Boris to discuss easing lockdown as he returns to No 10

[Oldham_1901]

I have to agree that a lot of the stuff that has now been 'agreed' by No. 10 is pretty irresponsible. This on top of some of the terrible decisions (or in most cases NO decisions) taken on other aspects of the situation.

You just have to sift through snippets of information here and there and base your decisions on that. Monday was an example of how it can all get out of hand, especially with Public Transport. Very little of the publicised information is reliable it seems.

I have 2 elderly parents on the Isle of Wight where the Government was in a big hurry to deploy this new marvellous "App" that's supposed to save us all..

Mum (87) has complex medical conditions and is in a care home where they have almost no PPE to speak of, and after all the Government blurb and bluster about testing, they received a total 10 test kits to cope with a complement of 50 people. The owners of the home seem not to have lifted a finger so far regarding PPE for the staff..pretty disgusting.

Dad (89) is stuck at home self isolating and extremely frustrated and angry. He phones Mum daily and attempts to use FaceTime too with the rest of the family, though he barely sees more than a blob for a face due to still waiting for his much delayed cataract operations. He also has medical problems and recently contracted Shingles most probably from the stress. How much longer he is going to have to wait is a mystery, especially after some of the announcements made on the news today.

I have to cringe at the nonsense being blurted out at the daily briefings...

Just another example of how the situation is actually affecting people on a daily basis.

[Denis_1610]

. . .
I too have reservations about about driving as far as you like and am surprised that this restriction has been relaxed.
. . .

I had my reservations but I was not expecting the furore about Dominic Cummings' sojourns in Co Durham. We have an ill-defined relaxation and someone puts his own interpretation on it. Someone significant in Government, who should know better, should set an example and should demonstrate solidarity with the Government.

He said he drove to Barnard Castle to test his eyesight. What a lot of baloney!

• If you think your eyesight is deficient, you should not be driving at all.
• You don't need to (illegally) drive 30 miles to test your sight for driving. You need simply to ensure that you can read a number plate at 20 metres.

This man must go. Boris needs to re-assert his former firmness in handling both this situation and future directions about relaxing the lockdown.

I too have relatives in the north of England, including one in a care home, whom I should like to visit. I am not prepared to take unnecessary risks; there are lives at stake here. I am sure readers of this forum think likewise.

[Undermyduvet]

I didn't really know what to make of the Cummings thing..Think the situation is further proof of how confusing/blurry some of the lockdown guidelines are.I don't remember anything about exceptions but I can't be certain about that because there's just so many questions when it comes to lockdown.

I guess I feel a bit sorry for him in a way as he's not a MP or public figure..he works behind the scenes and having to speak publically like that must have been scary.I do think though it would have been better if he'd taken some responsibilty for the decisions he made.The castle trip did seem a bit suspect.

[bowlingbun]

To say he had to drive 250 miles because he had an autistic child, and if they got ill he might have to "go into care" if they stayed in London really annoyed me!

[Ayjay]

I read an on-line article in one of the broadsheets about DC, written by someone who was at Uni with him - DC was never interested in following rules, he would just ignore them, and it seems he hasn't changed.

Don't feel sorry for him, he's trousering £2k every week just for having opinions.

[Undermyduvet]

He said during his statement that he was getting harrassed at his home before he went upcountry.I don't know if it true but if it is maybe the 2K isn't all glamour.

Can understand people being angry but it does feel a bit like some people have it in for Cummings.
I think the media should be focusing more on what happend with all the discharges to the care homes and this new Corona virus bill which is so worrying for many people.

[Denis_1610]

Since my earlier tirade over this matter, further news has come through. It seems that this was one of these stories that have been distorted by the media.

Durham Police investigated and decided that though DC may have broken guidelines he did not actually break the law by driving from London to Durham. The trip to Barnard Castle was described as a "minor breach". The story that this was to test his eyesight seems to be a selective truth by the media to sensationalise the story. Apparently he did this mainly to test his resilience to driving after being unwell.

Things now do not seem quite as bad as they did. Buy they are not good. DC should have set a good example. We hear his home was under threat - did he inform the police and follow their advice?

Perhaps it is now time to put this behind us and move on. But let us hope that lessons will be learnt. The Government needs to make clearer distinction between guidelines and law. Other government officials will hopefully learn from this man's folly.

At least we carers have plenty of common sense, as this forum proves.