Boris Johnson has now announced the new roadmap to leaving lockdown, with 5 week intervals between each stage to try and prevent another spike in cases. It is rumoured that we should be back to normal by the June 21st at the very earliest.
The Prime Minister made this announcement on the 22nd of February, labelling what each stage would consist of, being separated into different categories. These categories are separated into education, social contact, business and activities, travel and, finally, events. The first stage begins to be put into process on the 8th of March with education in schools and colleges being fully opened and practical higher education courses being prioritised to get back to face to face learning, with some easing of restrictions on the 29th of March in the social contact, business and activities and travel categories if cases don’t peak.
The second step, along with the others, all will only go into place if its proven that the slow easing is productive in the prevention of spread. With intervals of 5 weeks between each easing, it allows government officials and scientists to see whether people are going to be put at a higher risk because of lockdown easing or whether it is in fact a safe process. By spacing it out over a time period and giving estimated dates, it adds an element of comfort to be able to view the success rate to see whether things will need to be slowed down.
As with anything in the pandemic, it is an unpredictable time for many and some will be nervous about it the process of lifting lockdown. However, it has reached the point for others where lockdown has become draining and people wish for life to go back to normal, which, at the moment, seems to be June 21st at the earliest according to the government. By making providing information of these stages happening at the earliest, it prevents a false sense of hope among the public if it doesn’t go as planned.
By Chloe Hall
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