Twelve cyclists ride in formation in London’s Regent’s Park. It was, as far as they were concerned, just a normal Saturday. What other conclusion can be drawn from the picture of them pedalling furiously through the beauty spot seemingly without a care?
On the day the coronavirus pandemic claimed 708 lives in Britain, they and countless others decided to ignore the Government’s plea to remain indoors and instead head for the park, beach and river bank in droves to take advantage of the spring sunshine.
Social distancing is our most important weapon in the fight against the unseen enemy. Yet it’s nigh impossible to maintain a 360-degree, two-metre circle of separation in a mini-peleton.
As the temperature continues to rise, Britons are continuing to flout social distancing guidelines advised by the Government. Pictured: People in Walpole Park in Ealing, London
People enjoy the warm weather by a lake in Regents Park in London as the nation braced itself for warmer weather this weekend
The consequences of breaking that rule are brutally simple. An infected person will, on average, infect 2.5 others and they, in turn, will each pass it on to another 2.5, and so on and so forth.
This means that if just one of the ‘Lycra Lads’ in Regent’s Park had coronavirus, the chain set in motion at the weekend could potentially, after 30 days, have spread Covid-19 to more than 400 men, women or children.
This is the terrifying metric behind their decision to cycle through Regent’s Park in close proximity. They were not the only culprits. There were similar scenes up and down the country.
Pictures of children playing street football in Leeds went viral. Visitors travelling to the Yorkshire Dales from more than 100 miles away were stopped by police. People were lazing on the banks of the River Cam in Cambridge
With temperatures set to soar to 20C in parts of the UK, police feared that thousands were set to flock to the country’s sizzling parks and beaches. Pictured: Police Community Support Officers patrolling Brighton beach
Crowds gathered at Greenwich Park in London as the country tries to control the spread of the coronavirus outbreak
In Brighton, the city council put out an alert on Facebook (at lunchtime on Saturday) pleading with residents to stay away from the promenade. ‘Too many people are on the seafront making social distancing impossible. Too many are using the seafront to meet up with friends,’ it read.
It was 3pm by the time I arrived and the cost of keeping it clear was taking its toll. One officer patrolling the area revealed that when transgressors were challenged, they were sworn at and, on at least one occasion, spat at.
When I checked I had heard him correctly, he qualified his comment: ‘I suppose I couldn’t be sure he was spitting at me.’ I think he was sure but wanted to play down the confrontation. In any case, spitting per se is indefensible in the current climate.
‘Crisis fatigue’ is the catch-all phrase experts call such lack of co-operation, that the danger from the virus is not great enough to warrant such a major suspension of liberties.
The suspicion that restrictions were being ignored by a significant minority was confirmed by the limited official data available. Frustration is believed to be especially prevalent among the young, something Lord King, governor of the Bank of England during the 2008 financial crisis, addressed at a recent conference hosted by the Policy Exchange think-tank.
‘I fear that if we maintain the lockdown for too long,’ said the 72-year-old peer, ‘there will be a rebellion because a lot of younger people will say the younger generations have suffered over 20 years, why on earth is our future being put at stake to prolong the life expectancy of older people whose life expectancy might not be very high?
‘We have cancelled their university education, we’ve cancelled the exams of people at school. This is going to have a long-lasting effect on their wellbeing and careers.’
A police officer speaks to a cyclist in Battersea Park, London, today, as people continue to flock to the nation’s parks
Government polling, not made public, it has now been reported, has identified teenagers as a ‘problem’ group who are not complying with the rules.
Yet ‘green shoots’ of rebellion began to appear in the unlikely surroundings of the Plants Galore garden centre in Exeter last week. Outside is a sign: ‘WE ARE OPEN TODAY.’
It shouldn’t be, of course; horticultural outlets are not considered ‘essential’ and so were required to close. Instead, owner Tony Joyner has stuck two (green) fingers up at the law and carried on selling his potted plants, bulbs and geraniums. Hence the reason why Mr Joyner, 52, whose family has run Plants Galore for 60 years, has been served with a council prohibition order – three, actually. ‘I ripped them all up,’ Mr Joyner, a father-of-four, declared defiantly.
‘It’s not that I don’t care. I have two elderly parents, so I very much care. But my mother and father worked very hard to build up this business from scratch.
‘If I don’t open, then I go bankrupt. We are just 300 metres from Aldi where 30 trolleys of garden plants are selling in their car park. It cannot be fair.’
Feeling forced to break the law is one thing but playing golf is another. Every day since the lockdown, people have been using the municipal Belfairs Golf Course in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, says councillor Stephen Aylen, despite the flags being removed.
‘I’ve tried to tell them they shouldn’t be playing and they always start shouting, saying they are only playing a few holes and what harm could it do.’
Prohibition-style lock-ins perhaps epitomise the mood of defiance with police raids on pubs in Merseyside, Yorkshire and Sussex in the past week alone.
How people behave during pandemics has been studied by experts such as Professor Susan Michie, director of the Centre for Behaviour Change at University College London and a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behavioural Science which advises the Government. She says ‘as the weather gets better more and more people will want to be outside’ as they increasingly lose the motivation to stay indoors.
The question is how many lives have already been put at risk?
Hancock warning as selfish few flock to parks in the sunshine
By Daniel Martin Policy Editor
Health Secretary Matt Hancock yesterday threatened to ban outdoor exercise if social distancing rules keep being flouted.
He said it was ‘quite extraordinary’ that a minority had spent the weekend sunbathing in public places despite it being against Government guidance.
Mr Hancock urged people not to sit down even for a minute on a park bench, saying those who disobeyed the rules were putting their own and others’ lives at risk.
He threatened the exercise ban in the morning – but in the afternoon he made a partial U-turn to say it would not happen imminently.
Police forces reacted with fury after thousands flocked to parks and beaches for picnics, barbecues and sunbathing. This was despite Boris Johnson’s plea on Friday for everyone to stay indoors despite the sunny weather. Yesterday many parks shut because too many had ignored the advice.
Speaking at yesterday’s daily coronavirus press conference, Mr Hancock said: ‘I say this to the small minority of people who are breaking the rules or pushing the boundaries: you are risking your own life and the lives of others and you’re making it harder for us all.
‘We’ve included exercise as one of the things you can leave your house to do because it is good for physical and mental health but please do not bend or break this rule.
‘We can’t rule out further steps but I don’t want anyone to think changes to social distancing rules are imminent because the vast majority are following the rules.’
The Health Secretary added: ‘I have young children so I know what a challenge this can be for families.
‘I really understand how much everyone wants to enjoy the sunny weather but the cruel thing about coronavirus is that it thrives on social contact and the human bonds that bring so much to life. We must show resolve. All the things we miss now like going to the pub for a pint with friends or sitting in the park with a book or hugging a grandchild – we will have these moments again and they will mean even more to us.’
Deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries said that if others sit on park benches, ‘people tend to accumulate’ – which was why it was against the rules.
Asked earlier about photographs of sunbathing despite the Government advice, Mr Hancock confirmed it was against the rules.
Mr Hancock told Sky News: ‘We are clear you shouldn’t leave your home unless it is for one of four reasons – for medical reasons, to buy food, to go to work if you can’t work at home or for exercise.’
The exercise threat prompted a split at the top of Labour on Sir Keir Starmer’s first day in charge. The party’s new leader told the BBC: ‘We realise how much social contact matters. But I would support the Government in this.’
His message was different from his new deputy Angela Rayner, who has recently had coronavirus.
Asked about Mr Hancock’s ruling on sunbathing, she said: ‘It’s all right for people who have got big houses and huge back gardens to say that but actually if you are stuck in inadequate accommodation, you’ve got nowhere to go…then I think people should do social distancing but also be reasonable and proportionate about that.
‘I’m disappointed that Matt Hancock, after seven days of having the virus, went out when the World Health Organisation has said you should self-isolate for 14 days.’