COVID Crowds

Yesterday marked the hottest day we have seen in the UK in a while, and you would have seen the news about the floods of people rushing to the beaches to 'enjoy' the sunshine. Images that have surfaced of the beaches when everyone was there are incredible - thousands of people, jammed in together with no social distancing. As well as that, there have been reports of fights breaking out, a record number of parking tickets being issued (558 tickets!) and an astounding 33 tonnes of waste left on the sands.

In my opinion, and I'm sure you'll agree, this is unacceptable. Hundreds of thousands of people have died because of this virus, and these people are just throwing themselves out there with no caution. I feel that now, in the UK, lockdown is being eased, people are perhaps are feeling foolhardy and feeling themselves invincible or untouchable.

Take a look at the image above. Would anyone guess that just a few weeks ago, thousands of people were dying at the hands of a savage and cruel virus?

The situation is similar in places all over the UK, though, not just Bournemouth and other beaches. In Wales, for example, hundreds of young people were pictured fighting in a massive brawl. This fight was also declared a major incident and the emergency services were called in to help break it up. Emergency services have been called in to help break up large crowds across the UK and in their pursuit for peace, over 20 officers have been injured, as well as the other services being stretched completely and utterly to their maximum.

As CNN reported, illegal raves are becoming a trend in London and across England, but we need to stop them. These kinds of mass gatherings can severely impact our ability to stop this virus. What would be the point of the strenuous lockdown, if not to help prevent the virus from spreading and killing more than it already has? Diseases, like Spanish Flu, that affected the world before scientific evidence was fully developed have killed many more than COVID, and in order to avoid unnecessary casualties, we need to ensure that social distancing is maintained, that personal hygiene is maintained, and that we don't accept additional social gatherings, at least not yet. Until a vaccine is developed and we have a solid method of hindering the virus' growth, we cannot condone this.

The irresponsible acts of a few people may be enough to cause a second peak to occur. To quote the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, 'If we do not follow social distancing guidance then cases will rise again. Naturally, people will want to enjoy the sun but we need to do so in a way that is safe for all.' By going out, or meeting with large groups of people, we are needlessly exposing ourselves and others to the chance of getting the virus and thereby spreading it. I don't believe that COVID is gone. I don't believe this, purely because of the fact that around the world, cases are still booming and we cannot lose sight of this. In countries around the world like India or the USA, unfortunately, people are still dying. India has not even reached its peak but has got the fourth-highest number of cases in the world, and everyone knows how badly the US has been affected, with over 2 million cases and almost a quarter of the worldwide deaths.

So, please, I implore you. Do not. I repeat, do not go outside or meet up with more than 5 other people, at least until we have a suitable solution regarding how to protect people and prevent the unnecessary spread of COVID-19.

Thanks for reading,

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