Fuck it, no point in pretending we’re shocked
If there is one thing we have learned over the course of the pandemic, it’s that the very rules the government expects people to live by do not always apply to themselves. So, it comes as no surprise that many had questioned why Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell are being forced to isolate when a high profile Tory MP was not.
https://twitter.com/masonmount_10/status/1407325989424730120
Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell both came into contact with fellow Chelsea player Billy Gilmour after the goalless draw between England and Scotland last Friday.
Following Gilmour’s positive test result, the England team was advised by Public Health England to have the two players self-isolate. However, no one else on the Scottish team was asked to self-isolate, besides Gilmour, that is. This drew judgement and confusion from fans online.
Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell are forced to self-isolate after ‘close contact’ with Billy Gilmour after the full-time whistle.
Yet not a single Scotland player is self-isolating ahead of their game.
Make it make sense. pic.twitter.com/8yKksL1l0D
— COYS.com (@COYS_com) June 21, 2021
Petr Cech as perplexed as everyone else over Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell having to isolate and miss England’s game tonight. pic.twitter.com/X85hR3Lq8r
— Adam Newson (@AdamNewson) June 22, 2021
People are also drawing comparisons between the England players and that of Michael Gove. Gove, along with his son, travelled to Porto for the Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea.
While there, Gove received a notification from everyone’s favourite track and trace app. It is believed he came into contact with the virus on the plane journey home, though this has not been confirmed.
Gove was allowed to test daily instead of self-isolating, which drew immense pushback from the general public and fellow politicians.
“Doesn’t that sound like one rule for him and one rule for everybody else?” asked Labour’s Alison McGovern. Richard Madeley was also critical of the decision on Good Morning Britain.
“Forgive my cynicism, but you talk about caution – how is it that your cabinet colleague Mr Gove has been pinged on track and trace and yet, like the rest of us, he doesn’t have to isolate, he’s just doing tests?”
Though the situation is undoubtedly frustrating, the risk of passing on the disease during the Euros is a serious matter. It only takes one slip-up for the virus to once again spread like wildfire.
