New Measures Announced
New social distancing and public safety measures were announced by the British government yesterday following a recent spike in Covid-19 cases across the UK this month. These measures include pubs and restaurants now having to close at 10pm, and table service only is now mandatory across the hospitality industry, as is wearing a face mask for all hospitality and retail staff. People are also being advised to work from home wherever possible, and fines for not following the new guidelines have increased to £200 for a first offense. These measures were at first only introduced in England, but the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland very quickly followed suit with similar restrictions, with Scotland and Northern Ireland also banning visiting other people’s homes as of Wednesday.
Are they enough?
Whilst the natural response for the Government would be to enforce stricter rules in the face of this second wave of the SARS-CoV2 virus, and praise for the new restrictions have been drawn from across the Commons benches, there have been multiple statements from leading scientists claiming that these new measures do not go anywhere near far enough in ensuring public safety, and the measures that are in place as of yesterday should have been introduced far earlier. Among those who share this sentiment is epidemiologist and government advisor Professor John Edmunds, who has urged the government to place tighter restrictions on public gatherings and social distancing. Sharing these concerns is Professor Peter Openshaw of the government’s scientific advisory body, who has called for a ban on households mixing indoors similar to the new restrictions in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
An inconsistent leader
The tightening and easing and tightening again of restrictions has raised questions surrounding Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s leadership during this crisis, with criticisms aimed at the inconsistency of the government’s policy, policy that Johnson has always taken credit for. Policy appears to have shifted away from suppressing the virus to controlling the rate of infection, with the government now seemingly accepting the reality that until a vaccine is released, Covid-19 is here to stay. The scientific advisory body of which Professor Openshaw is a member has the collective opinion that the new restrictions imposed by Johnson’s government will only have a small effect on controlling the spread of this disease, with measures such as these usually being more effective when imposed as early as possible; it took four months for cases to hit their lowest point after the first wave of lockdown measures were introduced. This new surge of cases is not far off what it was when infection rates where at their height, and most experts agree that a lack of foresight has landed us back where we were in March, with hospital admissions climbing exponentially, and the death rate slowing creeping upwards as well.
A second lockdown?
While another full lockdown has always been on the cards, the government seems to be treating it like a nuclear bomb; a dreadful last resort that will be used if the situation becomes dire enough. The reverence that is given to a second lockdown by the Prime Minister and his cabinet emphasises the impact that it will have on the economy, and it has been said time and again that the UK simply cannot afford another lockdown. However, if these new measures prove ineffective, as many predict they will, this unthinkable last resort may need to be enacted to save lives. While the initial blast of a second lockdown will surely have a widely negative impact on the economy, the fallout will spell doom for Johnson’s leadership. The number one priority of a Conservative Prime Minister is to protect the economy, and if Johnson fails at that, he will surely lose support from his party, a fate that Johnson seems to want to avoid at all costs.
stay safe
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