Policy and consequences

Today, The Times reports that the Government were warned by SAGE in July that a second wave of infections that autumn should be expected, and that plans for a second lockdown at that point should be planned.

Instead, Johnson dithered.

And the Chancellor rolled out "his" Eat out to Help out scheme, which helped only restaurants, and not take aways, but it seems helped fuel the second wave, and now scientists think that up to 13,000 people died as a result of that alone.

Not only did the lockdown not happen, the Government was threatening people to go back to the office, even as infiections began to climb.

I went to Southampton for three days in August, and the city was rammed each evening, with just about every table at every restaurant and pub fully occuped. Two nights we ate outside so to lessen the risk of infection to us, and the other night there were no tables to be found empty anywhere, except my favourite pub in the city which dd a fine chilli and several pints of good beer and a whole load of top banter.

But upon return to home, I isolated for two weeks, in case I had picked up the virus.

So, even as the country is allowed to unlock, we will be careful and limit our exposure, saving eating out for the warm spring and summer days in a beer garden. Or as a tweet I saw earlier from Michael Rosen:

Have I got this right? Johnson says that all schools must open, but this will spread infection so people have got to...stay indoors...so presumably school students and teachers and school workers aren't 'people'. He is dangerous.

Quite.