Leave It to 'Common Sense'?

Stephen Reicher (a member of the SAGE subcommittee advising on behavioural science) appears unimpressed by the UK government's decision to make current requirements designed to reduce Covid19 transmission in England a matter of personal choice (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/06/boris-johnson-policy-pandemic-restrictions). Reicher points out the decision would be a bit like telling people they could choose which bits of the Highway Code (the rules for driving) they wanted to follow. In both cases, what other people choose to do, will have a powerful impact on the safety of others in their vicinity. Reicher also says, that making face mask-wearing, social distancing and size of gatherings a matter of personal choice, also sends out a sub-liminal message. It is interpreted as saying 'these things are unimportant'. Reicher points out that face mask-wearing, in the UK, only became widely adopted when it was made mandatory. Appeals by politicians for the public not to become 'demob happy' on 'freedom day', carry very little weight. Responsibilities for numbers of infections, hospitalisations and deaths cannot be dumped on the general public, simply by telling them they will be free of diktats.