As we approach Sunday, the UK public is waiting to hear the latest update from Boris Johnson. He has promised to announce the next steps to ease the current lockdown. A number of leading media outlets have already written bold headlines about what we can expect to happen next.
For instance, The Daily Mail released their own version of the 5 phase easing plan on Thursday 7th May. It all looked quite sensible although some said that the easing was coming far too quickly, especially as nearly 6,000 new cases of COVID had just been disclosed. If 6,000 new cases had been detected by tests, how many more thousands of undetected infections are amongst the community?
So we were told, quite clearly, that garden centres would be open on Monday 11th May. Many people use their garden as a way to pass the time and it is seen as a good way for people to maintain their mental well-being. Those without gardens were not as happy with the news and said that their ‘mental well-being’ was being overlooked. The Daily Mail even put the news in bold headlines, just in case you missed it.
Surely we can trust in a publication such as the Daily Mail to get it right. So we got out our wellie boots and got our gardening gloves at the ready. Our garden would be in for a treat come Monday when we can go and buy all those things that it needs. Then today ,we get the following update….
Yep, you guessed it, garden centres are now not opening on Monday. Okay, so it has only been moved on by two days to Wednesday, but can we really trust anything that we read anymore.
It currently feels like ideas are being thrown in the air and hopefully one will be correct. If they can squeeze another couple of articles with Tuesdays and Thursdays mentioned, they can cover most of the week – then claim they got it correct. It’s like buying thousands of tickets for the lottery and then claiming one is a winner! You’re not going to catch us that easily.
You can take what Boris says tomorrow with a pinch of salt too. We are sure he will be genuine enough, but a majority of the public feel any easing will come too early. They think easing is being pushed by business due to the long-term damage to the economy. We only need to take a look at Germany, who have already begun to revert easing measures just days after announcing them, due to the virus spreading again.
Sadly, it looks like we will be in lockdown for a while longer, with strict measures still needed. The UK has not got a grip on COVID just yet, so we think that more time will be required. Some businesses will be able to reopen, which will help all of us, but don’t go and queue for your new flowers and weed killer on Monday!
