Expert warns ministers must deliver clear exit messages
Ministers must deliver a clear message to the public as they move to relax the lockdown, an expert in human behaviour warned yesterday.
The UK and Scottish governments are expected to reveal their plans for a way ahead this week amid fears so-called “coronaphobia” could hinder recovery and that warnings to stay at home and distance from others have been too successful.
Professor Linda Bauld, a behavioural scientist at Edinburgh University, and an expert in public health messaging, said: “We are very resilient but we have had a huge shock and we’ve changed. Now we’re going to be concerned about further changes.
“If we lessen some of the restrictions – for example, that you can meet people outside – the government has to set out the principle behind it and how it will work in practice.”
On the idea that wearing face masks could become routine in the weeks and months ahead, she said: “The evidence is really weak that they make a big impact in terms of protecting us and protecting others.
“They might have some contribution to make. That’s why most other countries are not enforcing it but recommending that the public takes up this kind of measure.”
On the two-metre distancing rule, which in some countries has been reduced to one metre, she added: “The evidence on airborne transmission is pretty limited.
“It will be crucial that the science is explained for areas like the workplace, to give staff confidence to return and employers to reopen.
“The government needs to be crystal clear in its communication about how far away people need to stay from each other.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to reveal lockdown exit plans on Thursday after he suggested the infection peak had passed.
However, politicians and doctors warn there is a great risk in any relaxation of sparking a second wave of infection.
Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has insisted she will follow suit only if she believes the timing is right on easing restrictions.
Other measures being discussed in a possible relaxation of lockdown include staff working every other week, wearing PPE and face coverings and staff taking their temperature before leaving home.