A string of tragic events for Britons will begin with an overly liberal government decision.
The Guardian reports, assessing the authorities’ plans to lift quarantine restrictions across the country as soon as possible.
The government’s idea is that people who have accumulated some money over the past three months can now spend it in open-air pubs, shops and restaurants. The government’s support programme will no longer be needed, as economic activity will resume.
“Still, the measures taken by the government to fight the pandemic so far do not inspire confidence that everything will go according to plan”, – the publication notes.
It recalled the lack of personal protective equipment for physicians, the overloaded health system, the catastrophic consequences of delays in quarantine, the failed system of tracking contacts and mass testing for coronavirus.
It was logical that plans to emerge from the crisis would also be frustrated. One of the main threats the publication calls the second wave of the pandemic, which is already observed in Germany. Less discussed, but no less significant threat is the huge increase in unemployment.
Britain’s small business support program was accompanied by a lot of problems. In addition, the retail, service and leisure sectors have been paralysed in recent months. There has been virtually no income for 3 months. However, the authorities, adhering to the doubtful liberal position, believe that it would be better to give freedom to business, freeing at the same time from state support. Moreover, the workers during the quarantine period did not receive full wages and will be afraid to spend too much now. This vicious circle will lead to a change in the health care crisis with an unemployment crisis. The number of applications will increase to more than 4 million, and the unemployment rate will reach 14-15%.
“Soon the government will turn the health crisis into an unemployment crisis. Employment rates in Britain reached record levels on the eve of the pandemic, primarily because there were more women, ethnic minorities, the elderly, single parents and immigrants at work. These are low-paying, low-productivity jobs that are the most vulnerable to the coming storm”, – the publication said.