Morning.
So the pilot schemes for all this Orwellian nonsense are focusing on football matches now.
" Government sources have suggested the certificates could be used by businesses as a way to relax social distancing measures inside venues. An interim report into the measure is due to be published on Monday but local residents near Wembley have already been invited to apply for tickets to attend the FA Cup semi-final on 18 April between Leicester and Southampton.
Brent council said each attender had to return a negative lateral flow Covid-19 test 24 hours before attending the game and show proof to gain entry. They will also need to take a PCR home test after the event.
Speaking on a visit to Middlesbrough, Johnson said a certificate could be used to prove a person was safe in a number of different ways – not just vaccination. He suggested businesses would welcome the idea.
“When it comes to trying to make sure that we give maximum confidence to business and to customers here in the UK, there are three things: your immunity, whether you’ve had it before, so you’ve got natural antibodies anyway; whether you’ve been vaccinated; and then, of course, whether you’ve had a test. And so those three things working together will, I think, be useful,” he said."
Pubs and football - the two things that go hand in hand and have the maximum number of guinea pigs available to test compliance.
And the references to "other businesses" - does this mean that eventually places like supermarkets will have to get involved?
I don't normally go near the phrase "Wake up sheeple" but it's very tempting right now.
If we want the cookies we just have to do as we're told.
I'm actually feeling really really uneasy about all this, particularly the way it's been handled - it's gone from "Oh, it's just an idea we're kicking about" to "we have the technology and it's going to be used in April" in 10 days! And it's so clever! The way they're doing it - introduce the idea, play ping pong with it for a while to get a bit of a handle on public opinion, while giving the impression it's all in its infancy, all the while doing a consultation and leading to a big announcement on Easter Monday!
Consultation my arse - these plans have been in place for a looong time - we've been primed for the last year, brainwashed into thinking Covid = automatically killing grannies and the vulnerable (which I know it does and am happy to observe basic sensible rules - hands, face space etc because those things genuinely do reduce the spread) Now the numbers are going down across the board and we're being let out - but the conditions attached are the gateway to the biggest drive towards complete surveillance we have seen since 9/11.
We're not scared enough of terrorism now, so this is a legitimate stick to beat us with.
And so much of it makes no sense! Social distancing and masks I can pretty much accept - that's the space bit - fair enough. But what they're saying is that can be eased in these big venues if you engage with an app, have tests, and have a vaccine.
As time goes on will we all have to have a test every day just to go about our legitimate business?
It is gas-lighting - yesterday they brought out that piece that suggested less than 25% of people were testing or isolating with symptoms, and in the same article a bit further down it said that other polls showed overall compliance had increased - so which is it?
I'm in the die hard group now where I would rather forgo the pub experience thank you! It'll be a rigmarole to organise, there will be disturbances when people are denied access because something doesn't go their way, and under the updated guidelines I've seen going to the pub is going to be a rather joyless experience and it will be hell for the employees who are now cast in the role of policing it all.
I've just discussed this with my 26 y/o DS,who is, like me is "alternative". He brought up some good points.
Festivals. DS was caught up in the Boomtown fiasco a few years ago when they introduced their electronic / QR code entry systems. He was in the queue for nearly 9 hours with thousands of other people - because the tech didn't work consistently, with no access to water and no toilets. If football matches are going to be subject to checking tests, are festivals also? Boomtown has had a previous capacity of nearly 80000 - I can't find a reliable answer on Google as to how many tickets were available this year, but it is sold out apparently. It is being touted as a smaller festival, but with things placed closer together now, so more potential density and how the heck do you encourage social distancing at a weekend long party? Are they now going to have to make entry conditional on getting tests in advance?
Thinking further, if this volume of people are all trying to get a test in the 24 hours before a big event, do we have the testing infrastructure and capacity to provide that? I mean there's a growth industry in the disaster capitalism model right there.Will working in the test and track and trace industry be touted as the solution to unemployment issues?
And then there is our towns massive airshow - while I accept that last year despite our town's population doubling leading to a major incident being declared, there seemed to be little evidence of a spike in local infections, I can't see how they can countenance an event on this scale not being subject to similar restrictions as other big events, if keeping the virus at bay now depends on all this.
And the technology - do we have the infrastructure to cope with surges of people all trying to do things via apps / online at once?
Never mind the principles involved in all this, in a world where already if computer says no, it can take an age to sort out errors, I can't believe that suddenly everything is going to be tickety boo. And there are holes in the mobile phone networks - what happens if there's a sudden outage and even though you have your smartphone proof, you can't access it because you can't get online?
There is so much to consider here, so much and all before June 21st.
And we're so giddy with relief at the easing of lockdown restrictions, we will rationalise and comply.
I've never felt quite so over a barrel in my life.