Many of us are familiar, perhaps too familiar with the Covid-19 pandemic that's in much of the World and while the accompanying restrictions do vary depending where we live but the basic principals are the same: keep your distance while interacting with others, wear a face covering in shared often indoor settings like shops and keep strict hygiene with your hands including visiting a shop.
After an increase in the infection rate otherwise known as "The R number", many of us in England (the different parts of the UK such as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own rules) found ourselves put in areas with greater restrictions following the relaxations from around Fall.
One problem has been the discovery of not one but two variant strains that are more adapted to increase the rate of transmission and following a short-lived change as of today we're being told in effect to stay at home followed by a series of permitted exemptions and breaching them will break civil law so you may be fined and ultimately sent to prison if you don't pay up.
Nothing in this is remotely perfect take for instance the substantial closure of schools open only for "Key Workers" like people in the health service so parents can still work while children are looked after or children who would be more at risk of parental abuse without someone keeping an eye on them.
For all others "Online learning" is meant to be offered of which the quality of teaching varied hugely and over a third last time were not able to learn due lack of equipment, internet connections or a suitable space to learn without detractions apart from how adults told to work from home are supposed to do that AND supervise children at once?
The other thing with these restrictions concern being out of doors as we've been told we "should" only go out to exercise for no more than an hour once a day which doesn't include walking the dog and say powerwalking or cycling.
For many of us being out of house, away from the constant messaging, mentioned endlessly on tv and radio being able switch of is vital not least if like me you have anxiety issues rooted in childhood incidents and abuse and yet it's to be rationed in a crude way.
Of course trying avoid busy spots and times matters to cut person to person potential contact down but if you can't shop by yourself why should you be restricted to being out once when a person that can (and people in shops don't always follow the rules like being only two inches away waiting at the tills with no mask on!) can be out to shop and out to exercise on the same day?
Are we not capable of making sensible decisions?
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