26-03-2021, 12:21 PM
As Chris notes.
With work we've got gangs of men all over the country working on infrastructure projects. They work as a bubble, and we generally like to put them up in a house if the period is prolonged - Generally Air BnB or Similar. If for the odd night etc its Premier Inn/ Travelsplodge etc. We have had men in England Wales and Scotland, also Northern Ireland. Me included.
However with the release of lockdown and the unlikelihood of foreign holidays, we are expecting to find that accommodation becomes a serious problem for us because of what Chris says. To date the biggest problem we have faced is food, with pubs all shut during the more serious lockdowns.
The poor sods seem to live on cold food or takeaway. Last night I got a watsapp of the gang currently at Portchester Castle at 9pm sat on the bridge they are installing eating a KFC Banquet!. Thats why we have tried to get houses wherever possible, so the boys can cook for themselves.
And touch wood, in the 10months in this job, not one employee has contracted Covid to our knowledge.
Personally I believe the risk posed by Covid to the general population has been overstated, particularly by the media. I don't doubt that the NHS has been stretched, and that the various lockdowns have been necessary to protect the vulnerable, and keep capacity within the NHS manageable.
However with the rollout of vaccines which seem to protect very well indeed against serious illness and death, even with the currently known mutations, there must come a point where the world must go back to some normality. That point needs to be balanced, not just from a risk of Covid to the vulnerable, but balanced against the damage done by lockdowns, economical. Mental health etc etc.
I have a 12 year old daughter, pre covid was outgoing, bubbly and happy. After 12months of this nonsense she is withdrawn nervous and sullen. The risk to her mortality presented by covid is liekly to be akin to finding an EA sports in next doors garden shed. Whereas her mental health has been severely affected by a lockdown which offers her little protection.
I don't doubt there are risks for the future, Covid isn't going anywhere, its here to stay. Whilst it may not be to everyones choice or taste. We may have to accept vaccine passports, and those who will not accept a vaccine may well have to accept that fundamentally it is at their risk. The rest of us need to carry on without worrying about them. There is also a risk of mutation and we may end up at square 1 again.
My comments may seem heartless, but some of you may well have known my father. He passed away just over 5 years ago now. He wouldn't have his flu jab, caught the H1N1 Swine Flu. Didn't really take any notice of the advice of his doctors. Caught Pneumonia, ended up on a ventilator, and suffered a Pulmonary Embolism as a complication not long after he recovered enough to come off the ventilator. This was game over. This probably sounds familiar to many who have lost relatives to Covid. However, thats life. People get ill and people die.
We must accept that because of Covid, life expectancy of all, particularly the elderly and infirm is going to be decreased as a result of Covid. If you are old and infirm it might mean you need to change your lifestyle, so that the rest of the world can carry on.
The management of Covid by the various governments has simply been so that too many people dont get ill at the same time, and over run the hospitals. So that each patient gets a fighting chance.
With work we've got gangs of men all over the country working on infrastructure projects. They work as a bubble, and we generally like to put them up in a house if the period is prolonged - Generally Air BnB or Similar. If for the odd night etc its Premier Inn/ Travelsplodge etc. We have had men in England Wales and Scotland, also Northern Ireland. Me included.
However with the release of lockdown and the unlikelihood of foreign holidays, we are expecting to find that accommodation becomes a serious problem for us because of what Chris says. To date the biggest problem we have faced is food, with pubs all shut during the more serious lockdowns.
The poor sods seem to live on cold food or takeaway. Last night I got a watsapp of the gang currently at Portchester Castle at 9pm sat on the bridge they are installing eating a KFC Banquet!. Thats why we have tried to get houses wherever possible, so the boys can cook for themselves.
And touch wood, in the 10months in this job, not one employee has contracted Covid to our knowledge.
Personally I believe the risk posed by Covid to the general population has been overstated, particularly by the media. I don't doubt that the NHS has been stretched, and that the various lockdowns have been necessary to protect the vulnerable, and keep capacity within the NHS manageable.
However with the rollout of vaccines which seem to protect very well indeed against serious illness and death, even with the currently known mutations, there must come a point where the world must go back to some normality. That point needs to be balanced, not just from a risk of Covid to the vulnerable, but balanced against the damage done by lockdowns, economical. Mental health etc etc.
I have a 12 year old daughter, pre covid was outgoing, bubbly and happy. After 12months of this nonsense she is withdrawn nervous and sullen. The risk to her mortality presented by covid is liekly to be akin to finding an EA sports in next doors garden shed. Whereas her mental health has been severely affected by a lockdown which offers her little protection.
I don't doubt there are risks for the future, Covid isn't going anywhere, its here to stay. Whilst it may not be to everyones choice or taste. We may have to accept vaccine passports, and those who will not accept a vaccine may well have to accept that fundamentally it is at their risk. The rest of us need to carry on without worrying about them. There is also a risk of mutation and we may end up at square 1 again.
My comments may seem heartless, but some of you may well have known my father. He passed away just over 5 years ago now. He wouldn't have his flu jab, caught the H1N1 Swine Flu. Didn't really take any notice of the advice of his doctors. Caught Pneumonia, ended up on a ventilator, and suffered a Pulmonary Embolism as a complication not long after he recovered enough to come off the ventilator. This was game over. This probably sounds familiar to many who have lost relatives to Covid. However, thats life. People get ill and people die.
We must accept that because of Covid, life expectancy of all, particularly the elderly and infirm is going to be decreased as a result of Covid. If you are old and infirm it might mean you need to change your lifestyle, so that the rest of the world can carry on.
The management of Covid by the various governments has simply been so that too many people dont get ill at the same time, and over run the hospitals. So that each patient gets a fighting chance.