Letter: I would like to choose

Jill Orton of Simbithi writes:

If quarantining the elderly makes perfect sense to Olivia Roels-Sak (It’s not ‘if’, it’s ‘when’, Letters, April 17) because the elderly are more likely to get the coronavirus but she is against lockdown, perhaps she could explain her reasoning behind this.

I would take it that she is not elderly and, as such, feels she can come and go as she likes as she is against the lockdown, especially in a country like South Africa.

My husband and I quarantined ourselves before the lockdown even started and we are lucky in that we have our daughter living near and our neighbour has been most helpful as well so we could stay locked down until the order was given to be “freed”.

I have no desire to be locked down again, although we have been out of our house twice during the past four-and-a-half weeks and no doubt Olivia would say this is for our own good, but I would like to choose what is and what is not “for our own good”.

I play tennis, my husband swims and we walk and generally we are quite healthy, thank you very much, and if Olivia decides in her wisdom that we should spend the next few weeks, few months, or God forbid, few years if we should be so lucky to live that long, then we do not need her to decide or tell us it makes perfect sense to her.

If she was going to offer herself up to be locked down for the same amount of time that she seems to think elderly people should be, then I suggest she does just that and leave other’s lives to be lived by the owner of that life.

Until she does that, and I can’t see that happening any time soon, then just get on with your own life, Olivia and we will do the best we can, thanks.

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