Social Distancing 'Impossible' on London Commute as People Go Back to Work Amid Eased Lockdown

14:07 GMT, 13 May 2020

Boris Johnson said in his address to the nation on Sunday that those unable to work from home should start returning to work from Wednesday, but urged people to avoid public transport and drive, cycle or walk.

Sputnik

A number of people in England who cannot work from home returned to their workplaces on Wednesday, as the government has begun to ease lockdown restrictions.

Although people have been urged to avoid using public transport if possible, some commuters have said buses and trains are too busy to observe social distancing rules, as reported by the BBC.

One commuter said most people were not wearing masks, leaving him fearing "a second wave of infection".

As reported in the Guardian, photographs of packed London Underground trains on Wednesday show how “fraught with danger”, Boris Johnson’s return to work message is, a union has said.

Tube workers said it was a “complete shambles” when part of the Victoria Line was suspended due to a passenger collapsing.

“Social distancing during the peak was a joke. During the suspension our carriages were heaving. It will get worse,” said one worker.

Mick Cash, the general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, said: “This incident shows just how fraught with danger the government’s return-to-work call is for our transport services in the midst of this pandemic. One incident and we are reduced to crisis management with reports that social distancing is impossible with tube carriages rammed".

“RMT warned this would happen and we were ignored. We are monitoring the situation across services this morning and will discuss any appropriate action with our local reps”, Cash added.

"Any notion of self-distancing on buses or tubes is going to be impossible," said Drew Aspland, cited in the BBC.

The 36-year-old walked to work in central London from Bethnal Green after seeing his bus "back to pre-lockdown levels of passengers".

Transport for London said on Monday that it would have to reduce passenger numbers to 13-15% of normal levels if it were to achieve physical distancing of two metres.

On Monday afternoon, the UK government released a 50-page document that outlines the planned timetable for lifting national Covid-19 restrictions.

The government’s ‘indicative roadmap’ has three steps.

The first step of this plan is to actively encourage people who cannot work from home to return to work from this Wednesday.

The second step, which will potentially begin from 1 June will see some schools and businesses begin to re-open. Some sporting and cultural events will be allowed to take place behind closed doors.

The third step which will start no earlier than 4 July will see some remaining businesses including hairdressers, cinemas and pubs re-open.

At the time of publication, the number of reported COVID-19 deaths in the UK is 33,186.