Travel ambassadors are being introduced on cross-Solent routes following concerns ‘selfish’ people are not following the ‘hand, face, space’ precautions onboard ferries, despite COVID restrictions having been dropped and 80% of everyone aged 12 and over double vaccinated.
Speaking at a meeting of the Isle of Wight Council’s local outbreak engagement board, councillors said despite seeing ferries rammed with passengers, hardly anyone was wearing face coverings, continuing to social distance or using hand sanitiser.
Raising the issue, Councillor Ian Stephens, deputy leader of the council, said it seemed very haphazard and while the council was doing all it could to get people to adhere to the guidance it was a pinch point with people coming to the Island ignoring the guidance. He said it was going to ’cause the Island grief’ in the long term and questioned whether enough was being done, on both sides of the Solent and travel operators to COVID safety.
Councillor Lora Peacey-Wilcox said people ignore the messages on board and there is now no legal obligation to wear face masks. She said:
“My thought is: always protect yourself — if I wear a mask, keep my distance and use hand sanitiser then I am doing the most that I can do.
“It is sad people do not think about the others who are travelling, cancer patients or really vulnerable people but they are selfish and ignore all of those signs.”
Getting tearful, Cllr Peacey-Wilcox said people would be having a very different Christmas this year, with family missing due to COVID. There has, however, been no suggestion of legal restrictions this year meaning families will be returning to a fairly normal Christmas, unless they carry out a test and test positive.
The council’s assistant chief executive, Wendy Perera, said the country was open, with no constraints on travel as there were during lockdowns or the tier system, so it was down to personal responsibility, doing the right thing for yourself, friends and family. She said the council was working with travel ambassadors, who will either be directly onboard the crossings or in the ports, to help people understand the message of travelling the right way and protecting the Isle of Wight.
The operators, Ms Perera said, have their hands tied as they have no way of enforcing the precautionary measures.
There are no legal restrictions within the UK on wearing masks or keeping a social distance from others. Furthermore, 79.6% of UK residents aged 12 and over have now been double vaccinated against COVID-19, with 87.1% having received their first dose. That means roughly 8 in every 10 people you come into contact with will be protected, mitigating the need for the stringent COVID restrictions previously seen across the country.
Well done. So many people seem to think that Covid has disappeared or that it doesn’t affect them. My family and friends still wear masks in confined spaces and try to keep a distance from others which is sometimes near impossible.
Responsible people with a brain try to do the right thing but are sadly outnumbered by the types who just don’t care. Expecting the selfish, entitled, “me first”, “not my problem” types of English people that this country has been producing for the last few decades to show consideration for others feelings and fears is expecting the impossible. In Japan you see people everywhere wearing masks even if alone and out in the countryside, because the citizens there are far more civlised than the yobbish culture that this country has become. Vaccinated people can still spread the virus & some cant have vaccine anyway, think of them.
People think the Pandemic is over
People should have the choice to stay in their vehicles too stay safe.
When did an IW Ferry ever sink.
Let people choose.
This time of year there are so many people with colds.
You stupid??? Maritime law dictates whether you want to sit in your car or not.
Does Maritime Law protect persons from IDIOTS who sneeze or cough in your air space!
Get real stupid
How about the buses to then???? Signs on those saying please wear a mask, but guess what, hardly no one does, and that includes some of the drivers.
When I read articles like this one, it does make me wonder if the pandemic will ever be over. We’ve had, or having, one of the best vaccination programmes in the world in the fight against Covid. It is a well known fact that current vaccines aren’t a cure for Covid, nor will they eradicate it. Current vaccines will lessen the impact of Covid and hopefully reduce deaths significantly, which, does seem to be the case since the vaccine role out. So, until, if and / or when there is some miracle cure or way of totally eradicating this virus, we are just going to have to live with it and not live under restrictions and behind masks forever more.
Why isn’t the council kicking these companies up the backside and telling them together their act together. The ferry companies are bringing in their winter timetable with reduced sailings. Plus the constant breakdowns the ferries are having. On top of the new train service not running half hourly as promised. And where were these Ambassadors during the summer months when the ferries were packed?
Nothing like the rabid mask wearers, reminds me of the film ‘invasion of the body snatchers’ with them pointing and screaming, even though their filthy germ riddled masks they’ve worn all day touching them constantly are not an airtight seal on the face, they insist we do the same, if you wear a mask then your ok right? so masky nutters, dont worry about them loony non mask wearers thats their problem..not yours.
I applaud the Council for this move. Yes, there are a lot of selfish people who visit the island and walk round without even considering wearing a mask and respecting other people’s space. Some have become way too complacent, which is not good. Masks and social distancing, I think, so should still be adhered to in public places, eg shops and all public transport. COVID has not gone away people and to all elderly people, just because you have had both vaccinations and possibly the third top up jab, you can still catch COVID. Fact.
the selfish ones are those who expect others to wear a face nappy, when there is no need to……respect the freedom of choice
We all know mask wearing is not mandatory, but how about respect for other people’s feelings, you don’t know if a family member is vulnerable and people have to go to work and are trying to protect that person at home ….
You also don’t know if they have lost a loved one and they are trying to protect themselves and you ….
Hands face space fresh air ….
We all want to enjoy life …..
Don’t be selfish, wear a mask!
Don’t be selfish, let people choose for themselves.
When the Covid outbreak started i phoned the environmental health at the Council & I asked what the IOW council was going to do in conjunction with the ferrys to protect the islanders from Covid ie like testing before being allowed to travel to the island, as I was a worried resident, i got told it was down to ferry company’s & nothing to do with the council then i was laughed at & dismissed from the call , now near 2 years has gone by with how many deaths & cases here on the isle of Wight …….
Money for old rope , wonder who’s in line for those jobs ???
It takes no effort to put a mask on. It should be ‘expected’ to be the case in the winter pandemic or not.
Should not need to be the law or need people asking people to wear one. It should be common decency to put one on when on public transport. It would save us so much money in tax as the NHS would not be over run with people with flu or any other bug.
The people who object saying it should be their choice forget that they choice forces their bugs onto others.
This will just cause a confrontation something the covidiots love. As others have said, not the law.
If these people know they are at risk why are they travelling. Another example of the minority preaching to the majority.
Many people have to travel to Southampton and Portsmouth for Treatment at the Hospitals Therefore they are particularly Vunerable Why are people so Thoughtless
As much as I agree that staying on the car deck in your car would be ideal for me, unfortunately, the maritime and coast guard agency regulations 23.4.3: states that voyages of 30 minutes or less may permit passengers to remain in their vehicles.
At the height of Covid the MCA allowed people to stay on car decks if the ferry company provided pre agreed mitigation measures (rigorous risk assessment) these arrangements were for exceptional circumstances only.
Perhaps this will happen if cases of Covid rise through the winter. However, isn’t it ironic that we have to wait for cases to rise before we implement precautions.