MINISTERS have been told their stay at home warnings may have been too successful because most of the public is now too nervous to head out when lockdown is eased.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country has passed the peak of the disease and promised to set out plans to loosen restrictions next week. But 61 percent of Britons admit they would be uncomfortable using public transport or going to a pub or restaurant. That rose to 67 percent for mass events, such as sporting fixtures or concerts, an Ipsos Mori study found.
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Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, of Cambridge University, said the stay at home message may have worked too well.
“Maybe our whole campaign has been, if anything, slightly too successful,” he said.
Mr Johnson has said he will set out a “road map” for easing lockdown with a “menu of options” dependent on the spread of the disease.
Downing Street said clear new slogans would be developed for each change made to the restrictions.
Construction bosses have been told the industry can largely restart because most of the work happens outside.
Barratt Developments became the latest UK housebuilder to set out plans to restart building on its construction sites, with 180 sites opening up.
Rivals Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Vistry Group are all resuming work.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “I think we are, at the moment, where the country can take a message that is slightly nuanced and saying ‘this is what you need to do today, but this is what the future looks like so that you and your family can start to prepare’.”
Half the working public are comfortable going back to work but 35 percent are reluctant to, the Ipsos Mori polling found.
But 48 percent of parents are resistant to sending their children back to school, according to the research.
Keiran Pedley, research director at Ipsos MORI, said most of the public did not fear meeting up with friends and family but were nervous about other social interaction.
He said: “There is clear unease at other consequences of the lockdown ending.
“In particular, clear majorities of Britons are nervous about using public transport again or going to bars, restaurants or live music and sporting events.
“These numbers suggest that it will take some time for parts of the British economy to return to any semblance of normality, even after lockdown has ended.”
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READ MORE FROM SOURCE: https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1276822/uk-lockdown-end-coronavirus-boris-johnson
