Some of you will want to turn away from this blog Baggees, because it will be deemed by many to be controversial/ridiculous/out of order/naïve/irresponsible, or possibly just plain stupid, but it's Clever Bird's emerging view, so here goes. Clever Bird is beginning to think that the response to Covid-19 has been over the top! There, she's said it, and now Hormonal Hannah's anxiety is kicking in for being outspoken, but Creative Clara tries to be as honest as she can in these blogs and these thoughts are keeping her awake at night.
The initial news about this awful virus was literally terrifying! What's more it proved to be pretty accurate. It is a nasty, deadly virus, that seems to spread fast and appears to be one step ahead of the scientists who are trying to create a vaccine against it. Baggy is horrified by the number of deaths it's caused, and by how it seems to leave some people who've had it, with long-term issues. The lockdown in the United Kingdom (and many other countries) seemed to be effective at controlling its spread to a large degree, but what happens now? The UK not surprisingly, is now officially in a recession. Clever Bird thinks that in a few more months this will be declared as a depression, because businesses are still not able to function normally, or in some cases, at all. Local lockdowns are being re-imposed left, right and centre. Companies, large and small are going bust, and laying people off. Many people are still too scared to leave their homes. The economy is on the brink of collapse. And it would seem that Covid-19 is here to stay. It is also by no means a certainty that a suitable effective vaccine will ever be available. So what does happen now?
Social distancing (generally), hand washing and wearing masks all make perfect sense, and are fairly easy to do - or at least they should be; yet many people don't seem to want to bother. But with these "rules" in place, Clever Bird can't help but think that it's time to try to get the world back to a new normal - a more normal, normal than currently exists, because if it doesn't get back to normal fairly soon, unemployment is going to be a huge threat to many people's physical and mental health.
For instance, how exactly are clothes shops supposed to stay profitable if it's not possible to try anything on? And if you can take it home and try it on, then why can't you try it on in the shop? Or as Baggy discovered yesterday, if you would like a swimsuit, you not only can't try it on, if you buy it, you cannot return it - unless you buy it from the website, then (because it's the law!), you may return it. Stupid! Yet, no one is preventing people from picking up such items, before putting them back on the rails!
And how about the fact that soap and water is the best way to kill the virus, and yet many public toilets remain closed? Number one furry is driving an HGV around the country along with thousands of other professional drivers, keeping the country supplied with goods during one of the hottest weeks of the year. These drivers have to live in their little tin boxes all week, but do they have access to showers? Nope, not at present, because the ever-dwindling ones that are available at truck stops and services, are currently closed. Worse yet, truck stops can't make any money in the current restricted world, and are going bust, so there'll soon be even fewer places for drivers to rest and get washed.
One way systems in shops are just plain crackers in most cases - making people be in shops longer than is necessary; walk way further than necessary and pass more people than they needed to. Shops that have always allowed dogs to go into them suddenly won't allow dogs in (why?). And don't even start Clara on cafes and restaurants etc. But at least now it's hot and dry, and people can be outdoors - what happens in a few more weeks time when it's cold and wet and everyone is indoors where the virus spreads more easily? And they've also got colds and flu to contend with, and all the kids are back at school, and students are at college, and lots more people are commuting to work - will the country be locked down again when the inevitable happens? Maybe, just maybe, we need to be able to make decisions for ourselves once again; businesses should be allowed to decide for themselves what is and isn't acceptable - five people only in a shop, is pretty pointless when all five are queuing at the till together for instance.
If a vaccine isn't available, will there be any choice but to let people start to live their own lives again? The country can't keep being locked down can it? And if it can, and is, what will be left at the end of these lockdowns? Surely Clever Bird can't be the only one thinking that the current restrictions are too much? Where will it end? How will it end? Will it end?
Maybe nature is making its point...
Note to readers: For the avoidance of any doubt, every character in this blog is Baggy! No Baggy was harmed in its writing, although some of them can get pretty confused!
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