Shropshire Star Covid survey: Readers call for caution as lockdown lifted

Boris Johnson is expected to announce imminently whether the final lockdown measures can be lifted on June 21, following concerns that the rise in cases of the now-dominant Indian strain of the virus would delay the move.

And according to our latest survey Star readers favour a cautious approach to the lifting of restrictions.

More than half of respondents (55 per cent) want some restrictions to stay next month, while 27 per cent called for the lockdown to be fully lifted.

Almost one fifth of people said they wanted to see the final stage of the Government’s roadmap delayed for the time being.

Readers were also worried about socialising inside in pubs and restaurants.

While 41 per cent of people said they believed hospitality to be safe, 45 per cent said they were concerned there was a risk of spreading infection – and around one in seven people said they would be steering clear of venues altogether.

The hospitality sector has been one of the hardest hit during the pandemic, with thousands of pubs and restaurants finally reopening recently after being forced to shut their doors for the majority of the last 14 months.

But despite restaurant bookings rising sharply and many pubs reporting a brisk trade, customer numbers have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Star readers also had their say over foreign travel, with 61 per cent calling for a blanket ban and just 10 per cent calling for Ministers to allow us to “open up and fly”.

More than one quarter (29 per cent) said they were in favour of the current traffic light system, which divides countries into a green, amber and red list, with different quarantine and Covid testing restrictions in place for each category.

The green list of countries – which currently includes Australia, Iceland and Portugal – is set to be reviewed on June 7, when a number of other destinations are expected to be added.

Under current rules people travelling to and from green list countries need to take a pre-departure test as well as a PCR test on or before day two of their arrival back into the UK – but providing they receive a negative result do not need to quarantine on return.

Meanwhile a majority of readers supported safety measures post-Covid, with 61 per cent saying people should continue to wear face coverings at indoor public places.

Earlier this month the mandate for face masks to be worn in schools was removed, while discussions are said to have taken place at ministerial level over the possibility of ditching masks in shops and workplaces.

However, scientists have repeatedly said that masks will need to remain for the foreseeable future in order to control the spread of the virus.

They key driver in the move to end all restrictions has been the success of the vaccination programme, which has so far seen more than 62 million people across the country – and over 10 million in the Midlands – receive at least one dose of the jab.

And Star readers have given their backing to the roll-out, with 92 per cent of respondents to our survey saying they believe the vaccine to be safe.

Last week Ministers announced that anyone in England aged over 30 could book a jab, leaving only adults aged between 18 and 29 still having to wait.

Those aged 50 and over, and the clinically vulnerable, have also had their second doses brought forward because of the rise in cases of the Indian variant, following updated advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

We also asked readers for their views on the political response to the pandemic.

The issue has hit the headlines again over the past week following a series of allegations from Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister’s former chief advisor.

Mr Cummings, who was sacked by Boris Johnson last December, claims Ministers could have saved lives at the start of the pandemic by calling the lockdown earlier.

Despite being discredited in many quarters after breaching lockdown rules, Mr Cummings’ allegations have been seized on by Labour and the national media as evidence of failings in the Government’s response.

As far as Star readers are concerned, Mr Johnson remains the most trustworthy leader to guide us through the pandemic, with 64 per cent favouring the PM over Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer.

Under six in 10 (57 per cent) said the Government was doing a good job in dealing with the pandemic.

However, readers were split over whether we were nearing the end of the Covid crisis. A total of 52 per cent said they feared more problems were on the horizon, while 48 per cent were optimistic we are nearing the end of the pandemic.