Two third of Britons nervous about attending large gatherings after lockdown

A new poll has found two-thirds of Britons would feel uncomfortable attending large public gatherings like sports events or concerts, amid reports suggesting the coronavirus pandemic and the measures taken to stop the spread of the virus mean that life in the UK will never be the same again.

A person passes a boarded up restaurant in Edinburgh which has been painted with an NHS supporting message. Picture: PA

A survey for Ipsos Mori said more than 60 per cent of Britons would feel uncomfortable carrying out their usual activities – like going to bars or restaurants, or using public transport – if the lockdown is eased.

It suggests the public is nervous about a quick return to normality, with 61 per cent saying they would feel uncomfortable using public transport or going to bars and restaurants.

Young people are most at ease with going to bars and restaurants, 36 per cent of 18-34-year olds would feel comfortable doing so, compared to only 22 per cent of 55-75s.

The poll came as a doctor’s leader warned there could be a “dramatic” change to how GPs see patients in the future, with around half of consultations moving online.

And the boss of Heathrow warned that introducing social distancing at airports is “physically impossible”.

Professor Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, told the Commons Health and Social Care Committee there had been a large uptake in virtual consultations due to Covid-19, in part because doctors had been given more sophisticated technology and equipment.

He told MPs: “There’s going to be a dramatic change.

“So, prior to the pandemic, about 70 per cent of consultations in general practice were carried out face to face.

“Now, according to the data, it’s about 23 per cent, I suspect it might even be less than that.

“That’s been enabled, of course, because it had to be, that was the reality of not being able to provide face-to-face care except when it’s exceptionally required.

“Most importantly, it’s been enabled by having access to the technology and the investment that’s been put into the technology. I think the future will be somewhere between where we were and where we are. I don’t think that 70 per cent of consultations have to be carried out face to face before the crisis and I don’t think 20 per cent to 23 per cent is right either.”

Prof Marshall said virtual consultations would not be suitable for all patient needs but about 50 per cent could be online.

However, he said remote consultations were not suitable for “problems that require relationships, that require you to understand, to be able to lay on hands, to be able to use your sixth sense to see non-verbal communications, all of the things that are really the essence of general practice”.

Heathrow Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said a “better solution” is needed to make air travel safe as he called for the UK to lead the way in developing a common international standard of measures which could include temperature checks for all passengers.

Hesaid: “Social distancing does not work in any form of public transport, let alone aviation. The constraint is not about how many people you can fit on a plane, it will be how many people you can get through an airport safely.

“If you’ve ever been on holiday from Gatwick, you cannot imagine going through there and socially distancing in the summer. It’s just physically impossible to socially distance with any volume of passengers in an airport.”

Social distancing on planes would reduce capacities by more than 50 per cent and mean “prices would shoot up”, Mr Holland-Kaye predicted.

EasyJet has suggested it could leave the middle seats on its planes empty when flights resume.

Mr Holland-Kaye set out several alternative “practical” steps which could be implemented to give passengers “confidence that they are safe to fly”. He said: “I think that’ll be a package of measures including some form of screening. That might be temperature screening, as you see in Asian airports.

“It will include probably people having less contact with each other, so probably wearing masks when they travel. Less contact between passengers and airport workers.

“It will include fantastic hygiene in the airport, with sanitisers and deep cleaning and things like that.

“I think that package of measures – once we have got the disease under control – will be enough to get people flying again.”

Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, of Cambridge University, admitted it would be difficult to reassure people they could go out safely again.

“Maybe our campaign has been, if anything, slightly too successful,” he said.