Matthew Lynn:

Instead of making masks and the like mandatory, let the people work out what is safe and proportionate

Amask will be compulsory when ordering a takeaway kebab or burger. Unless, that is, there is a table somewhere, but make sure you sit down right away, and don’t stop to chat to someone in the queue. Likewise, masks will be mandatory in shops, unless you happen to be under 11. Or a shop worker. Or talking to someone who lip reads. Or suffer from a mental or physical disability.

Or, for that matter, if you live in Scotland, in which case there are a whole separate set of rules to follow, such as making sure you are wearing a mask on open-air train platforms, although not bus stops, except if you are buying a sausage roll from the kiosk, in which case, well, it might be best to check first. Oh, and apparently anyone ordering a vegan sandwich will be exempt from all the restrictions. OK, OK, I made that last one up. But the rest were among the blizzard of rules introduced haphazardly over the last few days.

But hold on. This is getting crazy. What is the justification for each of these diktats? We are apparently not trusted to know. Are they proportionate? There is barely an answer. Why are they being introduced now, when the virus is in retreat? Don’t ask me. Perversely, we are getting bogged down in petty rules and restrictions just as we are trying to emerge from lockdown and bring the economy back to life.

In the case of masks, it remains to be seen whether they are the answer to controlling Covid-19. There is certainly evidence to suggest that they help, and there is nothing wrong with the Government encouraging people to wear a face covering when they think it is appropriate.

But ministers have now been swept up in a mania for control. It started out by making masks compulsory on public transport. Now it’s shops. As the schools and the universities go back in the autumn, and then offices start to reopen, no doubt they will get their own set of rules as well. Face coverings might be compulsory for maths lessons, but not for geography, and sales departments might have to cover their faces, but not accounts. At the rate things are going, the Government appears to be making up the rules more or less at random. Nothing would be very surprising anymore.

And masks, if it is not too muddled a metaphor, are just the tip of the iceberg. We are fast developing a whole raft of Covid-19 microregulations that are likely to remain in place until we find a vaccine – and probably until we have given everyone a shot as well. Almost everything we do will soon be tightly controlled, with exemptions no one can follow, and fines so randomly applied they will make parking tickets look fair by comparison.

But the trouble with microregulation, as we have found over decades of experience, is that it quickly turns into mindless boxticking. No one bothers to exercise any independent judgment or discretion. They just go through the motions. That both increases the risk, because people become careless, and the economic damage, because it stifles innovation. Even worse, it will actively deter people from getting back to normal for fear of breaking a rule. It is the worst of all possible worlds.

There is a much simpler and more efficient solution. And it has been articulated most persuasively by Lord Sumption, the former Supreme Court judge, who admitted this week that he gave up following lockdown rules when they became “absurd”. We should let people know what the scientific guidance is. And, beyond that, we should let individuals and companies work out the best way of operating safely. We should encourage people to take their own risks, based on their own health profile, and their assessment of the dangers. Freedom and innovation will do a lot more to fix this crisis than an elaborate set of rules that no one can follow anyway.

Takeaways are just one example. Over the last few months, they have been one of the most adaptive and flexible sectors of the economy, working out ways to continue operating, serving customers, and keeping hundreds of thousands of mostly small businesses alive in the process. It is crazy suddenly to start hitting them with a new set of regulations, especially when there is no convincing evidence they have played any significant role in transmitting the virus. Likewise, small shops have adapted and found ways to operate safely, and the larger ones have started to follow their lead. No one wants to get sick, or pass on Covid-19. Leave them to themselves, and they will work out a solution.

We face two challenges right now, both equally serious. We need to keep the virus under control and prevent a second wave. Yet we also need to keep the economy alive. The best way to make that happen is to trust the instincts of the people, and allow the market to work out ways of creating products and serving customers safely.

Covid-19 is going to do huge damage to the economy. Potentially, millions of people are going to lose their livelihoods if we don’t get this right. And no one will be able to cover that up with a mask – no matter how hard they try.