The easing of lockdown restrictions. Is it the green light?

Photo: Purple heron, Lightshaw Flash
 10th April 2020

The way I look at it is this, if I get the virus today it's just as bad as it would have been if I had got it two months ago. Just because some lockdown measures are starting to be lifted does not mean that the virus will affect me in a different way or that it's any less potent. It's exactly the same virus. The only things that have changed are that there MAY be less of it around in the community which MIGHT mean I'm less likely to come into contact with it and if I do come into contact with it, the NHS MAY be in a better position to help me. But they're both big gambles which I won't be taking. Actually the NHS has not been overwhelmed so far, yet even so around 30,000 people in NHS care have already died. There's only so much the NHS can do for you, even when ICU beds are free and they have the best equipment available. Therefore I'll be doing my very best to keep my distance from anybody outside my household for a long time yet, not only for my sake, but for the sake of my family, friends and everybody I come into contact with, as well as front line workers who are putting their own health at risk.

That doesn't mean I won't be going outside, I've been walking around Pennington Flash virtually everyday since lockdown began for exercise, for the sake of my mental health and because it's my nearest open space. However I take precautions. I walk there early morning when there are less people around and if I see people coming towards me along narrow footpaths I either walk the other way or go deep into the woods until they have past. I don't just keep walking towards them as most seem to do. I always assume that people coming towards me have the virus and have no intention of socially distancing. So I avoid them. In the coming weeks I may well go a little further afield but I will always try to avoid people.

As I understand it, the new guidance is that you can now drive to anywhere in England and it doesn't need to be just for exercise it can be for other reasons such as hobbies so long as you can socially distance and so long as you can get home at night. You can't stay overnight anywhere and that includes camping and sleeping in the car. You can't travel by car with somebody from outside your household because you're only supposed to meet people outdoors and you're supposed to be 2m apart. So for instance there is no law or even guidance that says that birders can't twitch a bird on the east coast, that's up to them, but they are supposed to be socially distancing. Will they travel alone in vehicles, can they get there and back safely in a day, will they stand at least 2m apart when looking for the bird, will they make sure that they don't meet more than one person from outside their household, what happens if the viewing area is small, what happens if the bird is skulking and only shows once every couple of hours, have they considered the length of time they are likely to be in close proximity to other people, have they considered viral load, have they considered the implications of having to stop at a service station or breaking down or having an accident? Hopefully yes to all of these. Personally I won't be going anywhere near a twitch for a long time yet, I don't care what the bird is.

Unfortunately, as I have experienced myself this week, some birders put seeing and ticking a bird over and above any of the considerations I have discussed above. Some people think that their right to be told about a bird and to see a bird is greater than my right to try to protect the lives of others including my family and front line workers. Photographers are the same, even at the height of the most severe restrictions back in April, when driving was only allowed for shopping, work and medical reasons, there was a gathering of photographers from all over the north west to see the osprey on the motorway bridge at Brockholes. For an osprey! I've found two myself just this year, even while I've been in lockdown. This blatant disregard by some birders and photographers for COVID-19 and social distancing guidance is one of the reasons why I'll be avoiding all gatherings of birders for a long time to come. I don't care if they open the hides at Pennington Flash, I'll stand outside the hide in pouring rain before I'll go in with 20 others. It's also the reason why I'll be carefully considering whether or not to put news out about any rarities, county or national, which I might find in the coming weeks.

None of this is meant as a criticism of the way others behave, that's up to them, but I'm scared of this virus and it's possible impact on myself and my family and wider society. We're a long way off being through this and large gatherings of people paying lip service to social distancing does not sound a good place to be to me.

At the start of this pandemic, the New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern gave some good advice to her fellow New Zealanders when she said "Act like you have the virus".  As somebody else said in a less polite way: "Apply common sense & don't be a d*ck.". #COVID-19 #StayHomeSaveLives #SaveOurNHS.