Lockdown sceptics must be aware of the inevitable third lockdown

The Government will have their finger on the nuclear button for the third time in less than a year, determined as ever to press it.

As the country is thrown into another national lockdown scheduled to last until the 2nd of December, any lockdown sceptics paying close attention should recognise that a third lockdown is written in the stars. This is imminent given that the Government and its Opposition have joined forces in stretching every sinew to implement ever greater lockdown restrictions.

First it was ‘flatten the curve’ (the timeline given for this completion was estimated at two-to-three weeks – all the way back in March), now the rhetoric is ‘control the virus’, whereas in practice, this resembles a carpet bombing tactic to eradicate the virus completely from these shores. ‘If the earth must be scorched to eliminate the disease - so be it’, is the rationale for the sacrifice of ancient civil liberties, along with cancer patients and suicide victims being viewed as nothing but cannon fodder. In a paradoxical equation: to save lives, this Government believes it must subtract its humanity.

The explicit absence of proportionately and a long-term outlook within the Government’s mindset provides for an internalised Enabling Act, which is fully realised through a submissive Parliament, then followed with rule by decree. Coupled with blaming any increase in COVID cases on an allegedly irresponsible, reckless, and non-conforming populace, this is weaponised as an additional excuse to bring the hammer down.

It is likely that Ministers will demand an extension to this winter lockdown if the rate of confirmed cases continue to rise, or any new extreme (usually false) predictions brewed in a cauldron of fear-mongering, similar to the debunked figure of 4,000 deaths a day, are given the spotlight in a daily news briefing. After all, the precedent for extension was pre-emptively set in March. On a sidenote, the Common Cold, which peaks in its infection rate during the Winter, is often transmitted due to the length of time spent indoors in close contact with others. What will be the response of the Government in early December when it has gifted the virus the perfect breeding ground after trapping millions into their own homes? 

Even if the second national lockdown does formally end on the 2nd December, a sharp increase in the COVID rate is nothing short of expected as vast swathes of the populace are packed like sardines on the high street in a rush to complete their Christmas shopping (if they didn’t already line the pockets of Jeff Bezos during November to save themselves the hassle). Not to mention potentially millions violating a local ban on household mixing to visit loved ones on Christmas Day. We learnt over the summer that an increase in infections is a natural consequence of re-opening the economy – I wonder what will happen during the busiest month of the year?

When January 2021 arrives, the Government will be monitoring the COVID situation with eagle-eyed intensity. The finger-pointing will begin in earnest, directed at the millions who tried to return to some semblance of normality for the festive season. In addition, any noticeable increase in the COVID death rate may consist of Flu deaths which have been lumped into the total figure because of false-positive tests.

The Government will have their finger on the nuclear button for the third time in less than a year, determined as ever to press it.