The difficulty I have is that all this ignores the fact that I’ll be starting in the arrivals lounge of a large international airport. Even if I get a test there (and the facilities are good for that), how do I then go anywhere else without encountering crowds of people? And as I don’t have a car waiting to drive off, how do I get anywhere without using a taxi or public transport? Going to the lengths of cutting out exercise, not letting anyone into the house, and not leaving to go shopping sounds reasonable in itself. But what on earth is the point if I’ve first mingled with the crowds at Heathrow and then made my way to my chosen location in a train, bus or taxi?
Airport terminals are some of the riskiest places for transmission. It's hard to see how self-isolation can possibly make up for the increased risk of contagion caused by my taking a plane, passing through a busy airport, and then traveling somewhere by land. The logic seems to be that if there is any point in travel restrictions at all, they need to be even more draconian (and hence damaging to morale, and to the economy). Does anybody know any way around this? What am I missing?
And if you’d like a song, in honor of the Beatles documentary, which is long but engrossing, here’s Get Back. Have a good week everyone.
John Authers is a senior editor for markets. Before Bloomberg, he spent 29 years with the Financial Times, where he was head of the Lex Column and chief markets commentator. He is the author of The Fearful Rise of Markets and other books.