No one obeying local restrictions

[Nicedayforawedding]

I live in a Covid hotspot and we have local restrictions in place. I’ve stuck to the rules so haven’t had dsis at our home, no other family, meeting one household outdoors, etc.

I’m daily told, however, that friends are having their family round to their houses, they are meeting up with friends and family at pubs, friends even staying over. I wonder what is the point to these restrictions when it seems only a few are obeying them?

every individual who puts in the effort to comply with the guidance is part of the solution.
every individual who doesn't comply with the guidance is part of the problem.
be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

100% compliance was never even hoped for. firstly many people are basically selfish. secondly there are always going to be some special circumstances that it is quite right should be exceptions to the normal guidelines.

but the tiny pressure of your consistent effort will be what works in the end. it will take longer to beat this virus because of the large numbers who don't, sadly, but everyone who does their bit is having an effect.

don't just follow the guidelines, be visible and voluble about doing so. don't be afraid to say "no thank you I don't want to break lockdown guidelines" when you are invited to something, and don't be conciliatory about other people's selfishness (whilst obviously being understanding about the legitimate exceptional circumstances that do give valid reasons for some things)

Given that people are thoroughly fed up of restrictions, they are less willing to make sacrifices where they can’t see any real implications... At the moment, infections are increasing, but only relatively slowly and rates remain low even in hotspot areas. Moreover, hospitalisations are very low and deaths are even lower. Unfortunately, i think it will take a second wave for people be more responsible.

Similar to March, we probably should have implemented restrictions a few weeks before we did, and avoided the need for an extended lockdown as a result, but had the Government tried to do that in late February, people would have scoffed at the idea - probably me too.

Good post @YinuCeatleAyru

It’s partly because the rules are illogical & restaurants/pubs are not obeying them. I’m in area coming out of them on Wednesday but here’s why I haven’t always followed them:

They were announced at 9pm to start from midnight. I was due at work the following morning & my parents were looking after my children. I literally couldn’t cancel work, so I had no choice.

I’ve had to continue to use my parents as childcare. My other half & I are frontline workers, we need our jobs to keep a roof. We couldn’t simply ‘increase nursery days’ as the govmt suggested, our nursery is full to bursting. Not to mention it’s £55 a day.

The pubs & restaurants have continued to accept bookings from multiple households. The police have done nothing about this. Seemingly turning a blind eye. I haven’t done this but it makes a joke of the restrictions.

If multi households can meet indoors in a pub, why on earth can I not sit in my parents or friends gardens? A safe environment as outdoors, distanced & with people I know for track & trace purposes. Where I know children’s toys & slides are clean. So I have been. Much better than a park.

Finally, we were put in lockdown as a huge council area of 500,000 people. The council has 27 cases per 100,000. The majority in a town a 40 minute drive from where I live. My town has had less than 8 cases every week. It’s taken 4 weeks for them to see sense & realise our town is not the problem & we are being released!

I 100% agree with everything @Bol87 said.

Also, in some of the ‘hotspots’ there are areas which have had next to no cases but have been lumped in with neighbouring areas that have many cases, so it’s nonsensical!

The reason you can meet in pubs and not home is because at least there is some modicum of social distancing governed by a third party

It’s people visiting friends and family causing the spikes because I seriously doubt anyone is actually socially distancing in peoples homes

Also, meeting in pubs helps the economy whilst visiting homes does not so if you have to ration public interactions, for everyone’s good it’s better to remove the meetings in homes

The area with restrictions were very broad-brush. People living in small villages 10 or more miles from the large conurbation where rates are high find it hard to believe that they need to observe the same restrictions.

Fantastic post @YinuCeatleAyru!

Absofuckinglutely bol87.

I'm in GM, which it sounds like you might be, and it was inevitable that people would refuse to comply with cobbled together logic fail requirements. Especially when so many of us are reliant on family for childcare. The current regulations for affected areas state that unofficial childcare should only be provided outdoors in public places, ffs. In an area famed for rain. Fuck that. I have provided childcare for a family member who had no alternative, in my home, in breach of the regulations. I was 100% justified in doing so, and I will be 100% justified in doing so if I have to do it again. Not least because we live in an area that, despite having very few cases, remains subject to the extra regulations. Only a government utterly detached from ordinary working people could possibly have come up with that weapons grade fuckwittery.

I'm aware of why the government took the decision to allow eg pubs to open, because of the economic impact, but there's no point in pretending this wasn't a risk. The reality is that SD isn't happening in all of them, and senior policing figures have pointed out that drunk people don't SD. I live right near our local, I know full fucking well people aren't SD there because I can see it, and there isn't a chance in hell that it's safer there than it is on my mum's or cousin's garden. Hence GM has been awash with memes and jokes about covid not being a threat when there's a card reader present.

There are some areas of Greater Manchester where the police didn't dare enforce lockdown in the first place. Look at that funeral that took place in the middle of lockdown in April - hundreds of people there and the police only intervened when a gun was fired.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/apr/25/man-arrested-after-gun-fired-at-manchester-funeral-clive-pinnock

Neighbourhoods where individual spikes took place were the same ones where people were happily mingling throughout.

On Wednesday they are reducing the restrictions near me, but I’m still in it by less than a mile. This is because my council ward is a funny shape and includes built up areas of back to back housing as well as my village on the edge of the moors.
I’m going to be sitting in my parents back garden while they sit in the house with the doors open. Sorry but the rules are crackers.

Get them to charge you 50p for entry, it'll magically become safe then.

@Derbygerbil Sun 30-Aug-20 08:278:40
Given that people are thoroughly fed up of restrictions, they are less willing to make sacrifices where they can’t see any real implications... At the moment, infections are increasing, but only relatively slowly and rates remain low even in hotspot areas. Moreover, hospitalisations are very low and deaths are even lower.* Unfortunately, i think it will take a second wave for people be more responsible.

What you are basically saying is that people aren't following the rules because they are batshit AND there aren't enough cases so we don't need them anyway.

So you WANT a second wave so that we do need to be locked down again - rather than celebrating that actually We. Must. Be. Doing. Enough. because it isn't getting worse. The new cases are generally mild, not making most people very ill and building up community immunity.

@ACautionaryTale

The reason you can meet in pubs and not home is because at least there is some modicum of social distancing governed by a third party

It’s people visiting friends and family causing the spikes because I seriously doubt anyone is actually socially distancing in peoples homes

This

Presumably they know clusters are happening due to indoor gathering so this is what they have to try and target