Yesterday I went down to Norwood High Street and saw that the cafe I visit most weeks has now removed its QR code notice, because “we had Freedom Day”.
Today I went in to my office in central London to work there for the day, as I have done for one day each of the last few weeks. It has also removed the QR code signage, and the floor has many voids like the one above, where the Social Distancing markers have already been removed. The firms inside the block are still maintaining their own procedures in their own domains, and one of them still has its Facial Temperature scanner positioned in the downstairs entrance. But lockdown has now been privatised to the businesses to run as they decide.
Out and about around Aldgate I can see the small cafes seem to have abandoned the codes. That renders the debate about a “Pingdemic” rather beside the point, since Track & Trace has now clearly had its legs cut from under it with the disappearance of any chance of gathering so much relevant data. I’m not sure it was ever so good at matching if possible contacts were truly coincident at a site, rather than just checking in on the same day, due to the lack of a “check out of venue” feature. But now we don’t even have a system as good as that.
On trains and buses and tubes, mask-wearing is running at about 50-75%, though not always fully covered. There is no obvious pattern to who does and doesn’t do it. Anti-lockdown/ anti-vax does not appeal solely or consistently to any “angry old white man” stereotype, as you can see at any of their marches or protests. I did hear an angry old white man in a pub this evening, but he seemed to be bothered about not wanting to drink beer out of the taps. Presumably he was a real ale bore, radicalised by months of terrible homebrew pisswater.
DiscontinuedNotes 