Here’s a test for you...

The government has issued advice. Large amounts of people are not adhering to it. Various organisations such as the National Trust are having to renege on decisions because people can't be sensible. What do you therefore propose they do about it?

 

I doubt that there's a single person in the country to whom that description applies.

 

I think the problem is that people will go to wide open spaces, it's just that millions had the same idea, hopefully now the problem has been highlighted things will calm down.

 

Yep, and other places such as local reservoirs, seaside towns, Snowdon etc. have been totally overrun too.

 

I dont think there is any harm in questioning the proposed emergency legislation given how much it is going to impact on everyone. The problem is that there are so many selfish cretins out there that refuse to follow to the advice that has been given. Its because of these people that the medical experts advising the government will likely advise them that further measures need to be taken. If not, the disease will continue to spread and the rate of infections and deaths will increase with it.

Unfortunately we are no longer fearing the unknown. We are well aware that the virus spreads extremely quickly and easily and can lead to serious respiratory problems resulting in death. We know that our hospitals and nhs can only take so much and that hospitals in London are already starting to fill up. We know that the rate of infection is growing and deaths are increasing. We know the virus can harm everyone, (an 18 year old died yesterday) and that the more we ignore advice the quicker it spreads.

As others have said, the people who need to wake up are those who are ignoring the advice and think they are immune or that it wont effect them. My wife is a doctor and has seen firsthand what the virus can do. We all need to pull together and follow whatever advice we are given by the medical experts for however long it takes. Its obvious that the Op fully understands this but I'm afraid there are too many that dont.

 

I'm not so certain they will if I'm honest. We live in a selfish country full of thick ***** who will do what they like until they're not allowed to.

Will be interesting to see what the likes of Scarborough etc looks like today. We shall see.

 

We can only hope.

 

It's not a few thousand though, is it?

Major drop-offs across the world in car usage, but not in the UK.

 

Are you on drugs?

 

Top post - you know what - you've changed my mind.

 

Would be good to hear from you what you propose instead, as asked earlier. Genuinely curious, not having a go.

 

The first step is fear. I think we can can all agree that this has been firmly established.

The second step is blame. We're well on our way. It's the faceless "selfish b. @stards". The people who, judging from this thread, are going to shops to buy supplies and going to open spaces because everything is shut and it has been said that walking in the open air is a good way to stave off potential mental health problems.

We're frightened and we need protecting from these selfish b.@stards who are buying food for their family, maybe their extended family too, and their neighbours, and/or heading to open spaces to take the recommended exercise. And we need a totalitarian police state to protect us from them.

I will receive abuse for writing this.

 

Well you shouldn't receive abuse for writing that.

We have all mostly left the house to get supplies and had outdoor walks etc. that isn't the problem if it is done sensibly, i.e. keeping a safe distance. I am not looking out of my window and tutting at some bloke taking his child to the local park with a football. It is perfectly fine. It is when that park becomes rammed and people are not thinking, "oh, this is getting a bit silly now, I best leave." My friend posted a video of hundreds of people at Batley Tesco yesterday morning. They were packed in like sardines, queuing to get inside. One bloke was remonstrating with a guy in a hi-vis about why NHS workers should get in first. NHS workers were arguing with themselves in the queue as well, by all accounts.

I think it is totally the right thing to do to question our government on decisions that they make, but when other countries are doing the same and are of very different political ideologies, I just cannot buy into it being some sort of conspiracy theory to control the public in the future by the back door. The cost of this financially to them is astronomical, it makes no sense whatsoever.

 

I am not, as yet, claiming what you have taken from my post.

There are, however, some things worth thinking about. Companies like Amazon and delivery companies are hiring. Online sales, with people bored and stuck in their homes, are going through the roof. People who are required to make society work are still working and mixing, but will soon be required to isolate when their work is complete. The infrastructure is there to keep us locked up indefinitely: online ordering of everything, a delivery system that will be super efficient with non essential worker traffic off the road.

 

It is hard to know what you and the OP in particular truly believe unless you come outright and give your viewpoint rather than being cryptic, to be honest.

I disagree regarding the financial implications - there are millions of people who face uncertainty regarding their employment, I cannot see them spending unnecessarily on the likes of Amazon once the food buying subsides.

 

There is very little that the government is proposing in terms of powers in this new bill that are not already in the Civil Contingencies Act - these give wide-ranging powers to the executive in the event of an emergency. However, that has to be renewed by Parliament every 28 days. This new bill proposes two years. *That* is the problem with it.

 

You shouldn't receive abuse for writing that, its a perfectly valid point to make. Some people are buying food for their family and going for walks, there is no problem with that.

The issues arise when people buy more than they need. When they buy a freezer so that they can fill it with milk and meat. They do not need two freezers full of food or 50 toilet rolls and it may mean that others cant get what they need. We need to work together to get through this and its obvious some arnt doing hence the empty shelves.

Its also a problem when people arrange to meet family and friends whether they go out together or go to their house. We have been told that the more people you are in contact with the more likely you are to get the virus/pass it on. Going for walks with people you live with is fine but we are being told to keep 2 metres apart. People are blatantly ignoring this guidance because they want to see family/friends and they are choosing to do so to the potential detriment of everyone else. This is selfish behaviour.