Central London yesterday

[LadyEloise]

I saw photos of scenes in central London yesterday- Regent's Street and outside Harrods
I was gobsmacked.
Unbelievable to think that is acceptable when so many are sick and dying of Covid19.

Front line workers are putting their lives on the line.

Just saw those pics too. Really shocked. What are people playing at! Really galling when some of us are in tier 4, quasi-lockdown (central Scotland), and adhering to it!

Some of those people might have been frontline workers. I know one who was at the Nottingham Christmas market yesterday. I don't get why people think all frontline workers are staying in their homes, they're just as likely as anyone else to be out and about.

Also these threads are so tiresome now. It's not "stay at home" any more, people are allowed to go out, stop moaning about it and accept that's what people are going to do.

@Waxonwaxoff0

Also these threads are so tiresome now. It's not "stay at home" any more, people are allowed to go out, stop moaning about it and accept that's what people are going to do.

Did you see the photos though? People were shoulder to shoulder, packed. I'm glad for the shops that people are out spending money, but I've never seen central london looking so busy, except at the fireworks on NYE.

I didn't see the photos, but it's hardly shocking on the first weekend of December. Shops have been shut for weeks, people want to do their Christmas shopping. Of course it was inevitable that high streets would be rammed.

What do people think is going to happen when lockdown means no one has been able to go shopping for ages? Of course everyone goes at once, especially when new restrictions are always a risk.

And?

The stay at home order has ended.

If the shops hadn’t been forcibly closed in November people could have spread their visits.

I passed through borough market last night. Groups of people in bars without meals, groups in restaurants that are unlikely to be from the same household. It was so busy.
I feel no one is abiding by the rules, anyone I speak to have their own take on them.
January/February will be grim

I commented on the lockdown in Jan thread that I think well already be at those levels by Christmas after seeing those scenes.

If people are willing to behave that way in public I fear for the behind closed doors scenes of Xmas and NY.

And I'm sad for the selfishness of some humans.

@Waxonwaxoff0

Also these threads are so tiresome now. It's not "stay at home" any more, people are allowed to go out, stop moaning about it and accept that's what people are going to do.

The police dispersed them. I'm not sure they'd do that if it was safe.

@user1471588124

What do people think is going to happen when lockdown means no one has been able to go shopping for ages? Of course everyone goes at once, especially when new restrictions are always a risk.

This.

Shops are open..lockdown is over...people are allowed to go...London is always busy and never won't be.
I put myself at an insane amount of risk every day in an SEN school with no ppe and constant close (as in physical) contact with students. Half the school is shut and covid is spreading like wildfire..
Do I care if people are going shopping? Nope.

@Bushola

And?

The stay at home order has ended.

If the shops hadn’t been forcibly closed in November people could have spread their visits.

Exactly this ....

What on earth did you expect OP?

9 months on and we're still getting pearl clutching posts about people doing things they are allowed to do and which will boost struggling sectors of the economy?

The virus barely spreads outdoors and shops/cafes etc limit numbers and have other restrictions in place. How long, exactly, do you want people to barricade themselves in their homes?

Going to the shops or out for a meal is not selfish.

‘The virus barely spreads outdoors and shops/cafes etc limit numbers and have other restrictions in place.’

I think the problem is that many of them don’t seem to be bothering to limit numbers any more. People were cramming into shops in my town yesterday ignoring the max number signs.

Shops have been shut though all pretty much all of November so people are catching up with their shopping what are people meant to do, there is a choice really, get everything from Amazon if you have Prime or get out to the shops. People don't want to pay loads of delivery charges and be at the mercy of Hermes, Royal Mail and the like and maybe not get stuff before Christmas

I hate shopping and nearly went myself this weekend because it’s the only thing you can do without being tracked.

I’m so sick of my tiny flat.

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel

‘The virus barely spreads outdoors and shops/cafes etc limit numbers and have other restrictions in place.’

I think the problem is that many of them don’t seem to be bothering to limit numbers any more. People were cramming into shops in my town yesterday ignoring the max number signs.

We're trading anecdotal evidence here but I've not seen that at all. In any case, it's up to the shops to enforce these restrictions, not up to shoppers to calculate how many people are 'allowed' in at any one time.

So, a lot of people ended up in the same place. I'm sure they all conspired together to hatch a plot to ensure maximum spread of Covid. It wouldn't be anything to do with the fact that it was the first Saturday the shops were open. Selfish, selfish, selfish! To see people actually going out to the shops during These Unprecedented Times! It is as if they don't realise that we are in a Global Pandemic. literally makes me SICK - now, more than ever.

Wife and I went to The Range yesterday afternoon - it was absolutely rammed

@Bushola

And?

The stay at home order has ended.

If the shops hadn’t been forcibly closed in November people could have spread their visits.

Exactly this

Huge crowds in Knightsbridge yesterday (that pedestrianised bit at the side of Harrods was basically full, no room to get through)

Police called to disperse, and 4 people arrested

That's not just 'lots of shoppers'

I'm just curious what research you've seen that points to any measurable amount of transmission happening outside? What outbreaks have been linked to crowds in the streets? This should be easily accessible since there were mass BLM protests in the peak of the virus in spring. How many outbreaks were attributed to those protests? I don't recall any or any research that has shown walking outside in a crowded street to be a major source of transmission.

Anyone who says they have never seen central London so crowded must have never been to central London in December

It's not unusual for police to be present to control crowding, even in normal times. That's why they have police, like, at football matches.

And the 4 people arrested: maybe they were behaving antisocially, maybe they were shoplifters...? I am pretty sure that arrests in central London on a Saturday are not an unprecedented event!!

I think it's really shitty to shame people and call them covidiots for going to the shops on a Saturday, which they are allowed to do! My DH went yesterday - he is a teacher, so doesn't have the option to go at a less busy time, unlike people who are on furlough or wfh. I imagine it's the same for a lot of key workers.