FROM THURSDAY, pubs, cafes and restaurants will have to close at 10pm each evening as part of a wider package of restrictions aimed at halting the spread of Covid-19 cases, which have risen sharply in recent weeks. We need to get real about this – ahead of us is a winter where there’ll be a significant amount of disruption to our lives.
In this podcast, Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins discuss what’s gone wrong in recent months. Marcus argues strongly that the younger generations took the ‘eat out to help out’ scheme and the gradual reopening of the hospitality sector in July and August as a sign that the danger had passed, and that it was ‘party time’.
But what should happen now? Marcus and Greg agree that there is a lack of clarity over exactly what the rules are. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s address to the nation on Tuesday evening was rambling and lacked clarity. Isn’t it time for clear, concise public information films on every advert break on every TV channel, as well as on YouTube and Spotify, to make it clear exactly what the rules are, in terms of how many people we should meet indoors, outdoors and how much distance we should keep? How many people actually know what the rules are?
Social media, especially Facebook, is awash with gross misinformation and conspiracy theories that play down the significance of the virus. What, if anything, can and should be done about it?
The podcast is available via the Talk Podcasts website, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Spotify and the TuneIn app.
Choose a podcast from the menu 