How lockdown changed our daily lives
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Britain has lived in lockdown for 100 days due to Covid-19 pandemic. Many people have lived these months in a negative and suffocating way, others have found the positive side in being with the family. But one thing is certain, the situation that everyone has faced has changed his life.
Life in England has changed dramatically in recent months. Normal now means getting out as little as possible, queuing in front of shops with the face covered by a mask.
Normality means maintaining social distance, smartworking and keep in touch with friends and family through video calls. The life has changed and only now we realize all things we have always taken for granted. And that, maybe, they will never go back as before.
There are long queues at supermarkets and shops closed, but now many Britons choose to shop online. According to analysts Kantar, one in five British households shopped at online grocieries.
Sales for home delivery increased by 91%, while small independent stores performed 69% more sales in the three months to June 20.
Online transactions are the half of the total made by debit card. In particural older generations have raised their internet spending rise to 40% from just 20% a year ago. Whilst nearly two million UK households will improve conditions after saving money. Families with incomes less than £30,000 will go through hard times.
In the economy itself, the number shown the UK economy lowered 2% between January and March, it didn’t happened since 1979. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) alerted that the world would face a £9.6 trillion Covid-19 hit. Britain’s economy will fall by 10.2% in 2020. Some experts revealed that levels of unemployment would decrease of three million even more, while the Centre for Retail Research predicts 20,000 shops could shut this year.
Many people have seen advantages to a work-life balance of working from home and video calls. A survey by Bright Horizons of 1,500 working parents demonstrated that only around one in eight want to return to pre-pandemic ‘normal’.
Because of this situation, we have found new ways to communicate. Millions are now familiar with video conferencing app Zoom, at the end of April it reached over 300million daily meeting participants. Nowadays, 75% of elderly residents in parts of the UK regularly are able to use Zoom, WhatsApp and FaceTime to connect with loved ones.
Even for sport, things were far from normal. Football matches took place behind closed doors and fans could pay to have a cardboard cut-out of themeselves the stadium seats of their favorite team.
Some big events, such as the Royal Ascot and the darts PDC tour, have been given the green light to go ahead, but others, such as Wimbledon and the Olympics, will probably be rescheduled.
For politics, the start of lockdown, three in four Brits agreed with how the government handled the pandemic. Meanwhile, confidence in Boris Johnson and the Tories has shrunk, too.
Although divorces have increased and children have not been able to go to school, more than 40% of people say that lockdown makes a positive effect on their lives. The reason is that they could spend time with their family and appreciate the loved ones more than ever.
With regard to the environment, studies found daily global carbon dioxide emissions fell by 17% compared with 2019. While life in the city was completely at a standstill, wildlife reclaimed its territory and rare animal species that had not been seen for a long time have reappeared,
Having to stay in the house for a long time, many people have found hobbies. The British spent a lot of time cooking and doing household jobs. Citizens also made the most of home comforts. Time spent on the couch watching movies has increased and sales of slippers have doubled.
While Gyms closed, many elite gyms, such as Barry’s Bootcamp and 1Rebel started streaming their classes on social media for free. A Bupa study found that 28% of Brits have upped their usual exercise and bike sales have increased by 192%.
Despite not being able to attend public engagements, the Royals have made sure to maintain their duties by switching to video calls during lockdown. William, Kate, Charles, Camilla and other members of the royal family kept busy with their charity work online. And members of the royal family have also been volunteering, particularly the Countess of Wessex, who has been organising PPE shipments and working in a charity shop.
Prince Charles, who contracted the illness in March but recovered, backed a virtual book of remembrance for Covid-19 victims and called on people to take part in a national effort to help farmers harvest fruit and vegetables.
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