Covid: Stay in; go out. We need clarity not word jumbles | Emma Kay

Speaking as a mindful millennial, I’m tired of getting the blame for everything Covid. But just like millennials, this whole routine of being blamed, is getting rather old.
BEFUDDLED: Stay in, eat out. Bubbles of six -  no wonder we're all confused. Picture: GettyBEFUDDLED: Stay in, eat out. Bubbles of six -  no wonder we're all confused. Picture: Getty
BEFUDDLED: Stay in, eat out. Bubbles of six - no wonder we're all confused. Picture: Getty

We are fed up being singled out and made culpable. Our routines have been distorted beyond recognition yet still we carry on. Our vigilance is pushed to breaking point, yet still we carry on. Our fears are constant, yet still we carry on.

The government should not be surprised by a spike after Eat Out to Help Out, or shops reopening, or clustering children together in schools. These are all things they said were OK. These are all things they brought back in. These are their guidelines. Yet it is all of us who are labelled as the problem.

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Our government is more than happy to rely on a harmful stereotype of young people flouting the rules, going out and partying, so they can sit back and watch the blood splash while they and their mates go grouse-shooting and fox-flushing.

No matter your age, we all were told to go back to pubs, restaurants and eating places to save the economy. Restrictions were lifted. Furlough payments were reduced, dragging us all back into work.

People were painted as heroes for helping Britain stand up and be ‘all in it together’ and then promptly labelled ‘grandparent killers’ because the inevitable happened. It is a lurid counterstatement and serves no immediate purpose than to hide inadequacy and encourage us all to bicker and undermine our intelligence.

Fears and worries move like smoke going under doorways and through windows. We try to block it out but it still lingers.

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Stay in. Go out. Levels are rising. Go back to work. Stay away from everyone. Eat out to help out. You have to try harder, you have to be better. All of these word jumbles ring hollow. Yes, we have to do something to address the deadly spread but inconsistent and ever-changing measures are no substitute for coherency and clarity.

If your strategy is just to blame, it is clear your tactic is just to make people fight among themselves, rather than address the real issue.

It might be a dustbin but it’s MY dustbin, so hands off…

Why do people chuck rubbish in other people’s bins? Pushing out the bulky bin every fortnight shouldn’t be risky.

You leave it on the pavement hoping the only people touching it are the underappreciated refuse collectors. Only that does not happen. You hear the slap of the lid as a stranger uses it as their personal dumping ground. A polystyrene coffee cup, a half-full beer can or worse, the leavings of their dog in an untied bag that’s now mingling with your recycling.

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It doesn’t matter that it has your house number on it. It’s disrespectful and disgusting. Your bin accumulates rubbish but it should only be yours, nobody else’s.

The eyes have it – or at least they did before coronavirus

Makeup is now considered old hat in our ever-adjusting Covid society. Lipstick samplers are being left to dry as people buy less makeup or leave it off entirely.

However you wear makeup, many of us no longer consider it a necessity before stepping outside. Businesses like L’Oréal claim tastes have altered ‘permanently’. Is it the non-recyclable containers many companies use that pull our ‘save the planet’ strings or when we look in the makeup mirror, do we see the rabbit whose eyes are being tested with a new range? Whatever, having flowery masks to match our attire, that come in many shapes and colours, will surely become our new ‘going out’ face.

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