Covid-19

[Ruby]

You can't meet with people outside your household anywhere inside.

You can meet up to six people from multiple different households outside as long as it's public i.e. a park, beer garden etc.

There can be more than 6 people if you are only from 2 households and outside.

A lot of people don't understand. It's not surprising really. You have never been allowed to have more than two households meeting inside, but I don't really think this was completely clear.

[Dáire]

A group can be 6 people from 6 households, if desired. If you have two households of 7 people each, they can meet, as it's still two households.

The beer garden, or any business-type garden, is considered safer as they'll be distancing the tables. (this doesn't correlate with newspaper pictures of people standing up in the same face-to-face huddled groups, though, which is the sort of 'domestic garden' behaviour they're trying to discourage. Not everyone's sitting across a nice big table.)

I'd rather have two large families give it to each other, though, than have 6 individuals carry it home to 6 households.

[Ruby]

Beena, I would go and keep distant in the garden. I mean it's against the rules but it's not like you will all be rubbing up against one another at a barbecue.

[Mountain Goat]

I would go too Beena. The risk outside is low and this sounds like a situation that warrants it.

The rules really are incredibly badly written.

[Princess Morripov]

I would go too. It’s not really in the same remit as trying to sneak off to an illegal rave is it

[Bat Macdui]

A lot of people don't understand. It's not surprising really. You have never been allowed to have more than two households meeting inside, but I don't really think this was completely clear.

A sizeable part of my job is reading government guidance and summarising it for people and it took me ages to work out what they fuck they meant. God helps the rest of everyone.

[Beena]

They live in sheltered accommodation. So not a care home, but lots of twitching curtains and bored indignation. I'm happy to brazen it out and leave £100 to pay the fine, but it's not me living with the neighbours. I'll speak to my dad, I think.

This morning we were barrelled into a hedge by a tight pack of 20-odd MAMILs cycling down the even tighter lanes, all sweat and spit and misguided testosterone. Why can't people just behave their bloody selves?

[Figaro]

Does the sheltered accommodation have a garden? How is it accessed, do you have to go past a reception area? During lockdown here they had a warden sat at the door to most of our local sheltered housing and were turning away visitors who were not healthcare professionals in full PPE, but I don't know if that was something that was just initiated by our council or whether they were doing the same everywhere.

[Ruby]

This is somewhat off topic, but I have a theory that the reason why the Pennines are a Corona hotspot is because it has pissed down for weeks and therefore people have been meeting indoors. When I went to see my siblings in the dry & flat East, we were outside for 90% of the time. That just has not been possible here.

[ParisGal]

How did they get those spikes back down again before PG?

I don't know... I can't see how it could be any targeted action.

[Princess Morripov]

Can you just put on a nurses outfit, Beena?

I bet that’s the case, Woo. Otherwise I can’t understand why there hasn’t been more spikes in other more built up areas (like London).

[Topcat]

So there is now talk of closing pubs etc (good, I think), but so that schools can open?

[Figaro]

Seems like a good idea.

[Ella77]

It makes sense to me. What am I missing?

[Topcat]

If pubs are that dangerous then what makes schools so safe?

It doesn't make any sense to me. At the moment I have a choice and choose not to go to pubs etc. Forcing me to send a child into school (bearing in mind that shielding only ended yesterday) is opening up new lines of risk, unless I'm missing something.

[Disco]

Well, they're not saying they're safe - although they do keep saying that children don't spread it very much which I don't believe - they're saying children's education is suffering so they need to get back to school and that it's a balancing act/ tipping point of infection and they'd rather kids are educated than people drink in pubs. Transmission will still occur.

[emma_p]

Um, because there are more benefits to opening schools?

[Topcat]

But the pubs are down to individual choice (as much as I disagree with them remaining open if infections continue to rise), there doesn't seem to be a choice here other than risking the infection of our children.

Maybe I'm just further behind everybody else because I've been locked away, but it doesn't seem right to me.

[Disco]

We've just got to get on with it now. Adapt, stick to the rules and basically hope for the best. That's what they want us to do.

[Ella77]

Well, they're not saying they're safe - although they do keep saying that children don't spread it very much which I don't believe - they're saying children's education is suffering so they need to get back to school and that it's a balancing act/ tipping point of infection and they'd rather kids are educated than people drink in pubs. Transmission will still occur.

And almost more importantly than the effect this has had on children is the absolute fucking number that has been done on women (mothers). And yes, some men, but mostly women.