Finally, the government is modelling the cost (and benefits) of lockdown restrictions. The introduction of vaccine passports, mandatory face masks and work-from-home advice would cost between £11 billion and £18 billion according to a leaked assessment of the so-called ‘Plan B’. And while all this may reduce the spread of the virus at large events by as much as 45 per cent, only a small part (between 2 and 13 per cent) of Covid transmission takes place in such venues — so the extra restrictions would, at most, cut levels of the virus by 5 per cent nationally. The document has been leaked to the Politico website and assumes ‘Plan B’ will last until March next year. The biggest financial hit comes from home working.
To many Tories, it was a dereliction of duty to implement lockdown without a basic assessment of its costs and benefits
That this calculation has been done at all is indicative of a new mindset in government.
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