Lockdown showed best and the worst of us, but mostly the worst
This week, and every week, Facebook sends me daily reminders of what I was doing on that day ten years ago, or last year, or whenever. I have received no notifications of my “memories” of five years ago. Because, this week in 2020, I was stuck at home doing very little.
Five years ago today, we were waking up to the fifth day of lockdown. Which seemed very much like the fourth day of lockdown. Many of us were saying it felt like Groundhog Day, until we were told by our partner, “You said that yesterday. And the day before!”
Earlier that week, Boris Johnson held a press briefing and promised that “We’re going to send Conoavirus packing in 12 weeks”, the first of many fatuous statements he would make over the ensuing 18 months.
Having failed to send it packing in 12 weeks, Johnson himself was nearly sent packing by the virus, ending up in intensive care. How the medics were able to diagnose him with Covid remains a mystery, since he is a walking list of every known symptom. Sweaty, out of breath and totally lacking any sense of taste.
The subsequent months showed the best and the worst of human nature. On the one side, we had the selfless dedication of nurses and doctors working for the NHS. On the other, we had Dominic Cummings ignoring lockdown travel rules, and actually driving on a busy motorway to test his eyesight.
There’s no Facebook memories of nights at the pub from five years ago. They were all shut until June. Then Rishi Sunak decided it was a good idea to bribe people to go out drinking, when he launched his Eat Out To Help Out scheme. This involved doling out millions of £10 meal vouchers, encouraging people to crowd into busy pubs and restaurants. This gave a much-needed kickstart to the second wave of the pandemic.
But Johnson’s government couldn’t even agree about what constituted a “substantial meal”. Michael Gove claimed a Scotch egg would do, but Matt Hancock disagreed. He said it had to be at least a Scotch egg and chips. This led to unfounded rumours that chips helped kill off the virus.
Many people still bear the emotional scars of what was a traumatic time for some, and a minor inconvenience to others. Guess who made the most noise? While key workers got on with jobs with admirable stoicism, the Covid-denying keyboard warriors never stopped complaining about the “infringement to their civil liberties”, such as having to wear a mask.
The rest of us were left with nothing to fill our time, to the extent that standing on the street clapping your hands at 8pm every Thursday became the highlight of the week – along with the family Zoom quiz on Sunday night. My wife did virtual after-work drinks every Friday on Microsoft Teams, while I did an online comedy show once a week, and have only met two people who actually watched it.
I have no Facebook Memories from four years ago either. Because by March 2021 we were back in lockdown again. I remember saying to my wife, “You know, this feels just like Groundhog Day”. To which she replied, “You said that 12 months ago”.