Surely they’ll have to allow us to go to one other household now

[SpongeCake23]

Now that Dominic Cummings has done what he’s done and the government have supported him, saying he’s done nothing wrong.
Surely they’re going to have to allow us to mix with one household soon, otherwise it’s a huge hypocrisy.

As the Dep CMO said when the welfare of a DC is an issue then that is a exception.

She said when someone's life was at severe risk.

The DC defence for the first trip is so general that it would have made complete mockery of lockdown.

If it was ok for a couple with one person already infected to travel the length of the country in order to access childcare just in case they should both become so seriously ill they were unable to look after their 4yo AT THE SAME MOMENT IN TIME then it's hard to see who government rules on lockdown applied to at all.

There was no reason to believe this would happen to the Cummingses more than any other family in the country where one person was ill- should they all have gone travelling the moment they knew themselves to be infectious?

It was also totally irresponsible to keep a 4yo locked up in a confined space for 4-5 hours with an infected person- can't get more viral overload than that. If Mary Wakefield's story of letting the boy play nurse at his dad's bedside is true, that again suggests a total lack of concern for the safety of the child.

And if the second story about his travelling again is true, then that blows the first defence out of the water.

It’s a long drive, surely he had to fuel up.

Also he did mix households, he mixed his child with his parents.

just in case they should both become so seriously ill they were unable to look after their 4yo AT THE SAME MOMENT IN TIME

Odd that they were so worried by both being so ill that they can't look after a 4 yr old from a disease which we keep being reassured is mild in 80% of cases...

Simon Nixon @simon_nixon
The giant hole in Cummings’s story is that by his own account he wasn’t ill when he got in the car for six hours to drive to second home. Pity Marr didn’t push harder on this, rather than accept Shapps’ preposterous claim not to have spoken to DC before going out to defend him.

If he (or his wife) were ill, he should have been self isolating. If they weren't, then he can't use the extreme threat to life excuse. And if he were ill his sister should have driven to London to pick up nephew, rather than him taking such a long journey whilst ill and should have been self isolating.

They can try and bullshit their way out of this but ultimately everyone knows Cummings knew he was taking the piss and breaking the rules.

It's just that a senior advisor to government thinks he could get away with it because he can pull strings and get ministers to defend him (undermining the health messaging) and he can bullshit the police cos of his position. (national security you know)

And whilst he may get away with it and keep his position, everyone has seen it. Probably won't remember it, but it all adds to simmering disgust at government.

However, and this is the important bit, let's remember why we have been doing all this, those of us who have actually been observing lockdown.

It was never to please Dominic Cummings, it was not because we admired Dominic Cummings. Some people may have done so, but that was never the point of lockdown.

The point of lockdown was to save lives. The lives of our loved ones, the lives of total strangers. People at petrol pumps and in supermarkets, NHS nurses and porters. To keep people safe. That point is not affected by whether Dominic Cummings is a lying little git. That is how we still need to think and plan for over the coming months. Keep people safe.

Why? The virus hasn’t gone away.

'hmm She said when someone's life was at severe risk.'

Not sure if you've been watching the news but this virus is killing thousands and none of us know how seriously we will get it. We can be fine one day then in hospital the next.

Again, I'm not defending it he shouldn't have gone. If nothing else like with Calderwood and Ferguson it totally detracts from the actual virus updates and guidance. However it is a fact if both parents have it then the care of a DC is a priority. I don't know why he chose his sister for support over her sister, we could speculate all day but they stayed in separate accommodation so the risk was minimal.

@corythatwas

Perhaps it would be a good idea to start thinking about whether a slavish adherence to lockdown is actually saving lives? If DC genuinely believed that lives would be saved by everyone staying at home, he would have stayed at home. He wouldn't have wanted to run any risk of passing on a killer disease to his extended family.

It also brings us back to the lives that are being and will be lost as a direct result of lockdown.

We need to think and plan for an exit from the Hell-hole of lockdown.

He shouldn't have gone I agree, but I think the MSM needs to move on.

No, they very much need to stick with it because by back tracking and changing the rules they have undermined their entire strategy.

"Test, track and trace, errr but only isolate if it isn't too much trouble"

As the Dep CMO said when the welfare of a DC is an issue then that is a exception.

Except it wasn't an issue. This is a wealthy family with many resources. Many children will have had to put up with far worse under lockdown.

As corythatwas posted, if the same criteria applies to everyone, it's very difficult to know when the lockdown rules apply.

I think there are a lot of very angry parents and grandparents up and down the country today.

Not sure if you've been watching the news but this virus is killing thousands and none of us know how seriously we will get it. We can be fine one day then in hospital the next.

And we have still all been told to stay at home by the government. If they really honestly believed that it was find to travel under these circumstances, why not make that clear to everyone at the time?

If DC genuinely believed that lives would be saved by everyone staying at home, he would have stayed at home. He wouldn't have wanted to run any risk of passing on a killer disease to his extended family.

It's more like that he thought only the elderly or already sick would get it, and he viewed them as dispensable. Until Boris Johnson went down with it and ended up in hospital, whereupon Cummings was seen running from Downing Street. We now know that he was running because he was behind with packing for a journey up to Durham.

However it is a fact if both parents have it then the care of a DC is a priority. I don't know why he chose his sister for support over her sister, we could speculate all day
No it's not the priority for infected parents to arrange the care of their child. It's the priority for them to stay at home and not infect others - except if their child or their own life is at imminent risk.

DH and I both had it, and we have a toddler ( a real one, rather than a 4 yr old). We had to stay the fuck at home. The day we were too sick to cook? everyone ate cereal and fruit. Single parents have been struggling with the same issue and following the rules - that Cummings helped formulate.

but they stayed in separate accommodation so the risk was minimal.
The travelled the length of the country with symptoms. Cooped their child up with a symptomatic adult for hours! And blatantly ignored the rule about staying in main residence - one which still applies. Everyone with second homes will flood to them now and who could blame them?

@Somerville is right.

'No, they very much need to stick with it because by back tracking and changing the rules they have undermined their entire strategy.'

Ok stick with it but also discuss other issues relating to the crisis. It's like a non stop Cummings soap opera. Many are using it to get even as everyone well knows. Alistair Campbell and Morgan are going to self combust with excitement at this rate. It isn't because they are so upset others have suffered in lockdown, it is because Cummings is a massively divisive character and this is the perfect opportunity to get him out.

It isn't because they are so upset others have suffered in lockdown, it is because Cummings is a massively divisive character and this is the perfect opportunity to get him out.

He is a massively divisive figure amongst Conservative MPs. This is a Conservative party problem not something created by the MSM. Dominic Cummings is a twat, but whether he stays or goes, the government have a massive majority and neither they nor the PM are going anywhere.

However, to support Cummings, the government have upended their entire virus control strategy, and that is pretty much the only issue worth talking about at the moment.

Everyone with second homes will flood to them now and who could blame them?

Yes, the new rule is that if you think you might be able to deal with the virus better in your second home, go there now. Just do your best and it's up to you to decide what that means!

'The travelled the length of the country with symptoms. Cooped their child up with a symptomatic adult for hours! And blatantly ignored the rule about staying in main residence - one which still applies.'

Again, I agree they shouldn't have gone. They should have stuck to their own rules. However their DC lives with them so whether in a car or sat next to them in their house the exposure is the same. They wanted a backup plan in case they needed hospital care and his sister could then care for the 4yr old.

'we have a toddler ( a real one, rather than a 4 yr old). We had to stay the fuck at home.'
Not sure if there's much to argue between the care of a 4yr old or a 'real' toddler tbh.

It isn't really what they did (with minimal risk and for their DC welfare) it's because it is Cummings and many loathe him. He has presented them with a massive stick to beat him with and I'm not sure why on earth anyone would do that.

@GetOffYourHighHorse

You’ve made it clear that you wish the spotlight could be taken off DC and his rank hypocrisy.

It’s not going to happen, though. People have been through too much, have made too many sacrifices by not visiting loved ones, even when those loved ones and ill and dying, to let this go. And I for one don’t blame them.

One thing I do find believable though is that DC has no friends he could call on in London. Or anywhere, for that matter.

He has presented them with a massive stick to beat him with and I'm not sure why on earth anyone would do that

Because he thinks he’s Teflon coated. Hopefully he’ll discover as deluded about that as he is about much else.

DC most certainly believes the rules do not apply to him. I expect he's lived his life like that. He will always do whatever suits him best, end off. He's just one of those unpleasant narcissistic people we've all come across. And those same traits make him successful in his chosen field, and unsuccessful as a human being. He will have to go in the end. Meanwhile I suspect the models take into account the narcissistic percentage who consider themselves exempt. I suspect it won't really matter now if many of us follow suit. But it will however matter enormously if there is a resurgence And at that point people choose to ignore. So he has to go.

It isn't really what they did (with minimal risk and for their DC welfare) it's because it is Cummings and many loathe him.

No, that really isn't why people are upset.

They are upset because people have endured real hardship because they have been told to Stay at Home to Protect the NHS and Save Lives.

They have made really difficult decisions and prioritised the greater good over the welfare of their own children and family members. Now the government is telling them that they weren't that serious about lockdown after all.

Merry mouse yes everything you said.

And DC even WROTE those slogans.

It totally undermines the sacrifices millions of individuals have been making for the sake of all of us.

And, frankly, it undermines any last shreds of respect I might have had for our leadership.

People with money have been travelling backwards and forwards and staying where they like throughout. Very poor behaviour in my opinion.