Different bank holiday – but the message is much the same

THERE is more than a touch of dejavu about this bank holiday weekend. The weather forecast is set fair, there’s a school holiday in prospect...and would-be visitors are being asked to stay away from the beauty spots and attractions that would, in normal circumstances, be welcoming them with open arms.

Because while the slight easing of the lockdown – initially imposed way back in March to slow the spread of coronavirus and relaxed just a smidgen – has changed the mood in the country to some extent, the prospect of visitors descending on regions like the Westcountry at this time rightly strikes fear into the heart of many locals. That’s not much different to the way it was at Easter and in the run up to the VE Day bank holiday. We may have made progress in the battle against Covid-19, but still the most common phrase used in connection with getting back to normal life in a tourism reliant region like ours is: “It’s too soon .... ”

It is not just the risk of bringing Covid-19 into a part of a country that has, fortunately, been less affected than much of Britain – although that is a big concern. It is also that, with businesses not yet up and running, facilities like public toilets and car parks often still closed and little – beyond country and coastal walks – for people to do, the idea of hosting a major influx of visitors, even just for a day at a time, doesn’t really make sense.

Lifting the lockdown was primarily about giving people who had been cooped up for weeks a chance to take more exercise, get out for longer and – where it was safe – go back to work. It was never meant to be an opportunity to drive miles to a beach resort, because there is nowhere to stay and the rules against camping out, in caravan, camper or tent, remain firmly in place.

There will be arguments about whether, in making the distance one could travel to take exercise ‘unlimited’s ministers should have foreseen these problems. And questions too will be raised about whether it was sensible to tell people it was okay to go to the beach, but deny them a visit to the loo! Joined up thinking appears to have gone missing here.

Nevertheless there are always those determined to deliberately misunderstand what’s allowed and what’s not and some of the visitors – including those who are trying to turn what should be a short visit into a long weekend – seem to be wilfully pushing things further than they have any right to. They need to be reminded that the rules remain in place for a very good reason.

There are hopeful signs in this battle with coronavirus. Tentative steps in the right direction, towards a full lifting of the lockdown are being taken, although without a vaccine, the road is likely to be very long indeed.

But right at the start of the lockdown easement, the Prime Minister talked about baby steps. That needs to be the watchword. And if the graph starts going in the wrong direction, we have to go back to tougher restrictions. That, though, would send a very depressing message to the population – both those desperate for lockdown to end and those who want an orderly return to normality. So let’s take it steady and get things right.