I’m a day late with the blogging this week because it’s taken me a little while to process the weekends news. I wanted to take the time to write a meaningful post, rather than an angry rant.
Just in case you’ve been living under a rock since yesterday evening, or you’ve turned off the news for your own mental wellbeing, here’s an update: the government announced yesterday that one and a half million people would be told not to leave their homes as part of shielding measures, introduced to protect those most vulnerable to COVID-19. Today, it’s been revealed that such extreme measures were introduced partly because so many people across the country had seemingly ignored government guidelines on social distancing.
The list of people being advised to shield themselves from the pandemic is made up of those with respiratory conditions and those with past or present health conditions that cause weakened immune systems. It was confirmed by my doctors this morning that I am on that list, so for the next twelve weeks I will not leave the house. I will spend as much of my time as possible away from my parents, who I’m currently living with, and the only human interaction I’ll have outside of my mum and dad will be by phone, text or video call. My parents are also isolating themselves as much as possible. My mum is working from home and my dad is only leaving the house to go to work, where he only works with a few other people, and to get supplies.
Now that I’ve got you all up to date on the state affairs right now, here are some pleas:
Unless it’s absolutely essential, please stay at home.
If you can make adjustments to your job to enable you to work from home, please do so.
If you do have to go out, please keep your distance from other people. Someone stood right behind my dad in the supermarket queue today and as a consequence of that I can’t go anywhere near him for the next seven days in case he develops symptoms. Not an easy feat when I live in the same house as him.
I know that the government have said that for the vast majority of the population there is not a severe threat due to COVID-19 but that’s not the point. The point is that for the minority there is a severe threat. For the one and a half million minority that I am a part of COVID-19 doesn’t mean two weeks off work and a cough, it means dying.
This is a real chance for the whole country to be superheroes and save the lives of people like me. All you need to do is stay at home, so please, please, please do so.
26 Miles from Brain Injury 