Andy Munro offers his opinion on new lockdown restrictions.
After the latest ‘strategy’ announcement, I’ve finally had enough listening to Chris Witless, Van Damnit and, of course Bojo with his disappearing Mojo.
Here’s my alternative strategy to apply to the whole of England, with no exceptions:
– Everybody to wear masks inside shops, restaurants and bars, but also when out on the street
– Reinstate the two metre distancing rule as otherwise one metre soon becomes no metres
– Allow restaurants and bars to stay open after 10pm, therefore avoiding the ill-advised nightly mass exodus
– However, implement measures to these places that are mandatory and not advisory, such masks to worn by all staff; table service only; parties to be no more than six, seated and served by the same person; make leaving names and addresses a condition before being served; all tables to be separated by at least two metres and also by a glass screen wherever possible; hand sanitisers to be used on the way in and out, as well as in the toilets; disposable menus to be used together with the cleaning of tables and chairs in between parties
– Apply immediate closure and stiff fines if the above wasn’t followed and use local authority staff (Environmental Health officers and the like) working in conjunction with police to check and implement these measures robustly and frequently
– Households to mix only up to a six-person bubble
– No visits allowed to care homes for the moment.
I’m willing to bet that the above would keep the ‘R’ rate down to levels that would avoid a national lockdown, but if anything stricter was needed then I would consult the relevant local authorities before and not after any decision was made.
