With Bedford’s high infection rates, Bedfordians are all too aware of the pressures the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic is having on people and the chief medical officer has reiterated today that reducing these rates is everyone’s responsibility.
Speaking this morning, Professor Chris Witty revealed that the UK faces the worst of the pandemic over the coming weeks, with the NHS in critical danger of being overwhelmed.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, he said that, even within the rules, “We should be doing our level best to minimise the amount of unnecessary contact with people who are not in our household. I can’t emphasise that enough.”
“There’s a very high chance that if you meet someone unnecessarily, they will have COVID.”
So to paraphrase Chris Witty: Don’t just think about yourself, don’t take risks and don’t be a d*ck.
We must be careful not to create fear, but the fact remains that the number of people who have got coronavirus is rising, and we do need to take steps to bring those cases down.
The current rules to support that are very clear.
Don’t go out unless you absolutely have to, work from home where possible, minimise contact with people outside your support bubble and wear a mask inside when you’re in public.
You may not agree with these rules, the debate about whether they’re doing more harm than good will continue.
But, for the time being, we must all do what we can to protect the vulnerable and reduce the spread of COVID-19.
“This is everybody’s problem, any single unnecessary contact you have with someone is a potential link in a chain of transmission that will lead to a vulnerable person,” said the chief medical officer.
“This is the most important thing. Tinkering with the rules may be useful, but the far more important thing is that everybody abides by the spirit of the rules that are there at the moment.
“Everybody knows what they need to do.”
So, follow the rules, don’t be selfish and most importantly, please don’t be a d*ck.
With special thanks to Bedford-based artist,
Hannah Carvell, for the use of her artwork.
You can order your own Don’t Be A D*ck
artwork from Hannah’s website.
