Day 72 of Self-Isolation in Switzerland – British Anger At The Wrong Thing

I want to write about British anger at the wrong day today. As Switzerland gets closer and closer to zero cases and zero deaths per day it’s dangerously easy to think it will be over soon only to find out that it isn’t. I thought that by April 19th we could be back to normal but we weren’t. I thought that when the soft lock down was lifted we’d be able to do group activities. Of course we still can’t and I don’t want to get my hopes up anymore.

I speak about hope because from Thursday to Saturday or so there were no deaths in Switzerland linked to COVID-19 and then three in the last day or two. We seem to be even further along the long tail of the virus.

If you look at twitter, and what the Brits are tweeting about you see that they’re angry about Cummings 240 mile drive when people are not meant to go more than five miles from their homes. Guy Verhofstadt is saying:

Clear now there is one rule for populists like Trump, Bolsanaro, Kaczynski, Johnson and Cummings & another for the people they claim to represent.

By putting themselves above the law they set for others, they become the elites they tell us they rage against on our behalf! pic.twitter.com/3MYbMinRnB

— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) May 25, 2020

We have known forever that populists are by and for the elites, with the deception that seduces the less astute in society. I won’t go any further on this topic. What surprises me more, is that England still has not shared recovery information in relation to COVID-19.

Almost every country in the world shared recovery data within days of reaching a certain threshold of cases but not the UK. I haven’t heard the reasoning behind this information not being made available.

Switzerland too, is seeing the debate about cycling lanes, with small businesses and commuters, apparently angry. The bigger issue, if my experience of cycling lanes around Geneva, is correct, is that people don’t respect cycle lanes. Pedestrians walk in bike lanes, cars park on pavements, and cyclists are forced to use roads anyway. Road works between Nyon and Geneva, for cycle lanes are still going on, two years after they started.

People who are working from home can also get part of their rent paid for due to their having a “home office”. Although people are allowed to go to restaurants again Restaurant staff and owners are meant to keep a list of everyone who has been present for easier tracking in case of new infections. According to a headline I saw this morning at least a thousand restaurants have been checked up on.