Over the past few days, the number of people contracting Coronavirus in the UK has risen sharply to almost 3,000 daily cases – the highest rise since May. As we slowly start to return to some sense of normality, with businesses, workplaces and schools reopening, this progress may soon be stilted as we come to terms with a new, potentially threatening rise in Covid-19 cases. This comes as there are also rumours floating around Westminster that the goverment will be forced to reduce the number of people able to meet in people’s homes from the current limit of 30, in a bid to rescue the UK from a second wave of Covid-19.
“I think it’s super scary that cases are rising again and we’re still going back to universities and schools.”
Yesterday, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, suggested, in an interview to LBC, that the rise in cases was mostly among young people, so do they have a right to be concerned?
Lauren McGaun asked some of Empoword Journalism’s contributors for their reaction to the rise in Covid-19 cases in the UK:
I think it’s super scary that cases are rising again and we’re still going back to universities and schools. When Covid-19 first hit, everyone was more worried about older generations and our grand parents getting the virus. As they’re saying the cases are in young people, those with it probably are a bit careless due to the government saying that young people are less as risk so they think it won’t effect them as much. This is dangerous as they could pass it on without taking the necessary precuations.
Yasmin Walker
It only takes one person to be infected with a “mild” case for the situation to rise its head again. We’ve cautiously opened our doors up to give the economy some breathing space, and yes, that was desperately needed… but I do feel we’ve been lax in our approach to the problem. Social distancing has eased off too early, and now my borough (Wirral) has a higher rate of infection per 100k than we had during the peak of the ‘first wave’. There has also been a worrying surge in ‘fake news’, and there’s an eroding distrust between journalists and the general public. Whether this translates to more deaths on the borough, who knows – but in my mind, this is far from a positive sign.
April Ryan
I think this was always going to happen when lockdown was eased, so although it’s frightening it’s somewhat inevitable. But we can’t stay indoors forever so we’ve just got to deal with it. My two young sons have gone back to primary school this week but everything is being handled really well by the school so I’m not overly concerned. I do hope it stabilizes at some point soon though as ever increasing figures would indicate we’ve lost control.
Sarah Bones
“Only time will tell how well we’ll weather the Coronavirus storm this Autumn.”
What’s clear is that this significant rise in Covid-19 cases doesn’t act as reassurance for many young people who’ve been cautious about returning to normality as students flock back to schools and universities. The government may have upped the ante on their testing capacities which would explain why more cases are being identified, but whether this justifies such a rise in infections in recent days is still unclear.
With threats of further local lockdowns on the rise, it seems that something will have to give before the government would be forced to impose a second nationwide lockdown – something most people admit we can’t afford. Yet, hospitals seem more optimistic about the situation this time around, as they admit they are better prepared for whatever winter brings.
Only time will tell how well we’ll weather the Coronavirus storm this Autumn. Some argue that the continual reporting of cases is simply scaremongering on the part of the press whilst others remain concerned about the lasting effects this coronavirus transmission may have.
Lauren McGaun
Featured image courtesy of Tim Dennell on Flickr. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.