Easing the lockdown

[Diable Rouge]

Didn't see that particular example but have seen the tweets and Facebook posts along the same lines, including those which warn that Cumbria is - per capita - one of the areas hit hardest by the virus. On that point I don't think Cumbria is particularly rife with it - there are three main clusters around Carlisle, Kendal and Barrow and these may be a combination of an early case in each of Carlisle and Barrow, and the fact that these are locations of hospitals - but it is always going to be a potent mix if we start getting thousands of people travelling in an out of the area each weekend.

Nearly 1% of all Barrovians have contracted Covid-19.

[Gangster Octopus]

A much more intelligent discussion than the "I need a haircut" crowd

Heh, I just bumped (with social distancing) into my barber, and he looked at me and said that if I wanted, he'd cut my hair any time...

[sw2borshch]

I was shocked to see how much grey there is at the back of mine earlier today. Plus I have got a DA.

[E10 Rifle]

I'm more anxious than I've been at any point since lockdown began; this isn't properly under control, the testing, tracing and PPE requirements for a lockdown-ease haven't remotely been met; the lockdown wasn't firm enough in the first place (plenty of people - frequently the most poorly paid and badly treated - have been going to work from the off); the guidance is even more unclear. We're gonna be anywhere near on top of this for months, from what I can see.

And I'm also bloody angry, at - whether their confusion and vagueness is deliberate or not - the callous incompetence of our government.

[jwdd27]

There's going to be a lot of people travelling long distances to their favourite spot, finding it too full of other people doing exactly what they wanted to do, and then posting to social media "look at these covidiots".

[elguapo4]

Mc Donalds have announced that their 6 drive in restaurants in Dublin are to re open next week, may as well queue up now.

[pebblethefish]

There's going to be a lot of people travelling long distances to their favourite spot, finding it too full of other people doing exactly what they wanted to do, and then posting to social media "look at these covidiots".

Covidiots is going to give Bremoaners a serious run for its money in the "Annoying made-up terms" World Cup

[Balderdasha]

Spoke to three different mums in the park today (all at a distance). Their attitudes to easing lockdown are:

Mum A, has 4 children including twins in year 1, one older and one toddler. She will send the twins back to school at the earliest possible date and just won't go near any old people after that.

Mum B, has 2 children, one in year 1 and one toddler. She'll send schoolboy back. She works in Tesco who are providing her with masks and gloves but it's optional to wear them. She doesn't wear them and just washes her hands as often as possible instead. She thinks PPE gives a false sense of security.

Mum C, has older children who can't go back yet. She was a childminder but that's all stopped currently. Husband is a London bus driver so they're very on edge and don't want to take any more risks than necessary.

[E10 Rifle]

Not confident about sending our four-year-old back to the nursery he leaves the following month anyway in June. Even if he sorely misses, and needs, the company

[Amor de Cosmos]

Therefore, what needs to happen is for governments (or whatever the competent authority is) to give clear, sensible guidelines for how to stay relatively safe once quarantine ends. What you don't want is a free-for-all where people don't know what is sensible and what's not.

Even when that's done (as is the case here in BC) you'll still get people who'll hear what they want to hear. And when they start visiting their grand-kids, then others will see them and begin doing the same. If the stats turn nasty again then restrictions will have to be reintroduced. Maybe then everyone will get-it. Or not. We're hard-wired to push the envelope it seems, never mind whether it's blatantly idiotic or not.

[San Bernardhinault]

Even when that's done (as is the case here in BC) you'll still get people who'll hear what they want to hear. And when they start visiting their grand-kids, then others will see them and begin doing the same. If the stats turn nasty again then restrictions will have to be reintroduced. Maybe then everyone will get-it. Or not. We're hard-wired to push the envelope it seems, never mind whether it's blatantly idiotic or not.

Yeah.

I'm increasingly of the opinion that there needs to be a public information campaign alongside the advice on how to behave sensibly as lockdown eases, along the lines of:

Don't Be That Arsehole!

We know that you think you're indestructible and will be fine if you get Covid. That's fine. We wouldn't care if you just harmed yourself.

But don't be the arsehole.

Don't be the arsehole that has to make that embarrassed phone call all his friends and tell them you might have infected them.

Don't be the arsehole that forces your doctor's office, or favourite take-out restaurant, or grocery store, or hairdresser, to shut because you might have infected all the staff

Don't be the arsehole that has to try and find everyone he's been in contact with in the last two weeks and stop their lives for two weeks.

Don't be the arsehole that might have killed his friend's grandparents

Behave sensibly, and don't get Covid in preventable situations, so that you aren't that arsehole.

[Gangster Octopus]

Apparently our cleaner's coming tomorrow. I'm not sure how that's going to work.

[Sits]

A much more intelligent discussion than the "I need a haircut" crowd

Two or three weeks ago, on a management Zoom call, I noticed a male colleague had had a haircut. I asked if his wife had done it. “No, we’re allowed to go for haircuts” he replied. His wife is six months pregnant.

[Erskine Bridges]

Your cleaner's what is coming? Boyfriend? Mother? Infection? (Sorry, I'm channelling the apostrophe police).

Is this your place of work or your house? I personally wouldn't let someone like that (a stranger/someone who has potential contacts with infection/someone who might rake through my banking details) into my house in current circumstances. Or any circumstances, frankly because I don't think I'll ever be able to have a cleaner. But, Boris is encouraging us to 'get back to work' if you can't work from home and you really cannot clean other people's houses from home so maybe that is a silly attitude. And anti-cleaner.

[Gangster Octopus]

I must admit that I'm not wildly keen. Apparently we'll stay upstairs whilst she does the downstairs, and then swap over.

My theory is that she needs the money.

[Bored Of Education]

It's been an information roller coaster at work (although, obviously, we aren't actually at work). First, the proposed phased return after half-term of years Reception, 1 and 6 had us scatching or heads as, even though I and my cohort teach older, they are at primary level as far as work is concerned. Also, our Year 6 kids aren't taking SATs (nor do any of our kids). Then a missive came in this morning that the paper yesterday detailed that special schools should be looking phase kids in after June 1st regardless of year groups but dependent on risk assessment. I assume this is (a) because they know are classes are a third of the size and (b) a lot of children won't come in either down to risk assessment or due to their anxiety. A quick ring around the parents finds that a third haven't made up their mind, a third definitely will send their kids in (oddly, some of the ones I thought would want theirs to stay at home) and a third definitely want theirs to stay at home (again, oddly, some who I would've thought would have wanted theirs in). I did like the Mum that just said "Yes." straight away with no qualms. Lockdown fever setting in there, I think. It will be interesting to see what the numbers throw up. One major issue is that all our children are taxied in so, unless the no-shows work out, it will be interesting to see how they keep them socially distanced in a taxi.

[San Bernardhinault]

Our cleaner has kept coming every other week through the pandemic. We were torn, but left it up to her to decide whether she wanted to continue working or not. I've been paying extra each visit, and stay well out of her way. But I'm still not sure if it's been the right thing to do.

[E10 Rifle]

Andrew Adonis: the absolute fucking state of (pt 94)

[Erskine Bridges]

I think paying your cleaners is what they want and need. My daughter is a dog walker, many of her clients are still paying her even though she isn't walking them. They are good people.

[S. aureus]

I think paying your cleaners is what they want and need. My daughter is a dog walker, many of her clients are still paying her even though she isn't walking them. They are good people.

This.
There's no way I'd let the cleaners in the house right now, or for the foreseeable future.

[Amor de Cosmos]

This.
There's no way I'd let the cleaners in the house right now, or for the foreseeable future.

Same here. Our cleaner phoned the other day, just to see how we were doing. There was no discussion about when she'd return either suggested or offered.

[Etienne]

We're probably going to face a dilemma with our cleaner. Obviously it's not safe for her to come. We have been paying half her wages, which is the most we could persuade her to accept, but now the government is telling her that she can safely come (the twats), I think she will want to. It's not her main income but I'm sure she could do with the money. So somehow we are going to have to persuade her to stay away on full pay.

[Simon G]

Mum A, has 4 children including twins in year 1, one older and one toddler. She will send the twins back to school at the earliest possible date and just won't go near any old people after that.

As someone who has been stuck in a house with 2 year old twin boys since the start of this lockdown - I fully understand where Mum A is coming from.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Andrew Adonis: the absolute fucking state of (pt 94)

Why does this man hate teachers so much?

[Sporting]

We do our own cleaning. Or rather she does, most of it. I do the cooking, though.