Time for a Full Lockdown Now ?
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Posts
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Having access to the localised area data is fascinating. Whilst some areas have gone up in Wrexham, other areas remain low and infection rates are going down.
The Penycae and Minera area where I am located shows it’s the second lowest area in the county only after Chirk and the Ceiriog and the infection rates have gone down since Christmas.
It is probably the case that these are 2 of the more rural and remote areas and explains that it’s harder for community transmission to stick (there’s bugger all to do here).
But from a point of view of infection control in the situation you’d love to know exactly what was going right in Area X that had lower rates of infection and apply those lessons to Area Y that had higher infection.
No one who sees Dr Stanaway’s interview , outside the Maelor Hospital, last night can doubt how serious the covid situation is and the effect it is having on the staff. The exhaustion and desperation was etched on his face. If the NHS is not to be overwhelmed we need to double down and do everything we can to stop the spread.
Wrexview, if I double down any more than now I might as well stay in bed. We are probably preaching to the converted.
The Welsh government is tightening up on social distancing in supermarkets this should have been done months ago. While they are doing that why not make it the law to wear a mask / face covering when out in public. The new mutant covid virus is very easily transmitted , mandatory mask wearing would be an added level of protection. Many of the countries that have the lowest transmission rates make their inhabitants wear a mask at all times in public.
The problem with the enforcement at the moment is the police are being jobsworths and creating ill will with the public. So instead of cracking down on house parties they are bullying people for sitting on park benches or driving a couple of miles from home to go for a walk on their own or with other household members.
So as you can imagine any firm and hard law about wearing face masks outdoors, you’ll get the dog walker in the middle of a field on their own being fined for not wearing a mask when they’ve not even gone within 20m of another human being until plod turns up. Yet they will be too scared to tread on Tesco’s toes or people kicking off and go in and enforce it in a supermarket car park where it probably would make sense to wear a mask outside (a crowded public area).
The supermarkets I’ve been in are being incredibly light touch on regulations so as to not p*ss customers off. So, in Tesco Cefn they advise you to go in as a single shopper but it is not adhered to as people go in with as many people as have come with them.
Likewise, it states on the shelf you cannot buy non essential goods, yet you can literally buy anything you like as nothing is cordoned off and you can scan and shop anything. They’ve taken the interpretation that if you view something as essential to you then you can buy it.
Home Bargains on the other hand have gone Gung ho and decided that winter duvets and blankets and pyjamas are not essential items.
Seeing as this lockdown is probably going to last 6 weeks at least it’s best that customers can buy the goods they need from shops rather than making life harder than it already is.
Don’t get me wrong, if we continue to not be able to get the numbers down, something will have to be done but it’s seemingly impossible to get people to lockdown like they did last March.
What is the point in introducing laws to prevent people from buying ‘non-essential’ goods in a multi-merchandise setting such as a supermarket? What constitutes an item as being ‘non-essential’ and who determines it? What harm is it for someone to purchase a ‘non-essential’ item in the supermarket? Does it impact on the spread of the virus in any way? The official line is that it would be unfair to allow supermarkets to sell items when other shops have been required to close. But if a store can’t offer the requisite level of protection then it has to close. If you need an item because the one you had is no longer serviceable, then it is essential to you, or you wouldn’t have worn out the one you had in the first place. You cannot pass on the responsibility to police this onto the supermarket check-out staff to determine what’s ‘exceptional circumstances’ in determining whether someone may purchase a non-essential item or not – they have a hard enough task as it is. It is unenforceable and a completely unnecessary restriction placed on people’s already difficult lives during a protracted period of lockdown. Is anyone going to form a disruptive queue to buy new winter PJs or a replacement kettle just because they can? Some of these measures brought into legislation are just plain daft, and you have to ask why are they there? We’re introducing silly 40mph restrictions on random short stretches of road for ‘environmental’ reasons, but encouraging everyone to arrange for a big van to bring any item to the front door that we fear might fall foul of the spurious definition of the naughty, sorry, ‘non-essential’ list.
People have to go to stores to buy provisions, there isn’t the retail infrastructure to deliver to everyone. I agree with the notion to remind stores to tighten up their practices and restrict numbers such as the use of ‘traffic light’ entry system, to fully endorse social distancing, one-way routing, screens, wearing of masks as a condition of entry (unless exempted on medical grounds or age), provide hand sanitisation stations etc. The Council should be playing a much bigger role through the introduction of a small but conspicuous pro-active Covid monitoring team, working alongside the police in visiting open retail outlets to ensure public safety compliance. They have the authority to issue ‘Premises Improvement Notices’ or ‘Premises Closure Notices’ where appropriate, for open display to gain public confidence. They could issue a dedicated Covid telephone number for people to report any concerns to, to make shoppers feel more in control, and keep retailers on their toes. They could re-train and re-deploy traffic parking enforcement officers to begin with, we hardly need them during a lockdown.
And then the regulations say that you can’t meet-up with a friend outdoors to exercise. Why? Surely exercise needs to be encouraged, on both physical and mental health grounds. Some people are not comfortable walking around alone. It’s far safer outdoors with social distancing than anywhere else.
The trouble with introducing too many regulations and rules that are just nonsensical is that no-one takes any notice of them, people will look for a way to work around them, they become confusing and people will lose respect for other related regulations, which are both sensible and necessary.
Paradoxically, having called for a reduction of pointless regulations, with the current rate of increases of new cases across Wales, I believe that masks should now be worn at all times outside of the home or vehicle (many people do anyway) as well as inside public premises. Yes, masks are a pain, especially for those of us who wear glasses. But extra measures are needed. And we’re not outdoors for long anyway. Make it become the new social-norm to bring cases down, and it will largely police itself as it is so conspicuous. It will be more likely that people will comply with rules if they can see that they are both relevant and measured. Lockdown is fast becoming a way of life, we need to re-visit the rules around them. Putting on a mask will become as natural as putting on a coat. It can be relaxed when and if the numbers come down. There will always be some who will refuse to wear one, of course there will. Anyone witnessing this needs to simply ignore them, give them a wide berth for safety, and carry on with your own business to avoid potential unwanted hassle or confrontation.
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