Why The 10pm Curfew Could Be Doing More Harm Than Good
The clock struck 10pm and the party was over at pubs, bars and restaurants across the country this weekend – but not everyone went home.
Photos and videos taken during the first weekend of the Covid-19 curfew show people piling into supermarkets to buy alcohol, then drinking and dancing in the street. Those who tried to get home were forced onto crowded public transport.
Footage of the crowds prompted Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, to call for an “urgent review” of the curfew.
“My gut feeling is that this curfew is doing more harm than good,” he said on BBC Radio 4′s Today programme. “It’s potentially contradictory because it creates an incentive for people to gather in the streets or more probably gather in the home. I don’t think this has been fully thought through to be honest.”
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Day three of a 10pm curfew: people in Liverpool have gone to the off license to pick up more drinks and continue to party in the street. pic.twitter.com/GOMhNp5rDl
— Charlie Haynes (@charliehtweets) September 26, 2020
Looking at the images and videos from the weekend, Dr Julian W Tang, honorary associate professor of Respiratory Sciences at the University of Leicester says he can “understand and share” Burnham’s concerns.
“Ideally, as per current guidelines, people leaving the pub should do so in their groups of 6 ‘bubbles’ and wear masks when they board public transport – but it’s understandably easy to forget this after several drinks,” he tells HuffPost UK.
“All of this is very confusing for the public,” he says. “It will take time to get used to this – and for people to find their own practical ways to deal with these tighter restrictions. But as we know, unfortunately, this virus is very unforgiving – and as we take time to get used to each new measure, we will see it...
