he government seems to be considering acting on the advice of some of its scientific advisors who are proposing a two-week England-wide lockdown – described as a “circuit break” – to coincide with the October school half-term in order to curb the recent rise in the number of identified coronavirus cases.
We’re told that ministers would not order schools to close down again and that this would not be as severe as the lockdown that was belatedly imposed in March when non key workers were instructed not to leave their homes except for food and exercise for around two months. Yet there are suggestions the opening hours of hospitality businesses could be limited to prevent people coming into contact with each other – similar to the recent local lockdown restrictions which currently cover a fifth of the population.
