That “Stay Alert” message saw people flock to the beach – the only 5 reactions you need
Wednesday was the UK’s hottest day so far in 2020, so a lot of people took advantage of the recent loosening of lockdown rules and headed to the beach.
Here’s how things looked at Southend-on Sea, for example.
Southend beach packed with thousands of sunseekers from as far away as Leicestershire struggling to social distance on the hottest day of the year https://t.co/aElf6KbKRl pic.twitter.com/j8mZ6lOl4w
— ITV London (@itvlondon) May 20, 2020
ITV journalist, Simon Harris, suspected the current safety campaign might not be doing its job.
So much for the ‘Don’t visit Southend’ campaign! @itvlondon pic.twitter.com/oCnqhgaNos
— Simon Harris (@simonharrisitv) May 20, 2020
He wasn’t the only one.
1.
Congratulations to Boris Johnson and team for taking the clear message of “stay home” and tweaking it just enough so that the public thinks it’s fine to turn the beaches into a special coronavirus edition of Where’s fucking Wally. https://t.co/FYVcx47M4m
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) May 20, 2020
2.
If you look carefully at the sea from Southend beach, you can see the second wave heading towards you. pic.twitter.com/kQlW5xqOdB
— Parody Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson_MP) May 20, 2020
3.
Lessons learned from 1918: zero. 👇 https://t.co/D7EE9LkaUV
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 20, 2020
4.
As you see, it's a beautiful day, the beaches are open and people are having a wonderful time. Southend, as you know, means "Second wave" #Southend #beach pic.twitter.com/WgC1kyZwrI
— Grow Like Grandad (@GrowLikeGrandad) May 20, 2020
5.
Don’t want to worry anybody but a lot of these sardines don’t look alert https://t.co/FYVcx47M4m
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) May 20, 2020
Care worker Louise Ellis Davies viewed the scenes with a certain amount of despair.
At 8am I finished my nightshift. Took off my PPE, showered, washed my uniform, and went to bed.
While I was asleep Southend beach was packed with people, unable to social distance due to numbers. Under gov guidelines they all have the "right" to go there.
Why do I bother?⚰— Louise Ellis Davies 💙🌈 (@louanndavies) May 20, 2020
She may well have had some sympathy with this message from a Southend news account.
Dear everyone,
Fuck off home
Love,
Southend— Southend On Sea (@Southend0nSea) May 20, 2020
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