Novara Media, June 2020
Lockdown is ending – every day this becomes a little clearer. But rather than being led and backed by science, the government’s approach to easing the measures appears to be driven by ideology.
Boris Johnson condemned Black Lives Matter protests on Tuesday for ‘flouting social distancing’ guidelines – in cities where public transport is packed at rush hour with people following the prime minister’s advice to travel to work.
Amid a series of inconsistent rules and guidelines, the government also announced last Monday that it had become illegal to visit the home of another person – even someone who lives alone – in a move the media described as ‘banning sex’ between people who do not belong to the same household.
While this measure might have seemed reasonable in the context of the UK last week surpassing 50,000 Covid deaths, it came shortly after the announcement that people who cannot work from home should return to their workplaces. While the economy is worth risking your life for, the government appears to be suggesting, your relationships and wellbeing are not worth even a fraction of that risk.
Sophie Hemery 