Etheltbags1 I think things are going to get a lot trickier☹. It was an interesting few days in the news with speculation about shielders having to return to work. The over 50s versus the younger generation being told to isolate. People eating out to help out. There are concerns about schools opening and the effectiveness or even possibility of bubbles and social distancing. There are people flocking towards anywhere they can have a holiday. Meanwhile there are local lockdown and reports of areas of high infection. There are reports of groups needing testing in hospitals, fast food venues closing due to staff infection. There were questions as to whether pubs would shut in order for schools to open safely.
Quick glance at papers this morning and it appears nothing will change. Pubs will remain open. Childeren will return to school as it stands despite the concerns raised and it is unlikely anything will change re masks etc. I actually read in that the Government has said the economy is the priority. The only likely changes are likely to be who we as individuals meet with in our homes and gardens as this is said to be the primary source of transmission. The testing of staff and residents has stopped for at least a month.
I think everyone should have a little think about this.
Indoors seems to be a massive source of infection unless very stringent cleaning and social distancing are practised. From your own experience and reading around in news and also on gransnet it's easy to see how varied this is. On gransnet there are examples of hairdressers,pubs,shops of excellent and bad practices. It's the same with family / friendship bubbles and interactions. Gransnet itself has countless examples of those that have followed the guidelines stringently and those that think its stuff and nonsense,sadly with the latter sometimes deriding the former. In the middle are lots of people just trying to do the best both for themselves and their families.
I would imagine there are few people on gransnet who dont know someone who is vulnerable to the virus whether due to age,health or situation such as living in residential care. The name of this site alone implies a vested interest in childeren.
We assume that a government will put the wellbeing of the people who elected them top of their priorities.
Other than using the slogan Put Economy First officially I dont know what it will take to wake people up.
We live in a society that is very divided, increasingly so over the past decade. There are those who are financially stable,own homes,gardens. Live in nice areas where there are resources from local shops and pubs where the chances are rules are being followed. I'm lucky I'm one of them!
There is of course the other side. Those who struggle with inadequate housing,jobs,opportunity. Those who are I'll,poor,badly educated, reliant on food banks etc. Of course it's all their own fault,they are feckless,lazy,living the life of riley on benefits.
There is a nugget of truth,there is a tiny portion who did and still try to live off the system. They are the minority, a tiny minority. The majority of people who access benefits are in genuine ill health/,disabled or working.
We need to look very closely at what information we are given and how we use it. Currently Covid is more virulent in Midlands/north. A lot of associations have been made about the actions of a particular group and how they socialize and practice their religion. I'm not saying this hasn't happened but its important to look at and be aware how a group can be vilified on the actions of a small part of it. Perhaps the best example of how we need to be wary was a study by a Scottish university in early 1980s called Bad News. It looked at the news content covering the Winter of Discontent. It examined bias in news reports on all channels,and results were startling. One that stuck in my mind was that the BBC showed footage of effect of bin mens strike with piles of rotting rubbish overrun by rats. Horrific. Also not even in the UK,it was filmed in Germany but the implication was it was England. I think we all are aware that different newspapers have different political leanings. Keep it in mind.
So what's my point?
I have found myself in a rather strange position. I am well educated from a Russell Group University, worked for local government and Citizens Advice. Then I decided I wanted a job where I could just work with people rather than manage them. I found a part time job in a care home (private sector) working with residents with dementia on a 1.1 basis. Loved it. Then the pandemic hit. I am also high risk due to diabetes and other issues.
I have been in the position to see first hand how government policy is inequitable and how callously those that are vulnerable or work in frontline jobs with few rights are treated.
In mid March the government put on its website that certain groups including those in receipt of flu jab would have to isolate for 12 weeks. Those who work in government departments were sent to work from home on full pay. That particular advice was later taken down and replaced with stringent guidelines about not mixing with others etc. Since the end of March I have received no pay from my employer. There were tasks I could do from home such as supporting training etc. They refused. They also blanked requests for individual risk assessments and alternative roles in the building.i have to use to buses to get there and back. The home has lost a third of its residents to covid and has had several internal lockdown since. To travel there and work in a poorly ventilated building where Covid is present would put me in real danger of getting the virus. I am still in the process of fighting my case. I dont want their money or to go back,but I fear for the staff who have no choice.
That's where the inequality lies,a different job and my risk would not be questioned. There is no real protection in government guidelines. The rules on social distancing are now incredibly flexible. It's all about assessing your own risk and the onus is on the employee to prove the work environment is not Covid safe which can only be done by being in it.
Always bear in mind that shielding was more about protecting the NHS than the individual. That's been accomplished and shielders are on their own unless they have sympathetic employers or savings to live off.
Why have tests been stopped in care homes? Hand on heart I can say that ring of protection did not exist. Fortunately there is proof and evidence coming through. Although not a work for the worst outbreak I remember in the almost panic I felt before it was widely known, I know its dramatic but for me it was tantamount to murder. Its worldwide. I grieve for the twenty very lovely people I knew.
I am also on a diabetes forum. There are lots of concerns,especially amongst anyone in teaching profession. How can it be sane for pubs to be given more support than our schools?
The economy rules do not doubt that for a minute. Those of you that are privileged and can keep yourselves safe please take time to think of those who are not as lucky,the frontline workers in shops, leisure, social care,bus drivers they are working and doing their best with limited protection. Anyone you know who is vulnerable be worried, including childeren.
The government I think are relying very heavily on new tests that can give results in 90minutes. Hopefully it's more world beating than the rest?. Of course that doesnt stop people getting the virus,although if is widely used could contain it. Regardless a lot of very vulnerable people are being set adrift. I do hope I'm wrong but I fear more of them will die unnecessarily. My eldest grandson starts big school in September. My daughter has been very mindful of the risks. The general feeling has been that childeren are not at great risk. News reports are coming through from summer camps in USA where problem with infection. No one has died but its early days in terms of knowledge about how this virus affects us. Oh well,eat out to help out and all that!
