For many people, getting COVID just means staying home for ten days. For me and my family, it could mean planning a funeral.
That's what my friend said when she heard about the COVID restrictions being lifted, and I fully agree. I'm someone who's gotten sick before from sharing a kitchen with someone sick. If I end up in A&E when I get a cold because I'm chronically ill, I might go to the mortuary if I get COVID. I have lost an aunt and uncle to COVID, and hearing that restrictions are being lifted fills me with rage.
Why does my health, and the health of my disabled, immunocompromised, and chronically ill friends and family, matter less than the general public's convenience? Ending free testing and routine tracing means I’m far less likely to know if I come into contact with someone with COVID. Stopping self-isolation payments discourages self-isolation. One day I may have to pay for others' recklessness, and if I pay, the price I pay will be steep.
One day I may have to pay for others' recklessness, and if I pay, the price I pay will be steep.
With restrictions lifted, I am becoming scared; I am scared that I am losing this protection, I am scared I will be infected, and I am scared I will lose someone else I love. I am scared of going out in public. I am scared of meeting my friends. I am scared of going to lectures.
I agree that one day, public health restrictions need to be lifted. We can't live with COVID restrictions forever, but choosing to live with COVID at the expense of the vulnerable is not the right answer. Lifting COVID restrictions sends out a very, very clear message: the lives of the chronically ill, immunocompromised, and disabled do not matter.
Our lives should not be worth this little.