The Covid rules haven’t been simplified

The new three tier ‘Covid alert levels’ unveiled by the PM are supposed to help all of us better understand how and why our freedoms are being restricted, and improve compliance, at a time when both infection levels and suppressive measures are significantly different across England and across the UK.

But it is not clear that our understanding will be massively improved – partly because some of the rules remain complicated and confusing, partly because some of them are not exactly intuitive, and partly because some of them seem unfair.

Let’s look at just one aspect of the rules, those relating to pubs and restaurants. And to be clear I am highlighting just one aspect, though many of the concerns raised below – about fairness and comprehensibility – would apply to other measures too.

To begin. In medium risk areas such as London, restaurants and pubs can stay open until 10pm, and no more than six people can sit on a table, indoors or outdoors.