Sunday, December 20, 2020

The fight against Covid-19 is not for Boris Johnson alone

by NNOROM AZUONYE
People living in Britain are complex. A lot of people are not obeying the rules about social distancing, face covering and washing/sanitising hands. 

In the last few weeks I have taken several essential journeys by bus and half the passengers have no face covering. They sneeze and cough into the palms of their hands and then hold on to the rails without even bothering to sanitise their hands. 

I am ashamed to have been on a bus once and two Igbo people (my own people) with no face covering commented on those who wore masks: 

"Ndia yiri mask ha adichaa ka ewu" (These people wearing masks look like goats). 

"Hapu ihea. Oya but oya oyibo" (Leave this thing. It is white man's disease). 

I have seen also, old white couples and Asian couples, clearly vulnerable, riding without face coverings sneezing and coughing. Spreading this thing. I had to ask one bus driver why half the passengers on the bus had no face covering. He shrugged his shoulders and said they might be exempt and that it was not his job to police people wearing face covering. I would have thought the bus drivers would not let anyone on who did not have a face covering or evidence that they are exempt. 

Now the virus has mutated again. The new strain in 70% more transmissible. It is spreading in London like wild fire. We are now in another lockdown with loads of loopholes to give the economy a chance to breathe whilst giving power to Covid. 

Everybody is blaming Boris Johnson. 

Everywhere you listen, people are saying Team Boris is shit. Really? 

The truth is, if the people living in Britain don't change their ways, if people in Britain do not take Coronavirus seriously, and this is after 67,000 people have died (Official, massaged figures! We all know it is more likely 100,000 deaths since they only count those who die within 28 days of testing positive, so, those who die 29 - 50 days after testing positive do not die from Covid.) It will get uglier and deadlier. 

Whatever decision Boris John takes, whether he locks down too late or relaxes restrictions too soon, he is always going to be wrong. 

All us us living in this country must play our parts. And for the critics who think Boris Johnson spends a lot of time doing nothing. He is a politician after all, and as John le Carre once said; "If there is one eternal truth of politics, it is that there are always a dozen good reasons for doing nothing." I don't think he spends a lot of time doing nothing. I think he lacks the courage to give us bad news and only spills it when he no longer has a choice or has failed to wish it all away. 

It is down to us. Hands. Face. Space. The Blogazette.

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