British ministers prepare for social lockdown in northern Britain, London

[sl8]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-lockdown/british-ministers-prepare-for-social-lockdown-in-northern-britain-london-the-times-idUSKBN26I11S

SEPTEMBER 27, 20206:29 PMUPDATED 13 HOURS AGO

British ministers prepare for social lockdown in northern Britain, London: The Times

By Reuters Staff
2 MIN READ

(Reuters) - The British government is planning to enforce a total social lockdown across a majority of northern Britain and potentially London, to combat a second wave of COVID-19, The Times reported late on Sunday.

Under the new lockdown measures being considered, all pubs, restaurants and bars would be ordered to shut for two weeks initially, the report said.

Earlier this week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said any new national lockdown would threaten jobs, livelihoods and human contact.

The report added that households would also be banned indefinitely from meeting each other in any indoor location where they were not already under the order.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. This is a big deal.

Here, in this country, we have bars which are visited sporadically. In the U.K., pubs are social entities which are visited regularly. Sure, the Brits drink like we do, but they are not treated as hospitality patrons. They are members of the village, the town who meet after supper at the pub. They discuss the issues of the day, politics, football (soccer), etc. They view each other as extended family. Simply, there is nowhere else to go after the evening meal (except for movies) in small towns.

Closing the pubs and bars severely isolates people from each other. It's not like they'll pour a drink and get on the phone to their friends as an equivalent. I expect some pushback on this.

[obamanut2012]

2. It is literally the same here in the US

both in urban, suburban, and more rural areas.