The lockdown is definitely crumbling around here
The entire country's forbidden from leaving their homes without "reasonable excuse". It's the most sweeping and draconian curb on individual liberty in centuries, going far further than anything imposed in the world wars.
That's not a fair characterisation of the charge levelled against the system re infection in hospitals and transfer of the virus to care homes. Specifically, the charge is that people infected with the virus have been knowingly transferred from hospital to previously virus-free care homes.
I'm judging it by its own merits, not relative to Hubei. And to emphasize again, I support it. Indeed, given the circumstances, I'd force myself to support something even more draconian, at least on a regional basis. Given the scale of the outbreak in the capital, the best policy would've probably been the suspension of the Tube and more severe lockdowns in specific London boroughs.
Is this really true? It’s more advice than orders. People are still able to go pretty much wherever they want
Exactly. I'm acutely aware of just how much people's experiences vary, depending on their dwellings and financial situation: I've been the phone to friends in the country who're doing fine, have access to open spaces, and are busy; and others cooped up in tiny flats in a fraught job situation who're suffering greatly.
That's not what I've said at all.
It's a statutory instrument, backed up by fines and power of arrest. People have already been convicted in extremely dubious circumstances (in one case, using a Welsh reg. in an English court! -- despite the plea, was thankfully quashed on urgent appeal).
Next time you consider insulting another poster on these coronavirus threads, maybe have a bit of a think and give your posts a bit of an edit. Your posting style makes you look like a bit of a twat.
Or in other words you can leave your house for any reasonable excuse. Considerably less strict than China or other European countries and while social distancing was not necessary in the world wars, blackouts were far more rigorously enforced. It just sounds like you're personally very put out by being kept in. Which is fine, a lot of us are. But it's not 'mass house arrest'. I'm going out for food and urgent plumbing supplies this afternoon and there's a nice big park between me and Screwfix. I'm not going to feel guilty about going the prettier (and probably quieter) way. No one's checking. The rest of the time I'm staying in and keeping my kids in because I want an end to this with as few deaths as possible.
Characterizing it as "house arrest" is tied to the nature of the restrictions, with an expectation that you stay at home being the legal default, and the onus being placed on anyone outside to prove they're justified. "Reasonable excuse" flips the usual burden of proof. I wouldn't characterize, say, Germany's regs in the same way, as their public health purpose is much clearer.
Not about me. I've had lingering Covid symptoms for over a month (telephone diagnosis only), haven't been tested to get the all clear, so have been under literal home confinement, mostly confinement to a single room to avoid infecting anyone else. I'm fine.
Covid-19 and Post-viral Fatigue Syndrome by Dr Charles Shepherd | 30 April 2020 : ME Association
Post-viral fatigue is being reported following Covid-19 infection. We explain the issue and offer best management guidance.www.meassociation.org.uk
Ok, but where I am, there’s no sign of any cops let alone enforcement, so it doesn’t feel like we’re living in a draconian state yet
Yup, by all accounts it's a postcode lottery. Thanks to patchy enforcement that appears to be (mostly) sensible, we're not in a Draconian state, but the letter of the law itself is sever, and allows for disproportionate and arbitrary prosecutons. They're thankfully few, but it's not a sustainable solution in the medium-, let alone long-term.
I say this in the spirit of your final sentence: I just think sending people home is 'less-less bad' than you suggest. It's not just the rate of infection in care homes, which is now rampant, it's the impact on the wider care in those homes. As an example, my Mum (in a care home, Parkinson's and dementia) had a fall and appears to have broken her hip. The home contacted me in the expectation she would be going in for an x-ray and even told me the likely ward she would end up in for surgery in North Manchester. They were then stopped from sending her by 111 along the lines that 'she'd be more in danger if she went into hospital'. Now that might be the right decision in terms of defending the NHS and might even be the right decision for her. I'm not having a go, there are no easy solutions. But there she is, in a home with 4 cases of the virus, on paracetamol with no GP access. Fwiw, the staff are very good and are doing their best with reasonable staffing levels. But a lot of care home residents won't even have that.
