Half of us now working from home
More employers ordering their workers to stay away from the office
Almost half of us do not feel comfortable going out of our homes owing to the pandemic, latest figures reveal. Sampling by the Office for National Statistics showed a six per cent rise with in a fortnight.
The ONS took two records, 22nd December-3 January and from 7th January-10th January, testing our confidence levels for going out.
In the first week people’s discomfort was 41 per cent while in the second week of January it was 47 percent, based on a sample size of 3,760 people.
Those wishing to stay at home will have the backing of the prime minister and government.
The guidelines stress the need to stay at home where ever possible.
“If you do leave home for a permitted reason, you should always stay local — unless it is necessary to go further, for example to go to work,” states the guildelines. “Stay local means stay in the village, town, or part of the city where you live.
“If you are clinically extremely vulnerable you are advised to only go out for medical appointments, exercise or if it is essential. We recommend that you do not attend work”.
Even so, there is evidence that we are getting fed up with the lock down. Deputy chief constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, Paul Netherton, told BBC Breakfast,
“I think people are beginning to get fed up with it. I can understand that but we have to be firm, we have to save lives, we have to make sure people are keeping apart, isolating and staying at home.”
The data also shows that more bosses are asking their employees to work from home — a rise of six per cent over the two recorded weeks.
But in a Tweet, the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, warned that more people were using their cars. He Tweeted, “Latest data shows road traffic in GB at 63 per cent of pre-pandemic levels & bus usage outside London at 26 per cent.
“As a reminder, you must not leave your home without a reasonable excuse.”
Data Source: Office for National Statistics
