Woman arrested for sitting on a bench

I can never understand these rules that say going out for "shopping" or medical appointments is OK, but not for any other reason. Can't anyone just say they were on the way to the market to get groceries?
 

I can never understand these rules that say going out for "shopping" or medical appointments is OK, but not for any other reason. Can't anyone just say they were on the way to the market to get groceries?
yes , they could but they're expected to show ID or proof of address , and then we're supposed to shop at our nearest grocery store to that , so if we're further away then that's when the fine is likely
 

yes , they could but they're expected to show ID or proof of address , and then we're supposed to shop at our nearest grocery store to that , so if we're further away then that's when the fine is likely
Isn't it a consideration that the closest store might not have what the shopper needs? It is not unusual to need something that one has to travel farther to obtain.

Tony
 
Isn't it a consideration that the closest store might not have what the shopper needs? It is not unusual to need something that one has to travel farther to obtain.

Tony
yes it's true that is the case but no exceptions are made if they do stop you, except if you need medications and the pharmacy is further than the grocery store for example...
 
yes it's true that is the case but no exceptions are made if they do stop you, except if you need medications and the pharmacy is further than the grocery store for example...
I suppose that to enforce a rule, there has to be boundaries. I am sorry that you folks have to be that locked down. Here in Minnesota (USA), the governor is opening things up a bit. Sever restrictions on how many customers can be in a restaurant or bar, but he is under severe pressure to get things moving as businesses die on the vine from being locked down. It will be interesting to see what (if any) effect this has on the COVID-19 score card.

One thing I am grateful for is that I am not the one making these decisions. To me, it seems to be a "between a rock and a hard place" in which nobody comes out ahead.

Tony
 
Sure wish they‘d send some of those tough police to Canada. Talk’s cheap and we sure don’t have many being fined. There’ll be a major party and only the host gets a fine after they’ve returned 2 to 3 times to warn him. $2300. Some hosts build a fee into the party so if the police come, the fine is no problem.
 
Now I know we don't know the whole story but if you watch the video here, it appears a woman has been arrested for merely sitting on a bench, and another couple are being severely warned and fined £200 for being seen walking on a second road in the same area.. . The Lockdown rules here are that we can leave the house for shopping, for medical purposes, to escape domestic abuse, to take an animal to the vet , and for a period of exercise within our local areas.. .. we're permitted to be with only family in our own bubble, and to stay 6 feet away from anyone else.. we do not as yet have to wear face coverings in public..

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...id-rule-breakers-just-ONE-verbal-warning.html
Wow, that seems to be getting ridiculous there! People need to get out sometimes for fresh air and sunshine, if there is any.
 
Isn't it a consideration that the closest store might not have what the shopper needs? It is not unusual to need something that one has to travel farther to obtain.

Tony
Yes, I'm running out of hay for my guinea pigs and the pet store is right on the other side of town. The last time I went out, a police man stopped his car and watched me. He didn't drive off until he saw me go into the grocery store. Made me feel I was under surveillance for needing a loaf of bread!
 
Sure wish they‘d send some of those tough police to Canada. Talk’s cheap and we sure don’t have many being fined. There’ll be a major party and only the host gets a fine after they’ve returned 2 to 3 times to warn him. $2300. Some hosts build a fee into the party so if the police come, the fine is no problem.
that's still happening here in some place tbh...
 
I suppose that to enforce a rule, there has to be boundaries. I am sorry that you folks have to be that locked down. Here in Minnesota (USA), the governor is opening things up a bit. Sever restrictions on how many customers can be in a restaurant or bar, but he is under severe pressure to get things moving as businesses die on the vine from being locked down. It will be interesting to see what (if any) effect this has on the COVID-19 score card.

One thing I am grateful for is that I am not the one making these decisions. To me, it seems to be a "between a rock and a hard place" in which nobody comes out ahead.

Tony
well we re-opened pretty much like you say after the spring/ summer 3 month lockdown, but there was a HUGE surge of people packed on the beaches and in the streets partying, and not taking the care that was asked of them.. and we knew that we'd end up being locked down again... Sure enough at the beginning of November they locked us down and didn't re-open until the first week of December, where they promised us we'd all get a Christmas to spend with families , and people could finally get to see their relatives in cares homes etc, whom they'd not been able to touch or hug in months except through glass from outside .
The pubs re-opened..that's the ones who were still able to open and hadn't gone into bankruptcy... we lasted 2 weeks ..and we were locked down with 4 hours notice... No family christmases etc.. pubs and restaurants and all hospitality were staggered, they were relying on the very busy Christmas season to claw back all the money they'd lost during Summer and November lockdown .

We were told we'd not re-open until the children were due back to school on the 4th of January.. and most people were due to return to work after the Christmas break. On the evening of the 3rd of January without warning we were told the children could not return to school... the teachers union was in revolt.. and therefore only people who could not possibly work from home must go, and the rest remain at home... This is the situation we're in now... Our children have had next to no education in almost 12 months...
The latest is that the teachers are refusing to home school via zoom because it ''breaches their privacy''... depsite being able to choose any blank canvas as a background ...or in fact retruning to the classrom and giving lessons to home schoolers from there.. you couldn't make it up....
 
I have posted this here in other threads, however I feel it bears repeating...

An analogy I draw regarding these cycles of locking down, opening up, locking down, ...

It is like a kid who gets bullied in school. He runs to the safety of his home, but the bullies are waiting for him outside. If he stays inside forever, he probably won't get bullied again. If he goes out, there they are just waiting to beat him up again.

To me, that is what this locking down and opening up repetitive cycle is.

I have heard all the arguments about not wanting to overrun medical facilities with COVID patients, so locking down to allow things to simmer down for a while and then reopening tends to "flatten the curve". However, every time we open up even a little, the whole thing starts to surge all over again. All the news outlets constantly publish the scores as if it were a sports event (new cases, deaths), so we can all see the numbers, though how the numbers are arrived at, and therefore how to interpret them, is certainly controversial. Meanwhile, businesses are shriveling and blowing away and large numbers of people are losing their livelihoods. All hope at this point is on the effectiveness of the vaccine - assuming that everybody is willing to get it and that it can be produced and distributed in a timely manner. I sincerely hope the day comes when all this will be a distant memory, as have similar events faded into history.

Tony
 
The thought has crossed my mind that there just might be some experimentation along the lines of pushing the envelope to see how far they can go in all this. I just wasn't sure if anybody else caught on to that too. ;)

Tony
yes we're all saying it here in England, well many people are asking that very question. Trouble is the English are known for their tolerance, but push it just one little touch too far and there will be explosions...
 
Oh. My. God. I think the politicians are seeing how far they can go in curtailing our freedom. Not talking? Unauthorized picnic? Geez.

The thought has crossed my mind that there just might be some experimentation along the lines of pushing the envelope to see how far they can go in all this. I just wasn't sure if anybody else caught on to that too. ;)

Tony

yes we're all saying it here in England, well many people are asking that very question. Trouble is the English are known for their tolerance, but push it just one little touch too far and there will be explosions...

Same thoughts here. There's been such a press from certain quarters for groupthink for years that's also been accelerated recently. Just ask J. K. Rowling. The extreme left and extreme right both want totalitarianism, and I'm not sure they aren't encouraged, funded and used by kingmaker oligarchs who want it to even a greater degree. A pandemic is an opportune time to test the waters for extreme surveillance and seems to be a likely explanation for some of the more absurd citations such as the 'picnic' incident.
 
I guess the police are just following orders, I don't know.
There sure were enough of them out there.
Couldn't they let her off with a warning or a fine? It seems a bit extreme to arrest her.
 


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