Covid ad blitz will warn: Don’t let a coffee cost a life

Ministers try to shock public into complying with lockdown

MEETING someone for a coffee could ‘cost a life’, a controversial Government advertising campaign will warn.

Ministers are due to launch a string of hard-hitting adverts in the coming days designed to shock the public into greater compliance with the lockdown.

Government sources last night confirmed that one ad will carry the slogan: ‘Don’t let a coffee cost a life.’

The message is designed to warn against the dangers of meeting up with friends, even outdoors.

Another advert, designed to deter individuals from using public transport, will read: ‘Covid takes the train too.’

But one Tory MP last night warned it was wrong to use ‘scare tactics’ – and was damaging to law-abiding businesses which have invested heavily in making their operations safe.

Cafes have been allowed to continue serving takeaways during the lockdown, despite misgivings from some health officials. But there has been confusion around whether customers from different households are allowed to have a coffee together outdoors.

Lockdown rules ban socialising with

‘It’s becoming a little bit totalitarian’

friends and families from other households. However, there is an exemption that allows two individuals from different households to meet up for outdoor exercise.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed this week that two people could meet for a walk and pick up a takeaway coffee along the way. But they would not be permitted to sit down on a bench and drink it.

Government sources said the new campaign was aimed at reinforcing the message that socialising should be avoided during lockdown.

But Conservative MP Peter Bone said it was ‘ over the top’, arguing that many cafes had taken great care to ensure they complied with lockdown rules, including blocking off seating both indoors and outdoors.

He added: ‘ Cafes have, rightly, been allowed to continue operating and they are doing so in a responsible manner.

‘Equally, the vast majority of the public are complying very carefully with the rules – they don’t need scare tactics from the Government to do the responsible thing.

‘It is more than nanny state to suggest to people they might kill someone if they buy a cup of coffee – it is becoming a little bit totalitarian. We really should then be letting people use their common sense instead of trying to scare them.’ Last week, two women were fined £200 each by Derbyshire Police after taking hot drinks on a walk five miles from their home.

Officers told the pair that their walk was ‘not in the spirit’ of lockdown and warned that their drinks could be considered a picnic.

However, the fines were later rescinded after new national police guidelines were issued. The exemption for exercise was included as a lifeline for the lonely.

However, some ministers are concerned it is being abused by those

who want to continue meeting up with friends. There are also concerns about groups forming outside cafes and takeaways.

Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday said that Britons should exercise alone. She told ITV’s This Morning: ‘Yes, it should be local… but exercise on your own and don’t use it for a social meeting.’ Downing Street later confirmed that the lockdown rules allow two individuals from different households to exercise together outdoors.