IT appears the penny has dropped, albeit belatedly. It’s taken a few weeks, unprecedented pressure on emergency departments, and more deaths than may have otherwise been the case to convince some members of the Executive that stricter measures are required to stem the spread of coronavirus. If any doubt remained, the scenes at Antrim Area Hospital earlier this week brought home the severity of the situation with distressing clarity.
It’s now apparent that the last circuit breaker failed to halt the virus in any significant way. Many authoritative voices argued at the time that it was insufficient yet for reasons that still remain unclear we ended up with a piecemeal approach, a hokey-cokey lockdown to which some paid little heed. The measures unveiled last night should probably come into force before Christmas though there’s clear reluctance to grasp that particular nettle as it would likely prove unpalatable for businesses and shoppers alike. Nevertheless, come January we may well rue the current desire to make things as normal as possible in the run-up to the festive season.
There is only limited justification in criticisms of the forthcoming measures. There will be an inevitable economic consequence but let’s hope financial support will be made available to those who need it. However, when hard-pressed retailers and the hospitality industry cast an eye at grammar schools and their arrangements for hundreds of pupils from different schools and bubbles to sit the transfer test in January, they must surely question where the consistency is. If, as claimed, the health and wellbeing of the candidates and staff is AQE Limited’s first priority, then they must surely reconsider their ill-advised course of action.
This time around, consensus around the executive table will hopefully lead to greater public conformity but the messaging from Stormont needs to be clear and unambiguous. Likewise, blatant breaches of guidelines must be dealt with accordingly and responsible members of the public need to adopt a zero tolerance attitude to those who flout the regulations. Maverick MPs who use the controls as a rod for their leader’s back should also be reined in. Most of all though, people need to act responsibly and selflessly, while understanding the seriousness of the situation. They need to show some genuine Christmas goodwill.
