Boris touching a baby's hand

[Lottle]

Just watching the 10 o clock news. Boris was being interviewed. He was playing with a baby at some school/community centre sort of thing. He stroked the baby's hand. How is that ok?! Anyone else see this?

1. He forgot in the moment, as we've all done.

1. He's such an arse he enjoys public displays of breaking rules that are for the plebs.

1. It was a bat signal that he's under the control of an evil cabal and we should all throw off our shackles.

I'm leaning towards one myself.

@TokyoSushi

Not RTFT but you could see that he quickly realised that he shouldn't really have done it and pulled back.

He has a baby, it's probably fairly natural to him, in normal times it would have been a nice thing to do.

I'm no Boris fan girl but give the man a break, it was a natural reaction.

Admittedly I’ve not seen the footage so I was just been going on the description from the OP which said he was “playing with a baby and touching it’s hand”

If it was a socially distanced photo OP and he had a momentary lapse I can’t get too worked up, though I bet the same aides who try to control his use of coffee cups were screaming!

@Lottle it's up to you if you let your parents see you mr son - my mum has been in my bubble and helped with looking after him while I work. You can have them in your bubble for childcare if you have found it tough?

OP a lot of people love Boris here and think he's just doing his best. Also a lot of people think they're above social distancing and like to shout that those who try to keep to it are paranoid lockdown lovers etc. So you were on to a bit of a loser with this one.

But FWIW I think you're right and the arrogant prick shouldn't have touched the baby.

Amazingly I've managed to not touch any babies accidentally despite seeing lots of them. He is an inconsiderate, self serving twat.

TBF the risk is actually from babies or children passing it on to adults, not the other way round. Hence stay away from granny.

Wouldn't bother me.

He's had covid and his first vaccine dose, he's pretty safe.
Such young children are half as likely to catch covid, half as likely to spread it.
Glad he's not a robot.

@Lottle

He's been enforcing social distancing. Not allowing grandparents to touch their own grandchildren. Yet it's ok for him to do that?

I totally agree with you

It's not about the very minimal risk, it's about him (yet again) not following the guidelines, which makes other people feel they don't need to either and that ends up with people in far more risky situations. He's such a bloody idiot.

@MissMarks

At least it shows he has some level of kindness and interest in babies.

Plus social distancing rules don’t apply in nursery’s/ crèches if you read the government guidance.

I can't get worked up about it but I think it just shows a good PR opportunity.

How do Nursery staff manage 🤔 do they use tongs?

Probably a moment of just acting with instinct how many of you have been out and then realised that shit im not 2 m away from someone, or reached to grab something.
Far bigger things to worry about than this

To be honest I think the whole idea of the PM visiting a nursery while we are still in lockdown is ill-judged.

Thousands of parents have had to leave their crying children at the nursery door without ever being able to go inside to help them settle in.

Thousands have had to make primary school choices without ever being able to set foot in the schools they are choosing.

But it’s OK for the PM (and presumably however many aides, camera operators etc needed to accompany him) to hang out with kids in a nursery for no good reason other than some media-friendly footage.

Myalternate, that’s priceless! Thanks for giving me a laugh this morning, it conjured up a hilarious mental picture.
On the more serious point of the thread, Boris has a) already had Covid,

b) been vaccinated,
c) would have hand sanitised, and
d) was wearing a mask, before briefly touching the baby’s hand. The risk to the baby is non existent. OP, there are surely far more important things to focus your anger on, such as anti vaxxers, mass gatherings, mask dodgers....

OP I agree with you.

You can’t tell people to stay 2m away from everyone and not hug family and then touch people on TV.
Watching the royals do their “we love the NHS” annoyed the fuck out of me. Crappy basic fashion masks, often no masks sitting at tables less than 1m from staff and patients, travelling and the rest of us are stuck at home.

Remember boris the 2 weeks before he got covid walking around a covid ward with no fucking mask and saying he shook everyone’s hand? Arsehole.

@augustusglupe

It made us laugh. Boris playing with baby, then baby touched Boris's hand, so then Boris put his hands out to pick up baby. Baby thought better of it, turned and crawled away

This! I loved it when Boris looked like Boris was about to pick up the baby and the baby immediately turned their back and scuttled off.

@babdoc you reckon he actually sanitised his hands and then didn’t touch anything else before the baby?
You can get covid a second or third time. Some people are on their third infection.
You can get covid post vaccination.
You can absolutely pass it on via touch, magic forcefield of vaccination doesn’t work.

I think the actual risk posed to Boris or baby is negligible, it what it looks like - it’s what the PR folk call optics. To me the whole visit is bad optics.

HedgeOwl, transmission of Covid by contact with skin or fomites (touched objects like door handles) is minimal - the main route of transmission is airborne via infected aerosol. This wasn’t understood early in the pandemic, as it was assumed transmission would be identical to that of colds and flu.
Indications are that the first dose of Covid vaccination acts more like a full course second shot in patients who have previously been significantly ill with actual Covid - as of course Boris has been, requiring ITU admission.
Hand sanitiser is more than adequate for killing virus particles on skin.
I do think people need to get a sense of perspective, rather than indulging in Boris bashing on very flimsy grounds. And I speak as a retired doctor!

Boris and the elite don’t have to follow the rules. Just the general public.

So if Boris shook hands with Covid patients now it would be ok?
Cases in the community are low so the probability of him having it and transmitting are low but I thought the advice was to act like we had the virus and social distance etc

If I was the mother of a baby I wouldn't want to use hand sanitiser and with babies hands in mouth is highly likely so I'd rather he touched the head or shoulder of my baby tbh.

@Myalternate

How do Nursery staff manage 🤔 do they use tongs?

Well obviously nursery staff are different because they work there. That’s why SD isn’t required within that bubble.

WTF was he doing there in the first place would be a better question.

@Myalternate

How do Nursery staff manage 🤔 do they use tongs?

Bloody hell, would have given anything for a pair of tongs when mine was tiny and had the galloping shits.

Never thought this would divide opinion so much, tbh!

For those explaining the minimal covid risk, my point was that he was breaking his own rules on TV. But the rest of you are quite right - why on earth should I be surprised!

@Remmy123 Thank you for your suggestions. His grandparents live a few hours a way so it is a tricky one.

I'm no fan of our PM - quite the opposite - but I think it's hard to stand near to a baby and not give it a little stroke or pat!

Our neighbours had a new baby a few months ago. I passed on them on the pavement when the baby was a few weeks old. They were heading off for a walk and the baby was in a baby carrier. We stopped to chat and I said congratulations etc, and then reached out and gave the baby's foot a little squeeze. I realised immediately that I probably shouldn't have done it, backed up and apologised.

But my point is that it's almost instinctive and very hard to remember not to do it. Though I love babies and I suspect BJ doesn't have any interest in them.

It’s not the infection risk, it’s the insensitivity of it. I had my first baby in lockdown and barely anyone has met my baby, let alone touched. It’s a joke and underscores one rule for the rich and another for the plebs.

They’re his rules ffs.