This weekend has been dominated by photos of people having a jolly good time in groups at the park, or strolling along Columbia Road Flower Market as though nothing has changed. Sunday’s Downing Street press conference was therefore dominated by questions about whether the government would clamp down on this behaviour to stop coronavirus spreading still further. But while Boris Johnson urged people to stop ignoring social distancing rules, telling them that ‘even if you think you are personally invulnerable, there are plenty of people you can infect and whose lives will them be put at risk’, he only suggested that there could be ‘further measures if we think that is necessary’. So the government could enforce a lockdown, either on people ignoring social distancing rules or on outdoor access more widely, but it’s not going to yet.
At no point in the press conference was Johnson able to explain what he thought was going to change over the next few days that would render enforcement unnecessary.
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