PANIC!

I really wanted to write something positive today.  I've started this blog so many times.  I've changed the title and gone around in circles trying to find something nice, or funny to say but it's impossible.  

Last night, before Strictly, the Prime Minister came onto the TV, late, as usual (so little respect) to tell us that the promised Christmas mixing he said it would be inhumane to cancel had now been cancelled.  He put the whole of London, Hertfordshire and most of Essex into a new higher tier.  Tier 4 means that non essential shops, hairdressers and indoor sports facilities must close.  You also are not allowed to travel between a tier 4 and a lower tiered area, which is interesting for people living in Grange Road, Kelvedon because there is a small section that isn't controlled by Colchester borough council and therefore in tier 4, while the neighbours are in tier 2. Christmas day mixing can continue but only for the places not in tier 4.  Support bubbles can continue but only for the elderly (I think I might have misheard that one) and none of us are allowed to celebrate my dog’s birthday on the 31st of January (I didn’t mishear that). Chris Whitty, rudely, told everyone to unpack their bags. 

Only three days before they had put London and most of Essex into the top tier (3) and told everyone it was safe to go and buy the big turkey. They already knew that the virus was spreading more rapidly than they'd like, that the new strain had earned itself a gold star by being very effective at spreading through humans and that was why they thought tier 3 would do it.  I can't be the only person that thinks 3 days isn't long enough to see if it worked.  

This feels like government by panic, which is the scariest thing.  

The panic spread.  People left London in droves, trains were packed, retail park shopping centres gridlocked, hairdressers stayed open until midnight.  

Everything this government does makes it worse.

The numbers are scary. Basildon's case rate went from 514 (per 100000) to 865 in a week.   This virus is not (and I would argue never has been) under control.  We left the first lockdown while there were still a lot of cases out there.  By allowing to the virus to keep spreading through people we gave it the chance to change.  

The tiered approach doesn't seem to work.  The restrictions that Leicester has been living with since 30th of June has made little to no difference to the spread of the virus.  Leicester Mercury published a helpful timeline of events, which starts on June 1st, when schools reopened for year one and six.  Everyone knows that it's a school spread virus but it's politically damaging to have children out of school.  

Yesterday was a difficult day.  Although nothing has changed for me, it was thinking about all the people who will now be struggling that caused me grief.  My empathy chip kicked in and I just felt sad and angry,  I'm in the suddenly enviable position of having two dead parents, children already at home (one buying a house and the other at Uni, so tested before he came back) and a sister who lives alone.  My Christmas will be the same.  I've nearly finished my Christmas shopping and only have two things to buy, which were going to come from a pet shop and garden centre, which as we all know are essential shops.

Today will be better.  As people come to terms with the announcement and work out how much of the law they are prepared to break they will feel sad that they ate all of the Christmas chocolates last night or be red around the eyes from the tears they shed over the winner of Strictly or be nursing a sore head from cracking open the sloe gin. They will start to make jokes about how many tiers there can be and develop new plans because even though our government is panic stricken, we can be better.