On Monday 23 March prime minister Boris Johnson told the nation to be on lock down to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Police would intervene and fine people for disobeying the rules. There were to be only a handful of reasons for leaving the house, such as:
- Shopping for necessities that are needed urgently
- Doing one form of exercise which includes walking, running or cycling
- Going to work, if you are a key worker and cannot work from home
- For medical purposes, helping the vulnerable, or to provide some sort of care
Seven days later and I’m not getting the sense of a real lock down. Metaphorically speaking it’s like locking the doors and keeping the key in the lock. The UK is treating this whole situation a bit too loosely. Police have been told to use persuasive methods instead of enforcement and arrest. The overall effect is to undermine the instructions altogether. If even the authorities don’t get tough, how are we expected to take it seriously?
Countries like Italy, China and Spain have been on a real lock down. Clearly they are taking the pandemic as seriously as everyone should. Don’t be surprised if we take a lot longer to recover – it’s the price we’ll pay for trying to get away with lock down lite.