UK Government Slammed for Economic Impact of ‘Stop-Start’ COVID-19 Curbs

Bar staff in PPE pour drinks at the reopening The Toll Gate, a Wetherspoons pub in Hornsey, north London, as COVID-19 lockdown restrictions are eased across England on July 4, 2020. Aaron Chown/PA

The UK government is facing renewed criticism of its “stop-start” approach to COVID-19 restrictions, as the country’s health secretary refused to rule out adopting further measures before Christmas.

Senior Conservative MP and former minister Tobias Ellwood said on Dec. 19 that the government’s “off the bus, on the bus” approach to tackling COVID-19 has done damage to the economy and burdened the National Health Service (NHS).