Will you go shopping on the high street now?

[pharmaT]

The people who flocked to the beaches over the last couple of days should be ashamed of themselves, not only the rubbish they left behind  but sitting shoulder to shoulder with people they didn't know in most cases and who knows who is a carrier, get them back to work ASAP in my opinion

Louisa Maud

Because at best they don't care if we sicken and die at worst they actually want us to.

[LizzieL]

What I don't understand is why so many people, most of whom seemed to be of working age (or their children) according to pictures I have seen, were on the beach on a weekday in what would ordinarily have been school term time. I know only limited numbers of year groups should be back at school now, but what about home schooling - I suspect many parents haven't bothered at all and just expect their teachers to ensure they catch up whenever schools return to near normality.
And are all the parents on furlough, "working from home" or sadly been made redundant. It was estimated 1/2 a million visitors came to Dorset including Bournemouth yesterday. That's just over 0.9% of the population of England (pop based on 53,107,169 as per 2011 census).
This half million extra people flooding in is more than the total population of Dorset which was 426,516 in 2018 (latest figure I have found). Is it any wonder that the infrastructure cannot cope and the local council had to declare a major incident yesterday.
With all the people on the beach, I expect it was relatively safe to go shopping in the Lansdowne, Square or Christchurch road (to get back to topic)!

[pharmaT]

What I don't understand is why so many people, most of whom seemed to be of working age (or their children) according to pictures I have seen, were on the beach on a weekday in what would ordinarily have been school term time. I know only limited numbers of year groups should be back at school now, but what about home schooling - I suspect many parents haven't bothered at all and just expect their teachers to ensure they catch up whenever schools return to near normality.
And are all the parents on furlough, "working from home" or sadly been made redundant. It was estimated 1/2 a million visitors came to Dorset including Bournemouth yesterday. That's just over 0.9% of the population of England (pop based on 53,107,169 as per 2011 census).
This half million extra people flooding in is more than the total population of Dorset which was 426,516 in 2018 (latest figure I have found). Is it any wonder that the infrastructure cannot cope and the local council had to declare a major incident yesterday.
With all the people on the beach, I expect it was relatively safe to go shopping in the Lansdowne, Square or Christchurch road (to get back to topic)!

I personally finished up for annual leave on Wednesday night, I've been working all lockdown.  That being said I have absolutely no intention of going to the beach or shopping (other than for bread, milk etc).

[louisa maud]

All of this is beginning to depress me to be honest, I get a daily paper, pages and pages of these idiots on the beach and the riots again, if there is another outbreak it won't be their fault will it?, blame it on to someone else, like the Govt.

I feel I have been fairly upbeat about all of this even though my husband was ill to start with but not so now, can't even go on holiday, seems to me the over 70's in the main have been doing what they were asked to do and still doing it, it is the younger generation who are spoiling it .

Louisa Maud

[pharmaT]

I'm only 42.  I have been to work because I have to.  I have been to the supermarket for food because I am not entitled to priority delivery  I ahve planned it carefully to try and ensure that I do it as infrequently as possible.  I wear a mask and use hand sanitiser when I do go shopping.  I have been in my garden.  I did try and go a walk a few times but people wouldn't respect social distancing so I gave up on that.  I haven't had any visitors, my younger daughter as been to keyworker childcare because she is too young to be left alone meaning I had no choice.  I haven't visited anyone, only one night I walked down to my mum's and waved through the window, no physical contact.  I did speak to a neighbour yesterday but I was standing in my drive and she was across the other side of the road.  So I think I have pretty much kept to the rules.

[Nick_Ips]

I don't understand why the UK borders weren't closed to ALL travelers, back in March.

Because:-
a) Many of the people still travelling were people returning 'home'.  Closing your borders and preventing your own citizens (and people who have made their home here) repatriating themselves would have been unthinkable.

As it was, there were people who had chosen to go and live in a different country who were bitterly complaining that the UK Government wasn't providing repatriation flights free of charge. I don't remember very many media headlines supporting the Government's stance, and cannot imagine any of them would have supported the Government in saying 'Keep out'.

b) The virus was already widespread in the UK population. It was already far too late to close the borders to keep the virus out. At that point, having a handful of additional cases arriving in the UK from elsewhere makes no difference - especially if they are people arriving from a place where the infection rate is lower.

I don't understand why emergency legislation wasn't passed to make it an offence not to follow isolation rules.
And followed by arrests, fines and, when necessary, goal terms.

It was.

But the issue was, and will always be, how do you enforce the rules without making the situation worse?

There were people demanding that prisoners be released to prevent them all dying in prison - in that situation how do you go about rounding up rulebreakers and throwing them in gaol?  What happens when the first elderly person you've flung in gaol for breaking the rules then dies from CV-19?

Hardline enforcement of the rules would have lead to protest and possibly riot - the very opposite outcome to the one you wanted.

ALL of the above happened on the Isle of Man
Result: the island has eradicated Covid-19.

The Isle of Man is very fortunate in terms of geography, demographics and economics. Ditto some other places such as the Channel Islands.

There are many people in mainland UK who dearly wish we were more like you in that regard.

In mainland UK these people are typically called Xenophobes, Racists, Bigots, Gammons, Thick, etc etc.

And what worked for the Isle of Man wouldn't have worked for mainland UK.

[louisa maud]

Pharma, I know you have been working, lots had to and still abided by the rules as you have, it is the idiots who flock in droves to the beaches and riot and mix more that the allotted space that worries , I admire anyone who had to work to keep things going, lots had no choice possibly like yourself

Take care


Louisa Maud

[pharmaT]

Pharma, I know you have been working, lots had to and still abided by the rules as you have, it is the idiots who flock in droves to the beaches and riot and mix more that the allotted space that worries , I admire anyone who had to work to keep things going, lots had no choice possibly like yourself

Take care


Louisa Maud

Well I did have a choice.  I could either keep going to work or not go and get the sack for gross misconduct so would not have had any help, that would mean eviction once the protection lifts, no food on the table and full bankruptcy so not much of a choice at all really.

[Jed59]

Part of the problem was the 3000 Milan fans who were allowed  to watch their team play  Liverpool...   though they weren't allowed to watch their team play at home because Milan was at the epicentre of the initial outbreak in Lombardy . Also, the Cheltenham Gold Cup was allowed to go ahead .. was it 60,000  people went from all over the country.
then of course we had the Cummings "Don't do as I do. do as I say"   saga.
it occurred to me that  perhaps  Bournemouth Council could  have a word with  one or two local farmers..  suggest  driving a tanker  of silage along the row of parked cars... pity about convertibles,  cars with open windows  but hey ho... it would wash off, but in the meantime the journey home would be   nice!...