Shock! The Government are blaming students for the Covid-19 spike and it isn’t fair

At this rate, Boris and co are sending out more mixed signals than a UoN rugby boy


The government’s latest move to scapegoat young people (ages 18-24) as the reason for a rise in coronavirus cases has led to backlash in the student community – a group they have completely left behind throughout the whole pandemic.

Despite what is being regurgitated in broadcasts, the ‘young people’ demographic have been working pretty damn hard under government instruction over this lockdown limbo. We make up the majority of the work forces in retail and hospitality industries, meaning we have been depended on to make up for economic loss. We’ve put up with all the anxieties and insecurities of putting our health in danger, in order to serve the public in times when social distancing has not always been a possibility. The controversial ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme captured the hypocrisy of this.

In attempt to lure people back into pubs, bars and restaurants without caution, government marketing told us it was our ‘patriotic duty’ to venture out and socialise. These facilities were soon overcrowded, and the country began to look pretty normal. Anyone could see a second wave pending, but the government kept us in the lurch, not wanting the cash to stop flooding in. You’ll see a theme here, pounds holding higher value than the human life.

Of course, the government, who are in charge of public safety, didn’t see this second wave coming and, in a fluster, have announced the new rule of no meetings over six people. This would make perfect sense if shopping centres, restaurants and other public places were reducing capacity. Oh, and if schools weren’t still open with hundreds of pupils unable to safely distance. But no, it’s apparently the odd rave and house party that are causing country wide rises, not government policy. Make it make sense Hancock

Covid-19 cases are rising in our demographic significantly, but also in care homes, and this is the angle that Hancock is using for blaming us. His eloquent phrasing was in full swing as he coined the blame campaign with, ‘Don’t kill your gran by catching coronavirus and then passing it on’. Delightful.

The way the Tories are handling this situation reminds me of the way you might approach a big, confusing uni essay. It’s much more embarrassing to get a low grade when you put in a load of effort, so you leave most of the work until the night before and hope for the best, and their pandemic policies follow the same lead! By leaving everything until the week before effect, people are more likely to blame their time management than the technicalities of the nonsense they’re proposing. For all their stupidity, they’re pretty smart.

As students, we’ve had to pay a tonne of rent for accommodation we couldn’t live in, and a tonne of tuition fees for classes we can’t attend, whilst not being told a thing about our pending year. It’s been an expensive, and scary time, in which we’ve been massively let down by the government in charge. Of course, looking at our crisis of a cabinet, it’s no surprise. But, its still pretty insulting to be blamed for a situation that is doing nothing but damaging our futures and overdrafts.

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