Damage
How can businesses survive in this climate?
I've walked into the city for the first time since lockdown began and it is so strange. It is a Friday morning but the streets are virtually empty. Some familiar shops have closed down since I was last here, whilst those that are open appear devoid of customers.
The usual throng of tourists is also missing. Pre-lockdown, large groups of Chinese or European visitors would follow their flag waving tour guides, taking in the sights of this beautiful city.
How can businesses survive in this climate? Our towns and cities need to be open, to be able to welcome shoppers and tourists. The on-going lockdown will cause untold damage to the economy, and for what purpose? Excess deaths are presently lower than they were this time last year. Studies have also established it is the elderly and those with underlying conditions who are at greatest risk from covid. We should protect those groups, but the rest of us should be allowed, indeed encouraged, to get back to work.
If we don't, the economy will continue to wither, tax revenues will shrink, and who then would pay for the NHS? In that scenario, how many more lives would be needlessly lost?
21st August 2020