The Courier asked people in Dundee city centre on Monday what they think of the authorities’ coronavirus outbreak preparation and planning so far?
“Scandalous” is how Peter Taylor of Arbroath Road, Dundee, described government strategy so far for dealing with the coronavirus outbreak.
The 74-year-old retired Ninewells Hospital plumber said: “Anyone with underlying illnesses does not know what precautions to take.
“The biggest headache is panic buying. I can’t even get handwash. We’ve just got to get on with it. But for the government to say people over 70 will have to self-isolate – I don’t agree with it. Personally I believe that as a society we’ve become too hygienic.”
Cameron Dent, 23, from Glasgow is doing energy provider surveys on the streets of Dundee this week.
He said: “Whatever planning there is it hasn’t been clear so far. My job involves speaking to lots of elderly people every day and my main concern is – will I pass something on without realising it? My brother lives in Hong Kong and he’s been telling me how he can’t buy hand sanitiser.”
Sarah Dempster, 32, from Douglas in Dundee, is the mother of two children aged four and five. She said: “I’m not really worried. I know that it is a dangerous virus. But we are always washing our hands with soap and water.
“All four of us have had a cough but it’s nothing to do with coronavirus. If it was we would self-isolate ourselves but we’re not going to unless it’s something really serious.”
John Hutchison, 58, a retired Dundee City Council worker, said: “What we really need to know from government is what is in the pipeline vaccine wise? Can they give us a little bit of hope? I would hope that because we are a few weeks behind other countries that we can learn from their experiences. I would also like to see more of Nicola Sturgeon on TV.”
John’s wife Donna Hutchison, 55, a retired NHS support worker, added: “The thing that’s going over the top is people panic buying toilet rolls and all that. I’m also worried that in the long run, if people are confined to their houses for a long time, mental health starts to break down. It’s ok if people have family, but if they don’t it’s harder.”
Chrys Muirhead, 67, from Springfield, Fife, is a retired community worker with an interest in mental health issues.
She believes Scotland is “doing better” than England with its advice.
She said: “To suggest that all people over 70 will have to self-isolate – what are they thinking? I know people in their 80s who are very fit. I’m concerned for my son who is asthmatic and prone to collapsed lungs. I don’t want to take anything back to him.
“People with OCD could also become particularly distressed with all this hand washing. For people who have severe anxieties their mental health is going to get worse.”
Vicki Kydd, 41, of Dundee’s West End, is a recovering alcoholic who believes the reaction to coronavirus has been “absolutely over the top and ridiculous”.
She discovered the kitchen at her recovery café has been shut down as a “precaution”.
She said: “A crisis has been created by these eejits panic buying. World War Two rationing will happen because of these idiots. I know a mental health nurse in hospital and they are closing wards as a precaution.
“He has been told he is not essential. Foodbanks are going to run out of food. In my opinion coronavirus is not the problem but society is the problem.”
Retired Glasgow police officer Stewart Alexander, 50, said the advice seemed a little bit “confused” at the moment.
He has heard stories about the virus running out of control in at least one west coast hospital.
He is also worried that his mother will not be kept “in a prison” if the over-70s were told to self isolate.
“For her going out is not something she does by chance – it’s the only way she can live her life and see friends,” he said.
His wife Janice Alexander, 56, who works at Glasgow University, added she was concerned about the mental health impact on people. The couple also have concerns about what impact the crashing stock market will have on the value of her pension.
Craig McGeoghie, 57, a retired Dundee advertising rep, said he felt government preparedness was “very poor”. The Roxburgh House volunteer said his Hawkhill GP surgery has closed.
Speaking to his brother who lives in Tuscany and recently had a heart attack, he has heard first hand accounts of life under lockdown with police road checks etc.
“I don’t do conspiracy theories but I think there’s something the authorities are not telling us,” he added.
“I find the stockpiling of food obscene. I think in general there has been a lot of complacency from the government and the way Scottish rugby fans were able to go down to Wales before the rugby game was cancelled at the last minute on Friday was just a farce.”
