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Will the Staying Alert send out mixed messages

(146 Posts)
12Michael Sun 10-May-20 11:39:56

Using Staying Alert in England , where Scotland and Wales and maybe NI will still use Stay Home.
To me Stay Alert means being on the ALERT to all things.
The slogan could also be misread like all Government gobbledegook .
If Stay Home was redone as Stay at Home, but also state what that means , As we are aware we need to shop and exercise as part of are daily routine .
But how many will misread it all.
Mick

Baggs Sun 10-May-20 20:39:46

We seem to agree on several points, maddyone, such as the need to compare like with like and that world wide travel has probably caused the virus to spread quicker than it might have otherwise.

I don't think the virus can be suppressed or defeated completely. I think we're going to have to learn to live with it. Roll on vaccination and, if it's possible, herd immunity.

SirChenjin Sun 10-May-20 20:56:08

I imagine that the message will become very clear again once the figures start to spike again in England. I’m very glad that I live in one of the three parts of the UK which is exercising caution with a very clear and unambiguous message.

Grammaretto Sun 10-May-20 20:57:38

I agree with Urmston. This country was not ready for a pandemic and it was warned.
All I heard today was a lot more incoherent waffle from Boris. Alert?
I am always alert. How patronising. Are we supposed to recognise the virus and be alert to it?
At least Nicola realises that mistakes have been made and we in Scotland will need to isolate for a lot longer.
Boris said "we" have saved 500,000 lives by keeping to the lockdown.
There has been a terrible death toll and it isn't over yet.
People coming off planes have not been quarantined.
We aren't going to be back to "normal" any time soon.

lemongrove Sun 10-May-20 21:05:20

.....and nor are we here in England either Grammaretto

lemongrove Sun 10-May-20 21:07:29

There was no ‘incoherent waffle’ from Johnson tonight, it was a clear message of how we will be proceeding.
Fine detail in 50 pages to be discussed in Parliament tomorrow for those who enjoy crossing every t.

Furret Sun 10-May-20 21:14:31

MiniMoon I once saw this slogan/graffiti painted on a railway bridge.,

Be Alert! Britain needs lerts.’

Your grandson sounds lovely.

GabriellaG54 Sun 10-May-20 21:14:39

Anyone with a basic understanding of English language will be able to follow the simple rules set out today.

Certain workers can carry on as they were and/or return to work.

If you can go to work, you must go to work.

If you have been working at home and your employer says you can carry on in that manner, then you do but if requested to return to the workplace, you must.

Keep your distance (like the 2 second rule in driving)

Exercise and drive to exercise freely but only with members of your own household.

Wash wash wash your hands, frequently.

That's all for now folks. ?
Watch out for the next series on BBC where members of the public will be able to question BJ.
Whether they get any believable answers, is a moot point.

Alexa Sun 10-May-20 21:18:47

Stay alert is inexplicit . What one should be alerted too is not specified. The meaning is "do what you think best and if the infection rate increases it will be your fault not mine" .

Furret Sun 10-May-20 21:19:43

There was waffle at the beginning and waffle at the end. At least if you count him repeating stuff we hear everyday ad nausium at the daily briefing. It was a waffle sandwich. The bit in the middle was reasonably informative but couched in very simple language to get the simple message over to simple minds. Likewise the pleasantly pictorial simple illustrations.

He knew his audience and what would please them, but more importantly, what was necessary to help them understand. Simple.

SirChenjin Sun 10-May-20 21:24:40

The meaning is "do what you think best and if the infection rate increases it will be your fault not mine

Exactly this.

Furret Sun 10-May-20 21:28:13

Or perhaps SirChenjin - this doesn’t mean the epidemic is easing, but now there is room for you in ICU!

SirChenjin Sun 10-May-20 21:31:53

Yay! Every cloud and all that...!

vegansrock Sun 10-May-20 21:34:04

So everyone who can’t work from home can go to work tomorrow but not on public transport. Clear as mud. Can my hairdresser cut my hair outside whilst wearing ppe? We can make car journeys but how far? Load of piffle.

SirChenjin Sun 10-May-20 22:13:57

Yes - but only if you can work 2m apart (although no guidance on how employers can do that or if employees can refuse to return and keep their jobs if employers can’t guarantee the distancing) and only if your employer is in the same country. So, if you live in England but work in Wales, Scotland or N Ireland then you can’t return.

This Govt is always light on detail and heavy on the soundbites and buck passing - this latest nonsense from Bozza is only to be expected.

notanan2 Sun 10-May-20 22:31:21

People need to start using their judgement and being adults again. We cant be micromanaged forever. Those complaining about mixed messages just dont want to go back to thinking for themselves IMO

SirChenjin Sun 10-May-20 22:34:34

Yeah, that’ll be it hmm

JenniferEccles Sun 10-May-20 23:04:22

You have got a point notanan2

It all started with apparent confusion over Boris’s’stay alert’ message !

Isn’t it perfectly obvious what he means by it?

Daisymae Sun 10-May-20 23:16:13

It's hardly a question of thinking for yourself but interpretation of laws enforced by the police. There's also health and safety legislation and new Covid specific rules that employers need to understand and apply. Public transport usage will increase from tomorrow, who knows what that will mean for social distancing guidelines. This is a difficult time, with serious implications.

maddyone Sun 10-May-20 23:20:53

Baggs yes, I think we do agree on many points.

SirCenjin like you, I think there probably will be a spike.

I agree with notanan2 in that we do need to think for ourselves, and in fact I’ve seen many posts across various threads, from Gransnetters who have stated that they will be continuing to isolate themselves for a while longer.

I don’t think we’ll be going to the hairdresser yet vegansrock because shops are still not allowed to open, other than food/ essential shops. You and I may very well think hairdressing shops are essential, but clearly they are not considered to be so by government.

Overall I didn’t find the message confusing. People should continue to work from home wherever possible. If a person cannot work from home they can go back to work, on Wednesday of this week, but social distancing must be continued. Shops may not open yet. Schools will probably open for YearR, Year 1, and Year 6, but not before June. We can go out for exercise more than once a day, and can travel to wherever we want to exercise ( I don’t take that to mean a day out at the seaside but Covididiots probably will)

maddyone Sun 10-May-20 23:23:54

Going back to work is conditional, only if you can’t work from home!

notanan2 Sun 10-May-20 23:55:17

It's hardly a question of thinking for yourself but interpretation of laws enforced by the police
No actually its clarified it a lot for yhe police. Fewer circumstances are finable, but those fines will be larger. Much more enforcable.

notanan2 Sun 10-May-20 23:57:36

Its not everyone back to work. That was quite clear.

The businesses that opted to close are now encouraged to get people back to work, if not from home then at work IF distancing is practicable.

The workplaces ordered to close remain closed. Like cinemas, music venues etc.

Its not a big change really. Its just a push for the ones who were never ordered to close but did anyway to get their staff back on the payroll.

notanan2 Mon 11-May-20 00:01:56

In DHs field due to the different ways people in his profession work, some HAD to close. And now still have to remain closed.

Others didnt have to but chose to. Like B&Q did initially.

Now if the latter put distancing in place (again, like b&q did) they are being encouraged to get people bavk to work if they cant do it from home (again, like b&q).

These places could have stayed open all along. These are the places told to get back to it, and presumably the gov wont bank roll you//your staff if youre not in the "must close" category

Fiachna50 Mon 11-May-20 00:10:04

I just hope everyone is going to be ok. There was no clear message. How do people returning to work get to work if they have no car or bike and it's too far to walk? Car share? Really?What do parents do with their children, if both parents have to return to work? It's a shambles. I know many won't agree but I was disappointed in the PM. Guidance is as clear as mud.

MayBee70 Mon 11-May-20 00:21:16

I've just mentioned on another thread that someone local to me is asking which nurseries are open as she now has to return to work and has a small child.