Boris wants us all to be sensible

It's a pretty tall order judging by the irresponsible eruption of non-social-distancing incidents across the UK, but Boris Johnson, in his latest chat with the nation, has appealed to everybody not to treat tomorrow's opening of pubs and restaurants as an opoortunity to go wild and and gather in huge boozy crowds. When politicians appeal to people's common sense and better nature it tends, I fear, to fall on deaf ears. There is definitely, among certain sections of the community, mostly the younger generation, a sense of virus-fatigue and they will probably celebrate tomorrow's openings as the first real sign that the pandemic is over. It isn't of course. Common sense got lost a week or so back when there was brilliant hot sunshine and thousands drove off to the seaside and crammed the beaches with their semi-naked bodies. Will the spikes in infections around the country make any difference to tomorrow's latest lifting of restrictions? Probably not in London because the statistics on infections and Covid-19 deaths in the capital show an impressive reduction. How sad and tragic it would be if this all changed after a weekend of pub drinking. Those images of packed sunbathers at Bournemouth serve as a grim reminder of the crazy lemming-like urges in a lot of people's minds. Never mind the risks, let's take the kids to the seaside. So poor old Boris's appeal may well be drowned out as people rush to the pubs and, if it's sunny, fill the beaches once again. It's the same in so many countries. Despite the alarming spikes in infections across the US, Americans are largely ignoring the pleas to wear masks in public. Washington by all accounts is now the same as it was before the pandemic began. Trump says he thinks a mask would look good on him but he still won't wear one in public because he thinks it will make him look weak. He likes the contrast between him unmasked and Joe Biden, always black-masked. It's a man thing, never mind setting an example to the country. I fear the next few weeks are going to be a litmus test for the world: cautious sensible return to a new normal or a to-hell-with-the-virus attitude that will lead to a second wave.