Lions' coach’s visit set the wrong example
WHEN we had the announcement that we could ‘bubble’ with one other household some time ago, we decided to bubble with our daughter and her family. When my husband unwittingly asked if we could visit some friends I replied, ‘No, we can’t, that is breaking the rules – if everybody breaks the rules where would we be’?
Guernsey is now free from restrictions because the population has behaved well and has been repeatedly praised by the Chief Minister. So it is a shock to see that Peter Ferbrache and his colleagues have allowed Mr Gatland of British Lions to visit Guernsey without self isolation and even worse that they had a meal together. Admittedly our dear Dr Brink ensured that the meeting was safe due to frequent testing. But that is not the point. What message does that send to the public who have sacrificed a great deal – by the summer we will not have not seen our family for almost two years, friends have not been able to attend weddings or funerals, three priests in our church have to self isolate for two weeks before being able to take up their ministry and much more. Our young people returning from university showed how responsible they were and the spike in Covid-19 did not happen as many people thought it would. People have been heavily fined for not doing as they were told, and rightly so.
So it is one rule for us and one rule for the powers that be. If we are unfortunate enough to have another wave of the virus, will everyone adhere to the rules when they have been set such an example by the authorities, especially if they are already inclined to ignore the rules anyway? I wonder and I am not alone in my disgust.
A. MAUGER
St Peter Port.