be fair, they all had plans to be away over the Easter holidays but now are saying they will go ASAP (one already packing car) and won’t necessarily return until the peak in London dies down.

I kind of thought avoiding non-essential travel meant you weren’t supposed to travel and misguidedly (?) thought restrictions on pubs/theatre etc wasn’t just a London thing? One family is staying with parents (healthy but still?)

I’m not passing judgement as everyone has to do what they believe to be best, just curious whether I’ve misinterpreted the guidance!

OP posts:
lalafafa · 16/03/2020 23:22

My friend had a holiday home in Cornwall, she went down last week but has returned. She was getting daily abuse, she’s had a home there for 8 years.

LangClegsInSpace · 16/03/2020 23:57

Almost 1 in 3 confirmed cases in the UK are in London. We should have been quarantined two weeks ago, without any warning.

I decided last Monday I wouldn't be leaving London again because I could see the way things were going.

I've busted a gut over the past week to sort out local support for my mum who lives outside London, is in her late 80s with very bad COPD and heart disease and who WILL die if she gets this virus. Normally she relies on her children and grandchildren for help but we all either live in London or travel in daily. None of us are safe around my lovely mum any more and we're all devastated. Her church has closed, her U3A has closed, most of her friends have died in recent years. It's been extremely hard setting up support for her remotely.

Even now, if we quarantined London, there are large areas of the country where we could still go back to testing, contact tracing and containment. If you add up all the cases in the whole of Scotland, Wales and NI they are less than 3/4 of the number of cases in London. Large areas of the country could remain open, saving local economies and saving lives, if it weren't for this sort of wankerish behaviour.

Your selfish friends are not escaping anything they're just taking it with them.

JasonBrun · 16/03/2020 23:59

Glad to hear that @lalafafa do send her my regards.

CoronaVera · 17/03/2020 00:03

Wales has community cases already so anyone coming here will probably catch it anyway.

TiddyTid · 17/03/2020 00:06

My friend had a holiday home in Cornwall, she went down last week but has returned. She was getting daily abuse, she’s had a home there for 8 years.

8 years? A mere newborn. You need to be in alien territory like Cornwall or east Anglia for at least four decades to be even acknowledged Grin

day1intheisolationhouse · 17/03/2020 00:10

Oh great. That's my costal town with loads of second homes owned by Londoners fucked then.

ShiftyOwl · 17/03/2020 00:11

@LangClegsInSpace I’m so sorry to hear about your mum but flipping heck, are you for real. You are a hero my friend, honestly if I was in London I’d be helping you. Thank you so much.

Lynda07 · 17/03/2020 00:12

Too late to escape, not that I ever intended to but obviously some did, just heard we are now on lockdown.

heath48 · 17/03/2020 00:16

This just reinforces what I thought earlier,we should have been locked down today,no messing about.

My son lives in Cornwall and has a disabled son,they struggle massively whenever he needs treatment,over an hour to the nearest hospital,that is busy even when there is no crisis.

Still the GP’s will be less than helpful if any of these morons need them they will be in their rights to refuse to treat them.

As for going when you are heavily pregnant! Stay where at least you have a tiny chance of medical care.

PicsInRed · 17/03/2020 00:50

It's in the SW and has been for some time. Already spreading to villages.

So sure, come on doooown...to CoronaTown!

CorianderLord · 17/03/2020 00:51

I work in the media. We still have to go in to work everyday. Chill

PicsInRed · 17/03/2020 00:51

Don't come, we don't want you.

MarshaBradyo · 17/03/2020 00:53

Coriander why? You’re meant to be wfh now. Easy in the media isn’t it?

DeRigueurMortis · 17/03/2020 00:58

The bizarre thing about this (aside from the selfish behaviour) is that many of the rural locations people are fleeing to have lesser hospital beds/ICU facilities than in London.

From what's posted they are not vulnerable, so all they are doing is putting the vulnerable at risk.

I can to be fair understand people going who have well stocked second homes and who will travel straight there (no stops) and self isolate on arrival.

However I suspect they are in a minority.

As for the rest I'm now of a mindset of name and shame the buggers on social media.

Rural hospitals simply don't have the same capacity as in cities and as soon as you start to introduce the virus into those communities people will die as a result - not the 30/40 somethings with kids from London (who would have also been fine if they stayed) but the locals with health conditions or over 70's.

Frankly I hope the locals in these communities make their feelings very clear.

Lillyhatesjaz · 17/03/2020 01:00

If I had a home in London and a home in Cornwall I would be heading for London fast rather than risk being ill in the Royal Cornwall

ineedaholidaynow · 17/03/2020 01:10

How do people think they are going to feed themselves when they come down here for weeks? There really isn’t enough to go around. The shelves are bare and I would have thought the larger supermarkets are the ones who are going to get supplies first.

I certainly wouldn’t be coming down here to have a baby. Also aren’t pregnant women in the vulnerable category so should be pretty much self isolating soon.

Janus · 17/03/2020 07:16

LangClegsInSpace Out of interest - how did you set up help for your mum?
My elderly parents live in a remote Devon village, nearest hospital is 40 minutes away by blue light. My brother works in that hospital and says it’s already beginning to trickle through to them. Because he works in a hospital he is not able to now visit them.
So the only thing I can think of is to set up a tescos delivery for them and pray that some food is left to get to them each week. It makes me want to cry for them.

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 17/03/2020 07:38

Janus, I live in a very small town (very, very small). There's been a local Facebook page set up for advice and help, and to deliver prescriptions etc to those self-isolating. Is the same sort of thing likely where your parents are?

JoJothesquirrel · 17/03/2020 07:47

For a hot minute I thought about going to my mums place on the western isle. I’m not in London but it’s undoubtedly safer on an island with no cases. But I quickly came to my sense. No hospital there never mind itu beds. How would I feel if the elderly or vulnerable died after my family arrived.

Janus · 17/03/2020 07:58

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman Do you think I could join rather than them? They don’t ‘do’ computers so wouldn’t understand! I will search now. I know my brother would drive out and leave stuff on their doorstep but if he has to self isolate that option will go. I have a local Facebook group where I am and off to deliver eggs this morning as we have chickens! It definitely works, I will go and look now. Thank you.

ReceptacleForTheRespectable · 17/03/2020 08:18

My friend had a holiday home in Cornwall, she went down last week but has returned. She was getting daily abuse, she’s had a home there for 8 years.

No-one should ever get abuse, but she's 'had a home there'. She hasn't LIVED there, and there is a world of difference between the two.

People who 'have a home' in my village contribute fuck all and the more of them there are, the more likely it is that we will lose bus services, the local school etc. They are not viewed the same as the people who live here and make their lives here - why would they be?

Second home owners piss me off, they are an incredibly selfish group. To then have the nerve to complain about not being treated as a local...?

transformandriseup · 17/03/2020 08:32

It's much quieter than usual in Cornwall and I know business will sadly suffer but it's surely better than the other way around.

Janus · 17/03/2020 10:21

@GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman do you know how I search for a de book group? Their nearest ‘big town’ is Kingsbrisge, I’ve tried that but couldn’t find one?

ruralliving19 · 17/03/2020 11:01

I live in a village in the SW with a lot of second homes and a lot of people have arrived overnight, the High Street looks like central London. Meanwhile I'm self-isolating with my children as one has a fever.

Someone I know in the village has had her adult children from London asking to come and stay with them if their nursery closes. If London is worse than the rest of the UK in numbers at least they have hospitals etc closer by.

SirVixofVixHall · 17/03/2020 11:33

I really want there to be a statement on the selfish regard for other people’s lives, and the stupidity in travelling now to a holiday home or second home .
My MIl is 84 and lives in rural Wales too . We are isolating now and will not go and see her unless all of us, her included , have been in isolation for several weeks. She lives alone and quite remotely , miles from a village, so we do worry about her , but are aware of the risks of viral spread from one area to another.