After spending 5 months cooped up inside your house, lockdown has been eased (at least in the South East). Shops are open for business; schools are back with extra rules - if you walk outside, you will see people living their lives generally normally. But with each passing day, the number of cases get worse and the graph of cases climbs higher and higher. Despite the fact that the PM has previously said that he does not want to introduce a second major lockdown, stating that it would be an 'economic disaster'. On the one hand, this makes sense - unemployment rates are their highest since 2018 at 4.1% and people are still being laid off (695,000 were dropped from payroll since March 2020). But on the other hand, a second national lockdown may be the only way to ensure that cases do not skyrocket as they have in countries like France.
With the introduction of the 'Rule of 6' earlier this week, and it seemingly negligent changes to the number of cases, and Boris Johnson recently admitting that the UK was, in fact, seeing a second wave, I cannot help but think that new, stricter, measures will be trickling into our lives soon.
Since the government is firmly against a second national lockdown, one rule that will most likely come out soon is a curfew. Boris Johnson is currently discussing with other politicians what the best new measures would be to try and halt the meteoric rise in cases without acting like a major national lockdown. A curfew is one of these ideas and is actually a good idea. Introducing a curfew means that the amount of night time socialising will be cut down and since it is mostly younger people who go out at night to party, etc. this could also help to try and cut down the number of cases within the younger population. It also allows businesses in the hospitality industry to stay open but keep people safe. This, combined with stricter socialising measures would hopefully have a meaningful impact on the increase in cases.
OK, so the Government does not want a fully-fledged lockdown. What about short lockdowns that would not create problems for businesses? This, according to Matt Hancock, is a viable option that the Government might use. As schools enter their 3rd week, is it possible that the half term in October may act as a lockdown in a bid to cut the cases? That would be the ideal situation, but given the case numbers, and the fact that the number of daily cases seems to be doubling every 8 days, this short lockdown may be coming sooner than that. This would actually be a very good idea - having a short lockdown would mean that the businesses would not need to lay anyone off or take out any major loans.
As well as this, the prime minister is ready to raise the first offence fine for breaking the 'Rule of 6' from £100 to £1000 as a deterrent. This would definitely make sure that the socialising rules are followed and would ensure that the people keep safe and keep separate. I think that with a fine of this size, people would be inclined to follow the rules. Naturally, there are exceptions to the rules, for example, families larger than 6 can obviously meet. In these situations, it is perfectly OK for the family to meet. But despite the possibility of higher fines and more social distancing, more places are opening up and entertainment venues have reopened. One big question that will be answered soon is what kind of effect will the reopening of these places have, especially if new lockdown or socially distanced measures are introduced.
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