3 long redundant pieces of COVID messaging
Published on 15 March 2023 in Life, covid-19

1.
Recently I popped into Lidl in Stockport on my way home. I haven’t been in for ages. Months. Perhaps even a year.
I saw a woman blatantly shoplifting. And heard a loudspeaker announcement thanking me for social distancing “in line with government guidance”. I was only in store for about ten minutes but I heard the announcement three times.
2.

Today I went to the dentist. Before going I had to fill in a form online confirming that the NHS haven’t asked me to isolate due to COVID-19. That I wasn’t waiting for the result of a PCR test. That I hadn’t just got back from a country on the government’s red list.
3.

I go swimming regularly, and have a membership package for the local leisure centres. Some of the centres have automatic gates at the entrance. Until the start of 2020, members could simply swipe in. Now the gates won’t open unless you’ve queued up at reception, or you have booked on a session online in advance. To book online you have to agree for your details to be passed to NHS Test and Trace if required.
Covid restrictions are long gone. But it seems not everyone has heard the news yet.