LOCAL LOCKDOWNS LOOM

ON the one hand, Boris Johnson wants life to get back to normal.

On the other, he’s warned that there may be serious outbreaks of coronavirus over the winter – and if you’re unlucky enough to live in an affected area, you should expect a lockdown that’s even tougher than anything we’ve experienced so far.

The Government is handing local councils powers to close specific premises or outdoor spaces, and to cancel events. But it will also publish regulations (a form of legislation) this coming week giving Government Ministers powers to impose lockdowns on wider areas.

This includes the power to ban people from leaving or entering a defined area, to order them to stay at home, to close down local public transport networks and to order people to wear face coverings in public places.

If these powers are used then it will be the first time that parts of the country have been isolated, with people banned from leaving.

During the nationwide lockdown we were ordered not to travel unless necessary, but the definition of “necessary” was largely a matter of personal judgement.

There was nothing to stop you driving to the next town or city, if you felt you needed to.

We were also urged

to

avoid using public transport unless we had to, but buses, trains and trams still ran, albeit with reduced timetables in some cases.

Now, the Government is talking about restricting local or national transport systems “by closing them entirely, or introducing capacity limits or geographical restrictions”.

That’s a quote from a paper published by the Government on Friday. And the paper explains why such draconian measures are being considered.

On the one hand, there may be no vaccine round the corner. The paper states: “There is no guarantee that a vaccine will be found, and even if one is, it may be at least 12 months away.”

It also warns there may be “a resurgence in the virus between November and March”. But the national lockdown devastated the economy, and cannot be repeated.

The paper states: “The UK economy in May was approximately a quarter smaller than in February 2020 and ... the country is on track to record the largest annual fall in GDP in 300 years.”

Hence, the Government will do whatever it takes to contain future outbreaks, even if it means people in specific towns or cities lose their liberty while life goes on as normal for the rest of the country.