UK Unveils A Three Phased Plan to Reopen the Economy

The prime minister of United Kingdom in a televised address to the nation has finally laid out a three-phased plan to reopen the economy, after a lockdown that was imposed on March 23^rd in order to contain the coronavirus spread in the country. Stressing that the social distancing measures would still be in place, the prime minister, however, seemed to emphasising upon the importance of staying alert and safe in his address. There were talks of relaxation to the lockdown rules and government charting out a blueprint for that for the last couple of days; however, the rules of social distancing are yet to be relaxed. The country had been counting billions in losses since the lockdown was imposed six weeks ago, with several organisations tasked with keeping the pulse of the economy including the Bank of England already stating that the British economy is set to enter into the worst recession in 300 years. The government though prioritised saving lives first and curtailing the spread of the virus in the country is now hard-pressed to also take action to open up the economy or the hardship of the people, which will be much accentuated in years to come than it is right now. The coronavirus pandemic has till now infected nearly 220,000 people including prime minister Boris Johnson himself as well as Prince Charles. Of these, at least 31,500 have lost their lives and others receiving treatment in medical facilities across the country. Prior to this announcement, the government had made one extension to the lockdown in the last week of April when it was accessed that some more time was needed by NHS to have a better grip on the pandemic.

In the first phase of the plan, the government has proposed that people would be able to come out of their homes, go to parks, beaches and national parks but will have to maintain 2 meters distance from one another. Prime minister Johnson while speaking on the employment front said that this week people who belong to the construction or manufacturing sector could go back to work while maintaining strict social distancing protocols, while for businesses where work from home is currently under implementation, should continue to carry on. In the second phase, which is envisaged to be adopted as early as June 1^st, he stated that the country would be in a position to open its schools as well as its shops. The third step which could come at the beginning of July would see relaxations being lifted on the hospitality sector, which sees the maximum crowd and where social distancing measures are difficult to implement. The prime minister, however, reiterated that this three-step plan is very much contingent on the scientific evidence that will be collected by the health authorities to see if there is a resurgence. Should any major resurgence in the spread of the virus be detected, then there could be changes to the plan that may need to be implemented. It is worth mentioning here that only last week the government had issued a set of draft guidelines for workers who join back at work, on how they should follow safety protocols at work. The protocols though only in the form of recommendation carries no legal force but lays the stress of maintaining a safe distance from each other, use of face masks and other protective gear as well as washing hands and maintaining personal hygiene.

Since the beginning phase of the pandemic in the country, the government has taken all possible measures to ensure that the economic sufferings of the country be minimised during the period of the lockdown. In order to protect the working class in the country, the government had rolled out a furloughing scheme whereby small, medium-sized and many of the large businesses in the country would be able to put their employees under the benefit of the scheme. The government has promised to pay up to 80 per cent of their salaries to a maximum of £2,500 per month till the beginning of June. Till the first week of May, it was being reported that at least a third of the country’s workforce has been furloughed by their employees. The government had also brought in several stimulus loan schemes whereby businesses would be able to avail of loans at lucid terms while they continue to navigate through the lockdown, which is meant to ensure that they are about to make a turnaround at the quickest possible time once the dust settles off the pandemic. It seems now that the government has gained confidence that they have sufficient control over the pandemic and that a relaxation in the lockdown conditions may be extended.

In order of magnitude of impact and the maximum losses sustained by all sectors, the industry at the top in the hospitality industry followed by the aviation industry. The prime minister in his plan has categorically stated that he expects the hospitality industry to be relaxed in the third phase. It is to be noted here that it is this industry only which has the maximum number of small business in the country and also employs a large number of unskilled and semi-skilled workers. The longer the restrictions stay on this industry, the unemployment conditions in the country will continue to fester. The reopening of the country which will come with a lot of conditions attached will also not be easy for the people who do indeed join work. The risk of infection would now be greater than ever, and social distancing measures are more difficult to maintain in a working set-up than in a home environment. The challenges thus for the economy would be in the magnitude of multiples to be able to function at the pre-March 2020 efficiency levels.

Though the government has given very small notice for the businesses to restart their factories and establishments, but most had already expressed their readiness to do so at short notice. It can also be expected that the government will come up with another set of guidelines, which would provide further clarity on the social distancing protocols that need to be maintained at work.