Dimitris Kouimtsidis
BORIS Johnson may have finally got the memo that coronavirus affects the UK as well and has finally acted upon it.
European countries such as Spain, may have had a strict lockdown enforced since Monday morning, but Number 10 is still not taking all the measures necessary to ‘turn the tide’ in the battle against the virus.
Why though? Why are the two countries taking such different approaches on tackling the pandemic?
I’ve been trapped in the British capital for a few days now, as my flight back on Monday was cancelled and the rescheduled flight for next weekend has now also been cancelled.
Up until yesterday everything seemed so very British – ‘Keep calm and carry on’.
The PM however yesterday, after all the schools in the country were told to close, made a speech at 5pm GMT to order the closure of pubs, restaurants, gyms, theatres, cinemas and pretty much any place people can socialise indoors.
What does that look like?
Last night all the pubs around my area in West London were packed like a classic Friday night.
‘Last Orders’ is what many other media outlets have used as a headline for their stories on people still going out last night.
As someone who takes the threat of Covid-19 seriously, I’ve spent the entire week at home self-isolating, as if I was in my flat on the Costa del Sol.
So yesterday as a treat to myself, I decided to pick up a pizza from Dominos.
Little did I know that the popular pizza place would also be swamped, just like any other Friday night.
‘Keep calm and carry on,’ I thought, nothing is ever going to change is it?
That’s until I went to the supermarket and saw EVERYTHING gone.
I’d heard rumours that people were bulk buying, but I didn’t expect a Morrisons store, in one of the biggest cities in the world, to be so empty.
Maybe Londoners are more worried about this virus than they let outsiders think.
Stay tuned to see how things develop in the city that’s used to experiencing tragedies and just brushing them off and marching on.
