Covid is a thing of the past and something we can finally look back on and laugh about, so let’s take a look at the stupid rules which once came into play.
What was supposed to last a couple of weeks ended up being a couple of years and is now something we never thought we could look back on and laugh about – but here we are.
During the pandemic, we were given a host of rules to follow all over Europe to protect ourselves and others from the Coronavirus, and while some made sense, others did not.
Here are ten stupid covid rules we can all (hopefully) laugh about now.
- Covid is a thing of the past and something we can finally look back on and laugh about, so let’s take a look at the stupid rules which once came into play.
- 10. Midnight curfew – go home Covid
- 9. The unvaccinated lockdown – a crazy Austrian rule
- 7. No smoking on the streets – one of the most ridiculous Spanish rules
- 6. Covid pass to enter establishments – essential vaccine pass
- 5. The 2 km rule – anything to leave the house
- 4. Leaving the house for essential reasons – locked down
- 3. Limited items – like wartimes
10. Midnight curfew – go home Covid
Remember when Ireland imposed a midnight curfew for bars and clubs when cases started to rise in the hopes of bringing the numbers down?
We are not entirely sure what the thought process here was, but closing the establishments at midnight won’t make any difference to potential transmission.
9. The unvaccinated lockdown – a crazy Austrian rule
While Ireland and the UK had many stupid rules, Austria is one country which had many, too, including the lockdown for unvaccinated people.
Austria forced unvaccinated people to stay home under a fierce lockdown while vaccinated people could go about their daily lives. Now, this crazy rule is just laughable!
8. Quarantine laws – an expensive situation
Ireland brought in some strict quarantine laws, which meant that people arriving from high-risk countries or those coming without a PCR test had to fork out hotel costs for up to 14 days.
This crazy rule meant that Irish people couldn’t return home without spending big bucks on hotel fees. How does this make sense?
7. No smoking on the streets – one of the most ridiculous Spanish rules
Spain had one of the most stupid covid rules we can all laugh about now, which said that smoking on the streets in various parts of the mainland and the Canary Islands was banned since they said it would spread Covid 19.
They said that infected people could spread droplets when they exhale, which turned out to be a ridiculous assumption. What?
6. Covid pass to enter establishments – essential vaccine pass
If one thing leads to segregation, it has to be the covid pass, which was brought in as a rule in many countries as well as Ireland, to allow you to enter indoor venues.
While we all jumped at the chance to eat out or have a pint, looking back, this pass which lasted until January 2022, was a joke. If there was one thing Covid taught Irish people, it was to never take the pub for granted again.
5. The 2 km rule – anything to leave the house
Remember when you could go out for exercise but needed to stay within a 2 km radius of your home?
Looking back, this sounds ridiculous, yet we all followed the rules, and we did whatever we had to to get out of the house – even if we didn’t like exercising.
4. Leaving the house for essential reasons – locked down
One of the most stupid covid rules we can all laugh about now is that we could only leave the house for essential reasons, whether to see a doctor, buy essential groceries, collect medicine or for essential work.
Needless to say, we did whatever we could to fall into one of those categories just to get outside.
3. Limited items – like wartimes
We all remember going to the supermarkets only to notice many items – specifically toilet rolls, having disappeared from the shelves.
Other items were restricted to just a few per person, such as flour, oil and other items in various European countries, which is something we can hopefully laugh about now.
2. Wearing masks outside – mandatory for everything
While wearing masks protects you to some extent indoors, wearing masks outdoors is one of the stupid covid rules we can all laugh about now.
We all went along with it, just so we could get out and about, but jogging or exercising with a mask on in the open air made no sense whatsoever. So, let’s not even talk about sunbathing with a mask on!
1. The lockdown extension – it gave us no hope
One thing we can laugh about now is that what started as a two-week lockdown continued with extension after extension, only to leave us with no hope of it ever ending.
We could hardly believe it when restrictions finally eased off; it was almost like a Christmas miracle. The pandemic had finally ended, and we got our lives back, but we won’t ever trust those promises again.
So, now in 2023, we can finally look back at the pandemic disaster and all the crazy rules involved. So, which one made you cringe the most?
