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Original poster

Chris Whitty in The Times today - don't meet friends and family unnecessarily

525 replies

MrsMiaWallis · 10/01/2021 08:22

"Emergency patients will be turned away from hospitals, causing “avoidable deaths”, unless the public starts obeying the lockdown, England’s chief medical officer warns today.
In a stark intervention designed to shock, Professor Chris Whitty warns that everyone who meets friends and family unnecessarily is a “link in a chain” that threatens the lives of vulnerable people"

Worth noting. I had to pick up a prescription from my local town and was surprised to see so many people - mainly middle aged women, some of whom I know and had always seemed like rational intelligent people - walking around town and chatting on the pavements, unmasked, no social distancing.

Apologies I don't know how to do share tokens.

OP posts:
inquietant · 10/01/2021 08:28

Many people simply say 'I've done my own risk assessment' Hmm

Ginfordinner · 10/01/2021 08:30

And are clearly getting it wrong

Orangeblossom77777 · 10/01/2021 08:31

I feel cross with their messaging and fear campaign- this is a result of some areas being in low tiers and Christmas mixing, two weeks ago all of which they allowed

Now it is about two people meeting to walk right.

lockdownconfused · 10/01/2021 08:39

I just feel that too many people don't want to listen anymore. They have managed to avoid being ill while meeting friends and family so far so are carrying on.

Icanseegreenshoots · 10/01/2021 08:43

The emergency situation within hospitals is real. I just don't think people can do it anymore. It has been going on for too long, it is taking too much of a toll.

peak2021 · 10/01/2021 08:44

If Chris Whitty's reasonable statement is ignored, it will not be the first time. Mr Johnson has ignored his advice repeatedly right from the very first press conference.

He has the patience of a saint- I'd have resigned and said how bad Mr Johnson has been a long time ago.

Icanseegreenshoots · 10/01/2021 08:44

I also fail to see why talking to someone at a distance outside is any risk whatsoever to anyone.

EssentialHummus · 10/01/2021 08:47

The problem is that weeks ago we were told Christmas bubbles would be fine, schools didn't pose a risk etc - it's one extreme to the other imo. I'm adhering to this but battling to understand how walking outdoors with one other person is a risk at all.

notevenat20 · 10/01/2021 08:49

I also fail to see why talking to someone at a distance outside is any risk whatsoever to anyone

It’s just a question of whether they will breathe in any of the air that you breathe out. I think of it like this. If they had terrible breath or even BO, are you close enough that you could tell? If so, you are too close.

notevenat20 · 10/01/2021 08:50

The problem is that weeks ago we were told Christmas bubbles would be fine, schools didn't pose a risk etc - it's one extreme to the other imo. I'm adhering to this but battling to understand how walking outdoors with one other person is a risk at all.

The rules have changed since B117.

BuggerBognor · 10/01/2021 08:51

This reply has been withdrawn

Message from MNHQ: This post has been withdrawn

jasjas1973 · 10/01/2021 08:52

If Whitty is correct, then perhaps he should campaign to have this quite lax lockdown, tightened up?

This mixed messaging from govt is very much part of why people aren't listening anymore.

badpuma · 10/01/2021 08:53

The behaviour you describe is perfectly legal and was in the first lockdown as well. The differences now are nurseries being open, a huge additional number of employers refusing to allow WFH and the meet one person for exercise rule. All of these can be managed by the government.

For starters, if they actually mean that they want to reduce transmission, the work from home if you can guidance needs to be significantly beefed up, and industry sectors such as construction told to close. Schools then need to have a much tighter range of children in.

Meeting one friend for a walk outdoors makes fuck all difference while people are still mixing en masse indoors at work, school, nursery and on public transport.

Atalune · 10/01/2021 08:53

Until someone can explain to me how meeting a friend for a SD walk out side is a transferring the virus then I’ll keep walking around my local village with one other person. I see 2 other people outside of my household. Outside at a distance. What IS the risk? I WFM,‘shopping is delivered, kids are at home, tell me what is this link??

It’s fear mongering. If you stick to the rules as they are then that enough.

borageforager · 10/01/2021 08:54

@EssentialHummus

The problem is that weeks ago we were told Christmas bubbles would be fine, schools didn't pose a risk etc - it's one extreme to the other imo. I'm adhering to this but battling to understand how walking outdoors with one other person is a risk at all.
Not even weeks ago! This time 7 days ago Johnson was on Marr telling us schools were safe, send the kids in Hmm my kids were back in school on Monday, which was apparently perfectly safe, then Tuesday it’s suddenly a huge risk... their messaging is SHIT.
badpuma · 10/01/2021 08:54

@notevenat20

The problem is that weeks ago we were told Christmas bubbles would be fine, schools didn't pose a risk etc - it's one extreme to the other imo. I'm adhering to this but battling to understand how walking outdoors with one other person is a risk at all.

The rules have changed since B117.

We were told schools were safe on Sunday 3rd January. They were unsafe by 8pm on the 4th, except for those people who'd already gone back of course.
EssentialHummus · 10/01/2021 08:54

The rules have changed since B117.

It's been in the country since Sept/October, and certainly our understanding of the issue hasn't changed since last Sunday/Monday when the PM decided to send schools back for one day before shutting them again. It's just one indecisive jolt and panic after another.

Atalune · 10/01/2021 08:55

Yes.

Shut nurseries. Tighten up school access, close more work places.

EssentialHummus · 10/01/2021 08:56

Cross-posted with three other exasperated PP Grin

notevenat20 · 10/01/2021 08:56

Until someone can explain to me how meeting a friend for a SD walk out side is a transferring the virus then I’ll keep walking around my local village with one other person.

The new variant of the virus, b117, is much more contagious than the old one. That’s the first thing to remember. If you think of your friend as a smelly tramp (sorry friend), are you close enough that you could smell them? If so, you are too close.

AaronPurr · 10/01/2021 08:56

Meeting one friend for a walk outdoors makes fuck all difference while people are still mixing en masse indoors at work, school, nursery and on public transport.

Exactly.

herecomesthsun · 10/01/2021 08:57

I imagine one reason Chris Whitty has patiently continued is that the government needs his balanced sensible views.

Circumlocutious · 10/01/2021 08:57

@EssentialHummus

The problem is that weeks ago we were told Christmas bubbles would be fine, schools didn't pose a risk etc - it's one extreme to the other imo. I'm adhering to this but battling to understand how walking outdoors with one other person is a risk at all.
The increased infectiousness of the new variant probably means that activities which were once okay - walking outside with someone and chatting, not necessarily keeping a large distance - now carry an increased risk. But because there isnt a lot of research into this yet, it hasn’t really been communicated to the public.
Sunshinegirl82 · 10/01/2021 08:57

The reality is that there was always going to be a limit on how long people would comply with these sort of restrictions. We may now be reaching the point where people are disengaging in large enough numbers to be problematic.

If disengagement is the issue then just making rules stricter is not the answer in my view. We need to identify exactly where spread is continuing to occur and take targeted steps in those areas if further steps are necessary.

People have been told that if they don't comply bad things will happen for the best part of a year, people are desensitised to it now which was entirely predictable.

midgebabe · 10/01/2021 08:58

The OP mentions people chatting outside

One fairly consistent message is that outside is safer than inside

People read it is outside is safe. With the old variant in the summer 6 to 10% of infections were caught outside , in crowded spaces or people chatting. Cold weather will increase the ease of outside transmission