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Yeah, coz it's all about tea lights, innit....?
That's an opinion and you're fully entitled to it. But the problem as I see it is the fact that the WAG thought this was a good idea in the first place. If they were genuinely competent and were following the scientific advice they were being given, the suggestion would have been kicked into the long grass during the first meeting in which it was proposed. They should instead have concentrated their efforts on clear and unequivocal messaging that once again underlined the basics and the importance of keeping social interaction with friends and family to as close to zero levels as possible during the period concerned.
The WAG have unwittingly created a sideshow by introducing a petty, pointless measure that, based on the scientific evidence they were given, was never likely to do anything other than cause irritation and confusion. It's a situation that was completely avoidable.
He means me. It looks like Im getting it in the neck by certain posters but I feel a lot of this is like the ' emperor's clothes', we've been frightened into accepting any rubbish that the government throw at us. Im glad Eric brought the summary of the technical paper to everyones attention.
My issue, well documented, was that Drakeford initially said that the non essential list was introduced to help defend the commercial interests of the shops that were instructed to close. This was outside the legitimate power of the Senedd, but he persisted for a while until this fact became obvious. Then the Senedd said it was for public health reasons, but it looks like its own technical committee, who's guidance Drakeford says he follows, confirmed that risks to the public in retail outlets are minimal.
Truth probably is that he introduced it solely as a commercial defence for closed shops, and when he found this was outside the remit of the Senedd he refused to let it go and changed tack to make it a public health issue
At last the public decided to act and around 70,000 made their objections clear through the Senedd petition, a huge response.
He was getting equal amounts of shit aimed at him when he followed the same path as Westminster though.
Posts like: "he can't make a decision for himself" and "it's win win for Drakeford, if it fails he can blame Boris" were commonplace on here.
I pointed out at the time it's hardly going to be win-win for Drakeford if that's the view that people were taking.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-54716981
Supermarket staff are being put at risk by having to "referee" what can be bought during Wales' coronavirus lockdown, the Welsh Retail Consortium has said.
I really can't see what the problem is. I understand that some people don't like being told what to do by the state or what choices they have, but there is a separation in being critical or constructive, emphatic etc and acting like a spoilt brat because you can't do what you like, it's quite obviously political and anti state. I just wish that some of the people who are attacking Drakeford, both personally and politically, but mostly personal, would express their real reasons over not being able to buy non essential goods.
To me, it comes across as a bit of a smoke screen. The reality seems that they'd just like to do what they want, or are sulking and looking for someone to target their frustrations at.
It's giving them a bigger excuse to kick off now (in my opinion) as it's not the Welsh Govt. denying them the right to buy a new toaster... it's Sharon's (who only works a zero hour contract and could do without putting up with more shit from the general public than she already has to).
Yes, I mentioned that I could see the logic of trying to play fair with smaller, independent stores a few days ago, but they seem to have moved the goalposts somewhat and, as a result they look weak and have given people who have been waiting to have a go at the WAG for weeks or maybe months the opportunity to do so.
The government introduces an ill-conceived, pointless, petty restriction that benefits nobody and deflects attention away from what is actually important at this point in time, and yet anyone who dares to object to this nonsense is labelled a moaner, a snowflake, a spoiled brat, etc.
It's incredible.
I don't think the WAG have moved the goalposts as such. I think the truth is they never put the goalposts properly in position to begin with. Apparently, the advice available to shop owners or managers on this subject was woolly at best and non-existent at worst, hence the subsequent mess. I think the reality is that it is something that was hastily introduced and very little logical thought was applied to it beforehand.
Meanwhile, it's just been announced that there's 37 deaths in Wales in the latest daily figures and 427 new cases in RCT alone;-
https://public.tableau.com/profile/p...eadlinesummary
The UK Government is coming under pressure to impose something akin to what we have in Wales according to today's Telegraph - taken from the BBC news site;-
"Downing Street is working privately on the assumption that the second wave of Covid-19 will be more deadly that the first, according to the Telegraph. The paper says a projection, provided by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, shows deaths peaking at a lower level than in the spring, but then remaining at this level for weeks or even months. As a result, the prime minister is coming under increasing pressure from advisers to lock down again, a source tells the paper."
Over in France, it looks like they're going into a four week lockdown similar to the one in the spring as daily deaths go beyond 500 and it's generally felt that they are a few weeks in front of us.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...lockdown-covid
I still remember the two scientists in their briefing about six weeks ago saying that we could be seeing 200 deaths a day by November, but we're past that already.
All of the signs are that second wave in Europe is going to be worse than anticipated and I can't help feeling that the debates about the firebreak lockdown in Wales we've seen over the past few days on here are going to overtaken by events in the coming weeks - hopefully, the Welsh lockdown will have an effect, because I'd say figures like today's show that something definitely needed to be done.
It's a great shame, therefore, that the genuinely important elements of the firebreak have largely been overshadowed by this nonsense. It'll be interesting to see what the outcome is because, in my experience at least, people haven't changed their behaviours at all in recent days. Having said that, everybody I've spoken to has been largely observing the restrictions anyway, although this feels very different to the first lockdown.
What is important at this time?What can the WAG do to make things better than they already are, because i can't amswer that question.
I'm just a bit shocked at some of the outrage to be honest, in the scheme of things it's nothing, it may well be a mistake, and one to criticise, that's fine by me. I do think it's an underlying thing though, some people hate Drakeford, some people have just had a tit full, a petty incident turning into something much bigger by people who weren't at zero with this whole situation but who were idling at 75 before this was announced. I haven't had any conversation with anyone about this apart from on here, it doesn't seem to be an issue with most people that i've spoken to, although that's not to say that people shouldn't show their disdain if they don't agree with it.
I think that's fair to say, it doesn't seem to have been thought out that well, although i still can't understand what the fuss is about. I'm not saying that people shouldn't be pissed off, it just seems that some people have little balance on this subject, that's just my opinion.