No 10 should trust the public on Covid

People are now managing their own risk – the Government needs to work with that, not against it

We may be in lockdown once more but you wouldn’t have guessed it this weekend. Sunny weather saw crowds thronging open-air markets, parks and seafronts. If stopped and asked why we were out and about, we had our answers ready: we’re shopping for food, exercising, meeting a friend for a walk. Public perception of the risks of Covid have changed since the spring. This time around, instead of hunkering down at home and meekly accepting instructions, we’re exploring all the options available to get on with our lives – if only to retain our sanity.

Businesses, too, are putting up more of a fight this time around. Shopkeepers who managed to survive the spring are fearful that this time they really will be crushed out of existence by the big online retailers, so they have taken a close look at the rules and decided that more of their products – from cut flowers to aromatherapy oils – are “essential”. The Government is wise not to follow the Welsh example of closing off certain supermarket aisles, but when many shops have gone to great lengths over the summer to make their premises “Covid-proof ” it is hard not to sympathise – or want to support them.

And here lies the rub. During the summer every public-facing enterprise – from pubs to gyms, bookshops to hairdressers – spent substantial amounts of time and money installing screens and sanitisers, restricting numbers to ensure social distancing and enforcing mask-wearing.

As all this took place, and as we have learnt more about the virus, we too have changed our habits. It’s become second nature to hold conversations six feet apart, resisting the desire to hug or shake hands, and standing back while others pass by. Wearing a mask may be more about social conformity than confidence in its ability to keep us safe, but we put one on all the same.

Yet here we are, locked down again and hearing the same old government message to stay at home. Ministers are even threatening to crack down harder on breaches of the regulations, urging the police to issue on-the-spot fines rather than repeated cautions. Local authorities have been told to “step up enforcement” where businesses appear to be flouting the rules. The current regulations do not prevent people travelling to take exercise, but police officers have been telling Londoners walking in the Cotswolds that they should stay closer to home.

The danger in the indignant messaging about staying at home to save lives is that it becomes counterproductive. Enforcement of Lockdown 2 is, as police forces have pointed out, much more complicated than the rules applicable in the spring. Schools and nurseries are open, as are many workplaces. There are many lawful reasons why people are out and about, so blanket restrictions are not possible. Added to which, the rules seem illogical: gyms must close, but physiotherapy can still take place; it’s safe to swim in a river but not a lido; two individuals from different households can meet for a walk two metres apart but they can’t have a game of tennis at opposite ends of a 20-metre court.

The result of such inconsistencies is that more and more of us are deciding that we can manage our own risk, thank you very much. Without being experts, most of us now have a reasonable grasp of where the greatest dangers lie. There is wider understanding of the risk of indoor versus outdoor gatherings, of the most important precautions to take in trying to avoid infection, and who the most vulnerable are.

Instead of threatening us with bigger fines, or trying to frighten us into compliance, the Government needs to start trusting the public. That means sharing information; opening up more national and local data for scrutiny. Introducing endless petty rules and rushing out inconsistent guidance will only lead to more rule-breaking and increase contempt for authority.

When Manchester students last week tore down the barriers erected overnight around their accommodation, the university apologised for the distress caused and removed the fencing. Sympathy for the students was widespread. A Conservative Government should recognise that fencing us in with illogical rules and on-the-spot fines is no way to get through this pandemic.