Clear communication is key to understanding lockdown reasons says Sheffield businessman

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces the national lockdown during a media briefing on Saturday

It does not matter what we call the restrictions, what is crucial is we understand the rationale for them and believe them to be and meet the test of common sense.

I doubt, in spite of many media briefings, colour charts and graphs, we have communicated effectively the need for such restrictions, or even given confidence in the measures proposed.

This has been aggravated by many changes in restrictions and often the delay in communication of them.

This has added to the confusion and meant less commitment to the measures proposed.

The question to be addressed, if the pandemic was so serious, with so many deaths, is why were so many precautions advised and not enforced ?

This diluted the public perception of the seriousness of the crisis and how we all had a responsibility to each other. Surely public safety issues require decisive responses?

The Government did not instil confidence with initial failures on personal protective equipment and testing, which has left a legacy of scepticism for too many .

Our public health infrastructure has a proud history of dealing with serious infectious diseases based on local intelligence, acceptance and expertise.

To make test-and-trace facilities at the outset a centrally managed bureaucracy resulted in a further lack of credibility and under achievement.

Hopefully these lessons have been learnt as without a vaccine, the only reality is for us to have a credible test-and-trace facility and people motivated to follow the discipline of social distancing, hand hygiene and wearing masks as required.

Our leaders have to install confidence in us to follow the prescribed precautions, because it does not matter what they are labelled, it is our acceptance of them that matters.

To do this, we have to do what we have to do to protect ourselves and others, with the Government regaining trust that they will do what they need to do, by effectively communicating their strategy for beating the coronavirus and protecting those adversely affected.