Page 4 | Boris Should Have said at Christmas- Everyone stay in their own house

Lollipop1234 · 04/02/2021 10:38

@Obviouspretzel

Great narrative on here.

Spent time with family at Christmas = stupid, thick, not intelligent.

Stayed at home on your own = clever, common sense.

If anything the stupid ones are the ones spouting this black and white dichotomy.

I think you’ve completely misinterpreted the thread. It’s got nothing to do with intelligence and everyone knows it’s not black and white.

There are genuine reasons why some people will have met up. Some will have done this as safely as possible, others not so. We are all paying the price of that now.

And you’d have to have spent December with your head in the sand to have not realised that mixing was a bad idea. Short of banning it completely, which tier 4 was (although not everyone listened), Boris couldn’t have said it more clearly.

Some people didn’t want to hear it and if banned completely would have met up anyway. I wonder how many regret that now.

User133847 · 04/02/2021 11:57

The damage was done before Christmas when London and other areas were moved into tier 2 and December became a normal Christmas shopping month.

User133847 · 04/02/2021 12:01

@4redSocks

Yeah he should of done and shut all the shops. The lockdown prior to xmas I don’t know it was ever lifted so soon.

If we were going to have a normal Christmas we needed to lockdown in December. It was an either/or situation at best (most country's just locked down altogether). Boris's dithering and unwillingness to upset the Tory newspapers caused tens of thousands of deaths in December.

Some deaths were going to happen, of course, but the sheer scale of it is the direct consequence of the decision to release lockdown at the start of December (many areas into tier 2 like London) and announce the 5 day free for all - with disastrous consequences.

x2boys · 04/02/2021 12:18

So nothing to do with people not taking responsibility for their own actions than User? What do you think the Government could have done about people who just refuse to follow the rules and Guidelines ,you only have to read the countless threads on here from people who think they are to important to follow the rules their circumstances are far more important than anyone elses and it's not just here it's all over social media.
It was very obvious that Xmas mixing was not a good idea looking at the rates the people that mixed are also responsible for the unecessary deaths

fortyfifty · 04/02/2021 12:19

I agree OP. I certainly know people who got together with their relatives in the over 70s bracket because they were told they could. These are otherwise sensible people who weeks before that hadn't been seeing older relatives indoors due to the tier system or November lockdown not allowing it.

However, I think the spikes in cases on the charts show escalation weeks after Christmas and new year, so still likely that the many people working out of the home and having to use public transport have had more of an impact in cases spreading.

AethelsWhiteGoose · 04/02/2021 12:36

I think it was the lateness of the Boris Christmas u-turn. People didn’t want to change their plans.

Someone on here said at the time, ‘there’s no point seeing family in December just to bury them in January’. Really sad to see the current high death rate in the UK.

BarbaraofSeville · 04/02/2021 12:43

@Catwoman76

I have always said since before Xmas the Gvmt should have said to public everyone stay in their own houses for Christmas. I truly believe we would see as high of deaths/infections. We can all celebrate when this is over.

That's pretty much what they did say. There was lots of messages from the government about avoiding contact, trying to do it as safe as possible (meet outdoors, have windows open, social distance etc) and there was the big scale back from 5 days to 1 day and reduced mixing, but they could have said what they liked and it would have had little effect on many as they were so determind to do Christmas their way.

It was pretty obvious what was going to happen, as I said on this thread in mid November, when we knew we were coming out of lockdown in early December, but well before all the new variant stuff was widely known about.

*Shops open again 3rd December.

Pubs and restaurants open a week or two later.

Schools closed for 3-4 weeks between mid Dec and early Jan.

Restrictions eased completely from Christmas Eve to NY Day with the warning be careful. Everyone spends the entire Christmas period as if covid doesn't exist.

Huge spike in cases early January, back to full lockdown and sad face stories in the tabloids in late January about families with multiple bereavements because they had mass gatherings at Christmas because they were allowed to*

Bythemillpond · 04/02/2021 12:57

Boris Should Have said at Christmas- Everyone stay in their own house

I thought he had.

It wasn’t passed as a law as people were determined to flout it but the inference was to not risk mixing with family and friends outside your own household

Lollipop1234 · 04/02/2021 13:32

@BarbaraofSeville

“ it would have had little effect on many as they were so determind to do Christmas their way”

Yes I think you’re right. I think some cancelled plans, but many wanted to do what they wanted because that’s what they always do. You only had to read some of the threads on here to see that.

The next thing will be summer holidays, or maybe even May half term. People will want to go abroad because they always do.

The government seem to try and appease people and open things up for every school holiday (summer, Christmas, half term) only for rates to increase afterwards and then more restrictions.

Doingitaloneandproud · 04/02/2021 14:53

He didn't force people to mix, he didn't advise them to mix, in fact they said the advice is don't mix. People chose to meet up anyway. They are responsible for their own actions, they don't need a government to ban them from mixing to know it isn't a good idea. Anyone could have seen it wasn't. The people you should be angry with about mixing at Christmas are the very people who did it. They aren't children, they can make their own minds up and by doing so take responsibility for their actions.

Lollipop1234 · 04/02/2021 15:36

@Doingitaloneandproud

He didn't force people to mix, he didn't advise them to mix, in fact they said the advice is don't mix. People chose to meet up anyway. They are responsible for their own actions, they don't need a government to ban them from mixing to know it isn't a good idea. Anyone could have seen it wasn't. The people you should be angry with about mixing at Christmas are the very people who did it. They aren't children, they can make their own minds up and by doing so take responsibility for their actions.

Well said