Weirdly, living in a part of the country with the lowest cases of COVID-19, our county council has asked the government if we can be put into tier 2. I’ll be honest, even I’ve lost the plot of exactly what this might mean but I know it includes restrictions on what we can do and fines if we don’t follow these incredibly clear rules (that’s sarcasm, if you hadn’t guessed). I know it means no social mixing indoors. If you are living with your partner, have a happy home life and won’t lose work through these measures then I expect you are wondering what all the fuss is about. Let’s just crack on. Lockdown and stop this virus before it gets out of control.
That is what the director of public health in Essex is thinking. He’s produced a video, with slides to say as much, showing that cases are doubling, so we should act now, while we can.
He might have a point. Except Maldon and Harlow show cases falling in the last week. It also makes a mockery of the government’s national strategy. I’m not inclined to trust this man’s judgement too much either, as he was the person, who when interviewed by the local press insisted that the six people you were allowed to have inside your house at any one time didn’t need to be socially distant.
Even our MP has backed the plan. John Whittingdale, known for voting for anything his government asks him to, no matter how bonkers is prepared to undermine his party on this. The Prime Minister does not want to devastate the economy or restrict personal freedoms unless absolutely necessary and our MP is prepared to go against him.
It made me wonder if there was something I was missing. Maybe it’s because we are a big county with only four Public hospitals. If our hospitals were struggling then there might be a reason. However, the data for the East of England is still only seeing tiny numbers of people admitted to hospital.
“It must be money,” I said to my daughter, cynically. “Do local authorities get money if they go into tier 2?”
We checked. They do. £1 for every person. I make that a windfall of £1489189. Not bad for a day's meeting. It makes complete financial sense, especially in an area where most people are compliant. It’s not as if Essex will have to spend much of that money to get people to follow the rules because we are pretty good anyway, which is why we have such low numbers in the first place.
I hate to be a cynic but if I can see through their cunning plan, I’m fairly certain Dishy Rishi will keep a tight hold of those purse strings and not agree to it.
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