In and around a London lockdown. A Cartoon Diary by Pidge.

 When the easing of lockdown finally arrived there was much dithering and mixed messaging from the government in some specific areas. In particular there was confusion about the rules for older people. Ironically those people who had been fit  enough to reach the biblical old age of three score years and ten were referred to as “old and vulnerable”. But this was an issue full of confusion with a survey at the time showing that 50% of people did not know precisely to whom  the new easing of lockdown regulations would apply: It was mooted that while lockdown would end for the rest of the country it might continue for the over 70’s and I feared that the following nightmare might become a reality:

 Staying home was less bother for some:

 People coped with ‘Stay home’ in different ways and with different degrees of success:

 Sales of well known plague books soared.In the beginning it had been taken for granted that recovery from the virus would confer immunity but now it was becoming appreciated that this was far from certain and so it it seemed ironic that these books could also make a comeback.

 Also up to then Dominic Cummings had been regarded by some as a genius but now this was wearing a bit thin:

 But before any of this came about Dominic Cummings took the law into his own hands violating his own edicts by driving to Durham with his family. Perhaps he shouldn’t be blamed for putting his family first but he certainly should be blamed for not resigning when he was found out. What was even worse was the fact that rather than sacking him the Prime Minister supported him with the help of his cabinet resulting in the collapse of the the moral authority of the government. This made some people quite cross! The government had been against international comparisons but this time it was inevitable: Some might of thought this cartoon was a bit harsh but I really think the government’s loss of authority started here. 

 Sneezes  and coughs obviously were to be avoided but for those people in the middle of a pandemic who didn’t have the foresight to carry handkerchiefs the government provided helpful official advice. They were advised to sneeze or cough into their sleeves. As with most government edicts this had some unintended consequences, especially for dry cleaners: