COVID-19: Johnson expected to delay 'Freedom Day', as poll shows more than half of people back him
With cases of the more transmissible delta variant increasing, the coronavirus restrictions are likely to remain for a bit longer.
Boris Johnson is expected to agree to the delay of lockdown easing in England and, according to a new poll, just over half of the UK public is backing the move.
Assuming the poll is reasonably accurate, it's the most depressing aspect of the current situation. Why we are so easily induced to go along with the narrative I don't know. Independent we certainly are not.
It's almost as depressing as the thought of David Attenborough bleating climate doom to the G7 stoogefest.
3 comments:
Tricky, isn't it. Speaking to various people I've come to the conclusion that the older generation (who are at more risk of *serious* consequences of infection) are happy to hunker down a little longer. After all most of them (including me) were less likely to 'dine out' than more recent generations and are more likely to be retired, so find hunkering down less of a problem. The younger generation, particularly the self employed, have (mostly) restarted working already.
None of the above is based on actual risks, or the actual economic consequences of lockdown. People are just people.
It might be depressing, but it's not particularly surprising. Lots of people are enjoying getting paid for staying at home, especially now the nice weather is here and the garden is requiring attention. Many, especially those working for big organisations, are keen to demonstrate their productivity in this time of home-working, in hopes of making this the new norm. A few, of course, have not been paying attention to the reports about the virus and transmission rates, and are probably befuddled with 18 months of singing "Happy Birthday" while washing, masks, and new variants.
And last week I travelled on the train. Witnessing the shouty and aggressive and attention-seeking behaviour of lots of other passengers (I seemed to be the only one content to sit and read) I admit to a selfish hankering for the good old days last year when everything felt a bit like a 1950s Sunday.
DJ - yes, from what I see, older people are happy to hunker down a little longer. Habits may even change permanently where crowds are more consciously avoided, whether in shops or elsewhere. As you say, none of it is based on actual risks.
Sam - I know what you mean about a selfish hankering for the good old days last year when everything felt a bit like a 1950s Sunday. We have a holiday booked in August but we aren't looking forward to the inevitable crowds.
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