Government now needs to ease up on message of fear and give the public a sense of optimism

OVER the past few months the public has in the main conformed to Government advice on the Covid-19 pandemic.

What hasn’t helped has been the conflicting advice from experts, some of it manifestly scaremongering. An example of this was a senior Government adviser speculating that the hospitality industry may have to close down in order that a return to schooling can be accommodated.

This was swiftly countered by a Government minister stressing that pubs and restaurants would remain open, realising the potential for trepidation on the parts of affected staff.

Despite the PR picture the Government would like to portray, a message of fear prevails on the premise that the public will be obedient through worry about the consequences.

If a message based on this is repeated it will stick; a tactic of the “nanny state”.

Listening to the propaganda, there is an insinuation by officialdom that the public is uninformed, but history has shown this can misfire.

The population can be long-suffering for only so long.

There has to be a balance between health, relative quality of life and the economy — the latter being the key to the first two. The Government struggles to get all three factors to correlate, which is at the heart of people’s anxieties. This can lead to paranoia and “fear of fear” can ensue, where rationality goes out the window.

A believable theory is that mental health issues will become a widespread condition, much of it being engendered by Government mishandlings.

Giving hospitality workers a feeling of insecurity doesn’t help.