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1610
2021 Lockdown — Day 15
We’ve now recorded 1610 deaths in the UK over a 24 hour period due to Covid-19. The UK officially has the highest rate of Covid related deaths per capita in the world. I hope I’m not the only one who feels nothing. It seems inappropriate to feel emotional about a number. While acrophobia (the fear of heights) is not entirely irrational, it can be somewhat irrational. Falling 1,610 feet might be no more lethal than falling 16 feet but it seems much more terrifying.
For those who’ve lost loved ones, the number one is a much more profound number than the number 1610. Being 1 of 1610 is more insulting and obscene than upsetting. To lose 1610 people to a pandemic in one day suggests incompetence on someone’s part and as much as we seek justice it’s easier to lose someone to fate than at the hands of a person or group of people. I’m sure this number will be used to shame people into using masks and socially distancing but it’s not fair to burden people this way.
There needs to be a better reason to take precautions than to escape guilt. It’s well documented that encouragement works much better than guilt in changing behaviour. A parent that blames their child for making them unhappy is simply transferring guilt and causing the child to habitually take burdens upon themselves that are not theirs to carry. The dynamics are a little different when it…
