EASTER IGNORAMUSES
Sunbathing, boozing, golf and football – they just don’t get it
CASUALLY sipping drinks in the park, lazing around topping up tans and enjoying an impromptu game of football in the sunshine – meet the selfish Easter Covidiots.
As the Scottish death toll from Covid-19 hit 542 – with 9,937 dead across the UK – hundreds of people chose to ignore the Government’s advice to stay in over the holiday weekend.
Police were yesterday forced to confiscate alcohol from groups of socialising young people and stop football kickabouts.
The disregard for coronavirus regulations comes after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged people to stay in and help save lives.
Many people were seen mingling in groups yesterday – and with fewer than the recommended two metres between them.
In one case, police officers poured away alcohol taken from a group of young people at Glasgow Green, in the city’s east end.
In the north-west of the city, one resident described how Victoria Park was ‘mobbed’.
David Hamilton, chair of the Scottish Police Federation, said: ‘Police officers are despairing
‘The NHS are run ragged – these folk had no cares in the world’
at times – the message has been very clear and yet people are still being selfish.
‘It is a small number of people. But if people are breaching these rules they will be getting penalties and in some cases they will be arrested.’
An NHS worker, who had just finished a 12-hour shift and did not wish to be named, was shocked to see the gatherings at Glasgow Green. They said: ‘I was walking home and saw loads of people sitting around having a great day.
‘They looked as though they had no cares in the world as they topped up their tans while the NHS are run ragged and essential workers are doing their best to help the vulnerable. It is so inconsiderate.’
In Edinburgh, police in the Meadows were seen moving sunworshippers off park benches and sending them home, while in Bathgate, West Lothian, men played golf on a small local course.
In Inverness, the Caledonian Canal towpath was busy with people. Locals in rural areas of the Highlands also reported seeing more people than usual out for walks.
It follows pleas from such residents for visitors not to travel north, as they do not have the resources to cope with a major outbreak of coronavirus cases.
The flaunting of the advice follows Chief Constable Ian Livingstone praising Scots for seemingly adhering to official advice. At the daily coronavirus briefing alongside Miss Sturgeon on Friday, he said: ‘The vast majority of people in Scotland are continuing to do the right thing and I thank them for that.
‘The social distancing legal requirement to stay at home is the best way to protect the NHS and the best way to save lives. With the continued support and co-operation of our fellow citizens, Police Scotland will explain the legal instructions, encourage compliance, and when needed, enforce the law.’
So far, officers have issued 537 on-the-spot fines under new emergency powers. They have also made 35 arrests linked to people breaking lockdown restrictions, between March 27 and April 9.
Yesterday, a Scottish Government spokesman declined to comment on the contempt shown by some people for their appeal to stay at home.
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘It’s crucial to follow official guidance if we are going to save lives and protect the NHS.
‘We have been warned lockdown could just get more severe. I understand this is difficult but this sort of behaviour shouldn’t be continued.’
NEARLY 500 of Scotland’s care homes now have suspected coronavirus cases, it was claimed yesterday – as fears grew over insufficient protection equipment for staff.
Industry leaders warned that the impact of the virus on home residents, alongside staff absence rates of 30 per cent, is piling pressure on the system.
Dr Donald Macaskill, the head of Scottish Care – which represents more than 800 of the nation’s 1,000 homes – told last week how care facilities were facing ‘deep trouble’ within days unless staff were provided with additional personal protective equipment (PPE).
Yesterday, he said that – based on information from members – about half of the homes in Scotland had at least one case of Covid-19.
It comes after the GMB union last week accused the Scottish Government of forcing carers to work with insufficient PPE.
The concerns largely centred over the use of masks, with guidance suggesting that they should be used only when a person they were caring for was confirmed as having Covid-19 and they were coming within two metres of them. But after talks with the Government last Wednesday, the GMB has assured care home staff they will now get full PPE.
However, one nurse at a private care home said yesterday that this is too little, too late.
She said: ‘Our PPE is a joke. We have been allocated a couple of hundred paper masks and sourced some single-use gowns but they won’t last. We’ve been told not to use the masks unless there is a confirmed case. In the meantime what do we do? They are locked away.’
The medic works for Four Seasons
– the company whose homes include
Glasgow’s Burlington Court, where 16 residents have died of suspected Covid-19 in the past few weeks.
She added that there had been ‘no support’ from the firm or extra preventative measures put in place.
The woman, who wants to remain anonymous for fear of losing her job, said staff are ‘very afraid’.
She added: ‘There is a real suck-itand-see attitude, which is pitiful.
‘There are plenty of aprons and gloves but that is not enough.
‘We have no extra measures in place, staff are not being tested and we haven’t heard from anybody in the company to ask how we are.
‘We do not feel we are getting support from the company and the staff are frightened.
‘Nothing has been mentioned about Burlington, it’s as if it has been swept under the carpet.’
Calling for testing for frontline care workers, the nurse added: ‘One of our residents recently came from hospital. We’re doing our best to keep the virus out but they are sending people from hospital.
‘While the NHS is trying to free up beds, which I understand, we’re getting people who could have been exposed.’ Yesterday, the Government was accused of ignoring pleas for a dedicated care home helpline.
One manager said her staff had been left waiting as they did not have a dedicated number to phone when assistance was required.
The Four Seasons nurse said her company did have a dedicated number to call for full PPE when there was a confirmed case.
But she added: ‘We don’t even know what we will be given, if it is visors or gowns because it is not specified. By then it is absolutely too late.’ She said relatives were understandably worried about their loved ones in care homes but said they cannot visit them.
Yesterday, a Four Seasons spokesman said current procedures set out by NHS Scotland were that tests for the virus were carried out when a resident was admitted to hospital.
He added that more than 40 messages of ‘guidance and support’ for teams had been provided since the middle of last month.
He said: ‘Our first priority is the safety and well-being of residents and colleagues, and we are putting all our resources and energy into supporting and protecting everyone in our homes. Within the home the focus of the team continues to be the care and protection of all our residents and our colleagues.
‘Our strict protocols on infectious diseases are in place, including social distancing and full use of PPE, and we are closely monitoring the health of all of our residents and colleagues.
‘We fully understand the concerns and fears of our colleagues working on the front line, but it is not true they are unsupported or our homes
‘Our PPE is a joke... paper masks and some single-use gowns’
are lacking in PPE, which continues to be supplied through daily inventory checks and re-supplies from local stock as required.
‘Our teams have access to the full range of PPE – this includes goggles, masks, aprons and gloves, and there is no restriction on its use in line with government guidelines for health and social care services.
‘We appreciate the dedication of our colleagues and thank them for their commitment and hard work.’