Let’s not shame those who insist on going to the park
The sun is shining and for the first time in a year things are really starting to look up. It feels like we are about to turn the corner and begin to wave goodbye to the nightmare known as Covid-19. The vaccine drive is continuing to run at a pace and after a truly brutal winter, lockdown measures are beginning to be eased again.
We can even meet family and friends in outdoor spaces once again.
As my parents and brother live at the other end of the country, that is a reunion I am going to have to wait a few more weeks for.
But I do not begrudge anyone who rushed out to safely reunite in parks or private gardens – or at least make plans to do so in the coming days.
If I could safely teleport up to the north-east, I would be doing it right now – mid-sentence as I type.
So I couldn’t help but feel my eyes roll as I saw the same old shaming of people meeting in groups outdoors.
It is something we saw in the summer of 2020, all those pictures of ‘crowds’ in parks and packed beaches. However, the camera can be deceiving and make people look a lot closer together than they actually are.
But more importantly the chances of catching coronavirus outdoors are much lower than when you are indoors.
After all the hand-wringing about the crowded beaches such as Bournemouth last summer, it turned out that there were no outbreaks linked to public beaches.
It is far, far, safer if people are meeting outdoors – so let’s stop with the faux outrage online next time a picture pops up of groups in a park.
As long as people are following the rules, sticking by the rule of six and keeping up with social distancing, that is what is important.
We have all been locked up indoors for so long, we have earned a trip or two to the park on a sunny day with our loved ones.
But I do draw a line at littering.
If you can carry drinks and food to a public area, the least you can do is put it in one of the many bins at your disposal.
Or take it home with you if they are full.