People went out last night. Of course they did. For the first time in months the easing of restrictions meant it was legal to go to a restaurant or a pub and meet friends outdoors for some food FINALLY cooked by someone else.
For those who live alone or have been stuck at home with people they don’t get on with, their mental health potentially relied on it. Reporters were at the ready to gleefully vox pop pub-goers who got up at God knows what time to be the first to get a pint - oh how we all chuckled at how British it all was.
But by this morning, the tone had shifted from jubilant to judgmental as pictures of crowds outside in busy Soho – the area in Central London full of restaurants, bars, pubs and shops - were splashed over news sites and social media. Soho hasn’t stopped trending on Twitter as people tut and eye roll at – shock horror – the sight of young people with their friends again, legally having fun.
‘Soho tonight - About as sensible as swinging knives while blindfolded’ tweeted one user. ‘Absolute scenes in soho last night.. I’m prepping myself for another lockdown’ wrote another, and ‘Watching the footage from Soho this evening. It's like a trailer for Lockdown 4: Tokyo Drift,’ said a third. Their posts, unfortunately, summed up the mood.
Obviously nobody wants another lockdown or for cases to rise again, but young people have already sacrificed so much (quite rightly) to protect older and more vulnerable people, while being the least likely to suffer badly with coronavirus. Now cases are lower – only 3,568 cases across the country today - the government has decided the rate is at a safe enough point for outdoor socialising to be allowed again. And while infections can happen outdoors, the chances are massively reduced.
Crucially, young people are literally doing what is legal. If people don’t feel it’s safe to go out yet, they should take this up with the government and interrogate the data (or simply stay at home).
There’s good reason for people to be suspicious, but that doesn't mean young people are to blame. There’s evidence to suggest the Government’s Eat Out To Help Out scheme last summer led to a rise in cases and deaths. And yet after the scheme was introduced, health secretary Matt Hancock had the audacity to tell young people ‘Don’t kill your Gran’ when cases began rising again.
READ MORE: The Test And Trace System Is Broken But We're Being Blamed For A Rise In Covid Cases
In fact, the Government enjoy pointing the figure when things go wrong, so we shouldn’t help them shift the blame towards young people as it directs attention away from their inaction and mismanagement. They have always been late to lock down, and remember how chaotic Christmas was? Justice Secretary Robert Buckland still blamed the second national lockdown in England on a lack of public compliance.
Worse still, a YouGov survey last December found over half of people think the public are ‘most responsible for the rise in coronavirus cases over the last month’, with just 31% blaming the people in charge. Their tactics are working! Let’s not amplify the government’s effort to shame the public by tutting at people legally enjoying meals out in Soho.
And the truth is, we've actually all been doing a great job. Most of us are sticking to the rules and public compliance has been very good. Many have even felt that lockdowns have come too late. YouGov data from January shows 85% of people were supportive of the third lockdown (93% welcomed the March 2020 lockdown), while 77% thought that the lockdown arrived too late.
Many of us actually feel our own compliance is better than others - showing we're doing a great job but we're often quick to point the finger. According to UCL researchers, 92% of people grade their own compliance with lockdown restrictions as better than what they think the population average is.
If we see a rise in cases after this it’s the government we should blame, not young people, many of whom have suffered badly with their mental health as their futures look increasingly uncertain and university experiences have been ruined.
While none of us want to be stuck in a never-ending cycle of lockdowns, we have to be realistic that when cases are low it is only fair to allow hospitality and this kind of socialising to start up again.
What’s more, there’s a whiff of snobbery about the judgement of people in Soho last night. People queuing outside country pubs didn’t seem to get any flack. Even the venues with a 9am license – like one pub in Great Yarmouth which saw groups of middle-aged, male early morning drinkers settle in for pints first thing - didn’t trigger anywhere near the same level of public outcry as young people in Soho did.
As long as people are sensible, follow government guidance, adhere to social distancing and wear masks whenever they're required, they shouldn't have to put up with judgement and criticism. Because, on the whole as a country, we've stuck to the rules and we care about the rest of the population. As long as it’s done safely, we should enjoy being able to see friends and socialise again. So let's stop scapegoating each other.
Read more: Again, For Those Who've Not Learned - STOP BEING MEAN TO PEOPLE QUEUEING OUTSIDE PRIMARK