Coronavirus streets in Manchester - XV

Cannot trust this dishonest government

On the matter of this Coronavirus pandemic, I had tuned out of the perfidious and the dishonest lying spectacle of Boris Johnson and his cabinet. Their message, direction, advice, instruction and guidance has been incoherent, ambiguous, misleading, ineffective, untruthful, distracting, lacking in conviction and in the main dishonest.

They have assumed the responsibility for nothing whilst seeking to blame others for their rank incompetence. In the same vein, I stopped watching television news, the rolling 24-hour spiel that is full of commentary but useless opinions and the false quest for balance.

Listening without the propaganda

There are respected epidemiologists who are neither in the pay of the government nor out for fame, they speak their minds with professional clout and clear messages. There is no propaganda to push and listening to them helps whatever arrangements I make for my safety.

Overnight, through muddled messages on the radio, I learnt that Greater Manchester had been put under COVID-19 local restrictions. Obviously, I thought it was the environs around the city where there have been waves of infections with the City of Manchester mostly intact.

Affected areas in North West England under new local restrictions.

We are restricted to a point

However, going to the government website, which is as navigable as to be forgettable, my city is included in the mix of places with significantly higher rates of infection that appears to be affecting more young people and affluent groups. [GOV.UK: Guidance - North West of England: local restrictions – what you can and cannot do]

For those with a vibrant social circle, the restrictions would put a stop to their socialising, making it illegal outside of their support bubble and households. Reviewing my own situation, not much changes, I have not created a support bubble, I haven’t neither been visiting nor socialising, attending places of worship is still allowed as long as they are COVID-19 aware and secure. I believe our village community gym with a booking system limited to residents of my village will still be open. I’ll be fine.

This pandemic is haunting and inconvenient, but for all the limitations on our liberties, staying alive is paramount and that requires being smart, sensible and taking no stupid risks. Manchester, we can do this.

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