The majority of people have ‘switched off’ from government advice and guidelines around slowing the spread of coronavirus – and think the daily briefings from 10 Downing Street should make a return.
The government’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, and the government’s lead scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, warned the public that the coronavirus would be ‘a very serious concern’ for the next six months – and said that if infections in England continued to double, there could be 50,000 cases a day by the middle of October.
But despite those warnings, a LADbible poll showed the majority of people admit they’ve ‘switched off’ from the raft of official advice and government guidelines – as large parts of the country find themselves under local lockdowns that conflict or add extra restrictions to national advice.
Conditions in England are also different to those in Scotland, Wales and Ireland, as the UK struggles to co-ordinate a response to the pandemic.
As the government introduces more restrictions, escalations and local lockdowns in several parts of England, are you still paying attention to official advice, or have you switched off?- LADbible (@ladbible) September 18, 2020
Of almost 6,000 people who responded to a recent poll on LADbible’s Twitter feed, two thirds said they’d stopped playing attention to what they were being asked to do – despite the appeals of the government and their scientific advisers.
The ever-changing messaging, changes to international travel that have left many holiday-makers stranded in a different country – and problems with testing and the track and trace system – have led health secretary Matt Hancock to issue a warning that further restrictions might be introduced, refusing to rule out a second national lockdown.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock during today's press briefing. Credit: PA
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Responding to the poll, Twitter user Robbie Lynch said: “I won’t do what an incompetent government decides is best for me on a whim,” whereas John Knight said: “I’m trying to listen, but the guidelines change almost every day. The Government clearly have no idea whatsoever about what are they doing. So I stay home as much as I can, wear a mask outside and try not to be an idiot.”
In another LADbible poll, more than 8,000 people voted on whether the daily Downing Street coronavirus briefings should return – with 56.9 percent saying it should come back.
After this morning’s coronavirus scientific briefing, would you like to see daily press conferences from the government make a return?- LADbible (@ladbible) September 21, 2020
Some said that it would bring a level of accountability to the government’s actions, but others argued they were just another platform for spin.
“From the government? No,” said Twitter user Adam Forster. “From actual scientists. Yes.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing more tough questions over his own conduct during the pandemic – with some media reports claiming he spent a weekend in Perugia, Italy, earlier this month – despite the government advising against all but essential overseas travel.
It comes several months after his own chief advisor, Dominic Cummings, kept his job after he admitted to breaking lockdown to drive from London to visit family in County Durham, including a 30 mile day trip to Barnard Castle on his wife’s birthday.
Source link : https://www.ladbible.com/news/uk-two-thirds-of-people-have-switched-off-from-coronavirus-guidelines-20200921
