THERE is distress and anger in Liverpool at the new restrictions imposed on the city, but its designation as Tier 3 — the highest-risk category for Covid-19 infection — would help to keep the city safe, the Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Revd Paul Bayes, said on Tuesday.
“Statistics show that we have been in a bad way, and our numbers are increasing: Liverpool has five of the country’s top ten boroughs per rate of infections,” he said. “Our local leaders are negotiating with the Government about financial support packages, especially for the hospitality industry. A lot of entrepreneurial people have set up here, and they really are looking at meltdown. “There is a lot of distress about that, and some anger at the way things are. People tend to take it out either on the Government or on local government. But I hope and pray people will just maintain the disciplines. They are severe, but not as bad as when it was the full lockdown in April.” The people of Liverpool had looked out for one another, and they would rise to this situation and look to their natural good humour to see it through, the Bishop said. He declared himself overwhelmed by the offers of prayer and spiritual support that had flooded in from all over the country. “I really do feel we are borne up in prayer, and that’s a real encouragement,” he said.
The Bishop of Burnley, the Rt Revd Philip North, believes that the north is being “hung out to dry”. He acknowledged on Tuesday that the three-tier system brought a degree of clarity to regulations that had people so confused that they were about to give up. But there still seemed to be very little understanding in Westminster of the impact of the pandemic on northern working-class communities. People in low-paid work and on zero-hours contracts could not afford to isolate; poor-quality housing provided ideal conditions for the virus to spread; and unemployment and reduction in hours and pay were increasing, he said. Clergy were reporting vastly increased rates of foodbank use, and “a growing sense of despair” among the people they served. The pressures on family life were intense and increasing. “Handing down regulations from on high is not enough, and the new furlough scheme is inadequate to meet people’s needs,” he said. “Urgent measures need to be taken to shore up the northern economy, which means addressing years of under-investment in the north. “The Government currently seems to be unable to go beyond the reactive — simply responding to the voices that shout loudest. We need clear strategy and pro-active investment if huge areas of the north of the country are not to be permanently damaged by this crisis.” The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Revd James Langstaff, advocated the “carrot rather than the stick” approach to restrictions when he spoke in the House of Lords last week. While he accepted the underlying principle of the “rule of six”, he expressed concern over anomalies that could lead to damage in family relationships.“I’m trying to tease out the logic of the Government’s position,” he said on Tuesday. “I realise they want simple messages and clarity, but when you get more and more anomalies building up, it makes it more difficult for people to buy in. If they have a rationale for what is being done, they are willing to do it. Intrusiveness and over-use of fines are not necessarily the best way to get people to behave.” The damage to well-being had already been well aired in terms of care homes, the Bishop said (News, 2 October). “I hope serious attention can be paid to this. We are created to be relational beings, and the restrictions on relating to each other are damaging of our humanity.”
The new restrictions and designations appear to show only one change to the guidance for places of worship, which remain open in all three tiers. The maximum number allowed at weddings (15) and funerals (30) stays the same, but wedding receptions are no longer permitted in Tier 3 regions.
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Harrison Okafor
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Judith is a believer, a lover of Christ and a Gospel freak person. A passionate gospel blogger and press writer. I work with GospelHitsNaija.net Media, no 1 Gospel music platform.
