Effective Lockdown Nears As CMO Warns Against Parties, Queen Cancels Meet-Up

While there are no legally-obligated restrictions on socialising in the UK at present, the country continues to shift towards an effective self-imposed lockdown ahead of the Christmas period.

• Chief Medical Officer Prof. Chris Whitty in a presser on 15 Dec stated that individuals should 'prioritise' or 'de-prioritise' events around Christmas in order to see their families over the period. This comes as the UK recorded its highest-ever new caseload of the pandemic (78,610).
• Today it was announced that the Queen will be cancelling her traditional pre-Christmas lunch with the wider Royal family to ensure that all of their Christmas plans are not affected.
• The importance of the two events above is that both Whitty and the Queen are likely to have a greater impact on influencing public action than the gov't. The last few weeks of revelations that Christmas parties were held at No.10 Downing Street, gov't departments, and the Conservative Party HQ in 2020, in breach of lockdown restrictions, risks the public disavowing any instruction from PM Boris Johnson.
• The gov't has been keen for the public to continue as normal (but get a booster jab and wear masks in more situations). However, data from the hospitality sector suggests that many are already cancelling plans. There is major pressure on the Treasury to step in and offer support to the sector, which is dealing with a mass reduction in custom despite no lockdown restrictions (or financial aid) being in place.