Why are we bothering?

I travelled to the Balearics recently - (with much lower infection rates than the UK now) - every passenger was temperature tested on arrival by nurses, full social distancing, masks etc. - on return to Gatwick - no temperature testing, half the forms weren't checked (although they would have been registered on the system) and many of the immigration staff were both unmasked and not behind screens. No gloves used when taking passports. (Most of the automatic readers were down!).

If the impoverished Spanish Government can get it right, how come we can't?

Oh, and mask wearing everywhere built-up - except when actually eating or drinking, or on beaches.

The culture of English exceptionalism is exactly that. It is the island mentality that has driven a lot of UK thinking over the centuries. One of two things will either happen this winter. Things will get so bad that government has to order a second full lockdown, or the public will take it upon themselves to shape how things evolve. We seem to have easily forgotten the days when 900 people were dying each day in hospital. That peak began with 1 then 2 then 10 etc daily death rates. We are now back up to 40 a day. And bear in mind, they are mostly people who became ill weeks ago.

What frustrates me is that we, the public, can do a lot to mitigate risk while keeping the economy open. But it is the actions of those that ignore even the simple request of wearing a mask on public transport that are reducing the chances of avoiding that second full lockdown. There are very few medical conditions that truly make a person exempt from wearing a mask. The vast majority of those who are not doing so, are doing it out of choice. If we won't oblige, then we can not be surprised when government makes laws ordering us to oblige. And no amount of defiant protesting in Trafalgar Square, led by cranks, is going to change that.

Does English exceptionalism also encompass complaining on forums unlikely to be seen by the offender about actions/non-actions after the event instead of there and then? I?d say yes. Even reporting it to the offender a day or so later would help.

To whom would I report the failure to test for temperature (or have any method of doing so) or for the lack of wearing or using PPE by government officials? There are simple things that the authorities could be doing to help the anti-Covid-19 cause. It seems easier to restrict individuals then to engage your own employees in 'doing the right thing'.

If you want people to take Covid-10 seriously, you need to start by doing so yourself, in deeds, not words. I knew that the Spanish authorities were serious about Covid from the second I got off the plane - from the second I got of the plane in Gatwick it seemed clear that the paid officials couldn't give a toss, and that there was no attempt to check on the health of those arriving. Obviously not everyone who has Covid 10 has a temperature (and some who do have a temperature don't have Covid-19) but it would be a start and a marker that it's important.

My point, posting here, is that we should be expecting more from the authorities, in terms of what they do, not what they say. After all, they want to judge us in terms of what we do.

Nigello Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I was replying to the OP.

> 🤷‍♂️

lol - customs/immigration is not the place to complain although UK might be better than US where you'll be straight in the little room :)

" Why are we bothering? " Indeed.

I visited my GP's premises last week for an appointment to get my flu jab. The receptionist at the door had her face mask on below her nose. Before I let her get anywhere close to me to take my temperature I insisted she pull up her mask and over her nose. She complied while moaning "I can't breath with it".

I reckon we are all doomed - so many people are either ignorant or really don't care.

George Orwell Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> " Why are we bothering? " Indeed.

>

> I visited my GP's premises last week for an

> appointment to get my flu jab. The receptionist at

> the door had her face mask on below her nose.

> Before I let her get anywhere close to me to take

> my temperature I insisted she pull up her mask and

> over her nose. She complied while moaning "I can't

> breath with it".

>

> I reckon we are all doomed - so many people are

> either ignorant or really don't care.

My dentist (The Gardens) was very careful - waited in the garden, checked my temperature before coming in, everyone had masks on properly as did I.

The guy in the garden after me had no mask on - didn't wait to see if they refused him, provided him one or he actually had one hidden - could be intimidating for the receptionist if he refused.