New rules mean that those under 18 or fully vaccinated will not need to isolate if in contact with someone with the virus – they will be ASKED to take a PCR test? Perhaps they could be asked not to infect anyone who might die or get seriously ill, and if they get very sick they are asked to remember that they are British or English, or maybe just Tory and keep quiet about it.
So a surge in infection seems certain! With little or nothing done by the government to mitigate it. Oh, but exams will go ahead as usual this academic year, with tweaks to compensate for lost learning. This is because radical change would take effort and intelligence, both of which are absent from DfE.
Cornwall and Devon are being affected in a big way. Tourists needed for their economy are bringing the virus with them, NewquayEast had 2728.8 cases per 100000 last week. Obviously there are questions about these figures – is this residents? If general public, who is being tested? Is it people who feel ill or ?? If it is anyone the figure can probably be halved or more.
Overall there are on average for the last week, a 100 deaths a day and 1000 admissions to hospital due to COVID – with at least half having been double jabbed.
So what should sensible members of the public do? Basically it would seem to be to pretend that we are under lockdown – socially distance (still happening round here on footpaths), mask wearing in shops and indoor places (and crowds outside (Boardmasters Festival was outside with over 10% getting infected). The builders who come in early rarely wear a mask – obviously because they are hard and have tattoos! But they are usually the only ones in the shop before 7am. It is not just men, loads of women are not masking up.
Is it complacency, weariness, government misinformation and example? Emigrate – if possible – to New Zealand would seem the best option.
Has the government put too much emphasis on the vaccine roll out? I agree that it has been amazing – but it is only one facet in the war against this virus. And before Johnson hurts himself with his rib thumping – Denmark has surpassed us with vaccine jabs. It is becoming obvious that the vaccine is not the total answer – the need for precautions will be with us for a long time? Maybe nightclubs are/were a brief but ephemeral event on our social history. Events such as Glastonbury and some nightclub venues have been expanding almost exponentially for a few years. Maybe we just need to calm down as a society and have smaller events. The media hype about ‘pop stars’ is ridiculous – and geared to record companies making huge profits on a limited number of acts.