These are the only sectors that should be at work. Utilities is as close as we get but thats of course for supply to a property (DNO)
I am stopping my guys as of tonight apart from essential necessary works eg loss of power or potentially dangerous situations. Feel we have a duty to do our bit to prevent the spread of this virus to customers, public and staff.
(This post isn't specifically directed at the person I'm quoting above, please don't take it that way, it's just a useful example)
This (the two images in the post) is the list of occupations that count as "key workers" right? Came out last week, as the guidance for those who can - if there's no alternative - use schools as day-care. It's a useful list. We know who the key workers are. Important jobs. No doubt.
We also know there is a desperate need to slow down the spread of the virus, so we don't all get ill at once, so the NHS has got a cat in hell's chance of coping the best it can. Important decisions, from everyone.
How to do this?
The Government has the answer (no, stay with me!). Anything
in red below is from the current (23/3/20) guidance (source:
Full guidance on staying at home and away from others - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-from-others/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-from-others) Anything
in bold is my own emphasis as it's relevant to this discussion:
There are 3 measures, to help the reduce the speed of the spread of the virus, to help the NHS cope, to reduce fatalities:
- Requiring people to stay at home, except for very limited purposes
- Closing non-essential shops and community spaces
- Stopping all gatherings of more than two people in public
Every citizen must comply with these new measures.
Alright, that's quite firm but also a bit woolly, what does that mean exactly? What does "very limited purposes" mean?
1. Staying at home
You should only leave the house for one of four reasons:
- Shopping for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which must be as infrequent as possible.
- One form of exercise a day, for example a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of your household.
- Any medical need, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person.
- Travelling to and from work, but only where this absolutely cannot be done from home.
The 4th bullet point doesn't mention key workers, or critical sectors. It
doesn't say, "Travelling to and from work, but only where the work is absolutely necessary." It only says, "... where this abosolutely cannot be done from home."
Alright, so let's say I've got a job weaving novelty headgear for poodles; I think we can all agree it's not really top of the list in the fight against the coronavirus, and quite frankly the less novelty headgear there is for poodles in the world, the better. I apparently can't do this at home, because the machine that makes novelty headgear for poodles weighs about 3 tons and won't fit in my home office. But suppose I really love my job, and want to carry on doing it. Can I?
These four reasons are exceptions - even when doing these activities, you should be minimising time spent outside of the home and ensuring you are 2 metres apart from anyone outside of your household.
Ah, right. So if I can do my job - and that includes "travelling to and from work" - I should be minimising time spent outside of the home and ensuring I'm 2m apart from anyone outside my household."
These measures must be followed by everyone. Separate advice is available for individuals or households who are isolating, and for the most vulnerable who need to be shielded.
In fact workers in critical sectors are mentioned in the next paragraph:
If you work in a critical sector outlined in this guidance, or your child has been identified as vulnerable, you can continue to take your children to school.
So there is no distinction between key workers, and those with other jobs, except for the aspect of being allowed out to take your kids to school if you need to. However, if your job cannot be done from home,
"you should be minimising time spent outside of the home and ensuring you are 2 metres apart from anyone outside of your household."
What else can we do?
2. Closing non-essential shops and public spaces
Last week, the Government ordered certain businesses - including pubs, cinemas and theatres - to close. The Government is now extending this requirement to a further set of businesses and other venues, including:
- all non-essential retail stores - this will include clothing and electronics stores; hair, beauty and nail salons; and outdoor and indoor markets, excluding food markets.
- libraries, community centres, and youth centres.
- indoor and outdoor leisure facilities such as bowling alleys, arcades and soft play facilities.
- communal places within parks, such as playgrounds, sports courts and outdoor gyms.
- places of worship, except for funerals attended by immediate families.
- hotels, hostels, bed and breakfasts, campsites, caravan parks, and boarding houses for commercial/leisure use (excluding permanent residents and key workers).
Ok, good to know. Possibly not as relevant for this discussion, unless you work in one of those locations. And the third measure?
3. Stopping public gatherings
To make sure people are staying at home and apart from each other, the Government is also stopping all public gatherings of more than two people.
There are only two exceptions to this rule:
- where the gathering is of a group of people who live together - this means that a parent can, for example, take their children to the shops if there is no option to leave them at home.
- where the gathering is essential for work purposes - but workers should be trying to minimise all meetings and other gatherings in the workplace.
In addition, the Government is stopping social events, including weddings, baptisms and other religious ceremonies. This will exclude funerals, which can be attended by immediate family.
So stopping all gatherings of more than 2 people,
except "where the gathering is essential for work purposes - but workers should be trying to minimise all meetings and other gatherings in the workplace." Again, no distinction between key workers in critical sectors, and those who do other jobs (but can't work from home).
I'm not arguing the point one way or another. My key points are:
- Think critically. This includes working out a hierarchy of credible sources of information. At the moment I'd say written advice from .gov.uk trumps twitter feeds, news outlets, facebook posts, posts on this forum. Of course, those other sources can help interpret sources of greater credibility - they can also (inadvertantly, or on purpose) tint them with their own view, and that view is likely to be well-meaning.
- Try to do your best. Think about others, and consider their circumstances. Try and work it out. Let's try to muddle through this as best we can, and support each other.
- Be kind. Just because you should.
