The government is handing the economy over to the Covid-careless

Economies are built on confidence. How do you feel about sharing a bus with a mask-free yahoo if your employer calls you back into the office? Workers, vulnerable or otherwise, might find themselves facing a horrible choice if they’re called back in, writes James Moore

Fancy sharing an underground carriage with mask free passengers on your way into the office? (Getty Images)

“Responsible employers can play their part too, by placing a premium on close dialogue with employees and informing customers how they are reopening safely.”

So said John Foster, director of policy at the CBI, in response to the government’s announcement of a reheated Covid herd-immunity policy that will see the end of most restrictions in a couple of weeks. Of course, that wasn’t quite how Boris Johnson and co characterised it.

Foster is right. Of course, it would be nice if all employers were responsible. Trouble is, they’re not. There are some that will tell their staff that if they’re not back at their workplaces ASAP, then they’d best find their way to the nearest JobcentrePlus or whatever they’re calling it these days, even though the government is not quite saying that (this time).