Anyone prepared to admit Mark Drakeford might have been right?

[justchecking1]

Before the Welsh firebreak there were a few threads here about Mark Drakeford being a power mad dictator, and the Welsh being sheep, prepared to sleep walk into having all our rights removed for no good reason, and how stupid we must be to believe it would only be two weeks.

Two weeks later, here we are out of lockdown (albeit with restrictions in place), sitting on a decreasing positive test and death rate, and freely able to go about our kettle-and-duvet-purchasing business, while England sits at the start of a four week lockdown which may or may not be extended.

Anyone prepared to concede that Mark Drakeford might have had the more sensible approach?

You really think places like Merthyr which currently have some of the highest rates per 100k in the country should be coming out of the firebreak?

I think he was right to lockdown and use the half term advantage, I think Boris was crazy not doing that in England.

However, I don’t think he was right with the non essential in Tesco debacle.

Merthyr was 76/100,000 today. Not overly high, just high for Wales

I'm confident that the outcome would've been the same regardless of whether someone had been able to buy a tin opener from Tesco.

No.
He’s a complete control freak.
Banning people from buying books and children’s clothes is the action of a dictator.

I doubt people being unable to buy pants in Tesco is what brought the numbers down.

@justchecking1

according to the bbc website today Merthyr is 587/100,000

Too early too say. Let's see where numbers are in a few weeks

@justchecking1 Maybe check the weekly rate....

How many people really really absolutely needed to buy pants for 17 days anyway and couldn’t even wait a couple of days for online delivery? Barring the incredibly unusual scenario of my house burning to the ground, in which case I expect I’d have bigger problems, I can’t fathom a situation where I absolutely had to buy pants/clothes/a kettle/tin opener that very day. I don’t really agree with the ban but it was hardly the assault on human rights the perennially indignant types make out.

I live in an area of West Wales with a 7 day case rate of around 50 cases per 100000. There is no way we should have been in lockdown or firebreak or whatever drakeford wants to call it, it was unnecessary punishment and should never have been applied to areas with low rates.

"Adding to the problems, the local NHS psychiatric unit in Pontypool has, at times, had to close to new patients." www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-54833709

Personally I'm not overly keen on strategies which keep the Covid wards empty by filling the psychiatric wards...

I think both Drakeford and Boris are wrong, mind you. But Wales's harsher rules haven't stopped e.g. Merthyr having very high positivity rates.

Just before the start of the ‘firebreak’ I left my one and only coat at a restaurant. I was unable to get a new coat (coats aren’t essential in the winter you see), even shopping online. Next was sold out of my size in what I liked; all the supermarkets online were out of my size, the best I could do was chance Amazon and for a coat, I wasn’t prepared to take that gamble and have something shipped from China. Plus, having recently lost quite a lot of weight, I am in a phase where I really do need to try things on.

So, first opportunity today, I go to finally get a coat. I’ve been freezing my ass off for weeks. I went straight from work, so about 3.45pm and the stores were rammed! It was like Black Friday sales! Without the sales.

Personally I didn’t mind too much and went about my shopping business and I’m glad to report I’m the owner of a warm puffy jacket in black - it’ll go with anything. But yes, the shops were heaving and I think everyone will have rushed back out as I did.

The firebreak was so short, that I think any good done will just as quickly be undone I’m afraid. Plus I would have liked to have been able to buy a damn coat. So no congratulations to Mark Drakeford from me.

I'm just fed up of 'our way and your way'
Why can't we just all unite? Whether that is a 2 week lockdown for all nations or a 3 tier approach throughout.
It is dividing us, which is really sad.
You can see it in your opening paragraph almost sneering that Wales only had a 2 week lockdown whereas England are now having a 4 week. That doesn't mean anything really? It just means that Boris has decided to do 4 weeks to be on the safe side whereas Wales have done 2 weeks. Numbers are still high in many areas of Wales.
In England there are also plenty of areas with a low number of cases.

@110APiccadilly It's not at all unusual for mental health units to be running at full capacity, across the UK. In England there are regularly nights where there are no MH beds available across the country.

@justchecking1

Merthyr was 76/100,000 today. Not overly high, just high for Wales

I think you’ll find that the figure for Merthyr Tydfil is, in fact 587 cases per 100,000 people in the latest week 30 Oct-5 Nov. One of the highest rates in the U.K.

Yes, @Chloemol @justchecking1

But how long until cases start rising again though? Of course they will start decreasing after 2 weeks in lockdown, but let everyone out and it will all go up again.

@Numberblock7 not everyone is able to shop online. Older people who dont have internet access for instance

Let's see where you are in a month after everybody has been back out panic buying kettles and duvets again.

And this is why ppl in England were voicing their opinions Because we knew very similar would happen here.

inews.co.uk/news/consumer/lockdown-supermarket-rules-restrictions-non-essential-items-aisles-shelves-cordon-off-748342?fbclid=IwAR1PUm67IubYry1sV7Hqm5hdVt7sUB_WyQfc-JQPs2w3tMOZ5OUNjoHEKVc

I think stupid policies like this make panic buying worse

Nobody's keeping the COVID wards empty @110APiccadilly, they're just trying to stop them overflowing.

Of course he was right . the firebreak covered the critical half term/ haloween/ bonfire night potential problems for mass gatherings. . Boris totally mistimed lockdown.

I managed just fine - all tin openers, kettles and duvets made it safely through the two weeks.

I doubt people being unable to buy pants in Tesco is what brought the numbers down.

^This.

How many people really really absolutely needed to buy pants for 17 days anyway and couldn’t even wait a couple of days for online delivery?

How would buying pants, or a book, or a kettle from an aisle you were already walking past, in a supermarket you were already shopping in, really make a difference to the spread of the virus?