(The British government has started easing the lockdown it imposed two months ago to curb the spread of COVID-19. (Photo: Jo Hale/Getty Images))
London, England — The coronavirus has changed life for basically everyone, and things are no different in the United Kingdom.
Depending on where you live, different restrictions are in place, with each government responding differently to the crisis. In England, primary schools reopen this week, and some offices are allowing employees to return to work. While the lockdown restrictions have eased up a bit across the U.K., YR Media asked three young people from the region to describe how this crisis is affecting them.
Ella Lewis, 17
“For me, this is three months of school I’m missing out on. We’re going to suffer in the long term. Who knows what they’re going to do to make up for the lost time?”
“I really want to go back to school... However, I think it is ridiculous that the government wants to send us back so soon because we need to wait until the rate of infection has lowered, and has stayed that way consistently. Everyone involved will be at risk if we open schools too early.”
Joshua Yuill, 18
“I would like to hope this will all work out, [I’ve] been thrown into a situation where there is a lot of uncertainty and anxiety, on how COVID-19 [could affect my] ability to get jobs and places at universities.”
“There’s been talks of universities reopening in September online. If that happens, not only will it affect my education, but it will also affect my university experience as a whole. However, I understand how important it is to keep everyone safe.”
Halima Jibril, 20
“I think the way our government has responded to this crisis has been, to put it lightly, piss-poor. We keep hearing from government officials that it’s on us — the British public. Of course, we have our part to play, but this is also our government’s way of negating blame for not acting sooner.
“With situations like this, I always think of people of color first. Healthcare is not free in the U.S., which is a recipe for disaster and death for marginalized people. I don’t think the U.S. is handling things better than in the U.K. I think they are both handling it similarly, super badly!”