And the three tier scheme is yet another joke. Bad, very bad, and very, very bad without any criteria. Ok the bad group is fine, socially distancing, masks and sensible rules about gatherings – why six, not five or seven? Better to limit to family groups/ support groups.
Very bad should have a trigger mechanism rather than a north- south one! Maybe a percentage growth rate in covid cases over 2 or 3 days, combined with a fixed number – say 100/100000. This would trigger a meeting of local ‘COBRA” meetings consisting of NHS, council, MP, councillors of affected areas, and other relevant representatives. They should then come up with a containment strategy.
Very, very bad. Again there should be set criteria to trigger actions which might need new laws to be passed. This could entail full enforced, lock down if necessary. For all levels there also needs to be an exit strategy with similar set goals. Decisions should not be taken about local areas by politicians in Westminster.
Some things do seem to be obvious – test students and once certified free from covid send them home. I know that is rather cruel after the exam debacle, but these are exceptional times. With infection rates at some universities above 7000/100000 it would seem to be a no brainer . I am not in the younger age group! But I am not sure what can be done, or needs to be done, regarding the necessary socialisation that takes place.
What I think is!!! – A good, not patronising, ad campaign about keeping those at risk safe. Passing responsibility back to individuals. There will always be those who flout the law, or just common decency, but the vast majority of young people will be aware of the need to shield old and vulnerable – and will do so.
Identifying those at risk and ensuring they have the mens to keep safe. If pub, etc. have to be shut, ensure that proper support is paid for workers and the company. Yes it will cost money, but this government has been spraying £50 notes like confetti amongst city firms! And anyway as the number of billionaires and their wealth has increased massively over the past 6 months just hit them with a 50% tax. This leaves them with a minimum of £500 million which should be enough to tide them over. The same with the big companies like Amazon and Apple – these are extra-ordinary times, and need extra-ordinary measures.